These are the best Instant Pot spicy teriyaki chicken thighs 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!
Jump To
- Ninja Foodi Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
- Made with Rice
- Bone-in Chicken Thighs with Teriyaki Sauce
- Ingredients for Spicy Teriyaki Sauce
- How Long to Cook Spicy Teriyaki Chicken Thighs in Instant Pot
- How to Thicken the Sauce
- Tips to Remember
- Spicy Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Thighs Recipe
- FAQ
- Side dishes
- More Easy Chicken Recipes you’ll love
These Instant Pot spicy teriyaki chicken thighs came out SO amazing I am still talking about them! 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 this is a favorite.
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.
Ninja Foodi Teriyaki Chicken Thighs
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.
Made with 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.
That is one of the many great things about this creation. Make it exactly as you wish. Below is a pic of our 2nd time making it, now we have a non stick pot which I highly recommend. Not only is cleanup easier but it doesn’t trigger the burn notice like ever. Most of the time that is false and quite annoying.
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.
Bone-in Chicken Thighs with Teriyaki Sauce
And we love us some bone-in skinless Chicken thighs (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. Timing wouldn’t change either way though so if you find a sale on the latter buy a bunch to make this and our baked teriyaki chicken thighs.
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.
Ingredients for Spicy Teriyaki Sauce
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.
We serve these over a bed of Ninja Foodi rice or as is with a side of dinner rolls. This are the steps to take in order to make our spicy Instant Pot teriyaki chicken thighs
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 to 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.
Tips to Remember
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
Spicy Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Thighs Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 6 medium chicken thighs, (skinless, I use bone in)
- 1 small onion
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup 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 cup 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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
FAQ
My first thought is pineapple! I use a small can of tidbits sometimes when I use this type of sauce. Sesame seeds are often found inside or sprinkled on top too. A bit of sweetness like honey is nice too.
Not typically but when you make homemade teriyaki sauce like we did here you can amp up the heat if you want! We like it closer to mild or medium but it is totally up to you. Add more Sriracha if you desire.
Side dishes
Instant Pot 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 Instant Pot 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!
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
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.
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!
So glad everyone loved it!
Is there a way to cook rice along with this pot in pot?
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!
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
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 ?
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.
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.
In the recipe widget it says how many it serves so you’d need to divide the entire recipe by that number of servings.
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!
I need to know this answer too!! I only have frozen….I don’t plan ahead very well! 🙂
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.
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!
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.
Glad you loved them, yes very easy to adjust heat level
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!
OH yeah!!! So glad…it’s one of our favorites too!
Is the chicken soft enough to pull the bones out and to shred before serving?
OH yes, super tender!
How much sauce is in this total? If I buy a bottle at the store do I need 1cup or how much?
Approx 21 oz total.
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!
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.
I’m so glad!! I was born in HI and it reminds me of the wonderful food there when I was young too!
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.
There isn’t cabbage in this recipe.