The Orange Chicken Dish at the Asian Restaurants is delicious. Now you can make it at home.
Cook this Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe in 15 minutes!
It is an easy, delicious, quick meal that your whole family will love.
What ingredients do you need?
For this recipe, you will need the following ingredients on hand:
- chicken breasts-I suggest fresh, not frozen. However, some of my readers have said they have had success with frozen chicken breasts.
- barbecue sauce- It is important to use a thick barbecue sauce and not a runny vinegary one. If you use a runny bbq sauce, your orange sauce will be too runny also.
- soy sauce-You can substitute with Liquid aminos.
- orange marmalade
- cornstarch-Cornstarch is what most people have at the grocery store. However, if you can fine Wondra, try that instead.
- green onions
Watch how to make
How to make Instant Pot orange chicken
Follow these easy steps to make Instant Pot Orange Chicken:
- Chop chicken breasts into hearty bite size chunks.
- In Instant Pot, add in chopped chicken, barbecue sauce, and soy sauce.
- Cook on manual high for 4 min
- When done, fast release steam.
- Take ¼ cup of the liquid out of Instant Pot and mix with 2 teaspoon cornstarch in a small bowl. (This prevents lumps. Cornstarch will thicken sauce.)
- Add cornstarch broth mixture back into Instant Pot.
- Add ¾ cup orange marmalade. Mix well.
- Change setting on Instant Pot to sauté setting and sauté for 6 min or until sauce thickens.
- Allow it to rest 5 minutes before serving. This will thicken sauce also.
- Garnish with green onions. Serve over rice, noodles or by itself.
Is Orange Chicken Sweet?
If you have never had Orange Chicken, it is sweet and salty with bites of orange flavor.... And it is GOOD!!!!!!
I serve it over a bed of brown rice with a side of steamed broccoli.
Top it with chopped, fresh green onions and BAM! Magic in the kitchen. It will be gone in minutes.
If you are not a broccoli fan, chopped bell peppers are a nice addition to the dish also.
Tip:
Tip: If you don't like very sweet dishes, one option is to reduce the amount of orange marmalade to half a cup and add in 1 tablespoon of fresh orange zest. Reducing the amount of marmalade will make the sauce a bit more watery, therefore, you will will also want to add in a little more cornstarch in the end.
Tip 2: Another option is to keep the recipe exactly how it is and add in a little more soy sauce. The salt flavor will level out some of that sweetness.
What barbecue sauce should you use?
Here in the South, we have several vinegary liquid barbecue sauces.
You will want to stay away from those sauces in this recipe.
Instead, you will want to use a thick, sweet barbecue sauce. I use Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce because it is cheap and you can find it anywhere.
However, any thick barbecue sauce will work.
If you like spicy dishes, choose a thick spicy barbecue sauce.
If you like tangy, use a thick tangy sauce.
The barbecue sauce is used to balance the orange flavor from becoming overwhelming.
It also helps with thickening the sauce.
Can you use frozen chicken?
Several people have asked if you can use frozen chicken.
I always use fresh chicken.
If I have frozen chicken, I thaw it out before using it.
When you cook in the Instant Pot, natural juices from the chicken release.
Frozen chicken is likely to release more juices than the fresh chicken, causing a watery sauce. This is why I personally recommend either thawing the chicken before cooking or using fresh chicken.
However, my readers have told me that they have made this recipe using frozen chicken.
They increased the cooking time from 4 minutes to 7 minutes.
My readers were happy with the end results.
*This post contains affiliate links.
What if you want a thicker sauce?
To thicken the sauce, you must add 2 tsps of cornstarch to the sauce.
You will need to sauté the sauce with the chicken for about 6 minutes to help reduce the liquid.
You will also need to let it cool down 3 to 5 minutes.
The cooling process allows some of the steam to evaporate and the cornstarch to set into a thicker form.
Since writing this post, my bff blogger friend Karrie, from Tasty Ever After, recently introduced me to the brilliant Wondra.
It magically thickens all of your gravies and sauces.
It works 10 times better than cornstarch. I can’t find it at my store, so I order it on Amazon.
