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Instant Pot Chicken with Honey Garlic Sauce

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Instant Pot Chicken with Honey Garlic Sauce - moist, tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs with mouthwatering, savory and sweet sauce. This chicken recipe is so easy and delicious!

Honey Garlic Chicken - moist, tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs in savory and sweet honey garlic sauce and made in an Instant Pot, so delicious | rasamalaysia.com

Instant Pot recipes with chicken and honey garlic sauce in a white serving dish.

Instant Pot Chicken Recipes

I love chicken and all kinds of chicken recipes. Chicken thigh is my favorite part of chicken; it has tender and juicy meat, with some fat and the perfect texture for cooking in an Instant Pot.

I made the chicken thighs with Honey Garlic Sauce as Honey Garlic Chicken is an easy and delicious recipe. The combination of honey, garlic and soy sauce always guarantees mouthwatering results, especially with chicken.

Chicken thigh recipes with honey garlic sauce in Instant Pot.

Instant Pot is an amazing kitchen appliance as it pressure cooks the chicken to tender, juicy, moist perfection, and the meat just fall off the bones. Watch the video here and learn how to make this recipe.

Close up photo of delicious chicken thighs recipes in Instant Pot.

Can You Brown Chicken in Instant Pot?

Yes, Instant Pot is perfect for browning meat such as chicken. To pan-fry and brown chicken meat, turn on the Saute mode. You can brown the chicken thigh until the skin turns brown on both sides.

Cook’s Tips on How to Cook Chicken in Instant Pot

  • To brown chicken or meat in an Instant Pot, make sure the pot is nicely greased. Add at least 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and make sure that it coats the entire surface of the pot.
  • Turn on the Saute mode and heat up the pot. Make sure it’s fully heated and the cooking oil becomes more liquidy before adding the chicken.
  • If you have skin-on chicken, for example: chicken thighs or chicken breasts, always brown and cook the chicken with the skin side down first. This will prevent the chicken from sticking to the pot.
  • Brown, pan-fry and saute the chicken uninterrupted, for about 3 minutes on each side before flipping over. This will avoid the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

ip chicken with sweet honey garlic sauce ready to serve.

Can You Cook Frozen Chicken in an Instant Pot?

Yes, you can cook frozen chicken right out of freezer in an Instant Pot. Just pressure cook for an extra 5-10 minutes.

Honey Garlic Chicken is one of the best Instant Pot recipes, so easy and delicious.

What Dishes to Serve with this Recipe?

This meal is best served with rice or pasta. For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

This Recipe Goes Well with:

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    Honey Garlic Chicken (Instant Pot) Recipe

    Honey Garlic Chicken - moist, tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs in savory and sweet honey garlic sauce and made in an Instant Pot, so delicious. 

    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Instant Pot
    Keyword Honey Garlic Chicken
    Prep Time
    Cook Time
    Total Time
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 268 kcal
    Author

    Ingredients

    Ingredients:

    • salt
    • ground black pepper
    • 1 tablespoon cooking oil
    • 1 1/2 lbs chicken thighs (4 chicken thighs)
    • 4 cloves garlic, minced
    • chopped parsley, (optional)

    Sauce:

    • 3 tablespoons honey
    • 1 teaspoon sugar or brown sugar
    • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
    • 3 tablespoons water or chicken broth, preferred
    • 3 dashes cayenne pepper
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    Instructions

    1. Wash and rinse the chicken thighs with cold water. Pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Set aside. Mix all the ingredients in the Sauce together, stir to mix well. Make sure the honey and sugar are completely dissolved. Set aside.
    2. Turn on the Saute mode on your Instant Pot. As soon as the pot is heated, add 1/2 tablespoon of the cooking oil. Pan sear the chicken thighs (skin side down first) until both sides turn nicely brown. Add the remaining cooking oil and saute the garlic a little bit. Pour in the sauce and cover the lid. Cover the pot and select Manual and set to High pressure for 10 minutes.
    3. When it beeps, turn to Quick Release. When the valve drops, remove the lid carefully, add the chopped parsley and serve immediately.

