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This paleo General Tso’s Chicken is made in the Instant Pot in under 30 minutes! Way better than takeout and just as fast, too, it’s gluten-free, grain free, and free of refined sugar and soy. Spicy and sweet, it’s great served over cauliflower rice or with your favorite stir fried veggies!
Be still my heart…the Instant Pot has done it again!
How did I ever live without this thing? The options feel endless now that I can make “elaborate” meals that once intimidated me in 30 minutes or less.
This paleo version of general tso’s chicken is a big milestone for me.
To start, it’s my first time using the Instant Pot to sear “breaded” chicken (or dredged chicken) and it did a fabulous job. No mess or sticking to the bottom at all – score!
Second, it got me over my “fear” of general tso’s chicken. Trust me – you have no idea what I’m about to say.
You see, when I was little, like possibly 2 or 3 years old little, my parents were obsessed with General Tso’s Chicken and I was obsessed with Superman.
I watched all the Superman movies, but, I was particularly obsessed with Superman II, which happens to feature the villain “general Zod”.
Does anyone see where this is going yet? Like, to a 3 year old, how many “generals” even exist in the world?
I naturally assumed that general Tso was general Zod, and, naturally, I was very, very afraid of this chicken my parents insisted on eating at least once per week.
Perhaps the spice level instilled fear in me as well – this I cannot remember. All I know is that the bad guy from Superman was making chicken at our local Chinese place and my parents flipping LOVED it. First real existential crisis of my life.
Fast forward a good long time (to adulthood, really) and I still never ate general tso’s chicken. The association apparently ran really deep. It took me 30 years to actually try the dang chicken, I’m not kidding.
The thing is, once you try it, how can you NOT love it?! Sweet, sticky, spicy perfection. Deepest darkest questions from childhood, answered.
Well, maybe not entirely (though that would be nice) but at least it left me with a funny anecdote to go with my blog post for this favorite takeout fake-out recipe 🙂
Back to the actual chicken recipe! I decided after making my sweet and sour chicken that general tso’s needed to be next on my list!
Just a heads up, I didn’t make this one Whole30 compliant. I wanted to go for a really sticky sauce as close to the original as possible, that I didn’t think dates could accomplish (however, if you want to test it out, go for it!)
Instead, I used coconut sugar and molasses to sweeten, although you can sub honey for the molasses if you happen to have it on hand, or you’re not a fan of molasses.
The steps are similar to my sweet and sour chicken. For this recipe, you will also dredge the chicken in egg and arrowroot starch prior to searing it.
You can also use tapioca starch in place of arrowroot, and I believe potato starch would work as well if you prefer.
The sauce ingredients are straightforward and similar to other Asian inspired sauces I’ve made.
Coconut aminos, rice vinegar, a bit of sesame oil, crushed red pepper, garlic, ginger. Also, a little arrowroot mixed with broth or water at the end to thicken the sauce.
As written, the recipe has the perfect spicy/sweet balance in my opinion, but you can always adjust the spice level to suit your preference by adjusting the amount of crushed red pepper.
I served mine over fried cauliflower rice, but you can serve it over sautéed greens and it’s delicious that way too!
You can’t go wrong with some stir fried veggies on the side and extra toasted sesame seeds and scallions on top either.
I’m so excited for you to try this one – I know you’re going to love it – let’s get started!
General Tso’s Chicken in the Instant Pot {Paleo}
General Tso’s Chicken in the Instant Pot {Paleo}
This paleo general tso’s chicken is made in the Instant Pot in under 30 minutes! Way better than takeout and just as fast, too, it’s gluten-free, grain free, and free of refined sugar and soy. Spicy and sweet, it’s great served over cauliflower rice or with your favorite stir fried veggies!
Prep Time: 10 minutesCook Time: 20 minutesTotal Time: 30 minutesCourse:Dinner, LunchCuisine:PaleoServings: 5 
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Ingredients
Sauce:
1/4cup + 2 Tbspcoconut aminos2tbspblackstrap molasses or raw honey2Tbspcoconut sugar1/4cuprice vinegaror apple cider vinegar2Tbsptomato paste2tspcrushed red peppermore or less to suit spice preference1tspsesame oil
Chicken
1.5lbschicken thighs or breastscut into 2” pieces1/3cuparrowroot starchor tapioca1eggwhisked2Tbspcoconut oil4clovesgarlicminced1.5inchesgingerminced1tspsesame oil1Tbsptoasted sesame seeds1/2cupchicken bone brothThinly sliced scallions for garnishAdditional sesame seeds for garnish2 tsp arrowroot + 2 Tbsp broth to thicken sauce after chicken cooks
Instructions
Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.Coat chicken pieces in whisked egg lightly, then toss in arrowroot starch, shaking off excess.
Turn on “sauté” wait until Instant Pot reads “hot”, then add coconut oil.
Add dredged chicken pieces in 2 batches to sear on both sides – about 1 minute per side, set chicken aside on a plate.
If any of the chicken/batter stuck, clean out the pot to remove. Now, add sesame oil and sauté sesame seeds, garlic and ginger in sesame oil.
Add chicken broth and sauce mixture and whisk to combine, continue to cook on saute for 1 minute until simmering, then press cancel.Add browned chicken back to pot, give the sauce a whisk, and coat chicken with sauce. Cover and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.Quick release the pressure, open instant pot and with tongs, carefully remove just the chicken to a plate.Whisk together the 2 tsp arrowroot with 2 tbsp broth and add to sauce. Return pot to “saute” and cook, stirring, until sauce is thickened to preference – about 3 minutes for me.Return chicken back to sauce, turn off instant pot and add sliced scallions and extra sesame seeds., let everything sit to cool down.Serve over cauliflower rice or with your favorite veggies. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 336kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 31gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 119mgSodium: 657mgPotassium: 731mgSugar: 10gVitamin A: 425IUVitamin C: 3.8mgCalcium: 41mgIron: 1.4mg
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What I Used To Make My General Tso’s Chicken:
Want More Takeout Inspired Paleo Recipes? Try One of These!
Pork Lo Mein With Sweet Potato Noodles {Whole30}
Breakfast Egg Roll in a Bowl {Whole30}
Chicken and Bacon Fried Cauliflower Rice {Whole30}
Instant Pot Sweet and Sour Chicken {Whole30}
Chicken Stir Fry with Veggies and Garlic Sauce {Whole30}
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry {Whole30}
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