This Instant Pot Orange Chicken and Rice is filled with tender chicken pieces in a fragrant orange sauce paired with fluffy white rice all made in about 30 minutes!
I’m a huge fan of Orange Chicken. In fact, my whole family agrees that it’s one of our favorite weeknight dinners. I usually make my fried Orange Chicken with a pot of white rice and some broccoli on the side, but I wanted to give it a try in my instant pot… you guys, I was BLOWN AWAY!
The chicken is so tender and the fragrant sauce is sweet and sticky, but the best part is that the rice is cooked at the same time in the Instant Pot!
I started by using the sauté function of the instant pot to brown some chicken thighs. This is important for two reasons…
Why Use the Sauté Function on the Instant Pot:
- Searing the chicken before cooking will help the chicken pieces keep their shape after being pressurized.
- By partially cooking the chicken before adding the rice, it’ll allow the chicken to cook completely during the same time it takes to cook the rice.
Whisk up the sauce ingredients and then add those to the instant pot.
This is enough liquid to adequately let the pot come to pressure and perfectly season the chicken.
How To Make Instant Pot Rice:
- Make sure you rinse the rice very well! The water should run clear and not be cloudy. This will remove excess starches and result in fluffy rice.
- Use a ratio of 1:1 with white rice. (1 cup rice to 1 cup water).
- Cook the rice inside an oven safe dish on a trivet inside the instant pot.
- Do not fill the dish more than halfway with rice and water, as the rice will expand when cooking.
- This recipe will only work with white rice as brown rice takes longer to cook, which would be too long for the chicken to cook at the same time.
- All you need is 4 minutes of High pressure with 10 minutes of Natural Release.
The results are super fluffy and perfectly cooked white rice!
Once you pull the rice out, turn the Instant Pot back to the sauté function and stir in a cornstarch and water slurry. This will thicken up the sauce and make it nice and glossy to coat the chicken.
The whole meal is ready in less than 30 minutes and the clean up is a breeze. It’s really a win-win!
Instant Pot Orange Chicken and Rice
The chicken is super tender and the sauce is finger-licking good. If you wanted to kick up the heat a little, try adding a pinch of red pepper flakes and a dash of Sriracha sauce. I usually add that to mine after it’s cooked because some of my kids don’t like spicy food.
You’re going to love this all in one dinner!
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Instant Pot Orange Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp ground ginger, or 2 tsp minced ginger
For the Sauce:
- 1 1/2 tsp fresh orange zest
- 2 tbsp fresh orange juice
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup dry sherry
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp corn starch
For the Rice:
- 1 1/2 cups white rice, I use Jasmine, rinsed and drained until water runs clear
- 1 1/2 cups water
- Sliced green onions for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté function and increase to high heat. Add the olive oil and sesame oil to the inner pot to heat up. Season the chicken thighs with salt, garlic powder and ginger. Add the chicken to the inner pot once hot and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, browning on all sides. Turn the Instant Pot to the off position.
- Meanwhile whisk together the ingredients for the sauce: Orange zest, orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, dry sherry and chicken broth. Pour over the chicken and stir to coat.
- Place a trivet over the chicken in the instant pot. Combine the rinsed rice and 1 1/2 cups water in an oven safe dish (make sure it is only half way filled as the rice will expand). Place the rice filled dish on top of the trivet and close the Instant Pot lid, making sure the vent on top is in the sealed position.
- Press MANUAL and HIGH PRESSURE for 4 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes after cooking (do not release pressure immediately after cooking/do not turn off Instant Pot). Once 10 minutes is up, finish with a quick release of pressure.
- Carefully remove the rice and fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile whisk together the 2 tbsp water with 2 tbsp cornstarch and turn Instant Pot to Sauté mode again. Stir in cornstarch mixture and cook until sauce thickens (about 3 to 4 minutes). Serve chicken over rice and garnish with sliced green onions if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
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Angela Boeshans
I didn’t have luck with the rice at all. I used a long grain white rice. I know you mentioned you used Jasmine. Would this make a difference? It was not cooked, still standing in water. Any suggestions? The chicken/sauce was delicious.
Shawn
It sounds like the pressure cooker didn’t actually seal to be honest. The rice has to cook under pressure. The chicken still cooked because it was being heated by the element at the bottom of the pressure cooker, but it never fully came to pressure. This could be simply because of your seal not being on there properly. It happens to the best of us and can be very frustrating. Make sure to adjust the seal so it sit tightly around the lid. Hope you try it again, it’s so neat to open the pot and find the chicken AND rice cooked! 😉
Sue
Amazing. My 14 year old loved it. So tasty. I didnt read properly and added the cornstarch with the rest of the wet ingredients and it turned out fine.
Shawn
So glad you enjoyed it Sue!
Glory
I love it because it is easy and my family loved it because it was tasty. Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe. I did it exactly as it is my only change is that I cut down the sugar in half. The rest was the same.
Robin Morigeau
What do you think about using boneless skinless chicken breasts with this recipe?
Terri Burson
This was delicious! I made it tonight. I went ahead and added a bag of frozen broccoli florets since we like broccoli cooked soft. I added an extra 1/4 c. water, just to be on the safe side and an extra 2 minutes to the cook time. Thank you for the recipe!
B Hill
I’m new to “instant” pressure cooking. I just use my 3 qt pot since there’s only my husband and myself. The recipe book accompanying the cooker was limited and I’d like to try different cuisines. Your recipes are more in my taste. I usually halve the ingredients and adjust the time. So far, liking the results. Should readers assume your recipes are always for the 6 qt?
Shawn
I’ve made and tested all my recipes in the 8 quart pot, with exception for my ribs recipe, which I’ve also made and tested in the 6 quart pot. I’ve never played around with the mini 3 quart, so I’m not sure how to adjust the recipes for that. I would assume halving the recipe would work just fine though. Let me know what you find out! 🙂
Bonnie
So the chicken only gets 4 minutes of pressure cooking plus the cool-down time? Is that really 14 minutes of pressure cooking? Is it 4 minutes bc you cut the thighs in chunks? I am planning to leave em whole on the bone & 4 minutes doesn’t seem like enough for 8 thighs I’m cooking.
Shawn
This recipe calls for the chicken being browned on the saute function before being pressure cooked. If you wanted to cook the thighs whole you would still want to sear the chicken first then pressure cook for 5 to 6 minutes. It should cook through just fine! Enjoy!
Danise Still
I recently bought a slow cooker, but haven[‘t tried it yet. There are only husband and myself at home now (raised 9 children) so have a hard time down sizing recipes. Also husband does not like chicken or most fish Help.!?
Shawn
Hmm… You’ll want to check out my one skillet section. Those meals are sized for 4, which would give you leftovers for another night in the week!
KJ
This was easy and yummy. I have two Chinese students living with me and although the chicken was not something they would eat in China, they liked it. They said the rice was cooked perfectly – unlike the rice in their cafeteria at Hunan university. I used chicken breast since that is what I had on hand and it turned out great.
Shawn
That’s a great compliment! Thank you!
rio
this is my favorite food. very tasty and very tasty
MeCooks
Looks very tasty. Will be trying it at home.
Shawn
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!