Dump and start Instant Pot sesame chicken cooked in a rich honey soy sauce. This Chinese classic is made so easy in the Instant Pot, perfect for a busy mid-week dinner and definitely much better than a take out!
Here’s another family favorite, honey sesame chicken made in the Instant Pot! A bit similar to my favorite Instant Pot brown sugar chicken recipe, and my firecracker chicken (this recipe is AMAZING by the way, make sure to check it out!). It’s definitely one of the recipes that go in our monthly rotation, and we usually serve it with plain white rice.
The Instant Pot version is so quick and easy! The chicken is cooked in just 3 minutes on high, and the sauce turns out so thick, rich, and delicious!
What Is Sesame Chicken?
Sesame chicken is a dish that is usually found in Chinese restaurants in America. It’s a take-out meal that we used to get all the time before I realized how easy is it to make at home.
The sauce is mainly made with honey and soy sauce, so the chicken turns out sweet and just a little bit spicy. The sauce is made thick and rich so it glazes the chicken nicely.
Traditionally, the chicken breast is cut into bite-sized pieces then battered, deep-fried, then it’s tossed in the sticky sauce. But this Instant Pot version is a dump and start recipe, no deep frying or sauteing is needed, and it turns out as good as your favorite take-out!
Instant Pot Sesame Chicken Recipe
Make sure that you’re using boneless chicken breast for this, as chicken thighs won’t really work. Cut the chicken, and prepare the ingredient so it’s easier for you to make this.
For the sauce, you will need soy sauce (I recommend using a low-sodium soy sauce as otherwise, it can be too salty), ketchup, hot sauce or sriracha, garlic, ginger, honey, and sesame oil. Some of these ingredients go in the pot before pressure cooking, and the rest are added at the end.
TIP: To thicken the sauce, make a cornstarch slurry by mixing 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 or 2 tablespoons of water, then add them to the sauce to thicken it while the Instant Pot is set on the SAUTE setting.
What You’ll Need
- An Instant Pot. I have this Instant Pot, it’s my favorite!
- I love these stainless steel measuring cups and use them every time I cook, as well as those measuring spoons.
- Low sodium soy sauce.
- Chicken breasts (about 2 pounds).
- Ketchup and hot sauce (this is the one that I use), or sriracha.
- Garlic, ginger, honey, sesame oil, cornstarch, toasted sesame seeds
How to Make Instant Pot Sesame Chicken
- Add the chicken to the Instant Pot, followed by soy sauce, garlic, ginger, ketchup, hot sauce or sriracha. and give the ingredients a quick stir.
- Cover the pot with the lid, and make sure that the valve is in sealing position. press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK (this depends on which Instant Pot do you have), and cook on high for 3 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure, and count down to 0. When it beeps, quickly release the steam by turning the vent to the RELEASE position and make sure that it’s not close to your face as the steam will be really hot!
- Carefully remove the lid, and press on SAUTE. Add the honey, sesame oil, and make the cornstarch slurry. At this point, you can taste the sauce and see if you need to add salt (I usually don’t).
- To make the slurry, combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1-2 tablespoons of water. Add it to the sauce, and stir with a wooden spoon or spatula until the sauce thickens. Switch off the saute setting (I remove the stainless steel insert from the pot at this stage so it does not continue to cook).
- Garnish with sesame seeds, and spring onions or scallions. Serve over plain white rice that you can easily make in the Instant Pot.
Thickening the Sauce
I always use cornstarch slurry and add it at the end. However, If you have no cornstarch available, you can use arrowroot powder.
More Asian-Inspired Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot hibachi steak
- Instant Pot hibachi chicken
- Instant Pot shrimp and broccoli
- Instant Pot beef and broccoli
- Instant Pot fried rice
- Or check out my Instant Pot recipe collection!
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I hope that you love every recipe that you make! – Diana x
Instant Pot sesame chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-size or 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 inch ginger peeled and grated
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce or sriracha
- ¼ cup honey or brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds to garnish
- chopped green onion to garnish
Instructions
- Add the chicken to the Instant Pot, followed by soy sauce, garlic, ginger, ketchup, and hot sauce or sriracha. Give everything a quick stir.
