Bold and tasty Instant Pot Honey Teriyaki Chicken made effortlessly in your pressure cooker with just a handful of pantry ingredients. This is a must-make family-favorite weeknight meal to please even the pickiest eaters!
I’m in love I’m in love and I don’t care who knows it!
If you can name that movie I’ll be your friend forever. But honestly I am in love and I’m not ashamed of it. I’m in love with my Instant Pot. I held off getting one for over a year, not sure if it was worth the money and my time to figure out a new cooking device. I finally gave in and I only wish I’d gotten my hands on one sooner!
I still have a place in my heart for my slow cooker, but the Instant Pot pressure cooker is my new obsession and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
Can I use chicken breasts / chicken thighs?
Yes! To all the above. You can use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs in this recipe, whichever you prefer. For large pieces of chicken, over 1 1/2 inches thick, be sure to pound them to a lesser thickness to ensure even cooking. Both will yield super juicy and tender, flavorful shredded honey teriyaki chicken.
Can I adapt this recipe for a slow cooker / crockpot?
Yes! To make this honey teriyaki chicken recipe in your slow cooker instead of a pressure cooker, place the chicken and sauce in the slow cooker, cover, and set to cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 6 hours. Remove chicken from slow cooker, shred with two forks, and transfer sauce from slow cooker to a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil over high heat and whisk in the corn starch slurry (corn starch + water) until thickened. Toss chicken with sauce and serve.
The sweet and savory honey teriyaki sauce on this chicken is absolutely to die for yummy and makes for the BEST and tastiest honey teriyaki chicken. Cooking the chicken in an Instant Pot makes the chicken so fall-apart-tender and perfect for serving over your favorite fried or steamed rice.
My favorite tip for amping up this recipe is adding more crushed red pepper flakes – it adds a little extra kick of heat without over powering the sweet and savory tones of the dish. This week I made a full batch of this chicken for just my husband and I and we’ve been eating leftovers all week, it reheats so well! Such a winner on so many levels, even your picky eaters will beg you to fix this chicken again and again!
Instant Pot Honey Teriyaki Chicken
Bold and flavorful Instant Pot Honey Teriyaki Chicken made effortlessly in your pressure cooker with just a handful of pantry ingredients. This is a must-make family-favorite weeknight meal to please even the pickiest eaters!
-
4
boneless skinless chicken breasts (or 6 chicken thighs)
see note 1 -
1 1/3
cup
soy sauce
I use low sodium -
1/2
cup
water -
2/3
cup
honey -
2
teaspoons
minced garlic -
1/2
cup
rice vinegar -
1/2
teaspoon
ground ginger -
1/4-1/2
teaspoon
crushed red pepper flakes
use 1/2 teaspoon for a more noticeable touch of heat -
3
tablespoons
corn starch + 3 tablespoons cold water -
2
teaspoons
sesame seeds - diced green onions, for topping
- steamed white rice or fried rice, for serving
Place chicken in pressure cooker. Whisk together soy sauce, water, honey, garlic, rice vinegar, ground ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes. Pour over chicken.
Place lid on pressure cooker, turn vent to seal. Press “pressure cook” and set timer to 35 minutes for frozen chicken, 30 minutes for thawed. When pressure cooker “beeps” to signal end of cooking time, allow a natural release (aka don’t do anything) until the float valve sinks.
Remove lid, transfer chicken to a bowl and shred with two forks. Use a slotted spoon to remove any pieces of fat in the pressure cooker leftover from the chicken Set pressure cooker to “soup” setting. Once liquid comes to a boil, stir together corn starch and water and whisk into the sauce until thickened. Stir in sesame seeds.
Turn off pressure cooker, transfer shredded chicken back to the pressure cooker and stir to coat in the sauce. Garnish with chopped green onions and serve over steamed or fried rice.
- If using very thick pieces of frozen chicken (thicker than 1 1/2 inches) add 10 minutes to cooking time. If you are using very thick pieces of thawed chicken, simply pound chicken to 1 – 1 1/2 inches thickness before proceeding with recipe as written.
