Honey Garlic Chicken in the Instant Pot is a fast and delicious Asian-inspired dinner! Juicy shredded chicken is coated in a sticky soy, honey, and garlic sauce for one fantastic weeknight meal.
Every few months, I get into a weeknight dinner rut. I try to plan theme nights to break up the monotony of dinner at home, and this Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken is a favorite for Asian-inspired nights! The sweet and savory sauce is perfect with the shredded chicken and can be served over rice, couscous, riced cauliflower, soba or rice noodles, or simply on its own.
Ingredients
This is a basic shopping list for the best Instant Pot honey garlic chicken recipe, but the full list of ingredients is in the recipe card below so be sure to keep scrolling down to check it out!
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Honey
- Soy sauce
- Onion
- Ketchup
- Canola oil
- Garlic
- Red pepper flakes — optional but highly recommended for more depth of flavor
- Cornstarch
- Sesame seeds
- Green onions
How to Make Honey Garlic Chicken
Here are the steps for how to make this Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken. The full instruction list is in the recipe card below, so be sure to check it out!
STEP 1: First, put the chicken in the Instant Pot. Then, mix the honey, soy sauce, onions, ketchup, oil, garlic, and pepper flakes together and pour the Asian-inspired sauce it over the chicken.
STEP 2: Next, seal the pressure cooker and cook the honey garlic chicken for 20 minutes. When the timer goes off, open the steam valve to quickly release the pressure. While it releases, mix your cornstarch and water together.
STEP 3: Now, move the chicken to a mixing bowl and shred it with 2 forks or a hand mixer. To thicken the sauce, pour the cornstarch mixture in the Instant Pot and mix it into the sauce. Set the pot to Sauté mode and simmer for a few minutes until it clings to the back of a spoon.
STEP 4: Finally, add the shredded chicken to the thickened honey ginger sauce and serve! Garnish your serving platter with sesame seeds and sliced scallions for one flavorful dinner!
How Long Should You Cook Chicken in the Instant Pot?
Just like the stovetop, every cut of chicken has a different cook time. How do you know how long to cook chicken in an Instant Pot?
The buttons on your Instant Pot can be overwhelming, but just look at them as presets! Manual gives you complete freedom of low or high pressure for any amount of time. But all the other options are meant for just what they say!
I use the Meat setting in this honey garlic chicken recipe. It automatically uses the high pressure option. If you don’t set a timer, it will cook for 35 minutes, which is more ideal for things like a whole chicken or ribs — meat on a bone you want to just fall right off.
For these boneless chicken breasts, though, I set the timer for 20 minutes. That gives me perfectly juicy but completely cooked chicken every time. The cook time also helps to infuse the chicken with the flavors of the sauce in this recipe.
If your Instant Pot doesn’t have a Meat setting, Manual works for this recipe too!
No matter the recipe, there’s no easier way to make shredded chicken.
More Amazing Asian-Inspired Chicken Recipes
Chicken is such a cheap protein, and it’s easy to make into an amazing weeknight dinner!
I LOVE this Chipotle Honey Glazed Chicken! It’s sweet and spicy – most definitely spicy – but the rest of the flavors really come through, and the chipotles don’t overpower it at all.
You can make this Honey Soy Garlic Chicken Stir-Fry with almost any veggies in your fridge or freezer. Make your own take-out treat!
If you want the best Orange Chicken, make it yourself. Seriously, no Chinese food take-out meal compares to this recipe! It’s super simple to make and totally rewarding when you take that first sweet and citrusy bite.
And if you want to skip the frying with your orange chicken, my lightened up Orange Chicken is the way to go.
What to Serve with Honey Garlic Chicken
You can always serve this honey garlic chicken recipe with white or brown rice, but what’s the fun in that? If you want rice, make fried rice!
I love ordering sautéed broccolini in Chinese restaurants, and this recipe is so simple but just as tasty. I love using these leftovers for meal prep! If you can’t find or don’t like broccolini, roasted broccoli will be perfect! That’s what I made the first time I made this chicken.
There’s no simpler healthy side dish than roasted carrots. These sweet veggies are tossed in oil and seasoned with just salt and pepper. They’re delish!
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Honey garlic chicken is a popular home-cooked Americanized Asian dish that's just bursting with flavor. It's simple to make in the Instant Pot or another pressure cooker in under 45 minutes for an easy weeknight meal. Serve it over rice, couscous, riced cauliflower, soba or rice noodles, or on its own with some roasted broccoli on the side.
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- Salt and pepper
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 2 tbsp ketchup
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional - doesn't really add heat, just adds more flavor)
- 4 tsp cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup water
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
- Slice scallions or green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- Place the chicken in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic and pepper flakes. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Close the Instant Pot lid on and turn the valve to "Sealing".
- Cook on the Meat setting for 20 minutes and then carefully quick release the pressure. Once the pot has fully depressurized and there is no more steam releasing from the Venting valve, open the lid.
- Transfer the chicken from pot to a medium bowl; leave the sauce in the pot. Shred the chicken with two forks.
- Stir up the cornstarch slurry mixture and pour it into the Instant Pot, stirring to combine with the sauce. Push the Saute button and cook sauce for about 5 minutes or until thickened.
- Return the chicken to the pot and toss with sauce before serving over hot rice. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions, if using.
Notes
adapted from Six Sisters' Stuff
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