You know the song, “I love you, I hate you” by Gnash? That song perfectly sums up my relationship with the Instant Pot over the past couple of years. Well, at least those six words; maybe not the rest of the song ;).
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If you were around for our Instant Pot Salisbury Steak and Instant Pot Whole Chicken chats, then you probably know all about my back and forth relationship with this magical appliance.
At first, I loved it–well, the concept. Then, I actually bought one, and for far too long I hated the pressure cooker option. To be honest, I hadn’t ever tried using the pressure cooking option; I was just too scared. Fast forward a couple of years, and now, thanks to a gentle “push” from Helen (Live Simply Team Member and Instant Pot Guru), I’ve fallen in love with this appliance, even the pressure cooker option. The more I use the Instant Pot, the more I love it.
Now, there are things the Instant Pot can’t do, like fold laundry, cleanup the kids’ room, or clean out the fridge. Maybe it isn’t magical after all.
In all seriousness, the Instant Pot isn’t the right appliance for preparing every meal. My oven, grill, and slow cooker (or the slow-cooker function on the Instant Pot) certainly aren’t going to be replaced by this one appliance.
I see the Instant Pot as just one handy tool to help me get specific meals, or meal components, on the table very quickly. This allows me to then focus on other components of a meal or, in some cases, just take the night off from actively cooking.
The Instant Pot seems to be particularly good at making soup and shredded chicken. So today’s recipe, features another way to make shredded chicken in the Instant Pot: Teriyaki (style) Chicken.
Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken is such an effortless meal to make–just dump the ingredients in the Instant Pot, seal the lid, press manual and adjust the time, and walk away. Then pour yourself a glass of wine, make a pot of rice and chop a few green onions. In under thirty minutes, dinner is completely ready!
I recommend prepping the rice in advance, in the Instant Pot, to save even more time. Then all you have to do is cook the chicken and reheat the rice for this meal. Instant Pot rice is a great dish to prep in advance (taking just 4 minutes to cook!) and store in the fridge for a quick meal side.
Now, before we get to the recipe, I think it’s important to note that this isn’t a recipe for the teriyaki chicken found on so many take-out menus. You know, the super sweet, grilled, and sliced chicken option. This chicken is made in the Instant Pot, so the meat is saucy and shredded, and the sauce isn’t super sweet. The chicken can be served on top of rice, in lettuce or cabbage leaves, and topped any way you like–with kimchi, green onions, etc.
Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Sauce:
- 1 TB extra virgin olive oil *
- 1/3 cup reduced sodium (organic) tamari sauce You can use reduced sodium soy sauce, if you're not gluten-free
- 1/2 cup chicken broth If you're using store-bought broth, use reduced sodium broth (a lower salt amount).
- 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger peeled and minced
Thicken the sauce:
- 3 TB organic cornstarch
- 1/4 cup water
Toppings:
- sliced green onions
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add all the sauce ingredients (found under the "Sauce" header above) to the Instant Pot. Do not add the "Thicken the sauce" ingredients. Swirl to mix.
- Gently add the chicken breasts to the sauce in a single layer.
- Lock the Instant Pot lid and set the valve to Sealing.
- Set the Instant Pot on Manual (High Pressure) for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally for at least 15-20 minutes.
- Shred the chicken in the Instant Pot.
- Mix the cornstarch and water ("Thicken the sauce" ingredients). Stir the mixture into the pot (with the chicken). Saute, if needed, to desired thickness.
- Serve the chicken over rice, rice noodles, or in lettuce or cabbage cups (lettuce or cabbage leaves). Top the chicken with sliced green onions and a few sprinkles of sesame seeds.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Could I use coconut aminos in place of the tamari?
Yes, Andrea.
I made this for dinner tonight and my family is asking me to make it again tomorrow night! It was so good!
So glad you enjoyed it, Leaha!
In the dinner rotation now! Everyone likes it. Thank you!
Another great recipe! Thank you for doing this. You’ve helped this one busy stay at home mom be more productive and organized with all your great tips and recipes.
Hi, Kristin. I’ve been avoiding making things with cornstarch in the sauce because I find that it makes leftovers gelatinous and gross. Do you have any tips for avoiding this, or for reheating leftovers so that the sauce isn’t chunky? This looks delicious and I’d really like to try it!
Hey Amanda, Hmmm, good question. For this recipe, I haven’t found that texture to be an issue. The sauce is already supposed to be like that in a way, so I haven’t found the sauce to be inedible due to the cornstarch when reheating. You could skip the cornstarch, but then the sauce would be more like soup.
Sooo delicious! Thank you for the recipe!
Awesome, Elle! I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Awesome recipe! Mine turned out great.
OMG. I’ve got make this recipe, but will have to increase the servings to six for left overs. 🙂
Thanks, Vanessa!
Another success for my Instant Pot! Wanted you ( and Helen) to know I Only take recipes for the IP from this blog.☺️ I have tried several others and most have been …meh….
Thanks for another winner and continuing to offer quality, simple yet wholesome recipes for the body and the skin!
Blessings from WV!
Thank you! I love to feed my family (and yours) real food!
That’s so awesome, Christina! I’m so glad you’re enjoying the IP recipes!
I made this in the slow cooker as I don’t have the instant pot (yet?). It came out perfect! I used three large breasts and left them whole, cooked on high for 4 hours. For the thickener I used 6 tsp of arrowroot flour/starch mixed with roughly 1/4 cup water. I desperately wanted to avoid the stovetop after cooking, so I returned to the crock pot immediately after it was done. I dumped in the thickener while it was still piping hot and the sauce thickened within a minute. Win! And bonus, if you make two and freeze one, no need to thaw first to fit in the crock pot! I’d imagine the cooking time would increase (maybe 5 hours from frozen?). Thank Helen for the tip. 🙂
The sauce is so yummy! Perfectly balanced tangy/sweet. Thanks for all the extra notes/info on this one.
That’s awesome, Tamara! I’m so glad you tried it in the slow cooker. Thank you for leaving your notes–that’s going to be so helpful for other friends trying out the slow cooker method.