Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs Recipe
Jan 15, 2018, Updated May 01, 2021
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Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs are sweet, savory, tender and juicy chicken thighs prepared with the most amazing honey garlic sauce and cooked in an Instant Pot. Dinner, from start to finish, will be ready in 30 minutes!
My #1 recipe for Honey Garlic Chicken revisited AND updated with a new twist because, an Instant Pot is all the rage these days.
I know, it’s so hard to choose; crock pot honey garlic chicken or instant pot honey garlic chicken. I mean, one takes hours of cooking, and the other makes it all in minutes. But the instant pot is possibly my new favorite way to cook. I do really love my crock pot, but this pressure cooker/instant pot thingamajig is a game-changer. Or are you more into boneless skinless chicken thigh recipes?
INSTANT POT HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
This easy recipe for honey garlic chicken thighs is packed with so much flavor and requires very little effort. With just a handful of ingredients, this dish continues to be one of my go-to’s because it’s low maintenance and it’s fall-off-the-bone amazing.
Clearly, I’m not talking about just any old chicken here. I’m referring to that special kind of garlic chicken that finds the perfect balance between sweet and savory, tender and juicy, similar to how the best bourbon chicken recipe masters that blend. Also, it can be made in about 20 minutes and that just makes my heart sing for joy! What’s more is that I always make extra so that I have at least some leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch.
Gosh… There is not one single thing I don’t love about this type of food.
HOW TO MAKE HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN IN THE INSTANT POT
Prepare the sauce – it will have you licking your fingers clean.
Honey Garlic Sauce
- honey
- garlic
- ketchup
- soy sauce
- oregano
- and parsley
No big deal – just a few ingredients you probably have sitting around. But once you put them all together? GIRRRL!! You’ll see. There’s nah.thing better.
Once you’ve prepared the sauce, you can move onto browning the chicken thighs right inside your instant pot. One pot = one meal, and less dishes to wash.
I chose to use bone-in chicken thighs thus could only fit 4 at a time inside my instant pot, but if you go with boneless thighs, you can definitely get 6 to 8 thighs in there at once.
And once them thighs are done browning-up, an introduction to their cooking liquid will follow:
If chicken breasts are all you’ve got, not to worry! Just use the same method, but cook on poultry setting for 10 minutes.
Whether you want to make this in the crock pot, as we have done up until now, or in the Instant Pot, trust me when I say that no matter what route you take, in the end you’ll just be super glad that you prepared it.
I also have a seafood option with the same wonderful flavors – Honey Garlic Sauce Salmon.
The flavors in this dish are so simple, yet when combined, they are SO GOOD and out-of-this-world fantastic. It’s one of those recipes that you make once, and then you make twice, and then suddenly you can’t wait to make it again.
WANT MORE DELICIOUS CHICKEN RECIPES?
- Spicy, Sweet and Sticky Chicken Thighs
- Crock Pot Citrus Soy Chicken Drumsticks
- Crock Pot Honey Lemon Chicken
ENJOY!
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WATCH HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
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Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup honey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce, (see notes for alternatives)
- 1/2 cup no salt ketchup
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
- 4 to 6 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
- salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
- sliced green onions, for garnish
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl combine honey, minced garlic, soy sauce, ketchup, oregano and parsley; mix until well combined and set aside.
- Heat the Instant Pot in sauté mode. Add sesame oil to the pot.Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper; arrange in the instant pot and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
- Add the prepared honey garlic sauce to the pot; cover and lock the lid.
- Cook in poultry mode for 20 minutes.Turn off the pot and allow it to release the pressure, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to a serving plate and spoon the sauce over the chicken. Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and green onions. Serve.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
If I double the chicken do I need to double the whole recipe?
This is the first time I ever wrote a review for a recipe. This was awesome, this is one of the few recipes that I will cook again 🙂
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Hi Katrina, great recipe. Just made it. One note though. In the “story” part of the recipe it says to cook 10 minutes, however, in the recipe portion it says to cook for 20. Just wanted to let you know. Thanks for the yummy recipe.
Thank YOU! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This was delicious, I’m so happy I found this recipe. Like others, the sauce came out thin, so I also added corn starch to thicken it. I don’t think my husband and I said more than 10 words to each other during our meal.
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I love this recipe. So I’ve only ever used the Crock-Pot recipe so I didn’t brown the thighs before cooking. It came out awesome anyway! Can’t thank you enough for sharing your recipes.
That’s great! I’m very happy you loved it! Thank you for chiming in! 🙂
Can this be made in a 8 quart instant pot? I am wondering if there is enough liquid to make it in the bigger pot. Thanks!
We make it all the time in an 8 quart pot. Plenty of liquid. Sometimes when everybody is home we multiple everything in the recipe by 1.5.
Ok. Thank you!
This was so good! I don’t normally use thighs but had some from my sister who was moving and didn’t want to take them. Only change I made was to add some chili garlic sauce for a little heat. When it was done cooking, I took the chicken out, put some cornstarch in the sauce and used the saute function for a couple of minutes to help it thicken up. Served it over rice with broccoli. This recipe is definitely a keeper!
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Wow ! This dish is always so delicious and pretty fun to make. Tonight I had to substitute chicken breast and was so sad with how overcooked they were in the instant pot. Hopefully the chicken breast I had was freezer burned because I like mixing up chicken thighs and breast occasionally! If anyone else has attempted this with chicken breast and succeeded I’d love to hear the method :D.
