Meet your new favorite: Instant Pot Honey Chicken! It's sweet, savory, and effortlessly made. Tender chicken in a honey glaze, all thanks to the Instant Pot – simple and super tasty! Even picky eaters will love this Chinese honey chicken recipe.
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Why This Recipe Works
- Filling: The really cool thing about this dish is that it's full of protein. Instant Pot Honey Chicken will help you get full and stay full.
- Effortless Preparation: Instant Pot Honey Chicken offers a hassle-free cooking experience. With minimal effort, you can achieve maximum flavor, making it perfect for busy days.
- Irresistible Sweet-Savory Blend: The tender chicken coated in a honey glaze creates a mouthwatering balance that will keep you coming back for more.
📋 Ingredients
- Chicken Breast Tenders: The star ingredient of this Instant Pot Honey Chicken recipe, provide a lean and tender protein base, ensuring each bite is juicy and flavorful.
Batter Ingredients:
- All-Purpose Flour: Used in the batter, adds a light and crispy texture to the chicken tenders when cooked, creating a satisfying crunch.
- Corn Flour: Adds a delicate sweetness and enhances the overall flavor profile of the chicken.
- Baking Powder: Contributes to the overall texture of the chicken, making it more tender and airy.
- Salt: Adds a savory touch and helps to balance the overall taste.
- Water: Added to the batter to create the desired consistency.
- Sesame Oil: Infuse a subtle nutty flavor into the chicken and complements the honey sauce.
Honey Glaze Ingredients:
- Tomato Ketchup: Serves as the base for the honey sauce, providing a tangy and rich flavor.
- Sugar: Helps to caramelize the sauce and develop a glossy glaze on the chicken.
- Honey: As the star ingredient in the sauce, honey brings its natural sweetness and a distinct floral flavor.
- Soy Sauce: Adds a savory umami flavor to the honey sauce, providing a rich and slightly salty note that complements the sweetness of the honey and sugar.
- Water: Ensures that the sauce evenly coats the chicken, creating a luscious glaze.
For the complete list of ingredients with measurements and instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
- Add Garlic: For a twist on this recipe add a spoon of minced garlic to make this into an Instant Pot honey garlic chicken recipe. Making a honey garlic sauce will add great flavor.
- Chicken Thighs: You can use skinless chicken thighs for this recipe in the place of boneless skinless chicken breasts. Be sure to dice the meat into bite size pieces.
🔪How To Make Instant Pot Honey Chicken?
Prepare your chicken and pat it dry, then set it aside.
In a small bowl, add all of the sauce ingredients, mix to combine, and set it aside.
Add the batter ingredients into a bowl, whisk to combine.
Dip each chicken piece into the batter and then place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Place the oil in the Instant Pot and set it to sauté.
Place the chicken in the oil once it's bubbling hot. Ensure the chicken is in a single layer.
Turn the chicken over to evenly cook, and cook the chicken until it's golden brown.
Remove the chicken and place it onto a paper towel covered plate, then set it aside. Wipe clean the Instant Pot insert.
Add the sauce you prepared earlier into the Instant pot and add the chicken. Toss to combine. Close the lid and seal the valve.
Set the Instant Pot to manual for 4 minutes. Once the timer sounds, open the valve.
Serve hot with rice or your preferred side. Garnish with sliced green onions and sesame seeds for a little color.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
- Sauté for Caramelization: Brown the chicken in the Instant Pot using the sauté function to develop a rich, flavorful base before pressure cooking.
- Balance the Sauce: Mix honey, soy sauce, garlic, and a splash of rice vinegar for the perfect blend of sweetness and tanginess.
- Quick Pressure Cook & Glaze: Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, quick release, then thicken the sauce with a cornstarch slurry on sauté mode for a glossy, sticky glaze.
💭 FAQs
No. You need to use boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs so you can dice and coat the chicken into nugget-sized pieces. Bones will not allow you to do this.
Yes, add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes for an absolutely delicious spicy kick.
