Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs

Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs are incredibly easy to make. Just put everything into a pressure cooker and let it work its magic! You’ll get tender chicken in a delicious honey-garlic sauce. Serve it over rice with green onions.

Make Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs with roasted carrots and roasted broccoli on the side–delish!

Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs in the Pressure Cooker

I’ve recently been really into my pressure cooker (Instant Pot). I was unsure about it at first, but now it’s become one of my favorite kitchen tools, right up there with my Air Fryer.

Some of my favorite Instant Pot recipes are the super-easy Instant Pot Risotto, Salsa Verde Chicken, and homemade Black Beans and Pinto Beans. Now, this Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs recipe is a new favorite! My oldest even ate the leftovers for breakfast, so I know I’ll be making this a lot!

Honey-Garlic Sauce Ingredients

• Garlic and Ginger (check out the “shortcut” section below!)
• Ketchup. I can’t recommend Heinz® ketchup enough — it’s so good in this homemade honey-garlic sauce (not sponsored).
• Honey. Stick to honey here–maple syrup and agave don’t have quite the right flavor profile.
• Soy sauce. We want regular soy sauce, not lite which won’t deliver enough saltiness and flavor. (When using regular soy sauce, we had no need to add extra salt.)
• Cornstarch. This ingredient thickens the sauce and delivers a glossy beautiful chicken coating.

What Honey-Garlic Chicken is Made Of

For this recipe, I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs. They are very tender, easy to shred, and less likely to dry out compared to chicken breasts. The fat in the thighs adds a nice richness to the dish. I tried this recipe with chicken breasts but didn’t like it as much, so I don’t recommend using them.

Optional Finishing Step: Charring the Meat

You really can’t get crispy chicken in a pressure or slow cooker. That said, if you want some char or crisp, you can char the meat in the oven. Here’s how to do that:

• Heat oven to high broil. Keep rack in the middle of the oven.
• Line a pan with foil and generously grease with cooking spray. (You’ll thank me later!)
• Use tongs to add chicken in an even layer.
• Add tray to middle of the oven and broil on high for 5-7 minutes or until nicely charred and crisped on top to your liking.

We love these shredded chicken thighs over basmati rice with a side of broccoli or roasted vegetables. This combination makes up a nice well-rounded dinner, but if you’re looking for side dishes, here are some other great options.

What Goes With Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs?

• A crunchy cucumber salad like this Asian Cucumber Salad
• A big green salad like Applebee’s Chicken Salad (Just leave out the chicken to make it a side dish.)
• Crisp, roasted veggies like Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, or Roasted Cauliflower
• Not a fan of rice? Try these honey garlic chicken thighs with roasted potatoes instead.

More Easy Chicken Recipes:

• Baked Ziti With Chicken with the best Parmesan-cream sauce
• Buffalo Chicken Pasta with a Buffalo-Alfredo sauce
• The BEST Blackened Chicken made in the oven with chicken thighs!
• Garam Masala Chicken using rotisserie chicken
• Chicken Taco Marinade with the BEST seasoning blend!

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5 from 1 vote

Honey Garlic Chicken Thighs

By Chelsea Lords

Honey-Garlic Chicken Thighs couldn’t be easier to make — throw everything into a pressure cooker and let it do the work! The result? Succulently tender chicken bathed in a sweet, savory honey-garlic sauce. Serve the chicken over rice with green onions and steamed or roasted broccoli.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings (if served over rice with veggies)

Ingredients 

USMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (not breasts)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• ▢ 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• ▢ 2 teaspoons minced ginger
• ▢ 2 tablespoons regular (not lite) soy sauce
• ▢ 1/3 cup honey
• ▢ 1/3 cup ketchup (like Heinz)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ Optional: sesame seeds, slice green onions
• ▢ Serve over: rice with roasted or steamed broccoli (Note 1)

Instructions 

• SAUCE: Set pressure cooker to "Sauté." Once hot, add in butter and melt; once melted, add in garlic and ginger. Stir constantly for 1 minute then add soy sauce, honey, and ketchup. Sauté until mixture comes to a boil then press "cancel" on pressure cooker. Add chicken thighs and turn to coat in the sauce.
  
• PRESSURE COOK: Cover and set the pressure cooker lid valve to “Seal.” Pressure cook on manual (high) for 10 minutes, followed by a 5-minute natural release. After that, quick release any remaining pressure by carefully flipping the valve to “venting.” (Stay clear so the steam doesn't burn you!)

  OR SLOW COOK: See Note 2
  
• SHRED: Remove the lid and use tongs to pull the chicken from pressure cooker to a separate bowl. Use two forks to shred the chicken. Back to the sauce: turn pressure cooker to "Sauté" again. Remove 1 tablespoon of the sauce and whisk it in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Pour this mixture back into the pressure cooker and stir until the sauce becomes thick and glossy. Turn off pressure cooker and return the shredded chicken. Stir through.
  
• *OPTIONAL* CHAR CHICKEN: See Note 3
• SERVE: Serve saucy chicken over rice. Garnish with green onions and/or sesame seeds if desired. Enjoy!

Video

Recipe Notes

Note 1: Rice: Here's our favorite quick way to cook rice (must use basmati rice for this to work properly):

• Fill a large pot with water and set it to boil.
• Once the water is at a rolling boil, generously salt the water and add in rice (as much as you'd like!).
• Cook without reducing the heat, for 6 minutes (taste test to ensure it is tender, if not boil until it is) and then drain and fluff with a fork.

Note 2: Slow cooker instructions: In a pot on the stovetop, melt butter over medium heat. Once melted, add garlic and ginger and stir until fragrant. Add sauce ingredients and whisk to combine. Bring to a boil then turn off heat. Use a spatula to scrape every bit of this sauce into a well-greased slow cooker. Add thighs and turn to coat. Cover and slow cook for 3-5 hours on low or until chicken is tender and shreds easily; remove chicken to a bowl and shred. Transfer all of the sauce leftover in slow cooker to a small pot and bring to a simmer. Remove 1 tablespoon of the sauce and whisk it in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon cornstarch until smooth. Pour this mixture back into the pot and stir until the sauce becomes thick and glossy.

Note 3: Char the chicken: If you're someone who loves crispy chicken, you can't really achieve that in the pressure or slow cooker, but you can quickly char the meat in the oven. Here's what we do: 

• Heat oven to high broil. Keep rack in the middle of the oven.
• Line a pan with foil and generously grease with cooking spray. (You'll thank me later!)
• Use tongs to add chicken in an even layer.
• Add tray to middle of the oven and broil on high for 5-7 minutes or until nicely charred and crisped on top to your liking.
• If you decide to char the meat, you may want to double the sauce to have extra afterwards! It all just depends on how much you like sauce!
• 

Nutrition information does not include rice.

Nutrition

Calories: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 177mg | Sodium: 838mg | Potassium: 521mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 28g | Vitamin A: 319IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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