These are some of the most incredible Instant Pot spicy teriyaki chicken thighs I’ve ever made in my pressure cooker! Moist chicken with a thick sweet and spicy homemade teriyaki sauce you and your kids will love. Healthy dinner loaded with lots of flavor and made in less than 15 minutes!
Ok so I have created a lot of new Instant Pot recipes here on The Typical Mom since I got my favorite 7 in 1 pressure cooker appliance but these Instant Pot spicy teriyaki chicken thighs came out SO amazing I am still talking about them! 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. (originally published 5/17, affiliate links present)
- I made Instant Pot teriyaki chicken a while back using bottled teriyaki sauce but 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!
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?
- They are super cheap
- Chicken thighs have a ton of flavor compared to breasts
- Thighs are so much more tender than chicken breasts
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.
- I did this with our Instant Pot crack chicken casserole and Instant Pot Korean chicken recipe too.
- Most recipes call for breasts but I will tell you it’s so much better using thighs….and super cheap too.
Ok…..that’s my 2 cents on that……
This is what you will need to make Instant Pot spicy teriyaki chicken thighs:
- Instant Pot or pressure cooker
- I HIGHLY suggest you use this non stick pot
- Chicken thighs (mine were skinless, bone in, I’ve used skin on too)
- some have used boneless skinless chicken thighs and it works well too
- this is how to make frozen chicken thighs Instant Pot style
- Rice
- Olive oil
- Ingredients for spicy teriyaki sauce
- Hoisin sauce
- Brown sugar
- Soy sauce
- Cornstarch – thickener
- Garlic
- Sriracha – can leave out if you don’t want it spicy at all
- Salt and pepper to taste
This are the steps to take in order to make our spicy Instant Pot teriyaki chicken thighs
You can use either skin on or off. I prefer skinless but it depends on what I have on hand really so I have used both.
- First set pot to saute and add olive 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.
- Turn pot off and 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
- Put chicken back in with onions.
- In a bowl whisk together your homemade teriyaki sauce (with only 1 tbsp cornstarch) and pour that in too.
- Close lid and steam valve and set to high pressure for 12 minutes.
- After it’s done I move the steam valve just slightly so the steam comes out really slowly and then lift the lid.
- Remove chicken and keep warm.
- In a small bowl whisk together some of your hot liquid with remainder of your cornstarch until smooth.
- Set pot to saute and pour this in, allow sauce to bubble and thicken. Then serve it over white rice or alone.
Pressure cooking the chicken in the spicy sauce allows it to marinate and soak up all the flavors while it cooks. It’s way better than just pouring it on top.
- You just brown the chicken on saute
- The sauce can be adjusted to the heat level of your liking
- I do not like a lot of spicy foods but this one is just right and my kids loved it too.
Looking for more Instant Pot chicken recipes to enjoy for dinner?
- Instant Pot sesame chicken has similar flavor using breasts
- Healthy Instant Pot orange chicken recipe
- Pressure cooker chicken and rice
- These Instant Pot bone in chicken thighs are great
If you love using thighs regularly, you should try this chicken thighs recipe in the oven, so good!
The cooking time is quick for this meal vs. a slow cooker so it’s my go to method. If you don’t have a pressure cooker but looking for amazing chicken thigh recipes, try this chicken thighs recipe or air fryer chicken thighs as well!
- Instant Pot mashed potatoes
- Best green bean recipe is here to try
Then try our spicy honey Instant Pot chicken
When it’s done make sure to spoon the sauce at the bottom of the pot on top of each piece! Here’s the printable recipe for our spicy Instant Pot chicken thighs
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Instant Pot Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 6 chicken thighs (skinless, I use bone in)
- 1 onion
- 1/2 c chicken broth
- 1/2 c soy sauce
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 4 tbsp brown sugar (heaping tbsp)
- 3 tbsp Sriracha (more or less depending on how spicy you want it, I’ve used up to 1/4 c.)
- 5 tbsp cornstarch (total, some during cooking other when chicken is removed)
- 1/4 c hoisin sauce
Instructions
- Remove skin from chicken thighs.
- Turn your Instant Pot to saute, low.
- Pour a few tbsp of olive oil in and set your chicken thighs inside.
- Cook just so outside of thighs are cooked/lightly browned. Turn pot off and remove meat so you can deglaze the pot with a bit of your broth (scrape bottom to get stuck on meat off)
- Add your chicken back in the pot, then add diced (or large pcs) of onion.
- In a bowl whisk together all other ingredients, (but only use 1 tbsp of cornstarch right now). Remaining 4 tbsp of cornstarch will be used at the end once the chicken is done to thicken sauce.
- Pour sauce over chicken and onions in your Instant Pot.
