Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

Instant pot teriyaki chicken is meltingly tender chicken bites in a sweet and salty teriyaki sauce. Homemade teriyaki sauce and chicken thighs bites make this a quick and kid friendly chicken dinner.

You can check out all of my instant pot mini recipes here.

I have been on a mission to create quick and easy pantry meals that adults and kids both love! This recipe comes together with chicken thighs and pantry stapes to make the teriyaki sauce. I always have a pack of chicken thighs in the fridge or freezer, and a bag of rice can always be found in my pantry.

It turns out, when you cook chicken thighs in the instant pot in just 5 minutes, they become super tender and juicy. The meat is soft and coated in a silky salty-sweet sauce; what’s not to love here?

Why you will love Teriyaki Chicken Thighs in the Instant Pot

My love for chicken thighs is unparalleled–it is my favorite cut of chicken to cook with. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs have slightly more fat than chicken breasts, which keeps the meat moist as it cooks. I use kitchen shears to cut off most of the fat, because I don’t like it in my final dish, but it’s up to your preference. 

Once you make dark meat chicken in the instant pot, you won’t go back! However, you can use chicken breasts as a substitute here, if that’s what your family prefers. Keep the cuts to about 2-inch chunks–anything smaller might overcook.

What is teriyaki sauce?

Teriyaki sauce is a Japanese cooking sauce consisting of soy sauce, sugar, and rice wine. The combinations of salty, sweet, and acidic is the perfect vehicle for tenderizing meat that is cooked quickly.

I’ve seen variations of teriyaki sauce that contains honey, pineapple juice, and other sweeteners. I’m keeping it simple by using brown sugar, soy sauce, and rice wine vinegar. 

Along with soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice wine vinegar, I’m also adding freshly grated ginger, garlic and sesame oil to the sauce. The freshly grated ginger and garlic can be substituted with 1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder, if you lack fresh. The sesame oil brings a nuttiness to the dish, and I love to drizzle extra sesame oil on my final dish, too!

Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki ingredients

• Soy Sauce. We need 3 tablespoons of regular soy sauce, not soup soy sauce or dark soy sauce. This recipe doesn’t call for any additional salt, so I don’t use the low-sodium version either. If you’re gluten-free, look for gluten-free tamari, because the rest of the recipe is entirely gluten-free.
• Brown Sugar. Equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar make the perfect ratio for teriyaki sauce. You can use either dark or light brown sugar. Coconut sugar also works, if you have it.
• Rice Wine Vinegar. This brings a small amount of acidity, and is a common ingredient in teriyaki sauce. If you don’t have rice wine vinegar, you can use mirin, apple cider vinegar or even red wine vinegar.
• Garlic. One clove of freshly minced garlic is about 1 teaspoon.
• Ginger. I always keep peeled frozen ginger in my freezer, and it’s so easy to grate on a microplane. Grate until you have 1.5 tablespoons, but also, this is optional. If you don’t like ginger, omit.
• Sesame Oil. Just two teaspoons of toasted sesame oil for teriyaki sauce, and then extra for drizzling on top, if you wish.
• Chicken Thighs. This recipe makes 4 portions and calls for 1.75 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You can double it as needed.
• Oil. A small amount of oil to keep the chicken from sticking to the bottom of the instant pot. Anything neutral is fine–vegetable oil, canola oil, grappled oil, etc.
• Cornstarch. In order to have a silky sauce that coats and clings to each bite of chicken, we have to make a cornstarch slurry! Right after the chicken is done cooking, we will stir one tablespoon of cornstarch into one tablespoon of cold water. Pour this on the hot chicken, stir, and watch a beautiful silky sauce appear!
• For serving: freshly cooked rice, scallions and sesame seeds.

How to make Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken

1. First, gather all of the sauce ingredients: brown sugar, cornstarch, soy sauce, fresh ginger, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and garlic. Pretend this photo has a garlic clove in it, and that your child didn’t grab it and insist on playing with it while you were taking a photo. Homeschooling is going great, thanks for asking, hah!
2. Whisk together all of these ingredients, except for the cornstarch. We’ll dissolve the cornstarch later and stir it into the already cooked chicken. The scallion is for serving later. 

3. Now, use kitchen shears to trim off most of the fat from 1.75 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You can use chicken breasts instead, if you like. Using scissors to cut up chicken is my favorite time-saving technique in the kitchen.
4. Before adding the chicken to the instant pot, drizzle 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on the bottom to prevent sticking. Then, pile in the chicken and pour the teriyaki sauce on top.

5. Please note that I’m cooking with the instant pot 3 quart mini because I cook for two, but this recipe works in a regular instant pot, too!

6. Place the lid on the instant pot, turn the valve to ‘SEAL’ and then pressure cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, let everything rest for 5 minutes (natural pressure release), and then manually open the pressure valve to release the remaining pressure. Please be careful, the steam coming through the valve is very hot–I usually wrap my hand in a towel and use a wooden spoon to open the valve.

7. Once you remove the lid from the instant pot, whisk the 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 1 tablespoons of cold water, and then pour into the pot with the chicken. 
8. Now, turn the instant pot to SAUTE and add 5 minutes. Depending on your instant pot model, you’ll have to turn off the pressure function first by pressing OFF. The saute function lets you cook with the lid off of the instant pot, like you’re using a regular stovetop. It’s one of the many reasons I love the instant pot–it has so many functions!

9. Once the cornstarch mixture comes to a boil, the sauce will thicken and coat the chicken. It’s so silky and smooth! Please note that cornstarch must first be dissolved in cold water before being boiled in order to achieve this. Do not add the cornstarch directly do the pot without dissolving it in cold water first.

Quick and easy Teriyaki Chicken (Instant Pot)

This dish comes together after just 5 minutes of pressure cooking, and then a quick saute to activate the cornstarch slurry. The cornstarch thickens the teriyaki into a sauce that coats the pieces of chicken.

Pressure cooking small bites of chicken guarantees a juicy bite of chicken that is meltingly tender. The first time I made this recipe, I almost ate all of the chicken right out of the pressure cooker!

I’m positive after you make this instant pot teriyaki chicken thighs recipe just once, it will immediately go into your easy weeknight dinner rotation. I’ve also added it to my list of quick dinners to make and drop off at friends’ houses that have just had a baby, or otherwise need help getting dinner on the table!

How to serve Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

I serve this over freshly cooked hot rice. It’s also great over noodles. I especially like to toss yakisoba noodles (Chinese wheat noodles) with extra teriyaki sauce and add the chicken on top. Steam a bag of snow peas or edamame in the microwave, mix in and serve.

How to store Teriyaki Chicken Thighs

If you have leftovers, divide it into air-tight food storage containers. It keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can also portion it into freezer-safe containers, and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost overnight in the fridge, and then warm on the stove to heat through. You may need to add a splash of water or chicken broth to bring it all together.

Chicken Teriyaki Instant Pot FAQs

Other chicken thigh recipes:

Honey Garlic Chicken

Honey Mustard Chicken Thighs

Chicken Cacciatore Recipe

Instant Pot Butter Chicken

Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings