Instant Pot Sweet Soy Chicken Thighs
Instant Pot Sweet Soy Chicken Thighs Recipe – Melt in your mouth chicken thighs made in the pressure cooker, with a sweet sticky ginger garlic soy glaze!
Soy Sauce Chicken For The Win!
This chicken, guys…
Ultra-moist, fall-off-the-bone chicken thighs. Salty-sweet sticky glaze. And a rich Asian spiced aroma, wafting from the Instant Pot.
These things together create the most amazing chicken.
A Sweet Soy Chicken Recipe For Your Weekly Meal Plan
Today’s Instant Pot Soy Sauce Chicken Thighs are one of “those recipes” you are going to make over and over. My kids beg for it on a weekly basis, and have since the first time I made it.
Seasoned with a handful of pantry staple ingredients, these pressure-cooked chicken thighs are undeniably addictive. You can literally press a fork on the top of each thigh and the meat just falls into shreds.
Although they have an enticing Asian flavor, Instant Pot Sweet Soy Chicken Thighs pair well with just about everything. You can serve them with steamed broccoli and rice, or over mashed potatoes.
You can even pull the meat off the bones and mix it into quick pasta dishes!
Ingredients Checklist
- Bone-In Chicken Thighs
- Low-Sodium Soy Sauce – I bought a gluten-free version
- Packed Brown Sugar
- Ketchup
- Minced Garlic Cloves
- Fresh Grated Ginger
- Sesame Oil
- Cornstarch or Arrowroot
- Garnish – Sesame Seeds and Chopped Scallions
How to Make Instant Pot Sweet Soy Chicken Thighs
Instructions…
Brown the chicken on the skin side only in batches. This gives the skin color which helps it further retain the color of the glaze while pressure cooking, for a prettier finished product.
Then pile all the chicken thighs in the Instant Pot.
Whisk together a quick marinade made with light soy sauce, brown sugar, a little ketchup for color, garlic, and ginger.
Pour the glaze over the chicken.
How Long To Cook Chicken Thighs In The Instant Pot?
Seal the lid on the pot and pressure cook the chicken for 20 minutes.
You can enjoy the chicken immediately, or whisk in a little cornstarch at the end to thicken the glaze.
Pull the chicken thighs out of the Instant Pot with tongs and ladle the sweet glaze over the top of each piece.
Don’t have dinner plans tonight? Give our Instant Pot Sweet Soy Chicken Thighs a try.
You will not be sorry!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do The Soy Sauce Chicken Leftovers Last?
You can store this dish in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
Don’t have an Instant Pot?
You can make this recipe in the slow cooker. Follow step 1 on the stovetop and place the chicken thighs in a slow cooker. Pour the glaze over the top. Then cover the slow cooker and set it on high for approximately 6 hours. Follow step 4 to thicken the sauce.
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Bang Bang Shrimp
- Perfect Instant Pot Butter Chicken Curry
- Pressure Cooker Corned Beef Cabbage Irish Stew
- Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Breasts
- Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken
- Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice by 40 Aprons
Check out the printable recipe card below for the total cook time and nutrition information including calories, carbohydrates, protein, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, potassium, fiber, vitamin c, and calcium percentages.
Instant Pot Sweet Soy Chicken Thighs
Ingredients
- 4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs (10-12 thighs)
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce (I bought gluten-free)
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot
- Garnishes: sesame seeds and chopped scallions
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot on the Sauté setting and add the sesame oil. Add several of the chicken thighs, skin-side-down. Brown the skin for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Then remove the chicken thighs and repeat with the remaining thighs until all have been browned on the skin side. Place all the chicken thighs back in the Instant Pot, skin-side-up. *This first step is optional. Then skin will not stay crisp once pressure cooked, but the browning process gives the skin a much richer color once finished. If skipping the browning, pile the raw thighs in the Instant Pot and move onto step 2.
- Pour the soy sauce, brown sugar, ketchup, garlic, and ginger in a bowl. Whisk well, then pour the glaze over the top of the chicken.
- Lock the lid into place. Set the Instant Pot on Pressure Cook High for 20 minutes. Then turn the Instant Pot Off and perform a Quick Release . Once the pressure valve button drops, it’s safe to open the lid.
