This Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken is a quick and easy takeout fakeout, and all the sauce ingredients can be found in your pantry!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Chicken breasts – boneless skinless chicken thighs would also work for this recipe. You could also make this recipe with turkey, pork or beef.
- Soy sauce – tamari and coconut aminos are the best substitutes for soy sauce.
- Honey – use brown sugar or agave, or leave the sweetener out altogether.
- Garlic – freshly minced garlic is best but jarred minced garlic will work in a pinch.
- Gingerroot – if you can’t find any fresh gingerroot, use a bit of ground ginger powder instead.
- Green onions – you could also garnish this dish with sesame seeds.
Rice
- White rice – feel free to serve your teriyaki chicken with brown or wild rice instead.
- Butter – use your favourite butter substitute to make the rice moist.
- Salt – to taste.
How to make teriyaki chicken in the Instant Pot
- Prep your ingredients.
- Add water and a trivet to the Instant Pot.
- Place the chicken on top.
- Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- Shred the chicken.
- Add in the seasonings, serve and enjoy!
What to serve with teriyaki chicken
I always serve this teriyaki chicken with a side of rice topped with green onions. You can serve it with any rice of your choice like white or brown rice.
To make it a complete meal, you’ll probably want vegetables to go with the protein. Ideas for side dishes for Instant Pot teriyaki chicken are:
- Broccoli
- Carrots
- Cabbage
- Bell peppers
- Water chestnuts
- Pea pods
- Green beans
- Asparagus
Just roast, sauté or steam the veggies while you’re cooking the chicken in the Instant Pot, then serve them on the side.
Frequently Asked Questions
This teriyaki chicken is super simple. It’s made with shredded chicken that’s seasoned with soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger for a delicious teriyaki flavour.
Teriyaki sauce and teriyaki marinade have the same ingredients, but the method in which they’re used is different. Teriyaki sauce is added to meat after it’s been cooked, whereas teriyaki marinade sits on the meat before it’s been cooked to soak in the flavours. For this recipe, you’re adding teriyaki sauce to the chicken after it’s already cooked in the Instant Pot.
This teriyaki chicken recipe is definitely healthy. Since you’re using a homemade sauce instead of a store-bought version, you’re avoiding a lot of the preservatives that you’d find in store-bought sauces. Plus, the chicken breasts offer a lean cut of meat. The rice and chicken have just 415 calories per serving, so it’s a great low-calorie meal option.
Storing and reheating
This teriyaki chicken will last in the fridge for up to 5 days, which makes it perfect for meal prep. To reheat, sprinkle a little water over top of the chicken and rice so it doesn’t dry out and microwave it for 1-2 minutes.
You can also make just the teriyaki sauce on its own without the chicken and store it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If you like the sauce, make a big batch and put it on everything from this chicken teriyaki to veggies and beef.
Freezing this recipe
This recipe will last in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can even freeze the chicken without the teriyaki sauce so you can season it after it’s defrosted with any seasonings of your choice. The teriyaki sauce can also be frozen for up to 2 months.
More Instant Pot chicken recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- Make sure you have the trivet that comes with your Instant Pot.
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on turning this recipe into leftovers.
- 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 Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp gingerroot, minced
- 4 green onions, sliced
Rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup white rice
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Add water and trivet to Instant Pot and place chicken breasts on top. Press the pressure cook button and select the high setting, then set to cook for 8 minutes.
- Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to preheat then the 8 minutes to pressure cook. Note: to double recipe, add 5 more minutes cook time. Meanwhile, cook rice in a rice cooker according to package directions.
- Let the pressure naturally release once chicken has finished cooking (should take 15-20 min), then open lid when safe to do so.
- Remove chicken and shred with a fork and knife. Drain water from the pot and then toss chicken with soy sauce, honey, garlic and ginger. Serve over rice and garnish with green onions.
