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One of the best Instant Pot recipes with chicken thighs in a sweet and savory honey sesame sauce. This juicy and moist chicken will be an instant hit!
Instant Pot Recipes With Chicken
Instant Pot is best for making chicken. The pressure cook time is usually very short, depending on the part of chicken used.
If you have a killer sauce recipe, dinner is guaranteed to be a success. Just like these tender, juicy, moist and soft Instant Pot chicken thighs swimming in the mouthwatering honey sesame sauce.
Want to try more Instant Pot recipes? Try my Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken recipe!
Honey Sesame Sauce
One of my most popular Instant Pot recipes is Honey Garlic Chicken. This Honey Sesame Chicken recipe calls for similar and simple ingredients:
- Honey
- Toasted sesame oil
- Soy sauce
- Apple cider vinegar
- Chili garlic sauce
- Chicken broth
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
The flavor is savory, sweet, with a tint of tartness and heat. This Instant Pot chicken is now my #1 favorite dinner recipe.
Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
For the chicken, I used skinless and boneless chicken thighs and they are perfectly cooked in 8 minutes in the Instant Pot. You can also use bone-in chicken thighs.
The active prep time is only 5 minutes, so dinner is ready for the entire family in practically less than 20 minutes!
Serve the chicken over steamed rice, just like the picture above and you have the most amazing Asian chicken dinner ever!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you sure can. Just pressure cook chicken breasts for 10 minutes. The instructions and methods are exactly the same. If you use frozen chicken breasts, please increase the pressure cooking time to 12 minutes.
This Instant Pot chicken recipe is only 392 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Honey Sesame Chicken
This dish is best served with rice or simple pasta. For a healthy meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
I hope you enjoy this post as much as I do. If you try my recipe, please leave a comment and consider giving it a 5-star rating. For more easy and delicious recipes, explore my Recipe Index, and stay updated by subscribing to my newsletter and following me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram for new updates.
Other Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
- Ginger Soy Chicken (Instant Pot)
- Instant Pot Creamy Garlic Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs. boneless and skinless chicken thighs
- salt
- ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoon oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon toasted white sesame
- 1 tablespoon scallion, chopped
Honey Sesame Sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 2 1/2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha , or chili garlic sauce Rooster brand, or most to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Wash and rinse the chicken thighs with cold water, then pat them dry with paper towels. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix all the ingredients for the Sauce together, stirring until well combined. Ensure that the honey and cornstarch are completely dissolved. Set aside.
- Turn on the Sauté mode on your Instant Pot. Once the pot is fully heated (to prevent the chicken from sticking), add the cooking oil. Pan-sear the chicken thighs until they turn slightly brown. If they stick too much, you can use a non-stick skillet for pan-searing or skip this step.
- Add the garlic and sauté for a minute. Pour in the sauce and top with white sesame seeds. Cover the pot, select Manual, and set it to High Pressure for 8 minutes.
- When it beeps, turn to Quick Release. Once the valve drops, carefully remove the cover, add the chopped scallions, and serve immediately. Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode to reduce the sauce for about 2 minutes, or until it slightly thickens.
- If the sauce is lighter in color than shown in the pictures, you might consider adding some dark soy sauce to achieve a deeper color. Different soy sauces have varying colors; some are lighter, while others are darker. If you use a lighter soy sauce, the sauce will appear lighter, but the taste should remain about the same.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for the yummy recipe! Made it last night. I didn’t get the sauce to thicken as much as I’d like but still tasted amazing. Used chicken breasts. Yum?
Awesome!
Wondering how the sauce came out. Mine was very much liquid/ watery. Any suggestions to make the sauce thicker?
The sauce will thicken if you use Saute Mode to reduce it for 2 minutes.
This was really tasty! I did use chicken breast, so think it would best be done on the stovetop (chicken was a bit tough in the IP), but loved the sauce (found the Black Soy Sauce at an Asian Market, and would suggest only this for the best color). Will definitely make this again.
Hi Tara, thanks for trying this recipe.
Made this with boneless skinless chicken breasts in an 8qt Instant Pot. Increased all the sauce liquids by a half and should have doubled the corn starch. I served it with rice. Just amazing.
Hi Abby, thanks for trying this recipe. You can use the saute mode to reduce the sauce. :)
I have read that using Quick Release for recipes that are not mostly water will result in a big mess. Do you have any recommendations on how to do this? Should I cover it with paper towel when I open the valve, to capture the splatter?
What if you don’t have a Pressure Cooker can a person use a crock pot?
Yes, you can. Please check the Notes section in the recipe card.
Hello,
Wanting to try this recipe out and was wondering if I coulda substitute the honey with maple syrup as that’s all I’ve currently got in my pantry. And if so, same amount? Thank you ?
Yes. :)
The flavour was amazing! I used bone-in, skin-on thighs. My chicken stuck to my pot during the sauté. Next time, I’ll brown them in a frying pan first. No issues otherwise. The sauce was a nice deep colour. I let it sauté for a couple of minutes and added the chicken back to the pot. Definitely one to make again.
Thanks Patricia for trying my honey sesame chicken in the Instant Pot.
Do you need to adjust the time if you do bone in, skin on thighs??
You may increase it for a couple of minutes.
If I were to double this recipe would I need to add more cooking time?
No, should be OK.
I love love love this honey sesame chicken recipe. I make it on a weekly basis. My picky eaters at home always ask for more.
Hi Bec, thanks so much for your comment. I love it. Please try more Instant Pot recipes on my site, they are all delicious and easy to make: https://rasamalaysia.com/recipes/instant-pot-recipes/