- Scoop 1/4 cup of the glaze out of the pot. Whisk 1 tablespoon cornstarch into the glaze. Then turn the Instant Pot back on Sauté and stir the cornstarch slurry back into the pot. Let it simmer for 2-4 minutes to thicken the glaze. Turn off the pot. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and chopped scallions before servings.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Made this following the exact recipe. OH MY GOSH delicious. Family loved it. Had it with rice and green beans. Thank you for the awesome recipe!
Really good. Will be making this regularly. I used coconut aminos and added about a quarter cup of some chicken stock that was all gelatin and seasoning. I doubled the recipe for the sauce and used an extra quarter cup of ketchup than what it called for. Used two tsp of ground ginger and about a tbsp of fresh. I didn’t brown my thighs and had 8 or 9 of them in an 8 quart so I added an extra five minutes to the cook time and let it natural release another ten. I also saved some of the sauce to make my slurry in instead of pulling the boiling sauce out of the pot. That worked out well. Thanks for the easy recipe. The simplicity makes it a favorite for sure.
The sauce is excellent! Made with boneless, skinless chicken thighs (8 of them). Skipped the browning step but did add the sesame oil for flavor. Cooked 8 minutes then quick release, turned out tender and delicious. Thanks to prior reviewers for the tips on timing for boneless/skinless thighs :)
Made this
It was delicious
I added sriracha sauce
And hoisin
only one quarter cup sugar
Thanks for the great inspiration
Cooking in Mexico
Lynda
Super easy and very tasty!
The first time I tried this recipe, it instantly went into the dinner rotation. It was so tender that I could eat it with a spoon, and the sauce is so good that I want to lick my plate. My hubby, who typically avoids or limits carbs, takes seconds every time I make this. Thanks for a great, fast, easy recipe. I’m thrilled that I happened across it and look forward to trying others on your site!
Definitely a recipe to save! I’m not a fan of eating messy meat on the bone, so i followed the recipe exactly but removed the chicken and deboned it into chunks that I put into the sauce. I added a little sriracha to my serving . Just a bit to get that spice with the sweetness. Served it in top of ip jasmine rice. Everyone wants seconds before they’re done with firsts!!! Thanks so much!
My family loves this. For those who need low carb, I substitute liquid aminos for soy sauce, use Swerve (or similar product) brown sugar, sugar-free ketchup, and skip the corn starch.
Made these tonight with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. I didn’t even brown them first. Put about 3 lbs in the pressure cooker, mixed the sauce ingredients in a measuring cup & poured it over the chicken. I set it for 11 minutes with 4 minutes natural release. I did thicken it with the cornstarch. Omg, so yummy. Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
Really tasty recipe but my sauce ended up super runny even with the cornstarch. Maybe it was supposed to be more runny? I was picturing more like a thicker sauce bbq sauce texture? But it was still delicious. I don’t know if I did something wrong though? Thanks for the recipe!
Ooops forgot to rate it! Definitely a 5 for taste.
This is the first real meal I learned to make in my IP. It’s always my “go-to”. So good!!
I love all the chicken recipes, especially sweet soy chicken. I really enjoy this great recipe. Making this in the pot a bit difficult for me can make it in a toaster oven by setting the time and heat temperature level.
Anyhow, Thank you so much for sharing this. I will surely try this at my home.
Can i make this recipe with drumsticks??
Hi Christina,
Yes, absolutely! :)
What do you mean by Low-Sodium Gluten free Soy Sauce? it’s same as Light Soya Sauce? Here in India we are not able to find the low-sodium version. Please help.
Hi Roshes,
It doesn’t have to be gluten-free, unless you need it to be. Yes, Light Soya Sauce will work. :)
This is one of my favorite recipes!!! My kids love it too! Since the sauce is so yummy, I use skinless thighs for less fat/grease in the sauce. I steam broccoli and carrots and serve over rice. So simple and truly delicious!!!
I doubted a recipe this simple could be astoundingly good. It is. This dish is now in the primary rotation.
I love chicken recipes. SO easy to make sweet soy chicken at home, I really enjoy this great recipe. Thank you so much for sharing this. I will surely try this.
Very simple and delicious. I didn’t have ginger so I substituted cinnamon. It was tasty but I will use ginger next time to compare. Thanks for sharing this recipe. My husband loved it and he IS a picky eater.
