This Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken is finger licking good, so delicious and super quick and easy! With a teriyaki sauce made from scratch and only 8 minutes in the Instant Pot, this chicken will come out outrageously tender!
Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Teriyaki chicken is one of my favorite and most ordered dish whenever I frequent a Japanese restaurant. There’s just something about that slightly sweet, decidedly tangy, and richly savory sauce that I just can’t seem to get enough of.
Teriyaki is such a classic sauce and marinade and while sometimes it’s easier to buy the bottled version, homemade is always better. This recipe is so quick and easy prepared in your pressure cooker that you’ll barely have time to sit down before it’s ready to be served up.
What Is Teriyaki?
Did you know that teriyaki is actually a cooking method? It’s used in Japanese cooking and just involves cooking your food in a glaze typically made from soy sauce, some type of sugar, and mirin – also known as rice wine. Adding chicken to the dish is a pretty western twist on this classic, so consider this dish an Americanized homage to Japan and all its culinary contributions. Let’s get teriyaki-ing!
Ingredients In Teriyaki Chicken
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Wet ingredients – Water, soy sauce, mirin, and sesame oil make up the base of this saucy dish. These are such key ingredients in Asian cooking so I recommend you be sure to stock up next time you’re at the store.
- Honey – We need a sweet component to this dish that will allow it to cook down into a glaze.
- Aromatics – Fresh ginger and fresh garlic will pack so much flavor into this dish so be sure to use these over their powdered alternatives if available.
- Chicken – I used thighs for this recipe, bone-in and skin-on. You can use breasts, or go for skinless and boneless. Keep in mind cooking time will change.
- Cornstarch – We’re going to be making a slurry using cornstarch and cold water to allow the sauce to thicken.
How To Make Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Prepare your pressure cooker: Turn your pressure cooker onto the saute setting.
- Create the sauce: Add the water, soy sauce, mirin, honey, sesame oil, garlic, and ginger to the pot and stir.
- Cook the chicken: Add the chicken to the pressure cooker, make sure that the thighs are fully immersed in the liquid before closing the lid. Turn the pressure cooker onto its poultry setting and allow to cook for 8 minutes. Allow the pressure and heat to release naturally before removing the lid.
- Assemble the dish: Remove the chicken from the pot and set aside. Add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce in the pot and cook for 3 minutes on the saute setting while stirring. Brush the chicken with the sauce before finishing under the broiler till golden.
- Finish the one pot teriyaki chicken: Serve the chicken over fluffy white rice, with the sauce poured on top. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onion (optional).
What To Serve With Teriyaki Chicken
- I always serve it over rice. I love Jasmine rice or Basmati rice. Feel free to make this the day before or even while the chicken is cooking.
- Serve it with steamed vegetables such as broccoli or baby bok choy.
- Don’t be afraid to garnish your teriyaki chicken, my favorite garnishes are sesame seeds and green onions.
Tips For Making The Best Teriyaki Chicken
- Both chicken thighs or chicken breasts work for the recipe (read recipe notes), however I prefer chicken thighs because they are juicier and are more flavorful.
- Always use a light soy sauce to reduce the sodium content. Sometimes I like to add a 1/2 to 1 tsp of dark soy sauce for that extra dark color.
- Use mirin if you can find it. I usually find it in my regular grocery store in the Asian aisle, however feel free to substitute it with brown sugar if you can’t find it, as it’s used to add sweetness to the teriyaki sauce.
- Prepare your rice as you begin this recipe, it’ll take about as long to cook.
Storing Leftover Teriyaki Chicken
This teriyaki chicken recipe can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. The sauce can be stored separately in the fridge and should last for weeks. If you’d like to freeze your cooked chicken just freeze each piece spaced on a cookie sheet before removing and placing in an airtight container. The sauce can be frozen indefinitely – perfect for marinades in the future!
Craving More Chicken? Try These Recipes:
- Grilled Harissa Sesame Chicken Thighs
- Spicy Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs with Rice and Broccolini
- Chicken Thighs with Sweet Potatoes Corn and Kale Bake
- Crockpot Thai Chicken Thighs
- Skillet Braised Greek Chicken Thighs
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Mongolian Chicken
- Baked Chicken Breast
- Firecracker Chicken
Looking for more recipes? Follow on… My Newsletter Pinterest Facebook Instagram
Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken
Ingredients
- ¾ cup water
- ¼ cup soy sauce low sodium
- 3 tablespoon mirin (use more if using brown sugar)
- 2 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoon ginger freshly ground
- 3 pounds chicken thighs with skin and bones
- 3 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon cold water
Garnish
- 3 green onions chopped
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Turn your Instant Pot to the saute setting. (See your manufacturer’s guide for detailed instructions on how to use your instant pot.)
