Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
These Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Breasts are always moist, tender and flavorful! These pressure cooker chicken breasts cook perfectly in minutes from fresh or frozen. Serve your honey garlic instant pot chicken breast with rice or quinoa and veggies for a complete, quick dinner!
The Instant Pot is a dream come true for getting quick, healthy dinners on your table. Once you set your Instant Pot to pressure cook, you can focus on preparing other parts of your meal – or taking care of your kids.
You can saute ingredients and thicken sauces, all right in the Instant Pot. You can even safely cook chicken from frozen.
Are you new to Instant Pot cooking? Read my How to Use an Instant Pot beginner’s guide to get started today!
Instant Pot chicken breasts cook up perfectly and hold their shape for slicing and serving. This honey garlic instant pot chicken breast is great for quick dinners or for meal prep lunches.
Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- are made completely in the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker), even thickening the sauce!
- can be cooked from fresh or frozen! Freezer meal instructions included in the recipe card below.
- are perfectly juicy and tender, never dry!
How to Cook Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Breast
You will need only 5 ingredients and 30 minutes to have this delicious Instant Pot chicken on your table. Combine the sauce ingredients in your Instant Pot, add the chicken and pressure cook. The last step is to thicken the sauce. It’s so quick and easy!
Ingredients for Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- water or broth
- honey
- soy sauce
- garlic
- pepper
- boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- cornstarch
How long do you cook chicken breast in the Instant Pot?
How long to cook chicken in the Instant Pot depends on the size of your chicken breasts.
For fresh, boneless skinless chicken breasts:
- Cook small (7-8 ounces per breast) chicken breasts for 8 minutes.
- Cook medium (10 ounces per breast) chicken breasts for 10 minutes.
- Cook large (12 ounces per breast) chicken breasts for 11 minutes.
How long do you cook frozen chicken breast in the Instant Pot?
Add between 2-4 minutes to the cook times listed above if your chicken breasts are frozen. I find that adding 3 extra minutes is usually perfect for frozen chicken breasts. You will also want to do a 10 minute natural release instead of a quick release for frozen chicken.
Learn more about how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot.
Make sure that your frozen chicken breasts are not all stuck together in one mass, as this will increase the cook time needed. I recommend freezing chicken breasts in a flat layer so that they are easy to separate when adding to your Instant Pot.
You can prep the ingredients for this honey garlic chicken, freeze and then transfer to your Instant Pot frozen. I recommend thawing just slightly in cool water so that you can easily pour the sauce from the freezer bag. You will need the sauce to be liquid for Instant Pot pressure cooking.
This photo shows how I prep this as a chicken freezer meal, using one of these freezer bag holders to easily add ingredients to the freezer bag.
How to Thicken the Sauce in the Instant Pot
Instant Pot saute mode is one of my favorite features of this electric pressure cooker. After the chicken is done, remove it from the pot and turn your Instant Pot to saute mode. Make a cornstarch slurry by stirring together a mixture of cornstarch and water. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. This will take about 2 to 3 minutes.
It will take a few minutes for the heating element to cool down, so I recommend removing the inner pot from the Instant Pot base once the sauce is thickened. You can slice the chicken and stir it into the sauce, or drizzle the sauce on top for serving.
What to Serve with Instant Pot Chicken Breast
We love this chicken served with rice and roasted broccoli. It would also be delicious with mashed potatoes and roasted carrots.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Easy Instant Pot Chicken Thighs
- Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
Tips for making Instant Pot Chicken Breast
- Use an instant read thermometer to check that your chicken is cooked to at least 165 degrees F.
- If your chicken isn’t cooked through after the pressure cook time finishes, turn your Instant Pot to saute mode to finish cooking the chicken.
- After stirring in the cornstarch mixture, you can add a bag of frozen mixed vegetables to the Instant Pot. They will cook while the sauce thickens.
- To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute coconut aminos or gluten-free tamari for the soy sauce.
If you make this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment below and tag a photo on Instagram @kristines_kitchen. I love to see what you are cooking!
Honey Garlic Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup water or vegetable broth or chicken broth
- ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Combine water or broth, soy sauce, honey, garlic and pepper in Instant Pot. Stir.
- Add the chicken breasts to the Instant Pot.
- Seal the lid and turn the steam valve to the sealing position.
- Set Instant Pot to pressure cook/manual, high pressure. Set the cook time according to the size of your chicken breasts. For fresh: 8 minutes for small (7-8 ounce) chicken breasts, 10 minutes for medium (10 ounce) chicken breasts, or 11 minutes for large (12 ounce) chicken breasts.
- For frozen chicken breasts, add 3 minutes to the cooking times listed in step 4, and pressure cook (manual) at high pressure. Be sure that your chicken breasts are not stuck together as that will increase the pressure cook time.
