Super easy dump and start Instant Pot chicken and broccoli dinner made in 20 minutes from start to finish! This family-friendly recipe is loved by adults and children alike, the flavors turn out just incredible!
This recipe was requested by many of my blog readers in the past few months. So many of you tried my Instant Pot beef and broccoli, and my Instant Pot shrimp and broccoli and LOVED the flavors! So here’s my version of the chicken and broccoli recipe.
This makes an easy and quick dinner using very simple ingredients.
- Garlic and ginger.
- Brown sugar, granulated sugar, or honey.
- Sesame oil (or toasted sesame oil) and low sodium soy sauce.
- Corn starch to thicken the sauce.
- Sesame seeds for garnish.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli?
- To the Instant Pot, add the chicken, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and sesame oil. Give it a quick mix.
- Cover with the lid, and make sure that the Instant Pot vent is in a sealing position.
- Press on “manual” or “pressure cook” on high, and set on 3 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to build up the pressure, and then cook for 3 minutes. Once it beeps, it means that the cooking is finished. Quickly release the steam, and carefully open the lid.
- To thicken the sauce, add the slurry (corn starch mixed with water in equal amounts). Saute for 1-2 minutes and mix. You might need a little bit more slurry than the amount indicated in the recipe card but start with just 1 tablespoon of corn starch and 1 tablespoon of water then decide if you need to add more or not. The sauce will become thick and glossy.
- Switch off the Instant Pot, and mix in either raw or steamed broccoli (find out how to steam broccoli in 0 minutes in the Instant Pot here). I usually use raw, then cover with the lid to let the broccoli “steam” for a couple of minutes before serving.
- Serve over Instant Pot rice, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Freezer Meals
You can make freezer meals by either mixing the ingredients raw without the soy sauce or water and freeze. Or freeze cooked meals preportioned in freezer bags or containers for up to 3 months.
Recipe Video
I created a step by step video to show you exactly how I cooked this chicken and broccoli in my Instant Pot, so make sure to check it out.
More Great Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot shrimp and broccoli
- Instant Pot hibachi steak
- Instant Pot chicken wings
- Instant Pot burrito bowl
- Instant Pot fajita rice
- Instant Pot steak fajitas
- Instant Pot chicken fajitas
Or check out my Instant Pot recipe collection!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli
Recipe Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 1 pound (450 g) chicken breasts cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 pound (450 g) broccoli steamed
For the sauce
- ¼ cup (60 ml) low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ¾ cup (180 ml) water or beef stock
For the slurry and garnish
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch for the slurry (add 1 tbsp of water and mix it with the corn starch before adding to the sauce) – you might need more if your sauce isn't thick enough.
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds to garnish (optional)
Instructions
- To the Instant Pot, add the chicken, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, water, brown sugar, and sesame oil. Give it a quick mix.
- Cover with the lid, and make sure that the Instant Pot vent is in sealing position.
- Press on "manual" or "pressure cook", set on high pressure, and cook for 3 minutes. Let the Instant Pot come to pressure, then it will stop cooking and will beep. Quickly release the steam and carefully open the lid.
To thicken the sauce:
- Press on "saute" setting, and add the slurry to the pot. Mix it with the sauce, and the sauce will be thickened. If it's not thick enough, then add one more tbsp of cornstarch with water mixed together before adding to the pot.
- Stir in the broccoli and cover with the lid to let it "steam" for a couple of minutes. Serve over rice, and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Notes:
- We made a small quantity for this post, but you can easily double or triple the amount of the ingredients. The cooking time remains the same.
- Initially, the recipe called for half a cup of low-sodium soy sauce, but we decided to change this to just a fourth cup after we received feedback that the sauce turned out too salty.
- For more flavor, add 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce and 1 teaspoon of hoisin sauce to the pot before pressure cooking.
- You can substitute the fresh ginger with ¼ teaspoon of dried ground ginger if that’s what you have on hand.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Rebekah says
The flavor is GREAT but my chicken tends to be a little dry/overcooked and I have yet to figure out how to get the sauce to thicken. I put it on saute and add the cornstarch slurry but it never thickens and after several minutes with the watery sauce boiling I’m worried my chicken is just overcooking! Would love tips because overall I really like this recipe! Thanks:)
Rosemary Dupre says
I can’t even tell you how amazing this was AND EASY! Making it again tonight and adding red pepper flakes, sliced red peppers and water chestnuts!
Keith says
Just posting to perhaps help other newbies.
The taste was excellent but I didn’t read the part about if you double the recipe you still keep the cooking times the same. I increased it and thus the chicken was over cooked and dry.
Also it seemed impossible that you could cook broccoli for 0-1 minutes so I did 2 and it was mushy.
Btw This recipe gets rave reviews on the largest Instantpot recipe group on Facebook.
Peace!
Keith and Kathy
Michelle says
Just made this and the flavor was great! My sauce was much lighter than traditional chicken and broccoli. I used almost 1/2 c soy sauce and 3/4 c water. Did anyone else have this issue?
Brenna says
Can I add lo mein noodles to cook in the IP or do you recommend cooking separately?