This Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken is an easy takeout-inspired dish complete with a sticky sweet sauce that’s made using pantry staples.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken breasts – you can also try making this recipe using pork chops, stir fry beef, shrimp, salmon or tofu.
- Cornstarch – potato starch or arrowroot would also help coat the chicken.
- Baking soda – leave this out if you don’t have any on hand.
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth would be the next best thing.
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Honey – monk fruit sweetener or stevia would also help sweeten the sauce.
- Garlic – fresh minced garlic or jarred minced garlic can be used.
- Green onions – leave these out altogether if you don’t have any on hand.
- Sesame seeds – black or white sesame seeds would both be good or you can leave these out.
Rice
- Rice – use any rice variety of your choice or even try making this recipe with quinoa.
- Butter – swap out for your favourite butter substitute or olive oil to make the rice nice and moist.
- Salt – to taste.
How to make honey garlic chicken in an Instant Pot
Step 1: Assemble your ingredients.
Step 2: Coat the chicken.
Toss the chicken with cornstarch and baking soda.
Step 3: Make the sauce.
Combine the soy sauce, chicken broth, honey and garlic.
Step 4: Sauté the chicken.
Sauté the chicken until lightly browned. Add the sauce and bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 5: Cook on high pressure.
Cook on high pressure for 2 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure.
Step 6: Serve and enjoy!
Serve the chicken over rice, garnishing with green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
What to serve with honey garlic chicken
I typically like serving my Instant Pot honey garlic chicken with a side of white rice, but if you’re looking for more side dish ideas, here are some options:
- Cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles for a low-carb option
- Egg noodles, rice noodles or ramen
- Steamed vegetables
- Vegetable egg rolls
- Lemon herb green beans
Frequently Asked Questions
The cornstarch in this honey garlic chicken Instant Pot recipe serves two purposes. First, it helps in the cooking process by providing a light coating that protects the meat from the intense heat of the inner pot. As a result, it allows the chicken pieces to brown easily on the outside and stay juicy inside. Secondly, cornstarch will thicken the honey garlic sauce as it cooks so you get a sauce reminiscent of Chinese takeout.
I wouldn’t recommend making this dish with frozen chicken, since the chicken needs to be sautéed first. You can let frozen chicken defrost in the fridge overnight then follow the recipe instructions as normal.
The cornstarch coating on the chicken will already make the sauce nice and thick. However, if you want the sauce to be even thicker, you can stir a cornstarch slurry into the sauce after the chicken has finished cooking.
If you want to make this honey garlic chicken gluten-free, all you need to do is swap out the soy sauce for a gluten-free alternative like coconut aminos or tamari.
If you’re looking for a honey garlic chicken thighs recipe, check out this recipe! You could also just try swapping out the chicken breasts for diced boneless skinless chicken thighs.
Storing and reheating
After cooking your Instant Pot honey garlic chicken, you can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days in glass meal prep containers. To reheat, sprinkle a little bit of water over top and then microwave for 2-3 minutes. Add some fresh green onions on and dig in!
Freezing this recipe
You can also freeze this honey garlic chicken Instant Pot recipe, but you will need to store the chicken and rice separately. The chicken can be frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator and then simmer it in a pot over medium heat until warm.
The cooked rice can be frozen in airtight containers for up to 6 months. To reheat the cooked rice, add a little bit of water so it doesn’t dry out and heat it up in the microwave until warmed through.
More Instant Pot stir fry recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into your weekly lunches.
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen.
- Freeze this recipe in glass microwave-safe bowls up to 3 months.
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts, diced
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 green onions, sliced
- Sesame seeds, for garnish
Rice
- 1 cup rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- In a large bowl, toss chicken with cornstarch and baking soda. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in Instant Pot and turn to saute mode.
- Add chicken to Instant Pot, sauteeing for 3-4 minutes until lightly browned. Add soy sauce, chicken broth, honey and garlic, bringing to a boil. Place lid on Instant Pot and make sure valve is set to seal.
- Press the pressure cook button and set to high, then cook for 2 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure then pressure cook for 2 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure on the Instant Pot by flicking the switch at the top with a spoon. Open the lid when pressure gauge has dropped and the lid opens easily.
- Serve everything over rice, then garnish with green onions and sesame seeds and enjoy! Leftovers will keep up to 5 days.
