Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe (2024)

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This Instant Pot honey garlic chicken recipe is fast, delicious, and it’s made with a handful of everyday ingredients.

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe (1)

Pretty sure this pressure cooker honey garlic chicken recipe will please the picky eaters out there. It’s sweet and warm, and I have trouble seeing anyone actually dislike this unless they don’t like sweet recipes in general.

Or garlic, I guess. Watch – now someone is going to tell me they don’t like this recipe… it’s bound to happen. 😛

You may also like my honey lemon chicken or this honey garlic soy sauce chicken.

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe (2)

I debated whether I should make this honey and garlic chicken recipe in the Instant Pot or not. I really like my Instant Pot, but I find a lot of recipes could just as easily be made on the stove. Some people like using their Instant Pot for pretty much everything, though, so that’s why I’m not questioning myself too much.

I originally thought I would only post recipes that really benefit from being cooked in an Instant Pot (like it massively speeds up the process e.g. instead of slow cooking for 10 hours you can make it in an hour), but it looks like I’m going with a variety of recipes here and we’ll see how it goes.

There’s pros and cons of Instant Pot vs. stove top, and I’m sure people could argue it until they’re blue in the face. I’ve included a few tips in the recipe card on how to do this on the stove if you don’t own an Instant Pot or you don’t want to use it.

I do know that the Instant Pot yields delicious, tender chicken.

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe (3)

How to make honey garlic sauce

There’s many ways to do this, but my version includes:

  • Honey
  • Soy sauce
  • Garlic
  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil

I added a cornstarch slurry at the end to thicken it up a bit. I love the sauté function on the Instant Pot – it’s great for reducing sauces.

Other Instant Pot chicken recipes you may like:

  • Instant Pot Chicken Tortellini Soup
  • Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
  • Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
  • Easy Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
  • Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe
  • Instant Pot Shredded Chicken (Chicken Breasts and Thighs)
  • Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe (4)

I hope you’ll give this easy Instant Pot honey chicken recipe a try!

Let me know if you’ve tried it or have any questions in the comments below.

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe (5)

5 from 4 votes

Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe

By Natasha Bull

This Instant Pot honey garlic chicken recipe is fast, delicious, and it's made with a handful of everyday ingredients.

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 12 minutes mins

Inactive time: 10 minutes mins

Total: 27 minutes mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

  • 3 chicken breasts cut into 1" pieces
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1/3 cup honey
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • Salt & pepper to taste
  • Fresh chives or scallions chopped, for garnish (optional)
  • Fresh parsley to taste for garnish (optional)

Instructions

  • Prep your chicken. Addthe honey, soy sauce, water, lemon juice, and garlic to a small bowl and whisk together.

  • If making rice for this recipe, it's good to get it started about now. I would use 2 cups uncooked rice for 4 people, or perhaps a bit less if they prefer smaller portions.

  • Press the "sauté" button on your Instant Pot. Add the olive oil and chicken and cook for 3 minutes, stirring often.

  • Pour the honey garlic mixture into your Instant Pot and give it a good stir. Close the lid, set it to "sealing" and cook the chicken on high pressure for 5 minutes. It'll take a few minutes to get up to pressure.

  • Once the countdown has finished, do a quick release of the pressure.

  • Set your Instant Pot to "sauté" again to thicken the sauce. Mix the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of cold water together in a small bowl, then add it to your Instant Pot. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce is thickened. Season with salt & pepper as needed. Serve over rice.

Notes

  • You could also cook this on the stovetop - I would do it in a large skillet. Sauté like the recipe states, then cover the pan with a lid until the chicken is cooked. Finish off by stirring in the cornstarch mixture at the end.
  • I usethis6-quart Instant Pot.
  • Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Nutrition

Calories: 327kcal, Carbohydrates: 27g, Protein: 37g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 0.02g, Cholesterol: 108mg, Sodium: 452mg, Potassium: 671mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 23g, Vitamin A: 51IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 21mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.

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Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why does my Instant Pot chicken come out rubbery? ›

Oddly enough, it can be really challenging to get the right texture when cooking boneless chicken breasts. They cook quickly in the Instant Pot, but if you don't cook them long enough they get a weird, rubber-like texture that's nearly impossible to chew, and if you cook them too long, their texture gets dry.

Does chicken get more tender the longer you pressure cook it? ›

How long should I pressure cook frozen chicken thighs? Compared to breasts, chicken thighs have more fat and different types of muscle fibers which make them less prone to overcooking. Since you don't have to worry about drying them out, longer cook times can make them more tender.

How do you keep chicken from getting tough in Instant Pot? ›

Pressure Cook: add your chicken breasts back in and top with butter. You can skip the butter, but it does add nice flavor and keeps them juicy! Cook on high pressure for 8-10 minutes, depending on the size of the chicken breast. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes then release the remaining pressure.

Is it possible to overcook chicken in Instant Pot? ›

While all cuts of chicken are fair game for the Instant Pot, thighs are the most forgiving. Because chicken breast is so lean, just a couple of extra minutes of cook time turns them from juicy to overcooked and dry.

Is woody chicken breast safe to eat? ›

The specific cause is not known but may be related to factors associated with rapid growth rates. Companies often use a three-point scale to grade the woodiness of a particular breast. Although distasteful to many, meat that exhibits woody breast is not known to be harmful to humans who consume it.

How do chefs get chicken so tender? ›

Low and slow cooking methods like braising, stewing, or smoking are most effective when trying to create tender, succulent chicken.

Does chicken need to be submerged in a pressure cooker? ›

chicken requires 18 minutes of high pressure cooking. Add 6 minutes of cooking time per additional pound. Note: You can submerge your chicken directly in the cooking liquid, especially if you want to make chicken stock. However, the steamer basket method ensures crispy skin and won't wash away the seasoning.

Do you add water when pressure cooking chicken? ›

Add the chicken to the Instant Pot: Arrange the chicken in a single, even layer in the bottom of the pressure cooker. Add the water, then sprinkle with salt.

Does pressure cooking chicken make it tough? ›

Like other cooking methods, a pressure cooker can give you either tender or tough meats, depending how you use it.

Is pressure cooked chicken healthy? ›

Pressure cooking heats chicken to high temperatures for a short period. This cooking method retains vitamins, reduces cholesterol oxidation, and produces minimal or no HAAs, PAHs, or AGEs.

Is it better to pressure cook or slow cook chicken? ›

So can a Crock-Pot cook better chicken than an Instant Pot? Well, it really depends on what you're making. The Instant Pot cooks chicken much faster than its non-pressure counterparts, but the resulting texture isn't going to be the same as what you'd get with a slow cooker or Dutch oven.

Does chicken get softer the longer you cook it? ›

Yes, chicken breast will become softer and more tender the longer it is cooked, provided it is cooked at a low enough temperature. If it is cooked at too high of a temperature, the chicken breast will become dry and tough.

Does pressure cooking make meat more tender? ›

Both slow cookers and pressure cookers do a good job of tenderizing tough meat, but each makes meat more edible in a different way.

Does cooking chicken longer make it tougher? ›

In addition, chicken breast has less fat and can become dry (chewy or rubbery) if cooked for too long.

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