Honey Garlic Instant Pot Pork Chops
These Instant Pot Pork Chops are tender and smothered with a flavorful honey garlic sauce. Cook these pressure cooker pork chops from fresh or frozen, using bone-in or boneless pork chops. Serve your honey garlic Instant Pot pork chops with rice or potatoes and a vegetable for a quick and easy meal!
Pork chops are an easy, family-friendly meal. Pork chops cook quickly, so they are perfect for quick dinners. My other easy pork chop recipes include my baked pork chops and these pan seared pork chops.
Today I’m sharing these Instant Pot pork chops, which have quickly become one of my go-to recipes when I need an easy meal for my family. My kids love these pork chops, especially the honey garlic sauce!
Cooking pork chops in your Instant Pot takes just a few minutes of prep time, and while the pork pressure cooks you can get the rest of your meal on the table. You’ll brown the pork chops right in your Instant Pot and then they’ll pressure cook in the honey garlic sauce.
When I make these pork chops in my Instant Pot, I like to serve them with mashed potatoes, brown rice or homemade biscuits. If you have a second Instant Pot, you can cook Instant Pot mashed potatoes at the same time as you cook the pork chops. Roasted broccoli, roasted brussel sprouts and roasted sweet potatoes are all delicious with this pork chop recipe.
Honey Garlic Instant Pot Pork Chops
- are made completely in the Instant Pot, even browning the meat and thickening the sauce!
- can be cooked from fresh or frozen, full directions for both below.
- are tender and flavorful since they cook right in the honey garlic sauce.
Instant Pot recipes are one of my favorite ways to get dinner on our table with less effort. If you’re just getting started with Instant Pot cooking, read my beginner’s guide about how to use an Instant Pot. My favorite Instant Pot accessories can help you to cook even more delicious recipes in your pressure cooker!
How to Cook Pork Chops in Your Instant Pot
There are just a few simple steps to make these Instant Pot boneless pork chops. Learn how to adapt this recipe for bone-in pork chops and frozen pork chops below.
- Prepare the honey garlic sauce: Peel and mice the garlic, and set it aside. Combine the remaining sauce ingredients in a bowl: honey, soy sauce, tomato paste (or ketchup), apple cider vinegar and sweet chili sauce (optional, see tips below).
- Season both sides of the pork chops with pepper.
- Sear the pork chops: Turn on sauté mode on the Instant Pot and wait for the pot to get hot. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the pot. Brown the pork chops for 1-2 minutes per side. Sear the pork chops in batches if they will not all fit in the bottom of the pot at once. Transfer pork chops to a clean plate.
- Cook the garlic: Add the garlic to the oil in the pot, press “Cancel” to turn off sauté mode (so the garlic doesn’t burn), and cook, stirring for 30 seconds.
- Deglaze the pan: Add the honey and soy sauce mixture to the pot and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Pressure Cook: Return the pork chops, along with any juices, to the Instant Pot. Close the lid and turn the steam valve to the sealing position. Pressure cook for 1 minute on high pressure. The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will start.
- Natural Release: When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes by leaving the Instant Pot alone. Then quick release any remaining pressure.
- Thicken the Sauce: Take the pork chops out of the Instant Pot and place them on a clean plate to rest. In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Turn sauté mode on and add the cornstarch slurry to the pot. Stir until the sauce thickens. This should only take a minute or two. Turn off sauté mode and remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot base to immediately stop the cooking process.
- Serve the pork chops with the honey garlic sauce and your choice of vegetable such as green beans. Enjoy!
How Long to Cook Boneless Pork Chops in an Instant Pot
I tested and retested this recipe to find the best cook time to make pork chops that are tender, and perfectly cooked. Most Instant Pot pork chop recipes call for pressure cooking boneless pork chops for 8, 10 or even 15 minutes plus a natural release. When I tested a cook time of 8 minutes my pork was way overcooked, dry and tough. Not at all what you want in a pork chop!
