Best healthy Instant Pot orange chicken recipe ever! Just 4 ingredients needed to make this easy orange chicken recipe in just 4 minutes, right in your pressure cooker
Oh I have to say that this may be our favorite 4 minute Instant Pot recipe so far! I have made orange chicken in the crockpot for years but now with this favorite 7 in 1 appliance of mine I had to try it in there to see how much faster it would be and it came out amazing!! As with most of my recipes I start with the way I’ve made it for quite some time and tinker with it until it comes out great in my Instant Pot, you can make it in your pressure cooker too this way. Using just 4 ingredients you too can make this Instant Pot orange chicken recipe in just about 7 minutes (the rice takes longer than this does…lol). Here’s how you make it, it’s also listed on our page with our other Instant Pot recipes. (originally published 2/17)
I know…looks fantastic right??!!
- I will say it is even better than the orange chicken in the crockpot I’ve made for years.
Add a bit of chives or green onion to the top of your Instant Pot orange chicken recipe and serve it over rice!
We call this “sweet chicken” in our house and my kids all love it!
This is the Instant Pot I have and may I say it has made my life so much easier, and has allowed us to sit and eat a great meal as a family more often because it cooks everything so quickly!
This is all you need to make this easy Instant Pot orange chicken recipe and a video showing how we made it
- Chicken breasts
- Barbecue sauce (I love this one – honey style is not best in pressure cookers as there is a lot of sugar content and can cause browning)
- Soy sauce
- Orange marmelade
- Onion
- Cornstarch (if you want to thicken sauce)
- Rice – this is how to make the perfect Instant Pot white rice
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
If you really like a strong orange flavor you can add 1/2 c. of marmelade, but we just like a hint so 1/3 c. is just perfect.
If you have a larger household just double this recipe and it works just fine too.
Find many more Instant Pot recipes on our site using the tab at the top of our main page. There are a few more Instant Pot chicken recipes below too!
- Instant Pot chicken parmesan casserole
- Our pressure cooker apricot chicken is similar to this but with an apricot twist
- Pressure cooker chicken and rice is one of the most popular recipes on The Typical Mom
- Easy Instant Pot butter chicken
Here’s the printable recipe and video showing you how we make our healthy Instant Pot orange chicken recipe:
Instant Pot Orange Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts boneless, skinless, bite size pieces , can double recipe if you want 4 breasts
- 2 c barbecue sauce do not use honey style as there is too much sugar and may display burn message
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp cornstarch at end to thicken sauce when chicken is done
- 1/4 c orange marmelade
- 1/2 onion cut into large pieces - optional
- chives or green onion to garnish
- 1/4 c water
Instructions
- Cube your chicken and add to your IP along with your bbq sauce, water, onion if you want, and soy sauce.
- Stir so chicken pieces are coated well.
- Turn your Instant Pot on pressure, high, for 4 minutes. Put lid on and close steam valve.
- When it beeps do a quick release and carefully lift the lid.
- Turn IP to saute.
- Put cornstarch in small bowl (if you want it a bit thicker) and add some hot bbq sauce from pot in with it and whisk together until smooth. Add back into pot and stir.
- Add marmelade, stir and allow mixture to bubble for about 2 minutes, stir.
- Turn off IP and serve over rice.
Video
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Melissa says
This was really good but was your chicken frozen? This was my very first ip attempt and I love it but my chicken is a little overdone.
Mary says
Made this tonight for dinner. I, too, wish it wasn’t quite so barbecue-y, but I did not have too much sauce, when served over rice. I did spoon some mandarin oranges over the top when serving. Delicious!
The Typical Mom says
Personal preference for us all, try using more marmelade next time and less sauce or a bit of water to thin the bbq sauce down.
Mandy says
This would be healthier with home made BBQ sauce. Most commercial BBQ sauces have so much sugar they ought to be displayed in the candy aisle. Please don’t give dreck like that to your kids.
Lisa Maquera says
Made this for lunch today was very delicious thanks so much did a great job in my instant pot.
Karla says
Does this say 2 cups of bbq sauce ? It was very bbq taste and not orange
The Typical Mom says
Yes. Everyone has different tastes so if you want more orange add more marmelade.
L. Madden says
I was a little apprehensive about this recipe because when I’ve used bbq sauce my instant pot always shows “burn” on the display. Sure enough I’m making it now and it is displaying “burn”. Any helpful hints?
The Typical Mom says
Make sure you aren’t using honey style sauce as stated above it has a lot of sugar and sometimes triggers the burn.
Erica says
Is there a way to freeze this for a meal prep?
Julie says
This was delicious!!!!! I didn’t have enough bbq sauce but it was still great!!
Lisa says
This recipe was absolutely delicious. Thank goodness for this website, I am 3 for 3 with delicious recipes with my new instant pot.
The Typical Mom says
I am so glad I can help!!
The Typical Mom says
So glad I could help!
Karen says
Made this tonight, exactly as written, and it was perfect! Thanks!
The Typical Mom says
Oh I am so glad!
Suzanne says
This is great & fast. What other veggies would you recommend that we could add?
I like to add veggies when ever possible.
The Typical Mom says
You could add broccoli but can’t cook all together or that would be too long, that only takes about a minute for that veggie.
Brian says
What would you do if you only had frozen chicken thighs?
Mary says
They thaw pretty fast in the microwave, but otherwise, you’re supposed to be able to use frozen food in the pot. It would take longer to bring up to pressure, and probably would have to cook longer than 4 minutes, since it’s bone-in chicken.
megunprocessed says
Such a flavorful recipe! Love easy simple ingredients.
Ingrid Yates says
Which BBQ sauce do you recommend? Thank you!
Lisa says
I used Honey BBQ sauce from Sweet Baby Ray’s and it was DELICIOUS
The Typical Mom says
Oh good!!
The Typical Mom says
OH good!
Rhonda says
Does it work well without any extra liquid in it? I looks delicious?
Amanda Grahovec says
Thank you for sharing your recipes! They are a life saver for this mom of 4! I love that they are quick, simple and actually something my children will eat.
The Typical Mom says
You are welcome, I’m glad it helps!