Hi Noelle!! I just made this recipe using chicken breast and it was amazing! I set the instant pot in the pressure cook mode for 10 min..! 😊
I’m confused by the directions and comments. Do the thighs cook for 10 or 20 minutes?
I think the confusion in the comments is with bone-in thighs and boneless thighs. A lot of people think it’s the same cook time, but meat on bone takes longer to cook. So if you are using bone-in thighs, you want to pressure cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the pot and allow it to release the pressure which will take another 5 minutes.
Only cook your chicken breasts between 6-10 minutes ( I did 6 but I cut them in half) natural release for 10 minutes… my chicken is so soft you can cut with a fork easily ..
Absolutely fantastic! !
Thank YOU! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
It came out so liquidy. Doesn’t look like yours. What did I do wrong.followed direction exactly
Mine was also liquidy, but I added about a tablespoon of cornstarch and switched the setting on the instantpot to saute. I let it boil, stirring constantly until it thickened.
——— DELICIOUS!! ———
Substituted ketchup for BBQ sauce
(sweet baby rays, honey barbecue)
& parsley for CILANTRO.
I added Jalapeño juice (2 Tbsp)
and the following dried spices:
• Oregano ~ 1 Tablespoon
• Ginger ~ 1 Tbsp.
• Basil ~ 1 teaspoon
• Cumin ~ 1/2 tsp.
• Paprika ~ 1/2 tsp.
• Cayenne ~ 1/2 tsp.
• Black Pepper (freshly ground)
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
How long for boneless skinless thighs?
About 1 to 2 minutes less.
OMG!! This recipe is Amazing!! The only draw back is that only 4 thighs fit 😂!! This will be on our table monthly, Thank you
That’s great! I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Amazing recipe! I made it exactly as directed the first time, but then I made it a second time with 2 T of cornstarch. It made the sauce a little bit thicker. Absolutely perfect!
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
Made this for my roommate who is a self-proclaimed food critic. When he said (with his mouth half full), “It’s delicious!” I nearly fainted! Thank you!! Have forwarded to my sisters and HIS sister as well❤️
Hi,
I would like to make this tonight for dinner. However, my chicken thighs are boneless. Should I adjust the cooking time? Thanks!
Hi!
Yes, definitely adjust the cooking time. Normally, for boneless thighs, you want to pressure cook on high for 8 minutes.
Hi Katerina, in looking for the cooking time for boneless thighs, here you say 8 minutes total but in a later comment, you say 2 minutes less than the original 20 minutes? Can you please clarify this?
Chicken thighs are quite forgiving, so if you add a couple more minutes to the cooking time, it will not dry them out. To make things easier, most Instant Pot recipes will instruct to cook bone-in AND boneless thighs at around the same cooking time. If worried about overcooking boneless thighs, then I suggest to cook couple minutes less.
Oh my! I’m just reading your additions! Oh yummy! Next time I’m following your suggestions !
Thank you
Hi! I want to make this tonight, however my pressure cooker does not have a poultry button. How would I go about that??
Can you use frozen chicken with this recipe?
Yes you can!
Loved this recipe. After trying it takes like a great Chinese Restaurant takeout dish.
What do you think about cutting the chicken in bite seized pieces and adding cashews or peanuts at the en?
Do you think cutting the chicken in pieces will effect anything time wise?
Wow, this is a spectacular recipe and very simple! I did add some spices to the sauce, like garlic salt, onion granules, and Italian seasoning. I also didn’t realize I had taken out 8 thighs instead of 4. Mine were skin on although I don’t eat the skin…cook with them on just for flavor. After sauteing, I placed the metal rack that comes with the Instant Pot upside down to lift them up a bit and turned them sideways so they all fit nicely in the bottom. Drizzled them with sauce and they came out so tender! Everyone loved it. Next time I will skim the grease off and thicken the sauce although it was delicious as is. A great recipe and a definite keeper…quick, simple and delicious!
Thank you so much! I am very glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Do the thighs have to be thawed out or will the recipe be the same if the thoughts are frozen?
You can go ahead with the frozen thighs; cooking time stays the same.
Hello:
Thank you for this recipe.
I have a Duo but no “poultry mode”. Is it the same as Pressure Cook?
Thanks
Hi!
Yes, Pressure Cook works the same.
I’ve made this several times now. I follow the recipe exactly. It’s sooooooooo good. I really don’t enjoy cooking and this is simple and delicious. Family loves it also. Thank you for sharing.
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much! 🙂
Hi! How would you adjust if using frozen thighs? No sear and increase time?
Indeed, as a rule of thumb suggest increase cooking time by a half more.
Wow! My very first instant pot recipe. Took it out of the box and made this with little effort. I could never make chicken this tender on my own and I cook quite a bit! I added a few dashes of Lea & Perrins Worsteshire sauce and some red pepper flakes to the sauce. The chicken almost fell apart. Great recipe!
I am very glad you enjoyed it!! Thank YOU! 🙂
i’m a 20 year old girl who can not cook to save her life (i’m getting better but we’ve all been here ok, don’t judge me haha) anyways i just made this and it was a) the easiest thing i’ve ever done, and b) the tastiest dish i’ve made yet. definitely going to be making this again and again!
I am very glad you enjoyed it! Thank YOU! 🙂
I have eight pieces and they are boneless thighs – should I adjust cooking time?
I followed the recipe as written and found that the sauce tasted more like ketchup and oregano than honey and garlic. It was disappointing. If I try this again, I think I would opt for less ketchup and no oregano.