Delicious. The sauce was just like my mom used to make it!
Thank you
Fabulous flavor…no leftovers! Two adults and two hungry teens polished off the entire pot. The only substitution I made (since my family likes things spicy) was a Korean Gochujang chili paste for the ketchup. This kept the glaze thicker and spicier and was perfect for my family. Highly recommend it.
I have a ton of extra sauce, can it be saved somehow for another dish?
Hi Tricia,
Sure! Place the sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It should last for about one week. It would taste amazing with beef and pork as well as chicken. :)
This recipe is without doubt one of the best recipes for “Instant Pot” I’ve had in many moons! I followed it to the letter, with maybe a bit more garlic and a tadge more fresh ginger…”Fantastic” I did use potato starch, as it thickens on contact, and I prefer it.
Hi, How long would you recommend for chicken legs? If I don’t brown them, should I take the skin off? Thanks!
Hi Monica,
You can cook chicken legs on Pressure Cook High for 20 minutes as well. You can leave the skins on the chicken legs, even if you don’t brown them. Hope this helps!
I made this tonight, having made others like it in the past. This truly kicked hell out of the others. It’s simply a stunner! I do a lot of Asian dishes, so I increased the ginger to 3Tbs and the garlic to 5 larger cloves! By the time it was done…the whole house bore the fruits my 45 minutes of being in the kitchen! I did use potato starch, as I find it much quicker to thicken, and it’s cheaper than the other choices. I’t was devoured instantly. thanks so much, well worth the work. JMKeller
I made it for my eldercare clients because I wanted a recipe for chicken thighs using my Instant Pot. The husband has dysphasia (swallowing difficulty) so I wanted something tender. This fit the bill! The chicken thighs, at 20 min were very tender. Because they are seniors, I only used 4 thighs. Previous reviews suggested that I still needed same amount of sauce, to avoid burn messages. But, it my opinion, I would cut back on the soy (or liquid aminos) to 2/3 cup. No need for that much soy sauce. To cut the heavy soy, I added water and other neutralizing liquid. Served it over brown rice with the chicken, the sauce, the scallions and the sesame seeds.
Regardless, Ben & Sara thought it was delicious and tender! I know they will be requesting this again.
So delicious!! I was looking for a quick and easy recipe last minute before dinner tonight. I came across this, threw it together and everyone loved it! Will be making it again!!
This is the best chicken glaze I have ever had❤️
I used 2 lbs frozen chicken thighs – cook time is still 20 minutes, but I did a natural release instead of a quick release. The thighs were perfectly tender, fell apart, and shredded beautifully. I did not halve the sauce because of the liquid requirements for the IP (definitely had too much sauce for the chicken, though). I accidentally poured in the soy sauce first before mixing all the ingredients together. I just mixed all of the other ingredients together and poured over the top of the chicken. I used ground ginger and added red pepper flakes (just a few shakes), which was a nice addition. Everything turned out fine and I didn’t get a burn notice, so perhaps the soy-first-then-paste method helped avoid that? I used regular sodium soy sauce, which I think made it a little too salty. I would use low sodium next time.
I am fairly new to the IP game, so I have a question about cook time:
How long would I set the instant pot for if I am only making about 1/3 of the quantity called for in this recipe? (4 thawed bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs)
Thanks!
Yikes, wait, is that even possible? I intended to reduce the quantity of sauce too, but that will leave me with less than a cup of liquid in the pot. Just cooking for two, help!
Hi Alexandra,
You need at least 1-1.5 cups of liquid to pressure cook in an Instant Pot. Therefore you could probably reduce the number of chicken thighs, but not the amount of liquid. Hope this helps! :)
Prepare for four, you’re want to have left-overs of this one, believe me!
Bon Appetit!
The cook time would be the same!
I didn’t use S&P on the chicken but it was delicious anyways, btw!
Trying to make this and I keep getting a burn reading and I don’t know why.
Hi Lee Ann,
Sorry about that. I’ve learned the various models of Instant Pots require different amounts of liquid. Hopefully, this article helps with your pot: https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/instant-pot-burn/
My family loves this recipe. The only change we make is to use canola oil instead of sesame as we have a sesame allergy to manage. My 5 year old named this “phenomenal chicken”. I tried several similar recipes and this is by far the best!