- Put lid on Instant Pot, close steam valve and set to manual, pressure, high, for 14 minutes.
- When done move steam valve just slightly so steam comes out slowly, then lift lid carefully.
- Remove chicken, set Instant Pot to saute, and in a little bowl whisk 4 tbsp of cornstarch with some of the hot liquid in your pot. Pour this into your pot when that liquid is bubbling.
- Allow to bubble for 2-3 minutes so it can thicken.
- Turn off, sauce will thicken as it sits too. Put chicken back into liquid to coat outside.
- Serve over rice with a drizzle of more spicy teriyaki sauce and diced chives if desired on top.
teracia says
best and will be the best recipe of teriyaki chicken for me. it’s taste is awesome . thanks for sharing this.
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Olivia T Miller says
This recipe is bomb af!!!! Love it:)
The Typical Mom says
So glad you loved it too!
Barb says
This was really good. The next time I’m going to stir fry some veggies and add them just before serving or on the side. I used chicken breasts and sliced them so they weren’t so thick. Thanks for the recipe.
The Typical Mom says
Glad you loved it
Jasmine says
This recipe is AMAZING. I could seriously eat it everyday. I used boneless skinless chicken thighs and followed the cooking directions as directed and the chicken was tender and delicious.
I only had to use about 2 1/2 tablespoons combined of cornstarch to get my desired sauce consistency. I tossed in some fresh broccoli after everything was done cooking just to add some greens 🙂
Thanks for a great recipe!
The Typical Mom says
Glad you loved it!!
Kim Gaffrey says
Quick question: I would like to make this recipe using cut up chicken breasts, similar to other recipes you have posted. In this recipe you cook for 14 minutes and in another with cut up chicken you only cooked for 4 minutes I believe. If I do this recipe cut up should I decrease the high pressure cooking time? Thank you in advance.
The Typical Mom says
Yes I’d say 4-5 minutes with diced chicken off the bone. Let me know how you like it that way!
erica says
This is delicious – by far the best teriyaki chicken recipe I’ve come across – FINALLY! Used boneless thighs – chicken is super tender and the sauce is genius!! will make again. Thank you =)
The Typical Mom says
So glad you loved it!
Cait says
Made this tonight as my first IP recipe (I just got the IP for Christmas)! It was a hit with everyone including my son! I love spicy and it definitely had some heat. I would probably use a little less sriracha next time. Also, the cornstarch at the did clump up a bit but all in all, it was an incredibly flavorful dinner! Chicken falls apart & was so tender. Can’t wait to make it again!
Jean says
I made the sauce and had instant pot on high as directed. The burn mode quickly came on, and I had to stop and cook the chicken on sauté. Sauce was very tasty though!
The Typical Mom says
I’d have to know more info. to help you but if the chicken didn’t have anything in between it and the pot it may have triggered the burn notice. Haven’t had this issue.
Rachel says
Yum, this recipe was delicious! I used frozen boneless chicken thighs and cooked for the allotted time and it came out so tender and delicious. I also reduced the sriracha to only 1 tablespoon (we have wimpy eaters!), and it was a perfect very mild spice. Next time I might bump it up a bit. Even my picky kids loved this! Thanks for the yummy recipe.
The Typical Mom says
So glad you loved it!
Donna says
Thank you for this winning recipe. My family loved it and asked when could we have it again. The chicken was fall apart tender (I used 8 boneless skinless thighs) 9 minutes high pressure. The sauce was delicious also. Thank you again!
The Typical Mom says
So glad!
Dina Spain says
I made this using chicken breasts, and also made Jasmine rice using PIP method before thickening sauce. Tasted really good, but adding the cornstarch to the hot liquid as stated in recipe was a huge mistake. I ended up straining the sauce to remove the chunky cornstarch balls that formed. I knew better but thought it might work out. Next time I will mix the cornstarch with water before adding. Other than that, great recipe and very tasty.
Liz says
My family loved this chicken…and I loved how easy it was to make! A winner!
The Typical Mom says
OH good, it’s a favorite here too.
jojo says
So easy and delicious! Used 3 tb cornstarch total and 1 tb Sirachi with the bottle on the table for anyone that wanted it hotter. My boneless skinless thighs were semi frozen still and didn’t adjust the time.
turned out perfect with lots of sauce. its a keeper!
Karen Slaughter says
Please inform recipe changes using cast iron pot on top of stove. I just received brand new set & want to use them with your recipe which sounds delicious.
The Typical Mom says
If you made on the stovetop I would brown the outsides of the thighs and then have on low/medium heat and add sauce mixture to boil slowly until meat is the tenderness you desire.
Karen Slaughte t says
Please inform recipe changes using cast iron pot on top of stove. I just received brand new set & want to use them with your recipe which sounds delicious.
