Spicy honey Instant Pot chicken thighs takes just 4 minutes to cook and comes out moist and full of flavor! Sweet chicken bites smothered in delicious sauce served on a bed of rice is a healthy pressure cooker dinner our whole family enjoys.
Ever since I got my fancy pressure cooker I have been fiddling with new Instant Pot recipes and have come up with many that are so quick and my family loves! This spicy honey Instant Pot chicken is one of our favorites though!
My littlest love orders “sweet chicken” when we get to Chinese food restaurants so I aimed to create something similar. I wanted a little bit of heat this time though since we love Sriracha!
You can use whatever you have at home too. There is a Crockpot Express version and Ninja Foodi too. All of them work just the same with high pressure and take no time at all in one pot.
This easy recipe turned out great the first time around. We will definitely be making this one again! If you don’t have an Instant Pot yet and are busy like we are I highly recommend getting one!
Ingredient Notes
For the most flavor and moist meat outcome I suggest using Chicken thighs diced. Easiest is to buy boneless skinless and cut into large bite sizes pieces as they will shrink when cooked.
For the sweetness you will want to add some Brown sugar. I haven’t used a sugar free alternative but many others have used Splenda and state that it works quite well.
Honey is a sweet element as well you want to add. We buy organic and local as it is thicker and has a richer flavor.
Minced ginger & garlic brings the Asian flavors soar in this dish. You can dice up fresh cloves or buy already minced out of a jar.
Soy sauce will bring the umami and salty element to this dinner. You could instead use amino acids for a gluten free option if necessary.
Sriracha is what we use for heat. I like that it adds a spicy element and has a great flavor to it too vs. just adding hot. You can leave out if you don’t want any heat.
Onions are optional, diced added at with the meat, and cornstarch can thicken the sauce but could be omitted.
Substitutions
I have made this here with boneless skinless chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs meat if you preferred this. Nothing would change as far as timing either way. You could cook whole like our Instant Pot spicy teriyaki chicken thighs but the timing would be longer.
Use as much or as little Sriracha as you want to adjust the heat level, or leave it out entirely and make a sweet honey chicken, that would be amazing too. If you really like heat like our Instant Pot Korean chicken just add more.
Can you use frozen chicken?
Yes and no. If your meat was already diced you could use frozen chicken in the Instant Pot but you would need to break it apart so it is not in one big clump. If this is possible then go ahead and yes you could use that with the same directions and timing. Just remember that it will emit a bit more liquid so you may need a bit more cornstarch to thicken at the end.
Tips
I like to dice the meat into bite size pieces, if you cut them smaller I would decrease the cook time to 3 minutes to maintain it’s moisture. You still want to give it time to soak up all the yummy sauce juices. That is the great thing about the pressure cooker function. You can use the same meat but create a different sauce and it is infused into the meat when it cooks.
I HIGHLY suggest you get a non stick pot too, linked above because many times the burn notice will get triggered inaccurately which is prevented with this! The Ninja has a ceramic pot which works well as is. You will use the lid that is not attached to make it in a Foodi machine.
Here’s how to make the perfect 2 Cups Instant Pot white rice to serve underneath, or make another grain of your choice.
How Long to Cook Spicy Honey Chicken in Instant Pot
Once you have all ingredients in the pot and close the lid and steam valve you are going to want to set Instant Pot to high pressure, high, for just 4 minutes. When done make sure to do a quick release (or meta will dry out if cooked too long in these small pieces) and carefully lift lid.
If you want a thicker gravy / sauce put some of the hot sauce in a small bowl with the cornstarch and whisk together Add back into the pot and stir. Set to saute, normal and let bubble for a few minutes….this will add a couple minutes but worth it! Allow to sit for a few minutes so the sauce thickens. We do the same with our Instant Pot sesame chicken and it works great.
This has become a popular way of serving this deliciousness. Many serve this over rice but you could serve it with pressure cooker quinoa to add protein, or even over noodles. I would not cook the grains and this spicy chicken together as the texture isn’t as pleasing.