    Recipe Notes

    I used a 6-quart Instant Pot. The Sauce in the recipe equals to 8 tablespoons of liquid content, which is 1/2 cup, the min amount of liquid for Instant Pot. If you don't have an Instant Pot, you can make this honey garlic chicken in a slow cooker, or on your stove top. If you use a slow cooker, make sure not to overcook it. Use high heat and cook for 3 hours. For stove top, just pan-fry the chicken and then add in the Sauce. Simmer on low heat and cook until the chicken meat is tender.

    Nutrition Facts
    Honey Garlic Chicken (Instant Pot) Recipe
    Amount Per Serving (4 people)
    Calories 268 Calories from Fat 288
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 32g49%
    Saturated Fat 8g50%
    Cholesterol 167mg56%
    Sodium 676mg29%
    Potassium 404mg12%
    Carbohydrates 16g5%
    Fiber 1g4%
    Sugar 14g16%
    Protein 29g58%
    Vitamin A 445IU9%
    Vitamin C 2.3mg3%
    Calcium 19mg2%
    Iron 1.5mg8%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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    136 COMMENTS... read them below or add one


    1. These look absolutely delicious! You have amazing food photography too :] As much as I know my girl’s will love these, I know I will too!

      Reply


    2. This was so easy to make. I followed the recipe as it is written, the only changes I made was after pan searing the chicken I removed it from the pan while letting the garlic sauté with the oil. Once that was ready for the sauce I added the sauce and put the trivet in and then added the chicken back into the pan so the chicken wouldn’t stick to the pan during cooking. Everything was very moist and the sauce was a nice balance of sweet and spicy with that hint of cayenne in there. My whole family love it, including my 6 year old twins. I paired it with white rice and steamed vegetables with a fresh side of mandarin oranges and pineapple. We will definitely make this again!

      Reply


    3. Love the flavour on this recipe. Though I made it the second time with skinless chicken & it tasted much better. I didnt bother saute’ing the chicken either. So its great if you need a 2min prep dinner. The sauce is yum over rice.

      Reply


    4. I made this recipe with boneless, skinless chicken breast and doubled the sauce. Served it over mashed potatoes with a side of green beans. So good! Despite the name, it’s not sweet. .

      Reply


    7. Just made this recipe for dinner and it’s the most delicious Instant Pot chicken I have made. Going to make this over and over again!

      Reply

    10. Thanks for the recipe! I’m relatively new to the IP world; can you tell me if I use high pressure and the “More” setting? As opposed to the “Less” or “Normal” settings?

      Reply

    11. I made this with 5 skinless chicken breasts and doubled the sauce. Cooked on high for 10 minutes. The flavor was great, snd the breasts were very 00teber. I’m chopped up 2 of the breasts to use in pancit. I am now thickening the sauce to pour over the other 3 breasts. 2 dinners with one recipe. Thank you.

      Reply

    13. This looks amazing! I am having 12 people over so may need to do this in two batches. If I make both in the IP and then put in the oven covered to keep warm, what temp do you suggest and for how long? I am making several dishes so really need some make-ahead ones. Thanks!!

      Reply

    14. Super nervous about using my 8Qt Instant Pot for the first time. Saw this recipe on FB and had all the ingredients on hand so decided to go for it. I doubled the sauce (nervous about using the right amount of liquid in the 8 QT) and only made 4 small thighs. I did have to saute the sauce for quite a while to get it to a good consistency to serve over the chicken. It was a major hit with my husband who wanted to know why I didnt make “more” and with my picky 8yo who never tries anything new but asked if I was going to eat all my chicken after she finished eating hers. Thank you for an easy and great tasting recipe – it helped this instant pot rookie take the plunge and get a win under my belt!

