honey sesame chicken and cauliflower rice with green onions in a bowl with a spoon

Instant Pot honey sesame chicken thighs. The most tender, flavorful, and addicting chicken thighs you will ever make! I cannot stop making this for dinner, it’s just that good!

I am so obsessed with this recipe. I can’t even express how good it is! The flavor of the sweet and slightly spicy sauce, with fall apart tender chicken thighs. YUM.

You’ll make this recipe using your Instant Pot, so it takes about 30 minutes or less, from start to finish. Quick, easy, and so good.

honey sesame chicken and cauliflower rice with green onions in a bowl with a spoon on a cane chair with a white napkin

We like to pair ours with cauliflower rice and any other veggies we have on hand. I had some frozen peas that I mixed in, plus some leftover roasted asparagus. It’s also an amazing recipe to pair with regular rice or quinoa. SO many meal options!

It’s a perfect high protein filling meal that the whole family will love. It tastes like take out, but it’s gluten free and made with healthy ingredients 🙂 Yes please!

I honestly don’t think I am never making chicken thighs any other way than in my Instant Pot- it just cooks them SO perfectly. I will definitely be testing more recipes with it ASAP.

honey sesame chicken and cauliflower rice with green onions in a bowl with a spoon

I truly cannot wait for you guys to make these honey sesame chicken thighs for dinner. I just know you will be obsessed!

I have not made this any other way than in the Instant Pot, but please let me know if you do! I also have not tested any ingredient substitutes, and I recommend keeping the recipe as written to get the same results as me!

I can’t wait to hear what you guys think of this one. Enjoy! xo

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Honey Sesame Instant Pot Chicken Thighs (gluten free)

  • Author: Mia Zarlengo
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 25 minutes
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 45 servings 1x
  • Category: Lunch, Dinner

Description

Eeasy gluten free and paleo honey sesame chicken thighs made in 20 minutes in the Instant Pot!


Ingredients

Scale
  • 1.5 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 tbsp sesame oil

For the sauce:

  • 1/3 cup coconut aminos
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp sriracha 
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt
  • Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional, for an extra kick)
  • 1 tbsp tapioca starch 

For garnish

  • Green onions, diced
  • Sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. In a bowl, whisk together the coconut aminos, garlic, honey, tomato paste, lime juice, sriracha, salt, and red pepper flakes (all of the sauce ingredients besides the tapioca starch) . Set aside.
  2. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Turn your Instant Pot on to sauté; once preheated add the sesame oil and sear your chicken thighs for 2 minutes per side. Turn sauté function off.
  3. Pour your sauce into the instant pot, gently stir everything, then lock the lid into place and set to pressure cook on HIGH for 15 minutes. When done cooking, allow steam to release naturally for 5 minutes, then turn off the Instant Pot and manually release the rest of the pressure.
  4. Use tongs to remove the thighs onto a plate. 
  5. Turn Instant Pot back to the sauté function with the sauce still in the pot, then stir in the tapioca starch. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes to thicken. Pour the sauce over your chicken thighs, garnish with green onion and sesame seeds, and serve!

Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Lunch + Dinner, Paleo, Recipes

Category:

Mar 25, 2021

Honey Sesame Instant Pot Chicken Thighs (gluten free)

Did you make this recipe? Be sure to tag @gatherednutrition on INstagram so I can see what you made! Leaving a rating and review on the site is a huge help too!

  1. Jackie M says:

    Simple and delicious! Was a major dinner hit in my house. Will definitely be making this again.

  2. Ashton says:

    So good! Super simple and the sauce is amazing.

  3. Pablo says:

    This is incredible and so easy to make. Lots of flavor and I can’t wait for the leftovers!

  4. Jessica Foley says:

    What would you recommend trying if one does not have an insta pot? these flavors look great!

  5. Sara says:

    Everyone in our house loved this! So simple and easy too. Even my picky toddler was obsessed 🙂

  6. Carlee says:

    Loved this! So easy and so flavorful. I didn’t have tomato paste on hand so I subbed ketchup… obviously not as healthy, but it worked! Thank you, as always, for the best recipes 🙂

  7. Tori says:

    I don’t have an instant pot so I tried this on the stove top – i cut up the chicken thighs into bite side pieces and cooked through then added the sauce and starch. It worked perfect! So delish! Thanks for the recipe Mia!

  8. annie says:

    so good!!! i will be adding this into my dinner rotation 🙂

  9. Jessie says:

    So good and I didn’t even make it in an instapot!

    Made mine in my always pan. Cooked the chicken first then added the sauce and cooked w the lid on for 20 minutes all on medium heat.

    Made with turmeric cauli rice & broccoli.

    Will make again! Thanks Mia!

  10. Sarina Patel says:

    THIS IS AMAZING.

  11. Bethany says:

    These are AMAZING, the sauce is so good. Adding this to my weekly recipe rotation 🙂

  12. shelby says:

    Your recipes never miss! Me and my dad both said we could eat the sauce by itself. So so good

  13. Jennifer says:

    This was amazing!! Thanks Mia!!

  14. Micaela says:

    I’ve had this recipe saved for forever but was hesitant to make it because I don’t have an instant pot and I usually loath cooking with chicken thighs. Let me tell you, this was worth giving them another try! I too made it on the stovetop but unfortunately it did not serve 4-6 because my boyfriend and I ate all up in one night lol. Another hit in our household!!

  15. Nika says:

    INSANELY delicious!! The most complicated thing I make is boxed macaroni, but made it a goal to try to help in the food department at home. This was my first recipe to try and I am SO lucky it was. The flavor, the texture, the easy assembly..no brainer this will be a staple in my recipe rotation. Thank you for such clear, easy to follow instructions!

  16. Yesenia Aguirre says:

    I love this recipe!! So easy and so delicious!

  17. Molly Derry says:

    Mia does it again!! So easy, so GOOD! My husband and I both loved this meal so much!

  18. Claire Pettit says:

    Hi! Could I make this recipe using chicken breasts? Thanks!

    • Mia Swinehart says:

      Hi Claire- I haven’t tested it that way so I am not sure how it would turn out! It may work ok, but the cook time may vary!

  19. Riley Higgins says:

    I don’t have an instant pot, so I cut the chicken into about 1 inch squares (the don’t have to be perfect) and then cooked them on a skillet over medium heat with a little sesame oil and olive oil until cooked through. I made the sauce in a bowl and then put it into a small saucepan with a cornstarch slurry (1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp cold water) to reduce. I then tossed the chicken with the sauce, and it was delicious!!

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Simple. Attainable. Gathered Nutrition.