
Happy day-after-Thanksgiving, friends! I hope you had an amazing holiday week. I’m comin’ atcha today with a SUPER easy, no-fuss recipe that is just what you need after a whooooole lot of cooking. So – introducing THE BEST INSTANT POT CHICKEN. For reals. It is SOOO tender, the sauce is SOOO flavorful, and it seriously could not be easier to make. No browning, no sauteing, it’s just a dump and go situation with a quick shred at the end.
Here are our sauce stars:
- Soy sauce
- Brown sugar
- Rice vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
Whisk it up, and that’s all there is to it! It’s ready to add and cook into our chicken while the Instant Pot works some serious magic.

We use chicken thighs in this recipe, and I can seriously not recommend them enough. They are SO much more tender and juicy than breasts with this teriyaki chicken. The flavor is better, the texture is better – it’s a home run with chicken thighs.
So here’s your process:
- Whisk up your sauce
- Add your chicken to the Instant Pot
- Pour your sauce over top, toss to combine
- Cook for 8 minutes high pressure with a 5 minute natural release
- Shred the chicken while you let the sauce cook down for 10-15 mins
Easy and delicious. We served these as bowls with rice + broccoli. And we spooned every drop of extra sauce over the bowls!

This recipe is absolutely PERFECT for any busy weeknight when you need to get a low maintenance dinner on the table. It comes together fast and it cooks quickly.
Thanksgiving was yesterday, so everyone needs a break from intense cooking for at least a week or two! This is the recipe for you this weekend/next week. Take it easy on yourself, whip this baby out, and have a delicious meal with very little work.
After you’re done working through all those leftovers, of course 😍

Here’s the recipe!
PrintInstant Pot Teriyaki Chicken

The easiest and most delicious Instant Pot chicken! The meat is tender and juicy, the sauce is deeply flavorful and coats every bite of chicken perfectly. It’s an easy weeknight dinner dream!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken thighs
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
- Sesame seeds (optional topping for the chicken)
Instructions
- Add your chicken thighs to your Instant Pot
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients (except the sesame seeds) to form your sauce
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and toss to combine
- Cook at high pressure for 8 minutes with a 5 minute natural release
- Pull the chicken out and then turn your Instant Pot to saute
- Let the sauce boil and cook down for 10-15 minutes until it’s thickened a little bit
- Shred your chicken while the sauce is cooking down, and once it’s finished cooking down, turn off your Instant Pot and stir the chicken back into the sauce
- Serve the chicken and top with sesame seeds!
Notes
We like to serve this in bowls over rice and broccoli!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of the chicken (about 3/4 cup)
- Calories: 407
- Sugar: 27 g
- Sodium: 1529 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 48 g
- Cholesterol: 211 mg

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