Instant Pot Orange Chicken

This instant pot orange chicken is one of those recipes that tastes like it came from a restaurant but takes almost no effort to make.

The sauce is sweet, tangy, and just a little bit spicy. It coats every piece of chicken perfectly and gets nice and glossy once it thickens up.

Instead of deep frying the chicken like most orange chicken recipes, we’re using the Instant Pot to keep things simple and mess-free. Way less cleanup, way less hassle.

The whole thing comes together in about 20 minutes, and most of that time is the Instant Pot doing its thing while you just wait.

Serve it over white rice with some sesame seeds and green onions on top, and you’ve got a proper dinner that everyone will enjoy.

What Makes This Recipe So Good

Faster Than Takeout – With only 5 minutes of pressure cooking, you can have homemade orange chicken on the table way before a delivery driver could even get to your door.

The Sauce Is Unreal – The combo of fresh orange juice, orange zest, hoisin, and honey creates a sticky, glossy sauce that coats every piece of chicken and honestly puts most restaurant versions to shame.

Chicken Thighs Stay Juicy – Using boneless skinless thighs instead of breast meat means the chicken comes out incredibly tender and never dry, which is a common problem with other orange chicken recipes.

Ingredients

• 2 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup Orange Juice (freshly squeezed)
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce
• 3 tbsp Honey
• 2 tbsp Rice Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Hoisin Sauce
• 1 tbsp Orange Zest
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
• 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
• 2 tbsp Cornstarch
• 2 tbsp Water (for slurry)
• 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
• 2 Green Onions, sliced
• Cooked White Rice, for serving

Directions

Step 1

In a bowl, whisk together the orange juice, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, orange zest, garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes until well combined.

Step 2

Place the chicken pieces in the Instant Pot and pour the orange sauce over the top. Stir gently to make sure the chicken is evenly coated.

Step 3

Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes. When the cook time is done, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then carefully turn the valve to venting.

Step 4

Open the lid and transfer the chicken pieces to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Set the Instant Pot to saute mode.

Step 5

In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until smooth. Pour the slurry into the sauce and stir continuously for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce thickens and becomes glossy.

Step 6

Return the chicken to the pot and toss to coat in the thickened sauce. Serve over white rice and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced green onions.

Pro Tips

Pat the Chicken Dry First

Before you cut the chicken thighs into pieces, pat them dry with paper towels. Excess moisture on the chicken will water down the sauce and make it harder to thicken later.

This small step makes a big difference in how rich and concentrated the final sauce turns out. You want the orange flavor to really pop, not taste diluted.

Cut the Chicken Into Even Pieces

Try to keep all the chicken pieces roughly the same size – about 1 inch. If some pieces are tiny and others are big, the small ones will overcook and get rubbery while the bigger ones are just finishing up.

Chicken thighs are forgiving, but 5 minutes on high pressure cooks fast. Even pieces mean everything finishes at the same time and stays tender.

Use Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice

This recipe really depends on the orange flavor, so fresh juice is worth the effort here. Store-bought orange juice from a carton tends to taste flat and overly sweet compared to fresh.

You’ll need about 2 medium oranges to get a half cup of juice. Use those same oranges to get your tablespoon of zest before you juice them – it’s way easier to zest a whole orange than a squeezed one.

Related Recipes

• Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
• Instant Pot Mongolian Beef
• Instant Pot Butter Chicken
• Instant Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken
• Slow Cooker Beef & Broccoli

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use bottled orange juice instead of freshly squeezed?

Freshly squeezed gives you the best, brightest flavor, but store-bought 100% orange juice works in a pinch. Just avoid anything labeled “from concentrate” or with added sugar, since that can make the sauce overly sweet and less vibrant.

If you go with bottled, you might want to add a little extra orange zest to bump up that fresh citrus flavor that store-bought juice tends to lack.

My sauce didn’t thicken – what went wrong?

The most common reason is that the cornstarch slurry wasn’t mixed well enough before adding it, or the sauce wasn’t hot enough when you stirred it in. Make sure the Instant Pot is actively bubbling on saute mode before you pour in the slurry.

Stir constantly and give it a full 2-3 minutes. If it’s still too thin, mix another tablespoon of cornstarch with a tablespoon of water and add that in. It should thicken up quickly once the sauce is at a steady simmer.