Refrigerate leftover honey chicken in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. Divide into portions and transfer chicken into freezer-safe containers or bags, ensure airtight seals, and label with the date.
Serving Suggestions
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Honey Chicken:
- Steamed Rice: A classic choice to soak up the sweet and savory honey glaze.
- Vegetable Stir Fry: Stir Fried vegetables like broccoli, bell peppers, and carrots add color and nutritional balance.
- Asian Noodles: Serve with lo mein or rice noodles for a hearty and satisfying option.
- Chow Mein: Is a classic noodle dish that would pair well with honey chicken.
🍜 Related Recipes
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Instant Pot Honey Chicken
Ingredients
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Corn Flour
- 1 tsp. Baking Powder
- ¼ tsp. Salt
- 1 /4 cup Water
- ¼ tbs Sesame oil
- ½ cup Tomato Ketchup
- 2 tbsp. Sugar
- 3 tbsp. Honey
- 1 Tbsp. Soy sauce
- 2 tbsp. Water
Instructions
- Prepare your chicken and pat dry. Then set to the side. In a small bowl add all of the sauce ingredients, mix to combine and set to one side.
- In cooking the battered chicken in the Instant Pot, add the batter ingredients into a bowl, whisk to combine. Place the oil in the Instant Pot and set to sauté.
- Place the chicken in the oil once bubbling hot. The chicken has to be in a single layer. Turn the chicken over to evenly cook. Cook the chicken until golden brown.
- Remove the chicken and place onto a paper towel covered plate, and set aside. Wipe clean the Instant Pot insert.
- Add the sauce you prepared earlier into the Instant pot and add the chicken. Toss to combine. Close the lid and seal the valve. Set to manual for 4 minutes. Once the timer sounds open the valve.
This looks so nice!
Is cornstarch the same as corn flour?
yes
This looks delicious! The only thing I do not own is the Sesame oil. Cannot wait to make it!
This is the recipe that made an Instant Pot believer out of me. We never have leftovers with this!
it's an awesome recipe!
Your recipe says 1/4 Sesame oil. Is this 1/4 tsp? Thanks!
yes
I've now tried it...epic fail. Your recipe does not have a liquid other than the honey and ketchup and once I added the chicken back and closed the instant pot, it burned. You might need to re-write this recipe and be more precise. Just saying, a newbie might not understand why their attempt doesn't work.
We have cooked this recipe many times and it works when you use all the liquids listed in the recipe. You say the sauce only had honey and ketchup, but there is also soy sauce and water in the ingredients and this is enough liquid for the 4 minutes of pressure time. If you add more liquid the chicken would not be in a sauce but in a soupy liquid and not work.
This looks amazing! I love honey chicken but have never tried making it in the instant pot before. What a perfect dinner!
Honey chicken sounds amazing. I think mine would love it as we often have sweet and sour chicken and it's also in batter with a sweet sauce.
Hoo boy! that looks absolutely delicious! I love the flavors, and I love how simple it is to make. I'm all over this one!
Great pictures and it looks so appetizing. My son loves chicken so I need to make this for him and he loves the protein in chicken dishes.
This is going to be dinner tomorrow. I have everything I need and we are going to have happy tummies tomorrow. Thank you for the recipe!
My family life’s honey chicken, looking forward to making this recipe for them.
This looks so good. We order Chinese every Sunday. I would love to surprise my husband with this homemade dish.
My boys would love this recipe. They love orange chicken and this is so similar.
Yup I agree, I think my family would love this anytime since it's not too sweet.
Oooh this looks delicious! I'm always looking for new Instant Pot recipes to try - thanks for sharing!
I am drooling over this chicken. It looks so flavorful and delicious!
That dish look delicious. I have heard many people say great things about the instant pot. I may have to get one.
This looks like a recipe my whole family will love! I will try it this weekend!
This looks so good. I'm sure my family will love this. I have got to give it a try.
This chicken looks amazing. My kids will really love this dish.
this makes me want to invest in an instant pot. i usually do these recipes in a normal crockpot
How much oil is being added to cook the battered chicken?
1/4 Tbsp