      Reply

    15. Hello! I am new to IP. I got the 8QT IP for Christmas. I just made this last night and I have to say that it was a WINNER! The only thing that got confusing was on the recipe card some of the buttons you name are different on my IP. So that made it a little confusing.
      I was also wondering if I could cook the chicken on the stove first with the garlic, then transfer it all to the IP? It was a little hard to turn the chicken in the IP (at least for me, I’m short so the height of the counter and the IP made it hard.)
      Also can I use frozen chicken? If so how much longer should I cook for?
      Last thing! I followed the recipe and I didn’t notice until later that your recipe was for a 6Qt IP. When I make this next should I double the sauce ingredients?

      Reply

      • Hi Nikki, thanks for trying my recipe. Yes, I have a 6 quart and I am not sure what are the difference between mine and your 8 quart. Yes, you can pan-sear the chicken first on stove top and the garlic before transferring to the IP for pressure cooking. You can double the sauce. You an also use frozen chicken and add the cooking time maybe by 4 minutes. :)

        Reply

    17. We tried this tonight. Our first time using our IP. Very tasty and easy. I have the 6 QT 7 in 1, instant Pot and I found the 10 minute cook time a little too long. I will try 8 minutes instead of 10. We found the chicken a little overdone.

      Reply

    21. Hi, thank for the recipe. Could you please clrify if the measurements are in US or imperial? For example US table spoon or imperial table spoon
      (I’m from Australia)

      Thank you

      Reply

    23. Made this for supper tonight with chicken breast ( doubled sauce as suggested ). It was amazing and definitely will be making many more times :) than you so much for the fast easy and delicious recipe :)

      Reply

    27. This recipe is outstanding. I’ve already made it a few times. Here’s a potentially stupid question, but I’m new to pressure cooking, so please forgive me. If I want to double the recipe to serve more people, how do I accommodate more chicken in the IP? 1.5 lbs of thighs basically covers the bottom of the pan. Should I just stack the additional chicken on top? Put them on a rack? Double the sauce? Additional cooking time? Thanks!

      Reply

    28. I have an Insta Pot 6 qt IP Lux, and the safety tips specifically say to never use less than 18 oz. of liquid when pressure cooking. How is everyone making this with 4 oz. of liquid?

      Reply

      • If you look it up on Google, there are different claims about the minimum liquid. One article said that Instant Pot said 1 cup, then their technical person revised down to 1/2 cup as we are not cooking soups all the time and for this chicken, you don’t want it to be too watery. Then someone said that Instant revised it to 1 cup again for all models. I have made this many times and with no problem. It pressurize well and the chicken is great. You can double the sauce and then reduce it down with saute.

        Reply

    29. Made this today, but used boneless chicken breasts, doubled the sauce (except for the garlic and cayenne) and added baby carrots. I also thickened the sauce with a tablespoon of corn starch and water. Served over white rice. It was delish. Will definitely make this again soon. Thanks for sharing.

      Reply

    30. This was EXCELLENT!! We had my sister over for dinner the other night. She does not have a pressure cooker, so I had everything ready and measured out for when she got here. So she and I basically put the meal together and it was so D.E.L.I.S.H.!!! She was amazed about the pressure cooker and the tasty recipe. I also used my rice cooker for a side of rice. And took the advise of another comment here, and made baked small red potatoes tossed in olive oil and salt/pepper. I was at an Asian grocery store and purchased fresh made egg rolls and mung bean coconut cake. The 3 of us agree that this recipe is definitely a keeper. Thank you for sharing.

      Reply

    33. I’m new to Instant Pot cooking and am looking forward to making this recipe. I would like to add broccoli to the dish; when would be the best time to do this?

      Reply

    34. If I use a mixture of chicken thights and legs and use more like 10 pieces total, how long do I need to cook in the instant pot for?

      Reply

    38. I made this tonight and the flavor was amazing! My only issue, and it always seems to happen with all my instant pot meals, is that my sauce didn’t really thicken? How do I get it thicker?

