Vegan Panda Express Orange Chicken with Seitan (Instant Pot)
by Greg Bellefontaine
on Jan 10, 2023 (updated Sep 9, 2025)
These crispy, sticky vegan orange “chicken” bites are everything you want: tangy, sweet, and coated in a glossy glaze that clings just right. Made with simple ingredients and a quick cook in the instant pot, they bring all the bold, nostalgic flavour. No takeout needed!
The original version might be a fan favourite, but it’s definitely not vegan-friendly thanks to the chicken. Luckily, with loads of our own recipe testing and a few simple swaps, we’ve recreated it using our go-to instant pot seitan chicken recipe. And if you know us, you know our love for seitan runs deep. We’ve turned it into everything from crispy chicken fingers to buffalo chicken pita pockets.
Why we think seitan makes the best chicken substitute
After testing more vegan chicken alternatives than we can count in our nearly 10 years of eating plant-based, we always find ourselves coming back to seitan. The texture is simply unmatched! When prepared correctly, it can perfectly satisfy your comfort food cravings. It’s not too chewy, holds up beautifully in sauces, and crisps up like a dream in the air fryer.
We’ve used it in so many of our favourite recipes over the years, like our crispy vegan teriyaki chicken and sweet and spicy Nashville chicken sandwiches, and every time, it delivers.
Equipment needed:
We use a pressure cooker to make our seitan but read below for an alternative stove-top method if you do not have a pressure cooker or Instant Pot.
I don’t have an instant pot, now what?
I don’t love that most seitan recipes take over an hour to make. We also make this pretty consistently in our house so my tried-and-true method uses an Instant Pot/pressure cooker for the quickest seitan. I personally do not have the time or patience for those intricate, lengthy recipes! My version takes a minute to stir together, and 15 minutes in the Instant Pot. Perfect, right?!
However, If you do not have an Instant Pot, I’ve personally done all the testing to make it as easy on you as possible! You can simmer your seitan in a pot of broth on the stovetop for 40 minutes. Yes, it’s that easy. The only difference is the amount of time it takes to get from your pantry onto the dinner table.
How we got the copycat orange sauce just right
Getting the sauce right took a few tries. Every time I made it, it was good, but not perfect. Tweaking the balance between sweet, tangy, and that signature zing started by frying chili flakes and garlic powder in a bit of oil. It instantly brought out that bold flavour we were after. Then you keep it simple: orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, and cornstarch did the trick. After a couple test batches (okay, maybe more than a couple), we landed on a version that honestly tastes even better than the original, knowing it came from our own kitchen.
Got leftovers?
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop with a splash of water to thin out the sauce again before serving.
I like to keep a cup or so of extra sauce so that I can pour over top the next day after reheating!
Vegan Panda Express Orange Chicken with Seitan (Instant Pot)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 10-12 nuggets
- Category: mains
- Method: instant pot
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
These crispy, sticky vegan orange “chicken” bites are everything: tangy, sweet, and coated in a glossy glaze that clings just right. Made with simple ingredients and a quick cook, they bring all the bold, nostalgic flavour. no takeout needed!
Ingredients
Seitan Chicken:
- 1 batch seitan chicken nuggets
The Orange Sauce
- 1 cup orange juice
- 3 slices of orange
- 1 1/2 tbsp white vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp sriracha (add more if you like extra spice)
- 3 tbsp brown sugar
- thickening slurry using 1 tbsp corn starch & 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp minced ginger
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp white or black sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp chopped green onion
Instructions
- Make the seitan chicken according to the recipe.
- Make the sauce: In a medium sauce pan over medium heat, add the oil, garlic powder and chili flakes. toast for approximately 1 minute before adding in the orange juice, minced ginger, vinegar, sriracha, brown sugar and soy sauce. simmer for 3-4 minutes and fully combine.
- Add the orange slices and the cornstarch mixture to thicken. Once fully combined, add the seitan chicken bites, letting them fully coat and simmer until sauce is thickened and sticking to the bites. Remove from heat and serve with green onion and white sesame seeds to garnish.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2-3 servings
Made this tonight. Tasted so great! Loved every bite. I subbed out white vinegar with apple cider vinegar and it was probably not much different! I had to try this recipe to replicate the taste of the gardein mandarin chicken but I don’t buy them anymore since I learned to make wheat meat! Thanks for sharing this recipe 🍊
I loved those ones too but we tend to make it from scratch now as well! So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
I make this recipe all the time it’s soooo good!!!
would’ve been nice to have as a small note on the ingredients/recipe list that a pressure cooker is needed for this. some of us are are in a hurry & don’t have all the time in the world to read all the paragraphs before & after the part where we get straight to the point, as we have littles & go to the ingredients list & recipe expecting to get going.
huge bummer working a double shift to run to the store for the ingredients & exited to make this for my kids & myself only to see once already making it, that suddenly releasing pressure is mentioned out of nowhere & that a pressure cooker is needed for this recipe.
tried googling an alternative solution, to no avail. so. that really sucked.
Hi there – I’m really sorry you had that experience. I totally understand how frustrating it can be to start a recipe and realize it’ll take longer than expected. While we always recommend reading through the full recipe before starting (as most food bloggers do), I do apologize that the pressure cooker requirement wasn’t made clear earlier in the post.
Greg and I are actively updating older posts to make the blog as helpful and user-friendly as possible. Part of that includes linking to our detailed seitan recipe whenever it’s called for, so readers have all the info they need—including an alternative stovetop method if a pressure cooker isn’t available (simmer for 45 minutes on stovetop). This one slipped through, but I’ve now updated the post to include the correct link and a clearer note about the cooking method. Thanks so much for pointing it out!
Regarding the comment system: unfortunately, I don’t have control over the star rating setup. All comments go through a review process and can take a couple of days to appear, depending on volume. If you ever need a quicker response, feel free to email us or send a DM on Instagram—we’re always happy to help troubleshoot.
Thanks again for your feedback!
– Liv
How many servings is in 1 batch? Not sure if I need to double to make dinner for 4 and maybe have leftovers. I’ve only made seitan once before so I’m not sure how much it’ll be
I would double it to serve 4 + leftovers 🙂
How long would I cook the seitan if I don’t have an instant pot?
Simmer for around 45 minutes 🙂
This looks so good! For the seitan, is the chickpea flour vital? Is there a good alternative? Thanks!