Let your instant pot make your Chinese takeout when you make this instant pot orange chicken.— You won’t be able to get enough of this saucy chicken piled high into beautiful rice bowls!
I hope you know, I have every intention of replacing my favorite Chinese places with this instant pot orange chicken for the time being.
If we’re stuck at home, we might as well be stuck at home with a big ‘ol loaded rice bowl, am I right??
Not only that, but SCRATCH-made orange chicken with all the fixings and minimal ingredients I’m willing to bet you can easily find at your grocery store right now.
We all know that not much can beat the orange chicken you get at Panda Express, but I am willing to lay down bets that these orange chicken bowls can and WILL hold their own.
It’s not the cubed, breaded, fried, and sauced orange chicken you’ll typically get and that’s the beauty of these bowls.
The chicken is cooked on high pressure in the instant pot until fall-apart tender and then tossed in our homemade orange sauce.
Lighter on the calories + lighter on the fat + WAY bigger on the flavor. That’s how we like things around here.
YES, these bowls are coming together in less than an hour, folks! The longest part is just waiting for the chicken to cook in the instant pot.
Because we’re looking for that fall-apart tender chicken texture you could only get from slow cooking all day OR “cheating” and pressure cookin’ it.
We’re also enhancing the orange flavor by pressure cooking it in extra orange juice for the necessary liquid you need in the instant pot.
While the chicken cooks, you’ll have just enough time to….
- make your from-scratch orange sauce right on the stove
- steam up some broccoli
- cook up some fluffy rice for your rice bowl base
If you have extra orange slices, by ALL means dice them up and throw them in the chicken when you toss the sauce in. It adds a nice little burst of juicy sweetness.
Takeout Chinese can take a backseat for awhile as far as I’m concerned when GORGEOUS + healthier rice bowls like this are within arms reach.
P.S. these bowls meal prep like a GEM so load up that fridge and you’ll be thanking yourself all week. ??
Pssssst…if you need more takeout-style dinners, I would highly recommend checking these winners out!
Instant Pot Shredded Orange Chicken Rice Bowls
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1-3/4 cups orange juice, divided
- 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup coconut sugar (or light brown sugar)
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water
- 3 cups fresh broccoli florets, steamed until fork-tender
- 3 cups hot cooked rice
- Orange wedges and sliced green onions for serving
Instructions
- Pat chicken dry and season all over with salt and pepper. Place in a 3-qt instant pot and pour 1 cup orange juice over top.
- Seal lid on instant pot and cook on high pressure 30 minutes. Let release pressure naturally 10 minutes. Remove chicken from instant pot and use two forks to shred. Keep chicken warm.
- Whisk remaining 3/4 cup orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and cornstarch-water mixture together in a large skillet. Bring to a low simmer, stirring occasionally until orange sauce is thickened. Toss chicken into sauce until evenly coated.
- Arrange broccoli, rice, and orange chicken in bowls and top with orange wedges and green onions. Serve hot and enjoy!
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