Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

These are the best spicy teriyaki chicken thighs in Instant Pot I’ve ever made in my pressure cooker! Moist chicken with homemade teriyaki sauce you and your kids will love. Healthy dinner loaded with lots of flavor and made in less than 15 minutes!

You know every once and a while you come up with something you can actually pat yourself on the back for? Well these thighs in the Instant Pot is one of those. I made Instant Pot teriyaki chicken a while back using bottled teriyaki sauce.

This time I wanted to see if I could come up with a sauce of my own that had some spice to it and they came out so amazing! You can use your Ninja Foodi or other brand too if you like.

Chicken is a staple in our house and I probably cook it 3-4 times a week in some form. So, I like to have a few great recipes to choose from so things don’t get too redundant. Why do I love chicken thighs vs. other parts?

Instant Pot bone in chicken thighs are super cheap and have a ton of flavor compared to breasts. Thighs are so much more tender than chicken breasts as well.

Of course this is my opinion so of course you will have your own preference but typically when I try a new recipe I like to use chicken thighs even if they aren’t the traditional cut used.

You are going to want to start off with the right machine. We are using a 6 quart Instant Pot or pressure cooker and I HIGHLY suggest you use a non stick pot to use for this and other recipes too.

Ingredient Notes

And we love us some bone-in Chicken thighs (skin on, though I’ve used skin on too and that is just fine, up to you). I typically choose this type because I don’t care about the skin and with the bone is way cheaper than the other. I do the same with our baked teriyaki chicken thighs.

Can you use boneless skinless chicken thighs?

Yes, you would likely only need 12 minutes vs. 14 but if you used the same timing they would just become more fall-apart tender so no worries. They are thinner so they require a bit less time.

You are going to want some good extra virgin Olive oil which will allow you to saute and cook the outsides a bit first to brown and keep in the moisture as much as possible. I love me some diced onions too.

You are going to want some Hoisin sauce which is sort of like soy but thicker and has a touch of sweetness. Whisk that together with brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic and cornstarch will allow it to thicken a bit too. How to make the heat you ask? Add Sriracha or diced jalapenos.

You need some soy sauce and chicken broth to thin out the sauce. You could use aminos for soy a gluten free option.

Garlic, minced from fresh or bottled is a great flavor to add and typically found in most Asian meals.

Brown sugar, light, will sweeten the sauce. Followers have said that the Splenda sugar free option works just as well.

Cornstarch is used to thicken the sauce, arrowroot flour is a good gluten free option that will do the same thing.

Can you add rice?

Want to make this a complete one pot meal with some white rice in the same pot cooked together perfectly? Follow our Instant Pot teriyaki chicken and rice meal and the flavors will really explode. In that case I would suggest using boneless because you want meat to be cubed into bite size pieces. OR you can serve these over a bed of Ninja Foodi rice (cooked separate).

How Long to Cook Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Thighs in Instant Pot

First set pot to saute and add olive oil or a bit of sesame oil. Then once it is hot add your thighs inside so you can brown the outsides, the inside meat will not be fully cooked yet. This will take about 4 minutes total. Then add sauce ingredients, close lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 12 minutes. That is it!

How do you thicken the sauce?

You will make your homemade teriyaki sauce with 1 tbsp of corn starch which will make it thicker as it cooks but if you feel like it needs more when done remove your meat. In a dish whisk in 1 more tbsp with a bit of water until smooth. Set pot to saute and whisk this in, stirring, heating, until thicker.

How can you fix chicken that is too spicy?

If you make these, take a bite and think that it is too spicy for you first make a note to yourself to add less Sriracha next time you make it. At the moment though you can tone down the heat a bit with a drizzle of bottled teriyaki sauce which will add some sweetness. Another option is to drizzle on some honey or chicken broth to tone it down.

Can you make this ahead of time?

You could. I mean ideally meat is best served immediately but if you kept it warm in a covered pan with very low heat under it for a large get together let’s say you could make an hour or so beforehand so it is prepped.

Tips for Success

After you saute your meat, remove chicken so you can deglaze the pot with a bit of your broth. Make sure you get all browned bits off the bottom to avoid burn message. Having a non stick pot is very helpful for this too, that pot is not shown above as I bought it later and it’s amazing

Side dishes

Mashed potatoes are simple and very inexpensive to make. Or whip up some of our lightly breaded and crispy air fryer fried green beans.

More Easy Chicken Recipes you’ll love

Looking for more easy chicken recipes to enjoy for dinner? We love Instant Pot Asian chicken with a homemade sauce too. You will love our Instant Pot crack chicken casserole and Instant Pot Korean chicken recipes too.

Instant Pot sesame chicken has similar flavor using breasts. Healthy Instant Pot orange chicken recipe is as popular as our Pressure cooker chicken and rice

If you love using thighs regularly, you should try teriyaki chicken drumsticks in the oven, so good! Or air fryer chicken thighs as well

Then try our spicy honey Instant Pot chicken or air fryer teriyaki chicken. The latter is great for little hands because it’s cut into bite size pieces initially.