- The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to come to pressure and then will start counting down the cook time. When it beeps to let you know the cook time has finished, carefully quick release the pressure by using the handle of a long spoon to turn the steam valve to venting. (If your chicken breasts were frozen, do a 10 minute natural release instead of a quick release. Just leave the Instant Pot alone for 10 minutes before turning the steam valve to the venting position.)
- Wait for the steam to escape and the pin to drop down. Then, carefully remove the lid.
- Use an instant read thermometer to test the internal temperature of the chicken. It should be at least 165 degrees F. If the temperature is lower, finish cooking the chicken using the Instant Pot's saute mode.
- Remove chicken to a clean plate or cutting board.
- In a small bowl, stir together the 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Turn the Instant Pot on saute mode and stir in the cornstarch mixture. Cook, stirring, until the liquid has thickened, 2-3 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot and remove the inner pot to stop the cooking process.
- Slice the chicken and stir it back into the sauce in the pot. Serve with rice and vegetables, or as desired.
Notes
To Cook in a Slow Cooker:
- Stir together water or broth, soy sauce, honey, garlic and pepper in slow cooker insert. Add the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 2 hours, until chicken reaches an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F.
- Remove chicken to a clean plate or cutting board. Turn slow cooker to high setting.
- In a small bowl, stir together 2 teaspoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Stir this into the liquid in the slow cooker and cook on high until thickened, about 20 minutes.
- Slice or shred the chicken and stir it into the sauce in the slow cooker. Serve with rice and vegetables, or as desired.
To Make as a Freezer Meal:
- Add water or broth, soy sauce, honey, garlic, pepper and chicken to a heavy duty zip top freezer bag.
- Freeze flat for up to 3 months.
- When ready to cook, thaw in cool water just until sauce is thawed. Transfer to Instant Pot and cook as directed above.
Nutrition
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Hi
Your chicken looks amazing.
I see you have many instant pot recipes.
I would like to purchase one, however there unavailable in Melbourne Australia . Any suggestions of alternative ways of cooking this ausome recipe and many others. And/or how i can get one. There are other brands available any suggestions. I like that the insta pot has a stainless steel inner pot,
would like a large one to cater. Thanks in advance
Ane.
Thank you! There are other brands of electric pressure cookers. I haven’t tried them so I can’t recommend one but perhaps there are reviews online? This recipe can also be made in a slow cooker, but the instant pot is best for chicken breasts that are moist and hold their shape. I hope you are able to find a pressure cooker that will work for you.
Oh gosh, that sauce looks AMAZING, Kristine! I’m such a fan of honey garlic anything. 🙂 Definitely adding this winner to the dinner menu!
Thank you, Sarah! Honey garlic is always a great combo!
I don’t know what exactly happened, but this was the first recipe I tried to make in my IP…and it burned. I used medium frozen chicken breasts so I set the cook time on manual to 13 min. It seemed to vent steam from the very beginning, it never started the countdown timer, and after 20 minutes I got the dreaded “burn” message. Most of the food was inedible; I ate one very dry chicken breast that didn’t have too much burnt sauce on it. Help?
Hi Eva, I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you. Did you add all of the liquids/ingredients listed in the recipe? Was your steam valve set to the “sealing” position? It sounds like either your steam valve wasn’t closed or you may have a defective Instant Pot. I had one Instant Pot that wouldn’t reach pressure and had to exchange it.
Hi! I’m dumb! My valve was on “vent” the whole time!
Tried it again tonight and it turned out AMAZING! Rest of dinner isn’t ready yet but I’ll sure post a pic when it is! I cut up all the chicken and put it in the thickened sauce too. Nom!
That explains it! It can happen to all of us. 😉 I’m happy you figured out what the problem was! And glad that you enjoyed this recipe. Thanks for commenting again to let me know what happened.
I made this as our first meal in our Instant Pot and it was a hit! It’s hard to find a meal that my toddler and teenagers both love and everyone cleaned their plates for this chicken. Next time I will definitely make a double batch and freeze one.
It makes me so happy to hear that, Laura! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. 🙂
For the ingredients what are the amounts?
I could find it
Hi Margaret, The ingredients and amounts are listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
I received an Instant Pot for Christmas and this was my second attempt. It was a total success! Thank you so much for this crowd-pleasing recipe with perfect directions! My only regret is that there isn’t any left for lunch tomorrow! Thanks again!
I’m so happy to hear that! The more you use your Instant Pot, the more you are going to love it! 🙂
I just got my Instant pot for Christmas and tried this recipe…didnt have enough soy sauce so made up the difference with half water and maple syrup..it came out wonderful
I’m glad you enjoyed this!
Does the chicke. Sit right in the liquid to cook or does it need to go on a steamer tray?
