Do you want to know one of my most favorite dinner options in the Instant Pot, ever? Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken. This meal is amazing in so many ways! When I hit up a Chinese restaurant this is one of my go-to meals. It’s so satisfying and tasty! You won’t believe how yummy it is in the Instant Pot. Let’s give it a try and make it together.
Instant Pot Sweet & Sour Chicken
If you’re ready for a little bit of sweet and a little bit of sour, then this Instant Pot meal is for you! With just a few ingredients you can recreate something that you can get at a restaurant. It sounds like a win-win situation for me. I love eating this with some yummy rice, it just completes the meal.
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Ingredients Needed For Instant Pot Sweet And Sour Chicken
- 1 lb chicken, cut into small 1″ strips
- 1 cup corn starch
- 2 eggs, large room temp
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 Red and green pepper, diced
- 8 oz sweet and sour sauce (Stir fry sauce)
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups water, for rice
- Green onions to garnish
Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce Versus Sweet and Sour Stir Fry Sauce
Since sharing this post… it has come to my attention that there are two types of Sweet and Sour sauce. For this recipe you need to use Sweet and Sour stir fry sauce not dipping sauce.
Dipping sauce is too thick, this would need to be diluted with water which would make the recipe more bland and less tasty. Using a jar of stir fry sweet and sour sauce will work much better as the consistency is just right for pressure cooking without the need to add extra water.
Adding extra water could result in soggy chicken which is tasteless.
How To Make Sweet And Sour Chicken In The Instant Pot
1. Turn instant pot on to saute- let it come to full heat before adding any food.
2. Add cornstarch, flour, and eggs into 3 small bowls.
3. Whisk eggs thoroughly. Dip the chicken in cornstarch, then into the eggs, and then into the flour.
4. Set to the side.
5. Add your oil to instant pot once it is hot.
6. Add dredged chicken, in a single layer in the Instant pot.
7. Brown the chicken on each side about 5 minutes.
8. It should be a golden brown color. If needed be sure to deglaze the pot with a little water. Add the peppers, and sweet and sour stir fry sauce and then toss to combine.
9. Close and seal the instant pot. Set on high for 3 minutes.
10. Release the valve once the timer goes off.
11. Remove the chicken and set to the side.
12. Clean the insert and dry.
13. Place the insert back in the Instant Pot.
14. Add rice and 2 cups of water to the Instant Pot.
15. Add the lid on top of rice.
16. Close and seal the instant pot.
17. Set on high for 3 minutes, let naturally release for 15 minutes.
18. Garnish green onions.
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Here are some more Easy Instant Pot recipes:
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- Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken
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Instant Pot Sweet & Sour Chicken
Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe will definitely satisfy your taste buds.
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken, cut into small 1″ strips
- 1 cup corn starch
- 2 eggs, large room temp
- 1 cup flour
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil
- 1 Red and green pepper, diced
- 8 oz sweet and sour sauce (Stir fry sauce)
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups water, for rice
- Green onions to garnish
Instructions
Turn instant pot on to sauté- let it come to full heat before adding any food.
Add cornstarch, flour, and eggs into 3 small bowls. Whisk eggs thoroughly. Dip the chicken in cornstarch, then into the eggs, and then into the flour. Then set to the side.
Add your oil to instant pot once it is hot. Add dredged chicken, in a single layer in the Instant pot. Brown the chicken on each side about 5 minutes. It should be a golden brown color. If needed be sure to deglaze the pot with a little water.
Add the peppers, and sweet and sour stir fry sauce and then toss to combine. Close and seal the instant pot. Set on high for 3 minutes.
Release the valve once the timer goes off. Remove the chicken and set to the side.
Clean the insert and dry. Place the insert back in the Instant Pot.
Add rice and 2 cups of water to the Instant Pot. Add the lid on top of rice. Close and seal the instant pot. Set on high for 3 minutes, let naturally release for 15 minutes. Garnish green onions.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1559Total Fat: 50gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 34gCholesterol: 399mgSodium: 673mgCarbohydrates: 199gFiber: 4gSugar: 24gProtein: 72g
About Angela Milnes
Angela Milnes is a Qualified Early Years Teacher who has specialised in teaching. She has a wealth of experience teaching young children and adults. Angela has also taught cooking classes and loves to share both family recipes and easy instant pot recipes here on The Instant Pot Table. Follow her on Pinterest!
Can you cook the rice and chicken together?
I will definitely be trying this recipe. That is my go to for Chinese food. Thank you for the recipe. Pam
you’re welcome.
looks delicious, deff, would love to try this recipe
2 cups of water for the sweet and sour recipe and 2 cups of water for the rice recipe. 🙂
This recipe was a disaster and a colossal waste of time! Why bread then fry the chicken to then put it in 2 cups of water that turns it into a wet soggy mess? I triple checked the recipe, had other people look at it, and yes, it does say to put the crispy chicken into the water. So disappointed!
Oh im sorry you had such a bad experience. This is one of our most popular recipes. You only add the water to the rice, not the chicken, the chicken is mixed with sweet and sour sauce.
Can any of your recipes be made in a 3qt Instant Pot? I like your recipes but unsure if I can use my pot with your recipes.
Thanks
It can be done in the 3 qrt yes.
I had high hopes for this sweet and sour chicken recipe, but it was bit of a disaster. After cooking the breaded chicken pieces using the saute function, there were some bits stuck to the bottom. I found it odd that the recipe didn’t instruct you to deglaze the pot, but I did it anyway with some water. Then it said to toss the sweet and sour sauce with the chicken and peppers and then pressure cook. I’m looking at my VH Sweet and Sour sauce in a bottle thinking it’s way too thick to pressure cook without getting the burn notice, so I diluted it with some water and hoped for the best. Still got the burn notice. Chicken was cooked through at that point, so I ate it anyway. So BLAND! That’s when I realized that there is no added salt in this recipe. Eventually I was able to eat it, but it needed a lot of help. Surprising, since the other recipes I’ve made from this website have been very good. Please let me know (politely!) if I messed up somehow.
Hi Lisa, thanks for your comment. I’ve looked up the VH Sweet and Sour Sauce (sold in Canada) and this type of sauce is labelled Sweet and Sour dipping sauce… which I believe is placed in a dish as a condiment. The Sweet and Sour sauce used in this recipe would be a stir fry sauce rather than a dipping sauce and would be less thick, hence it would make sense for you to have needed to add water to the dipping sauce you used. As the sauce would have been diluted it would make sense that it may come out quite bland. When we use a stir fry sauce the flavour is not diluted and so there is generally no need to add extra salt. I hope this is helpful.