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white bowl filled with rice, broccoli and sesame chicken
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5 from 7 votes

Instant Pot Sesame Chicken

This Instant Pot Sesame Chicken is ready in about 20 minutes.
Prep Time7 minutes
Cook Time3 minutes
Pressure Building Time10 minutes
Total Time20 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Asian
Keyword: asian chicken recipe, honey sesame chicken, sesame chicken
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 405kcal
Author: The Chunky Chef

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts cut into approximately 1 inch pieces
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1/2 cup soy sauce reduced sodium is best
  • 3 Tbsp ketchup
  • 1 tsp sriracha sauce
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger or ginger paste
  • 1/4 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp cornstarch
  • 2 Tbsp water

GARNISHES

  • 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
  • sliced green onions

Instructions

  • Add cubed chicken, salt, pepper, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, ginger and sriracha to the Instant Pot. Stir to combine.

PRESSURE COOK

  • Secure lid, making sure the valve is set to “sealing”. Select manual or pressure cook and use the +/- buttons to set it to 3 minutes.
  • Once pressure cooking is finished, turn the valve to “venting” to perform a quick pressure release.

THICKEN SAUCE

  • Open lid and select “saute”. Add brown sugar, sesame oil, and rice vinegar. Stir to combine.
  • In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until smooth. Stir into chicken and sauce. Continue cooking, stirring with a wooden spoon until sauce is thickened to your liking. This usually takes me about 2-3 minutes.

GARNISH AND SERVE

  • Serve immediately, garnished with sesame seeds and sliced green onions. We love to have this alongside white or jasmine rice and steamed broccoli.

Notes

SLOW COOKER DIRECTIONS

  1. Add cubed chicken, salt, pepper, soy sauce, ketchup, garlic, ginger and sriracha to the insert of a slow cooker.
  2. Cover and cook on LOW for 2-3 hours.
  3. Add brown sugar, sesame oil and rice vinegar and stir.
  4. Whisk together cornstarch and water until smooth, then stir that mixture into the chicken and sauce in slow cooker.
  5. Cook, uncovered, on HIGH for 10-15 minutes, stirring often, until sauce has thickened to your liking.
  6. Serve and garnish as written.
  7. If you need or want to cook the chicken longer, you can cook whole boneless skinless chicken breasts on LOW for 6-8 hours, although this will likely be a shredded sesame chicken.

STOVETOP DIRECTIONS

  1. Add 2 Tbsp vegetable or canola oil to a large skillet or wok and heat over MED HIGH heat.
  2. While oil is heating up, whisk together soy sauce, ketchup, sriracha sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, and rice vinegar.  Set aside.
  3. Once hot, add cubed chicken, season with salt and pepper, and cook about 3-4 minutes until chicken is browned and mostly cooked through.  Depending on the size of your skillet, you may need to brown the chicken in batches.
  4. Remove chicken to a plate.
  5. Add garlic and ginger and cook about 30 seconds, stirring very often.  Stir in sauce you whisked together earlier.
  6. In a small mixing bowl whisk together cornstarch and water until smooth, then stir that mixture into the sauce in the skillet.  Add browned chicken back to the skillet, along with any accumulated juices on the plate.
  7. Cook, stirring often, until sauce is thickened to your liking.
  8. Serve and garnish as written.

Nutrition

Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 52g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 145mg | Sodium: 2313mg | Potassium: 974mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 126IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 55mg | Iron: 2mg