INSTANT POT GREEK-STYLE ORANGE CHICKEN RECIPE

Welcome to the New Modern Greek cooking! This recipe for Instant Pot Greek-Style Orange Chicken takes traditional Mediterranean flavours and elevates them to create a dish that will surely become a new family favourite.

This Instant Pot Greek-Style Orange Chicken recipe isn’t considered a traditional Greek recipe, so you wouldn’t find it in a taverna in Greece. However, it would be regarded as part of modern Greek cuisine. Modern Greek cooking involves using customary local ingredients to create new recipes. This recipe includes many habitual Greek flavours, such as orange, cinnamon, nutmeg, garlic, and honey. Spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg are popular in meat dishes in Greece and add a rustic taste. They complement the acidity and sweetness of the orange juice and the savoury tones of the garlic and onion. What makes this Orange Chicken special is the addition of Asian ingredients, ginger and soy sauce, to create a recipe that will leave you wanting seconds and thirds.

I also really adore making chicken in the Instant Pot. It cooks the chicken to perfection every time so it remains tender and juicy and melts in your mouth. Very little effort can create some exceptional results.

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GREEK-STYLE ORANGE CHICKEN AND THE FAMOUS CHINESE-STYLE ORANGE CHICKEN?

Most Western people are familiar with the delicious Chinese-American Orange Chicken recipe, which has an orange-flavoured chilli sauce glaze. It has a sweet, tangy taste and sticky texture.

Greek-Style, however, is quite different. Whilst orange and chicken are still the primary ingredients, the recipe is quite different. First, this sauce has a creamy, velvety, smooth texture. The recipe makes a large portion of sauce that is perfect for pouring on sides.

Next, the taste uses the Greek tradition of combining meat with citrus tones and warming spices. A bit of honey is added for sweetness and some ginger and garlic are added for heat. The result is a mouthwatering, juicy chicken dish in an irresistible sauce.

CAN I USE STORE-BOUGHT ORANGE JUICE FOR THIS RECIPE?

Well…. technically yes you can, however, in my opinion, this recipe is 5-star when made using freshly squeezed orange juice. You may think it will taste the same, but it doesn’t. I have experimented a lot with this recipe and there is a difference. When using store-bought orange juice the taste is more acidic and strong. To balance out the flavours you will need to adjust the ingredients. I am always in favour of making recipes easier to prepare but sometimes the taste cannot be compromised so for this reason, to get the recipe that I sign my name for, I recommend freshly squeezing the oranges to get the juice right before you use it. If you only have access to store-bought orange juice then I recommend using pure orange juice instead of juice from concentrate, and slightly increase the amount of garlic, ginger, salt, and honey to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS FOR INSTANT POT GREEK-STYLE ORANGE CHICKEN RECIPE

• 4-6 chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, chopped in large cubes
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (1/4 cup at the beginning, 1/4 reserved for the slurry)
• 1/2 red onion approx 1/4 cup, finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic peeled and minced
• 2 tsp fresh ginger peeled, minced
• 1 bouillon cube, chicken or vegetable
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1/4 tsp oregano
• dash ground cinnamon
• dash ground nutmeg
• 2¼ cups freshly squeezed orange juice (2 cups for the beginning, reserve 1/4 cup for the slurry), approx 4-6 oranges
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp honey
• 1 tsp soy sauce

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT GREEK-STYLE ORANGE CHICKEN RECIPE

• Turn on the Instant Pot to Saute. When the liner is hot, add a quarter cup of the olive oil. Reserve the remaining olive oil for later.
• Add cubed chicken and let sear for two minutes to brown on one side, then flip so it sears on the other side for 2 minutes. Remove chicken from the Instant Pot and set aside on a dish. You don’t want to cook it thoroughly at this point, just brown it a bit to create some extra flavour.
• Add the onion, garlic, ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon and stir fry for one minute. This step is important to caramelize the ingredients and release their flavours.
• Add the bouillon cube, sea salt, pepper, oregano, and 2 cups of orange juice. Deglaze the bottom of the liner, scraping any browned bits. These will stay in the sauce and add flavour, but they need to be removed from the bottom (otherwise, the BURN message will appear while cooking). Turn off the Saute setting.
• Place the chicken pieces back in the Instant Pot liner. Close the lid of the Instant Pot and turn the release valve to the closed position. Set the manual pressure cook timer to 5 minutes.
• While the chicken is cooking, prepare the cornstarch slurry which is used to thicken and flavour the sauce. Add cornstarch, the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil, the remaining 1/4 cup orange juice, honey, and soy sauce in a small food processor. Gently puree the mixture to make a smooth, thick consistency.
• When the Instant Pot pressure cooking is complete, allow Natural Pressure Release to happen for 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, carefully turn the pressure release valve to allow for a Quick Pressure Release.
• Remove the lid, carefully remove the chicken pieces and place in a dish on the side, covered with aluminum foil.
• Turn off the “Keep Warm” feature (if on) on the Instant Pot and press the Saute button. Slowly and carefully pour the slurry from the food processor into the sauce in the liner and gently stir to combine. Boil for approximately 3 minutes, stirring or whisking regularly. This boiling step is necessary to thicken the sauce, which creates a wonderful creamy texture. Turn off the “Saute” setting and set back to “Keep Warm”. Add the chicken back to the Instant Pot. Replace the cover on the Instant Pot and let it sit for at least 10 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken more and for the chicken to fully absorb the flavours. The longer you let this dish sit after cooking, the more flavourful it becomes.
• Serve Instant Pot Greek-Style Orange Chicken warm in a dish, accompanied with homemade french fries or rice. Smile and enjoy!

OPTIONAL EXTRAS AND SERVING SUGGESTIONS

My family loves the Instant Pot Greek-Style Orange Chicken recipe as it’s written here. The flavours aren’t overwhelming so it’s a kid-friendly dish too. Occasionally I will add more ginger and garlic to the recipe to give it a bit more spicy kick. The flavours intensify the longer that it sits and the way that it tastes when it is initially finished cooking, compared to after letting it sit for an hour, versus eating it the next day, are quite different.

You can use either chicken breast, chicken thigh, or a combination of both. This recipe can be doubled in terms of the amount of chicken as it makes a generous amount of sauce. The cooking time remains the same regardless of the portion size.

We eat this recipe as an entree, served with either rice, any grain of your choice, or homemade french fries on the side. Rice and french fries are delicious when smothered with extra orange sauce. Also, serve with some crusty bread to clean up any remaining sauce on your plate.

Instant Pot Greek-Style Orange Chicken can play a starring role for an impressive Greek-themed dinner. Serve it along with french fries, tzatziki, authentic Greek salad, and grilled pita, and people will be praising you forever.

ALLERGY INFORMATION FOR INSTANT POT ORANGE CHICKEN

Our Orange Chicken is:

• Dairy-free
• Egg-free
• Nut-free
• Peanut-free
• Wheat-free
• Sesame-free
• Fish-free
• Crustacean-free
• Celery-free
• Mustard-free

Always check food labels to ensure the ingredients comply with dietary needs. Some bouillon contains dairy and wheat. This can be substituted for 1 teaspoon of soup salt.

STORAGE INFORMATION

Store leftover Instant Pot Greek-Style Orange Chicken in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

You can also store it in an airtight, freezer-proof container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Allow to dethaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven or microwave.

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