Cornstarch works fine, but Wondra works BRILLIANTLY!
It also doesn’t change the flavor of your sauce like cornstarch sometimes can.
If you don’t have a bottle, get one!
I did not change out the ingredient of cornstarch in this recipe, because most people can find cornstarch, however not everyone has access to Wondra.
If you choose to use Wondra instead of cornstarch, cook it the same way with the same 2 teaspoon measurements. It thickens like cornstarch, only better.
Looking for a healthier option idea?
I typically serve this orange chicken over steamed rice.
I am obviously not watching my carbs in this meal with the sugar content and starch in the ingredients.
However, for a healthier option, my cauliflower fried rice makes a great substitute for white rice. The cauliflower fried rice is significantly less in calories, is loaded with tons of nutrition, and has a great flavor!
Plus it is quick and simple to make. This recipe is a great way to sneak in some extra veggies.
What if you get a burn notice?
I have never had a burn notice. HOWEVER, I have had some readers say they received a burn notice.
Other bloggers have had the same issue with some of their recipes.
What I have learned is that not all Instant Pots are the same. The older models can be more sensitive than the new models.
This is a great article explaining the burn notices and what to do if you see a burn notice.
Are you looking for more great Instant Pot Recipes? Try some of these!
All of these recipes can easily be made in the Instant Pot. Add them to your weekly meal plan and tell me what you think after you made them!
- Mongolian Beef
- Gumbo with Shrimp and Sausage
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Chili Mac and Cheese
- Italian Beef with Spicy Pepperoncini
- Mac and Cheese
- Country Style Steak
- Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes
- Italian Pot Roast Dinner
- Shredded Buffalo Chicken
- Stuffed Cabbage Soup
- Mexican Chicken Soup
- Jalapeno Popper Chicken
- 15 Minute Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken
- Hawaiian Pulled Pork
Please leave me a comment below if you make this Instant Pot Orange Chicken and tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your Instant Pot dinner on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
Recipe
15 Minute Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts Do not use thin breasts. They will dry out.
- ¾ cup favorite dark sweet barbecue sauce ( I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- ¾ cup orange marmalade
- 2 teaspoon cornstarch
- chopped green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Chop 4 chicken breasts into hearty bite size chunks.
- In Instant Pot, add in chopped chicken, ¾ cup barbecue sauce, and 2 tbs soy sauce.
- Cook on manual high for 4 min.
- When done, fast release steam.
- Take ¼ cup of the liquid out of Instant Pot and mix with 2 teaspoon cornstarch in a small bowl. (This prevents lumps. Cornstarch will thicken sauce.)
- Add cornstarch broth mixture back into Instant Pot.
- Add ¾ cup orange marmalade. Mix well.
- Change setting on Instant Pot to sauté setting and sauté for 6 min or until sauce thickens.
- Allow it to rest 5 minutes before serving. This will thicken sauce also.
- Garnish with green onions. Serve over rice, noodles or by itself.
Christina
Followed recipe as is, and no burn notice. I added crushed red pepper flakes to the sauté stage, as I wanted my extra spicy. Highly recommend recipe. Will make again.
Wagirl
This was very good. I used chicken thighs so reduced the cooking time by a minute so as not to over cook. Also cut back marmalade to 1/2 cup. Very easy and the fam loved it.
Lindi Franks
Fantastic orange flavor! Very quick & easy to make. A true “No Brainer”! We will definitely be making this a part of our dinner menu over & over. Loved it!
Meredith Richardson
Very yummy. Not too spicy and good orange flavor. Chicken was so tender.
I did heavily spray my pot with canola oil and the mixed the chicken, BBQ and soy sauce well. No burn message. Some of the pieces of chicken were dark, almost looked burnt but they were just slightly crispy almost so hubby loved that.
chef quelle heure
Make as is. don't mess with perfection!
Heather
Excellent made it the way it was written. Kids loved it. Will be making again.
Diane
You won’t believe how good this is!!!!
Cindy Ellmaker
Made this tonight for dinner. It was absolutely delicious. I had to make some alterations as I did not have the marmalade. so I used a Pineapple Apricot Preserves. I lessened the BBQ sauce as I only did 3 large breasts. Hubby had seconds so i know it was a hit. Will be making again.