In this recipe the chicken sits in the liquid, no steamer tray is needed.
I made this tonight and could not get my sauce to thicken up. This is the second dish I have made in the IP now that I couldn’t get the sauce to thicken. What am I doing wrong? I made the cornstarch slurry as suggested and mixed in on saute setting for three minutes. Do I need to be changing something on the saute setting itself?
Hmmm, I’ve never had that problem. You may need to wait a few minutes for the pot to heat up on the saute setting. You might need to cook it on saute for a few more minutes. There is also a “more,” “normal” and “less” setting for the saute mode so you might check which yours is set to. The sauce should be simmering during the thickening step.
I was looking for something easy for my second attempt at cooking in my new instant pot. This was easy and delicious! My hubby ate 2 servings. I used frozen breasts from Sam’s Club and cooked for 13 minutes. I did not have any frozen vegetables to add, but plan on buying a frozen stir fry mix to add next time because I think it will make it even better. Thanks for a keeper Kristine!
I’m so glad you enjoyed this! I need to add the veggies next time, too.
Thank you for sharing this honey garlic instant pot recipe! It was easy to follow and with few ingredients. A huge hit with the family. Thanks again!
You’re welcome, Jenny! I am so happy to hear that your family enjoyed it!
If I have 2.5 lbs of chicken instead of 1.5 lbs, I just double the recipe right?
Yes, just double the recipe. The cook time is based on the size of the individual chicken breasts, not the total amount of chicken.
I have a Power Pressure Cooker XL Pro. I made this recipe as you gave it, It is delicious. I had to make only one adjustment. The saute of the sauce, following the cooking, took less time than the 20 minutes. Other than that, it worked very well.
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Brenda. It should only take 2 to 3 minutes to saute the sauce (as noted in the recipe). Thank you for your feedback.
I made this tonight and loved it. It will go in my regular rotation. I usually create my own recipes but decided to try your and am glad I did.
That is a huge compliment! Thank you! I’m happy to hear you’ve found a new favorite. 🙂
Made this recipe tonight. The flavor is perfect except my thin cut chicken breasts were dry 🙁
Hi Samantha, The cooking time for meat in the Instant Pot depends on the size/thickness of the meat, so you would need to reduce the cooking time for thin cut chicken breasts. I’m glad you enjoyed the flavor of this dish.
I am the worst at making chicken breasts… This recipe was amazing! I put the sauce over quinoa and it was delicious!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I love that you served it with quinoa.
Hi Kristine.
Just made you’re honey garlic chicken breasts. They were amazing. Cooked perfectly. You’re step by step instructions were easy to follow. The caramelized sauce was soooooo good. We are new to the instant pot cooking, but will definitely add this recipe to our dinners.
Thank you
Joan
Hi Joan, I am so happy to hear that you enjoyed the honey garlic chicken! The more you use your Instant Pot, the more you are going to love it!
Wow thank you! My teen son is SO PICKY but he pretty well inhaled his dinner tonight. I did 2 medium breasts with chicken broth and for 10 minutes and it was PERFECT! I usually find I have to play with an InstantPot recipe to make it work for us, but this was perfect first time. Now I have to make larger portions for next time. That would mean more sauce. Any hints on how much liquid to add to make enough sauce for more breasts? I found this sauce did nicely for the 2 breasts without leftover sauce.
Thank you so much for the very delicious and easy recipe!
Donna from London, ON
Hi Donna, That is wonderful that you son enjoyed this recipe! I would increase the sauce ingredients in the same proportion as you are increasing the amount of chicken. Thank you for sharing how this recipe worked for you!
I’d like to cook the rice right in the pot also. Possible?
I haven’t tried this with this particular recipe, but it might be possible to use the pot in pot method. Here’s what I would try: You would put the rice and water in an oven safe bowl or pan and set it on top of a 2.5-inch metal trivet. (I use an egg steamer rack that I purchased for my Instant Pot.) The chicken and sauce would be on the bottom of the Instant Pot underneath. White rice cooks in 3-5 minutes in the Instant Pot plus a 10 minute natural release, so you would need your chicken to be small – I would guess that 6-8 ounce breasts would cook in 5 minutes high pressure + 10 minute natural release. You could always cook the chicken a bit more on saute if it wasn’t done. If you try it let me know how it turns out.
Just tried this today….. It was awesome! So fast, so simple…. and hardly any clean up. PERFECT!
The quick clean up is one of my favorite things about Instant Pot cooking!
Hi the nutritional information listed is it fit the chicken and rice. Or just chicken?.the carbs seem high off just using cornstarch.
It’s for the chicken and sauce. 1 tablespoon of honey has 17 grams of carbs so that’s where most of the carbs come from.