Spicy Honey Instant Pot Chicken Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 medium chicken breasts, boneless skinless, cut into bite size chunks
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp honey
- 1 tbsp ginger, fresh, minced
- 1.5 tbsp garlic, fresh, minced
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Sriracha, or more if you want it really spicy
- 1 tsp Worcestershire Sauce
- 1/2 small onion, sliced or diced
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds, optional to top
- 2 small green onions, optional to top
- 2 tbsp cornstarch, to thicken
Instructions
- Cut chicken breasts into large bite size chunks and cut onion into chunks.
- Put chicken and onions into the Instant Pot or pressure cooker.
- Mix all other ingredients together (except the cornstarch) well with a fork and pour on top of chicken.
- Close the lid and steam valve and set Instant Pot to manual, pressure, high, 4 minutes.
- Do a quick release and carefully lift lid.
- Put some of the hot sauce in a small bowl with the cornstarch and whisk together, then add back into the pot and stir.
- Set Instant Pot to saute, normal and let bubble for a few minutes.
- Allow to sit for a few minutes so the sauce thickens.
- Serve spicy honey chicken over rice.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
That depends on what I am making. If you want shredded chicken by all means leave them whole and shred once fork tender. If you are cooking chicken in sauce in Instant Pot it is best to cube boneless skinless breasts or thighs into bite size pieces so it can coat and soak up the sauce more.
Looking for more easy InstaPot recipes? We have a few more you have to try too like our Instant Pot Hawaiian chicken recipe that is so good that is also sweet and with diced meat cooked right in the sauce. Our pressure cooker apricot chicken is a family fave and much sweeter than either of these.
How to Serve
This spicy chicken is great served with Instant Pot broccoli to. It only takes 1 minute on high pressure! Keep in mind the sauce thickens in the last step when adding cornstarch. BUT will continue to thicken as it sits so just add a bit. Options to consider:
Had never used my instant pot before so decided this would be my first dinner in it. Loved it, didn’t put as much spice in it, boyfriend doesn’t like it too spicy. Will make again!! Thanks for the recipe!
So glad!
For Step 5 Am I taking some sauce from the pot and mixing cornstarch or was the hot sauce not suppose to be added until this step? Step 1 says mix everything but the cornstarch so I’m assuming the sriracha went it then?
Yes everything other than the cornstarch.
Is there an adaptation for a slow cooker or stove top? I don’t have an IP yet (no room for it) and would like to try this recipe – it looks like something i can have without too much adaption for my allergies.
Hmmmm, I haven’t done that but if I were to venture a guess I would half the breasts, add all the sauce, stir so all was coated and put on low for maybe 6 hours or until the chicken was cooked thru (depending on how thick they were). I am sure it would work great that way too.
This was super good. I used 6 breasts and doubled the sauce. Also – subbed fish sauce for Worcestershire Sauce. Added one sliced up red pepper; next time I’ll add some carrots too. Also, instead of sesame seeds, I used Trader Joe’s Everything But the Bagel sesame seasoning blend – so good!
Yeah!!!
Just made this for lunch in my new Instant Pot that I got during Prime Day. Wow! Like others, I used powdered ginger because this is what I had on hand. My husband and I both loved it other than he needed more salt. I told him it was most likely because I use a sweet soy instead of the salty soy. Has a better flavor and he can always add salt. Thank you so much. This was my first try at using my Instant Pot and the directions were fantastic and easy to follow. Thanks.
So glad you loved it!
How much soy sauce….it said 1/4 c….i am not familiar with that measurement
1/4 cup.
1/4 of a cup
My husband LOVED this, and so did I. I thought it was full of flavor and I also used 1 tsp of powdered ginger in place of the fresh. But other than that, I kept it the same, and added steamed broccoli. It’s a keeper. Thanks.
Really easy and quick. I substituted powdered ginger for fresh, added ground chiles instead of hot sauce and added a tbsp of rice vinegar for tang. Delicious!!
Our new favorite IP supper! I substituted Franks Hot Sauce for the sriracha sauce, and also doubled the sauce. Served over chow mein noodles, delicious!!!!!!!!! I’ve already shared this recipe with IP friends. Thank you posting! ?
It can sometimes be a challenge to make a weeknight dinner that’s easy and quick for me, without defaulting to frozen pizza, that is also loved by adults and kids alike. I did leave out the spicy heat, but it was a huge success! The 8 year old wants it again soon, and the 7 year old was on board!