Mary J Smith
The chicken was outstanding! I read the directions to my husband (who is not much of a cooker) and I supervised him, and it was wonderful. We did use a sugar free marmalade. Definite do again!
Sandy
We absolutely loved this recipe. We are used to breaded chicken in orange sauce but this was very good and healthier without the breading I'm sure. The sauce didn't thicken as much as I thought it would but the flavor was outstanding. Super yummy over our fried rice with stir fry veggies.
Marlene
I have the crock pot I.P. there is no manual button. So I pushed the chicken button, hi pressure, and when it came to pressure I let it cool for the 4 minutes. Came out great.
Lauren
So simple and delicious! I used Stubbs sweet spicy bbq sauce, which gave it a bit of heat. I will be making this again for sure!! Thanks for the recipe.
Andy
With my second time making this, I used 2 chicken breasts, only 1/4 c orange marmalade, and added a pan of roasted cut bell peppers and snap peas after sautéing. The rest I did as the recipe says. Turned out great!
Stina
I messed up and put the marmalade in the beginning. Also, after cooking the initial time and taking out the sauce and mixing with cornstarch I set my IP to sauté but added the lid back on oops (this is my second instapot attempt). Literally writing this made me realize my mistake of putting the lid on lol but the sauce did thicken it’s not real orange color tho but probably bc I added the marmalade too early. I added in broccoli that I steamed in the microwave and served over white rice. I’ll be making this again !
Kelly
I made this tonight. I did change it up because I was concerned about the burn notice. I used Baby Rays Hawaiian BBQ sauce and Franks Stinging hot honey BBQ sauce. Mixed them until I had the heat I wanted. Marinated the chicken in some of the sauce and then added a cup of water to the IP and set my time... then I finished in a sauce pan while chicken was cooking. My whole family loved it.. the leftover chicken is going to make a nice Asian chicken salad. Thank you for the inspiration.
Rebecca Porter
Made tonight. Yum! I first sautéed some chopped onion and red bell pepper. Followed directions to a T. With a squirt of sriracha. Served it over plain white rice.
Megan
Overall really good. A little too “orangey” for us. I will use less next time, could’ve just been the marmalade I bought. Added a little garlic and extra soy and it balanced out. Will definitely make again just add a little less marmalade.
Katie
About 1 1/2- 2 lbs.
Jennifer Ricketts
About how many pounds of chicken do you use? I see it says 4 breasts...about how much in pounds? Also, do you think if I cut the recipe in half it would still work? Thanks!
Keatyn
This was delicious! I added some garlic and sriracha and added a tad more cornstarch because my sauce wasn’t thick enough for my taste. Served with fried rice, perfect!
Gwen
Delicious thank you. I added a bag of trader joe frozen mix veg after cooked and it was delicious over brown rice.
Susan
I have made this twice. Both times it came out great. I cut the chicken into good sized chunks so they stay moist. Easy and tastes delicious. Nice balance with the orange and bbq sauce. I just used Kroger's generic brand. I serve it over rice, omitting the green onions. Thanks for a great quick dinner!
James
EASY - QUICK - TASTY - I loved this one!!!! I may have used too many chicken breasts - but it ended up as one of the best recipes I’ve ever made in my Instantpot!!! Thank you!
Lori
Delicious. And not too sweet which I loved This one will definitely be a keeper. Thanks!
Terri
I tried this recipe today because I was running short on time as usual. It turned out great! I would definitely make this again. I used a Dillons brand of bbq sauce, Carolina Inspired BBQ Sauce and it worked great. It isn’t a real thick sauce, but u can always adjust the amount of cornstarch.