WhimsicalRain says
This recipe was a huge hit in my house with one very picky teenager and just a little mod. I followed the recipe almost exactly. My only ingredient change was instead of sriracha, I used one spoonful of sambal oelek (my preferred heat and really mild). As far as time, my Instant pot has a meat setting. I used the meat setting for 20 minutes for 6 boneless skinless thighs. After 10 minutes of natural pressure release, I turned the valve to quick release. Served over hot rice and did not do the last bit with cornstarch in sauté mode to thicken. Just didn’t need it. AWESOME!
The Typical Mom says
So glad everyone loved it!
Judy says
Is there a way to cook rice along with this pot in pot?
The Typical Mom says
I haven’t done that but I imagine you could put rice on the bottom, then trivet and a pot with the sauce and thighs in it atop that and cook all together. Let me know if you do!
Amanda says
Put the rice in a Corning Ware dish or whatever is safe for your pot. I do 1 1/2 cups of rice to 2 2/3 water put foil over the dish add the trivet and set it on top of the chicken
Kate says
If I wanted to double this recipe, what would be the best way to do it? (Cooking for two adults and 4 hungry kids!) Just got my IP yesterday ?
The Typical Mom says
Shouldn’t be a problem, just make sure you don’t fill past 3/4 full for any recipe. Can just double but keep the time should remain the same. Of course with chicken of any kind check when it is done that chicken is fully cooked but 14 minutes should be fine even if doubled, thighs usually aren’t very big.
Lorraine says
I ran across you on pinterest. I’m a “pressure” cooker myself. I really like your recipes. My question, how much is a serving of this recipe? I’m a diabetic and I closely monitor my carb intake.
The Typical Mom says
In the recipe widget it says how many it serves so you’d need to divide the entire recipe by that number of servings.
Tammy says
Can I use frozen chicken thighs? If so, will it change the cooking time? I know it’s supposed to b ea no-no for for slow cooking, but I always use frozen chicken in my recipes. I pop everything in the slow cooker before I leave for work, and it’s ready when I come home. Bonus ~ we’re all still alive:) ~ but seriously, I just bought an IP and I’d like this to be my first recipe and I want to make sure I do it right! Thanks!
Aliza says
I need to know this answer too!! I only have frozen….I don’t plan ahead very well! 🙂
The Typical Mom says
I haven’t made with frozen chicken before. Others have said they have and you don’t increase the time. When I do I will post if I made any adjustments.
Tab says
I just pressured-cooked chicken thighs (bone-in, with skin) from frozen. They were perfect with 24 minutes (I meant to do 25, but didn’t see my finger hit “down” an extra time) and quick release. I then thickened my sauce and spooned over the chicken (which I placed on cookie sheet) and put in the oven/broiler to caramelize the sauce on the skins. Really convenient to take a meat out of the freezer and stick it in the iPot and set it and forget it!
Lesa says
I just made this with boneless skinless frozen thighs. I didn’t need to deglaze with chicken broth because of all the liquid that came out of them, they also didn’t brown because of it. I used the 14 min and manual setting per the recipe and they came out perfect. This is pretty spicy, so if you are heat shy, you might want to decrease the sriracha. This is a very easy recipe and a keeper. I also decreased the cornstarch per another commenter.
The Typical Mom says
Glad you loved them, yes very easy to adjust heat level
Robyn N says
I made this tonight as my very first IP recipe and it was a huge hit with my family. My kids 11 & 9 and my husband each ate 2 chicken thighs, I had 7 thighs and they fit. The sauce was very tasty and the chicken so tender. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for sharing!
The Typical Mom says
OH yeah!!! So glad…it’s one of our favorites too!
Leslie says
Is the chicken soft enough to pull the bones out and to shred before serving?
The Typical Mom says
OH yes, super tender!
Melissa says
How much sauce is in this total? If I buy a bottle at the store do I need 1cup or how much?
The Typical Mom says
Approx 21 oz total.
Amy says
Tried this tonight. My husband likes it so well that he even ate the extra sauce. He said that with food that yummy we wouldn’t need to go out for Chinese any more. Thanks for a great recipe!
Donnie says
I just made this IP recipe, it was amazingly delicious. I’m part Chinese and the flavor of the sauce reminds me of my moms cooking. In Hawaii we would serve the chicken with the sauce on a bed of shredded cabbage and rice. Mahalo for sharing.
The Typical Mom says
I’m so glad!! I was born in HI and it reminds me of the wonderful food there when I was young too!
Michele says
Hello. I was wondering if the cabbage was raw or cooked. It sounds really good and if I added cabbage it would be a complete meal. Thank you.
The Typical Mom says
There isn’t cabbage in this recipe.