- Cover the pot with the lid, and make sure that the valve is in sealing position. Press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK (this depends on which Instant Pot do you have), and cook on high for 3 minutes.
- Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure, and count down to when it beeps, quickly release the steam by turning the vent to RELEASE position and make sure that it's not close to your face as the steam will be really hot.
- Carefully remove the lid, and press on the SAUTE setting. Add the honey (or brown sugar), sesame oil, and make the cornstarch slurry.
- To make the slurry, combine 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1 tablespoon of water. Add it to the sauce, and stir with a wooden spoon until the sauce thickens. Switch off the saute setting.
- Serve over rice, and garnish with chopped green onions and toasted sesame seeds.
Video
Notes
- It’s important to use low-sodium soy sauce in this recipe, as otherwise, your sauce might be too salty. If you only have regular soy sauce, use ¼ cup of soy sauce or tamari, and ¼ cup of water.
- Nutrition values are calculated per 1 portion of sesame chicken without rice (rough estimate). If you’re following a specific diet or have a health condition, please make your own calculations and don’t rely on our data.
Christina
Super easy and delicious ! I didn’t have ginger and don’t care for it so I left it out and didn’t have sesame oil or sesame seeds so I guess it wasn’t a true sesame chicken but it tasted great! Added broccoli. Will definitely make again
Allison
This was super delicious and simple to make! My husband strongly approves! Thanks so much!!
R B
Would this be good to freeze, and if so, do you think any change in the cook time or other parts of the recipe? I can’t wait to try this. Thanks so much!
Kelly
I just put all ingredients (but honey and slurry) into the freezer. I’m hoping to dump and cook. Thinking I’ll double the cook time or NR instead of QR. I’ll let you know!
Jessica
I made this last week and it was delicious! I want to make it again, has anyone doubled the recipe? Would the cooking time be the same?
Diana
I’m glad that you liked it! You can certainly double the recipe but keep the cooking time the same.
Tara Niewender
So the cooking time would be 6 minutes if we were to double the recipe? And when we saute, is it 10 minutes or maybe a little more than 5. I’m sorry I am just making sure since I’m new to the Insta Pot way of cooking…lol
Tash
This was awesome made it tonight! I’d like to make it for more people later this week, if I double the amount of meat, I would leave the cooking time the same? Still 3 minutes?
Diana
Glad to hear that you loved it, Tash! Keep the cooking time the same (3 minutes).
Amy
Hello, this sounds delicious and I can’t wait to make it for my family. What size instant pot are you using? I have an 8 quart instant pot and this does not seem like enough liquid.
Diana
Hi Amy, You need a minimum of 2 cups of liquid for an 8 quart to come to pressure. The amount of the liquid used in this recipe is enough but feel free to double the amount of the ingredients.
Tara
I have the duo crisp. Would you think an air crisp at the end would be a good idea?
Diana
I don’t own a crisp lid, so I haven’t tried it myself. But I don’t see why would you use it for sesame chicken?
Kelly
This sounds absolutely deeelish, wondering if anyone has made this more keto friendly? What would you do? Xathan gum instead of cornstarch slurry, sugar free ketchup, Tamari instead of Soy sauce any ideas about substitute for honey ??
Diana
Hi Kelly, I’m not an expert when it comes to keto diet so I won’t be able to answer you. But if you find out what’s a good substitute for honey, please can you let me? 🙂
Deborah Kitsos
Hi, can’t help with the honey, but you could use arrowroot fo thicken. Hope this helps.
Teri Chandani
This was so fast, simple, easy and delicious! The whole family loved it!
Tracy
Made it just as directed, using sriracha sauce bc I’m feeding toddlers. I didn’t even need to double the sauce like I was considering. Fed our family of 4 with plenty of left overs. I added some steamed veggies after cooking and served over rice to balance the meal. Such an easy recipe, family loved it. Adding this to our rotating meal plan!
Karen
I have made this several times , it’s so delicious. One of my family favorites .