      Reply

      • After the chicken is cooked remove it from the IP, then turn the IP on to the saute setting and let the sauce simmer/boil for a few minutes. Much of the liquid will evaporate and you’ll be left with a delicious, more concentrated sauce or glaze.

        Reply

    39. This was my first IP meal and it was delicious. Even my 9 year old said it was AH-MAZING. High compliments indeed! I added some cornstarch at the end to thicken the sauce and served with mashed potatoes. So good!

      Reply

    40. The sauce was awesome, it was my first instant pot meal and I made the carrots recommended from Kalyn’s website. Next time I won’t bother with chicken with bone and skin, just use skinless, the skin was a little rubbery. Awesome flavor! Will make it again.

      Reply

    41. These look delicious but my picky eater won’t eat thighs. Ho long would the cook time be with boneless chicken breasts?

      Reply

    42. I made this in my Instant Pot and the sauce is very good. However, I used skinless thighs and did add oil to the pot to saute. They stuck like crazy even when I left them for a bit before turning. Once it cooked, it came loose and was good. but didn’t look like your pics!

      Reply

      • Hi Jennifer, I am sorry to hear that. I think your pot wasn’t hot enough when you pan-fry and yes the skinless tend to stick a little bit. I had the skin chicken thighs and the fat from the skin helped so it didn’t stick. In the future, if you want, you can pan-fry your chicken on a skillet first (stove top) and transfer over. But anyway, as long as it tastes good, your food doesn’t have to look like my pictures! :)

        Reply

    45. Made this last night and served it with steamed greens. I thickened the sauce a little with some corn flour. Nice and easy and the thighs were cooked perfectly! Thank you.

      Reply

    50. Made this the other night, maybe 4 days ago…making it again now! This is SO GOOD, if you are reading this comment make it NOW!!!! So good!!!!! Even my husband (leery of chicken thighs) was asking, is there any more of that chicken? HA! It’s so good and, easy, hello!!?!?! Make it!!!

      Reply

    51. Hi there………..I wanted to triple this recipe and the biggest container I had to do so was an electric skillet. chicken browned beautifully but now wondering at what temp I should cook it and for how long. I cannot find the recipe booklet that came along with the skillet. :o( Will keep looking in case you can’t get back in time. Thanks so much! Sounds wonderful!

      Reply

    52. Can I use a whole chicken for this recipe in the unwrap it? Have a whole chicken & would like to cook it in the unwrap it.

      Reply

    53. Made this last night DELICIOUS – but I switched the parsley to cilantro because it seemed like a better fit for this. It was, imo.

      I also added some Shichimi Togarashi (Japanese hot pepper) which gave it a little zing. This one’s a keeper!

      Reply

    57. Hi
      Can you double this recipe.
      I’m always afraid it won’t turn out but 4 thighs are not enough for my family

      Reply

    59. This Honey Garlic Chicken looks so delicious! I don’t have an Insta Pot, but I will make it in the oven! Thanks for sharing the recipe, Rasa!

      Reply

    60. Can you make this recipe with a regular electric pressure cooker that is not an instant Pot? i Got that before the instant pot was available

      Reply

      • Hi Susan, my friend taught me how to use Instant Pot with the Manual setting to High and set the time. I had no problem with this recipe and the pictures are exactly how they came out. If you look at the picture inside the IP, it has a lot of sauce as the chicken releases liquid into the sauce after cooking. If you have doubt, you might use the PIP method. Otherwise please add 3 tablespoons water/chicken broth to the Sauce and you will have 1/2 cup liquid.

        Reply

      • I see pictures and what goes into it , but I don’t see where it says how much of each ingredient I will need. As a 40 year professional cook I do need the how much of each ingredient.

        Reply

        • Tap the wide red bar that says GET RECIPE. I was loose with the amounts of honey, soy sauce, garlic and fats I used and it turned out great, remember that the Instant Pot needs a minimum of 1/2 cup of liquid in the bottom – easily accomplish with this tecipe.

          Reply

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