The fix to the saltiness is honey. 1/4 cup and it will come out perfectly. I even used regular soy sauce and there is no over salty flavor. I don’t like the taste of low sodium soy sauce, I learned the trick in Korea.
Also, use 1/4 less soy sauce.
Hello there ,
Can you use chicken breasts with this and if so what would the cook time be on it ?
Thanks so much
Hi Krista!
Yes, you can use chicken breasts. If using boneless breasts set the IP on Pressure cook high for 6 minutes. If using bone-in breasts, set on Pressure Cook High for 16 minutes.
Although, I’ve given this delicious recipe 5 stars I had to think about it (for a split second) only because even though I used Low Sodium Soy Sauce, I found it just a little too salty for MY taste. In defence, I have never used this particular brand of Soy Sauce before, so it may just be a simple mistake on my part. My SOH & my official taste tester thought IT WAS PERFECT, so that’s why it’s now A 5 STAR KEEPER for this family. I did add some red pepper flakes and served it over brown rice, with a side serve of Air Fryer veggies. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
Although, I’ve given this delicious recipe 5 stars I had to think about it (for a split second) only because even though I used Low Sodium Soy Sauce, I found it just a little too salty for MY taste. In defence, I have never used this particular brand of Soy Sauce before, so it may just be a simple mistake on my part. My SOH & my official taste tester thought IT WAS PERFECT, so that’s why it’s now A 5 STAR KEEPER for this family. I did add some red pepper flakes and served it over brown rice, with a side serve of Air Fryer veggies. Thanks for sharing such a great recipe.
Great chicken thighs recipe, my husband and son love it.
I used my instant pot, only had it for few weeks. But I use it every day. Thank you for the great recipe.
This is similar to a stovetop recipe that i’ve since my kids were little. I added red pepper flakes and served it over riced cauliflower to make it keto friendly.
Delicious! Thanks so much!
Made this tonight and my husband can’t stop talking about how good it is lol. I used ground ginger since it was what I had on hand and I skipped the browning. Super tender chicken and the sauce it to die for. I could eat the sauce with rice on its own.
Oh and I also subbed tamari for regular soy sauce.
I want to make this but I do not have ginger. What can I use instead?
Hi Nikki,
Do you have ground ginger in your spice rack? That would work. However, there’s not really a similar substitution for ginger.
I made this using boneless, skinless chicken thighs–just reduced the cooking time to 8 minutes. It came out perfectly! What a quick and yummy recipe. I served the thighs over rice with the sauce and it was lovely. Tender chicken and a flavorful sauce.
Hi, did you also use 4 lbs of thighs?
Made this for dinner for my family and me tonight. It was one of the most wonderful recipes I’ve ever made with my instapot since I’ve had it. I’m saving the leftover sauce for pulled pork later on in the week. Totally yummy and definitely a keeper!😊
Think I’ll make it in a couple of days. Maybe with a side of mac and cheese and squash or green beans.
Looks yum! Gonna try it in a couple of days. Think I’ll make a side of green beans or squash and mac and cheese.
So my first recipe first time instapot user. Wow. As I made it I realized I was out of a few things – like ketsup (substituted barbeque sauce), brown sugar (substituted a combo of molasses and honey) plus used granualted garlic and ground ginger – the taste is really good.
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How long would you cook them if you used boneless, skinless chicken thighs? Thanks!
Hi Annette!
Usually chicken breasts will pressure cook in 5-6 minutes, depending on size.
I made this and substituted Sriacha ketchup for regular ketchup. We stir fried some veggies (broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper and sugar peas) heated up a pouch of precooked brown rice. This was amazing and we will have it again!
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What is you recommended garnish?
Hi Bob!
I like to sprinkle the chicken with sesame seeds and scallions, but you could also use cilantro or even chopped peanuts!
Can you use frozen chicken thighs?
Hi Jess,
Personally, I would thaw them first, before adding to the Instant Pot. It gives you so much more control over the final product.
Oh my gosh, I made this for dinner last night and the three of us ate every single chicken thigh! They were so soft and tender, we couldn’t believe it. AND THE SAUCE!!!! Thanks again for a marvelous recipe.