Erika Budzynski
Hi Katie! Thanks for the recipe - this was my first attempt using the instant pot!! I have a question for you. I put the chicken, BBQ sauce and soy sauce in the pot and started cooking it but I received the "burn" message from my instant pot. I cooked a batch of rice before I tried this recipe (so I guess technically this is my second attempt) so I'm wondering if I could have received the "burn" message because the instant pot was already warm from cooking the rice. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
Kathy
This was a hit! I was given an InstaPot from one of my friends and after searching Pinterest, this was the first recipe I tried! I had a 2 1/2 lb. package of chicken breasts that I cut up. I used just over a cup of Sweet Baby Ray’s original bbq sauce, the same amount of orange marmalade, 3 tbsp. of low sodium soy sauce, and 3 tsp. of cornstarch for thickening. I’d say it’s not truly a 15 minute meal because of the time it takes for the pot to heat, but no matter - the end result was fabulous! The sauce was thick, sweet, and delicious even without the chicken! I served over sticky rice with grated orange rind and some chopped chives (I didn’t have any green onions :). It would have easily served a family of six... but lucky for me, it’s just my husband and me, so we’ve got leftovers! Thank you for sharing!
Sarah
I got burn too! I added a little more bbq sauce and water. Reading other blogs some people think it is the newer pots that get the burn alert more often.
Denise
We loved it. Thanks for this quick and easy recipe.
Pam
This was excellent. I added fresh orange peel to the cooking pot and orange slices when I served it and everyone loved it. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer Griffin
I just made the same mistake and was hoping you had a follow up with the results. I will have to wait and see LOL
Becky
That’s a good clarification. I didn’t catch that in the recipe and just used regular Sweet Baby Rays sauce. I couldn’t figure out why my sauce wasn’t thickening. That was why. I added more corn starch and that seemed to do the trick. This was good, but I’m sure the flavor is enhanced by the dark BBQ sauce. Will do that next time
Katie
I really don't know what you are doing that makes it burn... I can only guess that maybe your model is different from mine. I would suggest adding the liquids in first, then the chicken. Maybe add in a couple tablespoons of water or broth... I wouldn't add much more because it would change the flavor.
Christy
THIS is so good! However, both times I’ve made it, I have gotten burn alarms. Am I doing something wrong, or should I change something with the recipe?
Lee Anne johnson
La Chou and San-J soy sauce are gluten free.
Tabitha
I would think if you used gluten free bbq sauce like Sweet Baby Rays and Braggs Amino Acid instead of soy sauce, it should be gluten free.
Steve
I tried this recipe tonite & used Walmart frozen diced chicken breast.Perfect size...just increase cooking time from four minutes to seven. A really good dish & so easy.
Alyson
I made this tonight and it was soooo good! The sauce is absolutely delicious! I’ve only had my Instant Pot for a week and this was quick and easy. Thanks for sharing. ?
Nancy Eyssimont
I meant to ask if someone had a gluten free version
Katie
The sugar actually helps thicken the sauce. I am not sure if the sugar free would work the same.... but it is worth trying.
Amanda
Could you use sugar free Orange marmalade?
Angela
We loved this recipe! Thanks for sharing! I did double t and did not adjust the cook time but did have to sauté longer to get the sauce to thicken.
Mary
I made this tonight and was cautious if it would really taste all that great. I halved the recipe since there are only 2 of us. We loved it! Next time I will use the full ingredients for the sauce. I did add a bit more marmalade and soy sauce because I thought it smelled to much bbq.
Thank you for sharing.
Amy
I'm an Instant Pot newbie, I've made it with the single serve and LOVE IT! - when doubling, how would you adjust cook time?
Kim
Yes you can cook frozen just make sure the chicken isn't attached to each other
Dawn
Yum yum yum. This was so easy! I even cooked the rice in the cooker and did up dishes while the cooker took care of it for me. Easy schmeezy. My son has had 2 huge helpings and has thanked me every about 15 times for this meal.
Sue Ringsdorf
I've never used an instant pot before but I love the idea of this being done in 15 minutes! Thanks for sharing!!
Agness of Run Agness Run
Quick and mouth-watering dish, Katie! I love it!
Kathy @ Beyond the Chicken Coop
I can't believe it only took 15 minutes! This looks so amazing! Orange chicken is one of our favorites and getting it done in 15 minutes makes it doable for a week night meal!
karrie @ Tasty Ever After
I'm totally trying this in my Instant pot! I'll let you know how it turns out 🙂 Hubby will love it because Chinese food is his favorite.