Christine @ Good & PlatedThis Instant Pot Ginger Chicken features tender chicken breast in the best sweet and spicy sauce and is the perfect addition to your next Asian inspired meal.
If you are looking for a new Asian-inspired, easy, crowd pleasing meal, look no further than this awesome Instant Pot Ginger Chicken recipe!
This delicious meal is adapted from one that I prepared for a group of 15 friends. Yep, that’s right, 15 people. How did I manage cooking for so many you might ask? Instant Pot to the rescue!
What is an Instant Pot?
The Instant Pot is an electric pressure cooker, which can do the job of a rice cooker, a yogurt maker, a steamer, a pressure cooker, a saute pan and a slow cooker all in one. Apparently, they are so popular that approximately 20% of American households own one!
In my years of cooking, I’ve discovered that there are two types of people in the world: those who love the Instant Pot and use it all the time (me!), and those who have an Instant Pot collecting dust somewhere. I love my Instant Pot for both set-it-and-forget-it meals and for meals that might normally take a long time to develop incredible flavor and tenderness in a short period of time.
Instant Pot Ginger Chicken does both. There is a little bit of active cooking at the beginning and end but otherwise you add all the ingredients to the pot and get to walk away and focus on other things while it cooks. A little bit of work for a BIG reward.
You’ll love this recipe if. . .
- You love tender and juicy shredded chicken and a flavorful ginger-garlic sauce that is sweet and savory with just the right amount of heat.
- If you are looking for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
- You want an Asian-inspired protein option that is absolutely delicious.
- You need a one pot recipe that frees up your stove and oven so you can prepare other crowd-pleasing dishes or meal prep.
How to make THE BEST SAUCE for Ginger Chicken
One of the best parts of this recipe is the awesome sweet and spicy sauce that covers the chicken. It’s thick and flavorful and made with just a few ingredients.
- Ginger: Of course with Ginger Chicken you gotta have some fresh ginger! This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger. I definitely recommend using fresh over the pre-minced variety as you really want that spicy ginger flavor to come through. (Pro Tip: If you are worried about your fresh ginger root going bad before you get to cook with all of it, try storing it in the freezer where it will keep for much longer.)
- Garlic: Garlic and ginger are awesome flavor buddies, especially in Asian cooking so it’s only natural to add some here.
- Soy Sauce: The savory, saltiness of the sauce comes from soy sauce, which in addition to being a traditional flavor in Asian cuisine, provides wonderful umami flavor.
- Rice Vinegar: If you’ve never cooked with rice vinegar before, it’s a condiment made from fermented rice that is also common in Asian cooking. It’s less acidic and milder than white vinegar and has a sweet and tart flavor. You should be able to find it near the soy sauce in your grocery store.
- Maple Syrup: I love using maple syrup when adding sweetness to a savory dish or sauce because it’s easier to incorporate than sugar which needs to dissolve in other liquids.
- Red Pepper Flakes: I like using crushed red pepper flakes in this recipe because it’s easy to control the spice level (you can add more if you like it really spicy) and I always have some on hand in my pantry.
- Cornstarch: A few tablespoons of cornstarch are the secret to creating a thick sauce quickly.
How to Cook Instant Pot Ginger Chicken
- After adding your chicken breast to the Instant Pot, whisk together all the ingredients for the sweet and spicy sauce and pour over the chicken.
- Pressure cook for 10 minutes then allow for natural release.
- Shred your chicken breast.
- Thicken sauce and return chicken to the pot to coat.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, thighs would also work great in this recipe. Though I would up it to 6 chicken thighs so you have the right proportion of meat to sauce.
Honey would also be a great sweetener option in this recipe.
You can use white vinegar instead of rice vinegar, but be sure to give the sauce a taste before adding it to the Instant Pot. You may need to add a little more sweetener to balance out the flavors since rice vinegar is naturally less acidic and a bit sweeter than white vinegar.
Yes, just add an additional 10 minutes of cook time.
Definitely! It makes several servings and by cooking in the Instant Pot, you can free up your stove or oven so you can prepare other meal prep dishes at the same time.
This recipe is perfect for feeding a lot of people. Just drag the number beside ‘serving size’ on the recipe card to increase the serving size. No need to adjust the cooking time!
What to serve with Instant Pot Ginger Chicken
I love serving this Ginger Chicken as part of an Asian inspired bowl with brown rice and my Asian Roasted Vegetables with Toasted Sesame Oil. But it would also go well with noodles or even on top of a crispy green salad.
Print
Instant Pot Ginger Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Sauce
Tender ginger chicken breast in the best sweet and spicy sauce makes the perfect addition to your next Asian-inspired meal.
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (see note)
- ⅔ cup maple syrup
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic (4 cloves)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use ½ teaspoon if you like it extra spicy)
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2 scallions, diced
Instructions
- Add ingredients: Place chicken in an Instant Pot. Whisk together soy sauce, water, maple syrup, rice vinegar, ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper flakes in a bowl and pour over chicken.
- Pressure cook: Place the lid on the Instant Pot and turn the vent to seal. Press “pressure cook” and set the timer to 10 minutes.
- Natural release: When the Instant Pot “beeps” to signal the end of cooking time, allow a natural release until the float valve sinks.
- Shred chicken: Remove chicken and shred using two forks.
- Thicken sauce: Add cornstarch to a small bowl along with 3 tablespoons of the cooking liquid from the Instant Pot. Stir together until there are no lumps of cornstarch remaining. Set the Instant Pot to the “soup” setting and when the liquid comes to a boil whisk cornstarch mixture into the sauce until thickened.
- Finish and serve: Turn off the Instant Pot, transfer shredded chicken back in and stir to coat in the sauce. Garnish with chopped green onions.
Notes
- If the chicken breasts you are using are especially thick (say larger than 1 ½ inches), I’d recommend pounding them to an even thickness to make sure they cook properly.
- STORAGE: Once prepared, let the chicken cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It can also be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Asian inspired
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
- Calories: 226
- Sugar: 33.6 g
- Sodium: 860.1 mg
- Fat: 0.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 46.3 g
- Protein: 9 g
- Cholesterol: 20.7 mg