My husband loves it!! We doubled the recipe. This is a keeper. We’re thinking about using molasses next time, instead of honey, just to see what it tastes like!
Thank you for this recipe!!
I’m happy to hear that!
Delicious. Made it twice and both times it was a hit. Served with quinoa and broccoli and everyone had seconds.
I’m so glad!
Shouldn’t we saute the chicken a little bit before, or does it go straight and end up being “boiled” ?
The chicken is pressure cooked, not boiled. If you want to saute it some before pressure cooking you can, but I don’t think that will improve the finished dish. If you do saute it some, you’ll need to reduce the pressure cooking time a bit since the chicken will have partially cooked already. I hope you enjoy this if you try it!
I made this last night, my first time using The Pot, and it was a hit, even with my picky autistic son. Thank you very much! I went a little mad trying to get the temperature correct; my thermometer kept reading 140, but eventually the chicken was actually falling apart and my wife declared it done. I guess I need a better thermometer.
That is amazing! I’m so glad! You can get a good inexpensive instant read thermometer on Amazon. I’d recommend something like this thermometer.
Can you tell me how to adjust if using either frozen or thawed boneless skinless chicken thighs?
I would cook thawed boneless skinless chicken thighs on high pressure for 11 minutes, plus a quick release. If they are frozen, I would add 3 minutes to the cook time. Always check that the chicken is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees F using an instant read thermometer. Enjoy!
Very good! Having leftovers on my salad for lunch tomorrow!
That’s a great way to use the leftovers!
How would I adjust time if I’m using Chicken Tenderloins?
I haven’t tested this recipe with chicken tenders but I would try 3 minutes on high pressure plus 7 minutes natural pressure release, then quick release any remaining pressure. If you try it, let me know how they turn out. 🙂
I used frozen thighs and cooked for 16 minutes. Came out perfectly! My husband absolutely loved it. Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks for sharing! I’m glad you enjoyed it. 🙂
I made this tonight and it was so simple and absolutely delicious! My family devoured it. I served it over rice noodles (I added the rice noodles to the rest of the meal). This meal will become a staple in our house because it is easy, healthy, and tasty!
That’s awesome! The rice noodles are a great idea!
I stumbled on this recipe by doing a quick google search because I forgot an ingredient for a different recipe and I needed to use my chicken ASAP. No time for a trip to the store. So I looked for something that was easy and which I already had the ingredients for. I was VERY happy with the results of your Honey Garlic Chicken and I will make this recipe again. It’s a keeper! I had 1.5 pounds of chicken breast so I kind of took a wild guess at the time and ended up doing 16 minutes – the meat turned out a bit dry (over-cooked) but next time if I buy that much chicken I’ll do 13 minutes instead and it will be perfection. Thank you for this recipe — I will look over your site for more IP recipes. I’m ALWAYS needing recipes that don’t have a lot of expensive or overly exotic ingredients.
Hi Katie, I’m so glad you found my website and this recipe! I really try to keep my recipes as simple as possible, both with the methods and ingredients. 🙂 The cook time for Instant Pot chicken breasts depends on the size of the individual breasts, and the total amount of chicken doesn’t make much difference. So whether you have 4 chicken breasts that are 10 ounces each or 2 chicken breasts that are 10 ounces each, you will still cook for about 10 minutes in the Instant Pot. I hope that makes sense!
Instead of thickening with the corn starch I just added 2 cups of instant rice (I did double the recipe) and let the rice cook in the sauce. My husband loved it. This will be in my IP rotation! Thanks so much!
That sounds delicious! I’m glad you enjoyed this!
Do you use the trivet to put the chicken on?
For this recipe, I do not use the trivet. The chicken cooks in the sauce right on the bottom of the pot.
Second recipe of yours today and it was another success! So delicious!
I did use liquid aminos instead of soy sauce, and it took about 10 minutes to thicken instead of 2-3.
Woohoo! I’m so glad you enjoyed this!
I didn’t have chicken stock so I used white wine. It turned out wonderful! Will use this recipe again/
Thank you for sharing! I’m glad this recipe worked for you.
So good. My picky eaters even loved it. Followed the instant pot recipe. Doubled it. I had to add another tsp of cornstarch. It wasn’t thickening. The sauce is like a rice bowl and can be added to leftover rice for the next day. Thanks so much. I’ll bookmark this
I’m happy to hear that your whole family enjoyed this!
Made this last nice in the IP with slightly frozen chicken breasts (pressure cooked for 14 minutes and NR for 10) and it came out great. The children loved it, which is such a bonus (6 and 3 years old). Served with farro and roasted asparagus. Delicious and will certainly make again. thank you for the recipe!
It is the best when the whole family, kids included, love a recipe! Hearing that makes my day! 🙂