Best Instant Pot Chicken Thighs with Honey Garlic Sauce

4.80 from 68 votes

Best Instant Pot Chicken Thighs with Honey Garlic Sauce

Let's make the best Instant Pot Chicken Thighs on the internet! This recipe is made with chicken thighs and the most delicious Asian-inspired honey garlic sauce you'll ever taste.

Prep 25

Cook 5

Total 30

Fat 9

Carbs 17

Protein 30

Yield

Ingredients

2 lbs. chicken thighs skin-on*
1.5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
optional: cornstarch slurry 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon warm water
1 teaspoon sesame seeds optional

Instructions

First, use a few pieces of paper towel to remove as much moisture as possible from your chicken thighs.
Next, turn on the Instant Pot's sauté feature. Add olive oil and then sear both sides of each chicken thigh for 2-3 minutes to give them a nice brown.
While the chicken thighs are sauteing, prepare the honey garlic sauce. Mix together minced garlic, honey, soy sauce, and chili garlic sauce.
Once the chicken thighs are done browning, turn off the sauté function and then pour on the honey garlic sauce. If your Instant Pot easily gets the burn notice often, feel free to use your trivet for your chicken. We have never gotten the burn notice when making this recipe, but feel free to use the trivet just in case.
Close your Instant Pot and turn the valve to seal. Turn your Instant Pot to manual > high pressure > and set the timer for 5 minutes. It will take around 10 minutes for the pressure to build before it starts counting down from 5 minutes.
When the timer goes off, quick release your Instant Pot by opening the valve.
Remove the lid and then check the internal temperature of the chicken. If they are at least 160ºF - 165ºF, then they are done and you can remove them. If they aren't done, put the lid back on and cook for 1-3 more minutes.
Option to serve immediately and pour the sauce over the chicken thighs. Or, you have the option to thicken your sauce with a cornstarch slurry. To thicken, turn on the Instant Pot's saute feature (you need the heat to ignite the thickening agent). Then, whisk together cornstarch and water until the cornstarch dissolves to create a cornstarch slurry. Pour the slurry into the sauce and whisk until the sauce thickens.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve with sesame seeds and your favorite grain and veggies.

Tips & Notes

Type of chicken thighs: We tested bone-in with skin AND boneless, skinless and they both work!
From Frozen Directions: Place frozen chicken thighs and the rest of the sauce ingredients minus the cornstarch and sesame seeds into your Instant Pot. Seal and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes with a quick release. If you plan to use this method, we recommend boneless, skinless thighs and shredding your chicken at the end. Follow directions to thicken the sauce above.
Nutrition was calculated using boneless chicken thighs and includes only the chicken.

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Nutrition Facts