After many tries, I found that just one minute of pressure cooking time plus a 5 minute natural pressure release was perfect for thick-cut boneless pork chops. The pork chops were cooked through and tender, not tough or dry. Be sure to follow the tips below for the best pressure cooker pork chops.
Tips for this Instant Pot Pork Chops Recipe
- Use thick-cut pork chops, between 1-inch and 1 1/2-inches thick. Thin cut chops will overcook and dry out in the Instant Pot.
- Season the pork chops with pepper, but not salt, before you add them to the pot to brown. The soy sauce in the honey garlic sauce adds enough salt to this recipe. I recommend using low sodium soy sauce. You can taste and adjust the seasonings to your tastes after cooking.
- Make sure that the Instant Pot is hot before adding the pork to sear. When you turn on sauté mode it takes a few minutes for the pot to heat up. Sear the pork for only 1-2 minutes per side, or you will cook the meat too much during this step and it will end up overcooked. Even just a little bit of searing will begin to caramelize the outside of the pork chops and adds flavor to the finished dish.
- Allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 5 minutes after the cook time ends, then quick release any remaining pressure. The natural release time allows the juices to redistribute through the meat and makes the pork tender.
- The sweet chili sauce is optional in this recipe, but I like to add it for depth of flavor and a little spice. It doesn’t make the sauce really spicy, it just adds a little kick to the sauce.
Cooking Bone-In Pork Chops
You can use bone-in pork chops in this recipe. Add 2 minutes to the cook time. Check that the pork chops have reached an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees F. If not, you can finish cooking them using sauté mode.
Instant Pot Frozen Pork Chops
To cook frozen pork chops in the Instant Pot, skip the step of browning the meat. Sauté the garlic in olive oil and then add the remaining sauce ingredients and frozen pork chops to the pot. Add 2 minutes to the pressure cook time, and increase the natural release time to 10 minutes. Check that the pork chops have reached an internal temperature of 145 degrees F.
More Instant Pot Pork Recipes:
Honey Garlic Instant Pot Pork Chops
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup honey
- ⅓ cup low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sweet chili sauce optional
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 boneless pork chops 1 to 1 ½-inch thick (see note for bone-in or frozen)
- black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Combine honey, soy sauce, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar and sweet chili sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in the Instant Pot using saute mode until the pot is hot.
- Season the pork chops with pepper and add them to the hot pot. Brown the pork chops 1-2 minutes per side and no more. Transfer pork to a clean plate.
- Add the minced garlic to the pot, press "Cancel" to turn off saute mode, and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
- Pour the honey soy sauce mixture from the bowl into the pot and stir, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the pork chops and any juices released back to the Instant Pot. Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the steam release valve to the sealing position.
- Set the pressure cook time to 1 minute on high pressure/manual. The Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will start. When the cook time ends allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes by leaving the Instant Pot alone. Then quick release any remaining pressure by turning the steam release valve to the venting position.
- When the pin has dropped down, open the Instant Pot lid. Use an instant read thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the pork has reached at least 145 degrees F. Remove the pork chops to a clean plate. Press "Cancel" to turn the warm setting off.
- Combine the 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water in a small bowl. Turn saute mode on and stir the cornstarch mixture into the Instant Pot. Cook, stirring, until the sauce thickens. This should only take 1-2 minutes. Press "Cancel" to turn off the Instant Pot and remove the inner pot from the Instant Pot base to immediately stop the cooking process.
- Serve pork chops with honey garlic sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
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The cook time is only 1 minute is that correct?
Yes, that is correct. The pork chops will also cook some when you brown them, plus they will start cooking during the time that the Instant Pot pressurizes. They will also continue cooking some during the natural release.
I made this the other night and it was WONDERFUL. It turns out I didn’t have corn starch (could have sworn it was in that cabinet!) so the sauce was thin, but my husband would have drunk a glass full of it. This recipe is a definite keeper, and I’m considering trying it with chicken thighs too, instead of pork chops.
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! My family loves this sauce too, and I bet it would be delicious with chicken!
I did try it with the chicken thighs, and it worked perfectly.
Great!