- Add the water, soy sauce, mirin, honey, sesame oil, garlic and ginger to the instant pot and stir.
- Place chicken thighs in the instant pot, they should be immersed in the liquid.
- Close the lid (follow the manufacturer’s guide for instructions on how to close the instant pot lid). Set the Instant Pot to the Poultry setting and set the timer to 8 minutes.
- Once the Instant Pot cycle is complete, wait until the natural release cycle is complete, should take about 10 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s guide for quick release, if in a rush. Carefully unlock and remove the lid from the instant pot.
- Remove chicken from the instant pot and place on a baking sheet.
- Switch the Instant Pot to the saute setting (do not put the lid on). Transfer the chicken to a bowl using a slotted spoon. Thicken the sauce by stirring the cornstarch with 3 tbsp cold water and stir it into the sauce. Cook for 5 minutes on the Saute mode, stirring occasionally. Turn off your Instant Pot by pressing the cancel button.
- Brush the chicken with the sauce, then place the baking sheet under the broiler until browned, for about 5 minutes.
- Garnish the chicken with sesame seeds or green onions. Serve over rice.
We can’t wait to make this again! It is so good. My question is would this recipe work for pork tenderloin? I really like the last step of brushing the meat with the sauce and broiling it and I just don’t want the pork to turn out tough…
Yes you definitely can! The broil is so hot and only takes a minute or two to brown the meat. It only touches the surface- it won’t dry out the center.
Hi,
I am a steady follower of all of your recipes on a daily basis.
Thank you!………Do you have a recipe for this Teriyaki Chicken if one does not have an
Instant Pot??
Thanks much,
Anne
Not yet, this is the only one I have now, but you could definitely make this one the stove top. The sauce would still be the same ingredients and I would probably sear the chicken first on both sides then add the sauce ingredients and continue cooking in the sauce.
How would I adjust the recipe if I don’t put in the mirin
Mirin is a basic syrup. You can substitute it with simple syrup, extra honey, brown sugar or leave it out entirely if you don’t want the sweetness.
Eating and drooling right now
I’m a IP newbi but loving this magic pot
It took about 26 mins to reach pressure ( everything was at room temp) and another 25 mins to release
This was so tasty my husband the chef does the eye roll at this pot but the three recipes I have used here he loves
He will learn to love it! I know lots of restaurants use them to makes stews, rice, etc. It’s our fave kitchen tool, we’re so glad you love this recipe!
Thank you for the recipe! If you use boneless thighs do you also adjust the cooking time to 5 minutes from 10?
Yes 5 minutes will be plenty for your thighs!
Just used my instant pot for the first time and made this recipe. It came out juicy and delicious. Will be making this again. Thank you for the recipe
I just tried this tonight, and it turned out GREAT! The fat that dripped off the chicken skin made the sauce a little gelatinous, but the flavor was really good. Thanks for a great recipe! It was definitely quick and straightforward – perfect to whip up after a long day at work.
Teriyaki is my favourite bbq sauce whenever I grill the chicken in my garden party. It’s always a pleasant treatment for everyone. 😉
– Natalie
Do I need to add any time to cook if I don’t broil at the end? My oven is broken😂
The broil is more to crisp up the chicken. You won’t be able to do that in an Instant Pot!
What if thighs are frozen? What would the cooking time be??
13 minutes will be perfect!
Hi Jo! If I am cutting this recipemail in half should I reduce cooking time?
No I wouldn’t!
Should I not sautee the garlic and ginger first in the pot?
No you don’t have to.
I made this tonight with 2 lbs of boneless skinless thighs, and sautéed some broccoli, red pepper and snow peas then added some sauce to the veggies at the very end of sautéing. I added a little extra water because the liquid did not fully cover the meat when I put it all in the IP. Cooked for 7 minutes instead of 8 because the thighs were boneless. The meat was very tasty and moist, but in the future I might use skin-on so that when I broil the pieces the meat doesn’t get dry on the outside. Also, I did not have cornstarch so the sauce was very thin, especially since I had added a little extra water. I will definitely make this again but I won’t add water–and hopefully will remember to get cornstarch!
These were so good, and I couldn’t stop eating the sauce with a spoon! Could you make them with skinless/boneless thighs instead? I would love to bring them into the rotation, but my husband is an avid “no skin” kind of guy.
You can use any type of chicken that you prefer.
Everyone loved this Teriyaki chicken in the Instant Pot ! Not too sweet..just the right balance of flavor. Ridiculously easy to make. (LOVE the Instant Pot!!). Another yummy “keeper” from Jo.
How long would you cook if using frozen chicken?
It depends how big the pieces are and how frozen it is. I cook full chicken breasts straight out of the freezer for 12 minutes in the instant pot.