Instant Pot Orange Chicken
on Sep 05, 2017, Updated Oct 15, 2020
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Okay i’m read to admit it. I LOVE MY INSTANT POT! I wasn’t sure about it at first, but after making my instant pot chicken shawarma and now this instant pot orange chicken… I am totally convinced! For this recipe I took the delicious orange sauce from my original Whole30 Orange Chicken and Orange Chicken Meatballs and added it with the chicken in the instant pot for a whopping 6 minutes. Then I just flipped on the sauté function and added some arrowroot to thicken to sauce and make this perfect weeknight dinner! Of course I serve it on my world famous Cauliflower Fried Rice and gobble it all up in minutes.
I tested this recipe a few times cooking it for 15 minutes like i would do for chicken breasts.. but it was so dry because I cut the chicken before adding it into the pot. This brings the cooking time way down so cooking it for only 6 minutes was absolutely perfect! If you have been thinking about an instant pot I highly suggest it. I have the 8 quart one but I also think the 6 quart would be fine because I never fill mine up all the way. I haven’t used the slow cooker function on it but it is nice to know it is there in case we want to leave something in there all day and come home to the goodness! I actually have a running list on a white board in my office right now of different instant pot recipe ideas so you gotta get one just so you can make them! Deal? DEAL!
Chinese take out – IN!
Need more take out inspiration, we got ya covered:
Miso Glazed Asparagus & Soba Noodle Salad
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Instant Pot Orange Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds chicken breasts
- 1 cup orange juice
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ½ cup coconut aminos
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder + 1 tablespoon cold water (combined)
Instructions
- Chop chicken into 1 inch cubes. (I also like to cut mine with kitchen shears)
- Combine orange juice, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, garlic powder and ground ginger in your instant pot. Add chicken to the pot and stir to coat.
- Place the lid on and make sure it is in sealing mode on top.
- Press manual high pressure and set it to 6 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off, switch the top to venting and let it depressurize.
- Open the instant pot and use a slotted spoon to remove chicken and set aside.
- Turn the instant pot to sauté and bring the liquid to a boil. Add in the arrowroot and water combination and whisk to combine and thicken. Once sauce has thickened, add chicken back in and toss to coat. Turn off instant pot and serve over cauliflower fried rice!
Any suggestions on how to use frozen chicken with this?
You probably wouldn’t be able to chop that in advance of cooking so I would just add it in for however long you normally cook frozen chicken for! 15-18 minutes?
Made this tonight with cauliflower rice and it was excellent – will definitely be making it again. Any thoughts for how to make it a bit more spicy?
Awesome!! I am not sure, I don’t love spice! Maybe hot sauce?
I’m going to try crushed red pepper flakes to kick it up!
Red chilli powder or flakes should definitely kick up the spice level. Black pepper goes well with OJ too.
I put some sriracha in the sauce, and it spiced it up nicely.
What about a slow cooker version??
Low for 3-4 hours should work!!
Is there anything you can substitute in the place of coconut aminos? Also, can you just double the cornstarch instead of using the arrowroot powder? Thanks!
If you aren’t doing Whole30 you can totally use cornstarch instead of arrowroot and soy sauce or tamari instead of coconut aminos!
Perfect! Thanks!
I feel like my sauce never got thick – how long did it take in the saute function?
Not sure when you made this but I updated it with 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder, that should make it thick! I saute for about 5 minutes after adding!
Can I use tapicoa flour if I don’t have arrowroot flour?
I haven’t tried that but let me know if it works!!
I quadrupled this recipe and had my family over for dinner / they LOVED it! All of them. my Husband asked me to make more so he can take it for lunches this week.served it over cauliflower rice with peas, carrots and Brussels! So good!
YAHOO! So glad!!
What about rice vinegar instead of apple cider?
That works!!
Kelsey you’re KILLING it! This dinner was perfect for Whole 30 day 3 and in my opinion just as tasty as take-out but healthy! I subbed potato starch for arrowroot because my grocery store didn’t have it, the sauce wasn’t quite as thick as I’d like but still so flavorful. If you haven’t made this yet, DO IT! You won’t regret it! Serving over cauli fried rice was perfect 🙂
Awesome!! Yeah the arrowroot really helps thicken that sauce!