Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken

This homemade Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken is better than takeout! It’s so quick and easy to make, requires simple ingredients, cheaper, definitely healthier than takeout, and the flavors are right on point!

General Tso’s chicken is one of America’s favorite Chinese takeout dishes (American-Chinese!), and apparently, it’s one of the most ordered dishes on Grubhub and other food services.

And as much as I love getting takeout, I always prefer cooking my own food at home (when possible). So here’s my better than takeout General Tso’s chicken recipe made in the Instant Pot! This recipe is so quick, easy, and can be easily converted into a dump and start recipe if you like.

The Instant Pot is such a game-changer! It makes cooking so easy, convenient, and will actually help you save money as you won’t get takeouts as often if you own this magic pot!

I use it all the time to make my favorite takeout dinners such as beef and broccoli, shrimp and broccoli, sesame chicken, firecracker chicken, hibachi steak, chicken, and shrimp, fried rice, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, chicken shawarma, and this general tso’s chicken! You guys can tell now why I love my Instant Pot so much, right? 😁

How to Make Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken

You can either do a dump and start recipe, and it will work just fine. Or, to make it closer to what you’d get if you order takeout, then you’ll have to saute the chicken, and saute the aromatics for extra flavor (more on this below). I recommend that you do so if you have the time.

The Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken.

• Chicken – I normally use chicken thighs as dark meat is what’s preferred for Chinese dishes, but you can definitely use chicken breast if you prefer. Just dice into 1-inch pieces.
• General Tso’s Sauce – This is so easy! All you need is soy sauce, hoisin sauce, rice vinegar (or regular vinegar), sesame oil, sugar, and water. Here’s my recipe for the sauce with the exact measurements.
• Aromatics – ginger, garlic, and chili flakes. If you don’t have fresh ginger, you can substitute with ground ginger (1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger).
• Cornstarch mixed with water to make the cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce after pressure cooking.

You will also need an Instant Pot (obviously!), this is the one that I currently use and LOVE!

The Directions

1. If you’re going for the dump and start method, then add all of the ingredients to the pot (except for the cornstarch) and skip to step 5. If you decide to do the saute steps, then in a bowl, mix the chicken with cornstarch until it’s well coated.
2. On the Instant Pot press on SAUTE (on low) and heat the oil. Add the chicken, and brown it until lightly browned. Remove the chicken from the pot onto a plate and set aside. Work in batches.
3. Deglaze the pot by adding ¼ cup of water, and with a wooden spoon or a heat resistant spatula scrape off any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. I recommend discarding the liquid and the chicken cornstarch bits that were stuck to the pot to get a smooth sauce.
4. On the SAUTE setting, cook the garlic, ginger, and chili flakes for 30 seconds. Then add 1 cup of the General Tso’s Sauce, put the chicken back in and give everything a mix.
5. Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL setting and set the cooking time for 4 minutes at high pressure. The Instant Pot will take around 4 minutes to come to pressure and start cooking. When the cooking program ends, quickly release the steam and carefully remove the lid.

How to Thicken the Sauce

Immediately after removing the lid, add the cornstarch mixed with water (just mix 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water – add more if needed). Whisk until the sauce is thickened (it thickens very quickly).

If the sauce is no longer hot, just press the SAUTE button so it simmers gently as you thicken it (not boiling).

If you can’t do cornstarch, substitute with arrowroot powder.

Serve over rice, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and chopped green onion.

Serving Ideas

Serve general tso’s chicken over steamed white rice. I love making rice in the Instant Pot, and this is the method that I use for jasmine and basmati rice. Perfect rice every time!

You can also serve this over noodles, or cauliflower rice.

Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken is healthier than the regular stovetop version, as no deep frying is involved here. This means that you will cut down on the calories when you make this version, and it will still taste as good!