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–+ servings
Overhead photo of a bowl of Instant Pot bourbon chicken with white rice garnished with sliced green onions.

Instant Pot Bourbon Chicken

40aprons.com/instant-pot-bourbon-chicken/
Saucy, sticky, sweet, and spicy, this is a fast and easy dupe for your favorite takeout dish. Serve with rice or veggies and plenty of sauce!
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 15 minutes
Total 30 minutes
Recipe Makes (Approximate): 4 servings

Equipment

  • medium mixing bowl
  • whisk
  • Cutting board
  • 6-quart Instant Pot or other similar-size pressure cooker
  • Large wooden spoon
  • small mixing bowl
  • small whisk
  • Slotted spoon
  • Large bowl

Ingredients

For the Bourbon Sauce

  • ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar (or coconut sugar, or Brown Swerve)
  • ¼ cup 100% apple juice
  • ⅓ cup soy sauce (low-sodium if desired)
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
  • 3 large cloves garlic (crushed)
  • ½ teaspoon dried ginger
  • ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

For the Chicken

  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces)
  • salt (to taste)
  • freshly cracked black pepper (to taste)
  • 1-2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil (avocado oil, canola oil, peanut oil, etc.)

For the Cornstarch Slurry

  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons cold water

Serving Suggestions (All Optional)

  • thinly sliced green onions
  • white sesame seeds
  • steamed rice

Instructions

For the Bourbon Sauce

  • Add ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar, ¼ cup 100% apple juice, ⅓ cup soy sauce, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, 1 tablespoon bourbon, 3 large cloves garlic, ½ teaspoon dried ginger, and ¾ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to medium mixing bowl.
  • Whisk ingredients together vigorously until fully incorporated into mostly-smooth mixture. Set aside.

For the Bourbon Chicken

  • Place 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into bite-sized pieces) on cutting board. Sprinkle generous amounts of salt and freshly cracked black pepper onto chicken pieces, then flip chicken over and repeat on other side.
  • Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add 1-2 tablespoons neutral-flavored oil to Instant Pot insert and heat insert until oil is hot and shimmery.
  • Add seasoned chicken to Instant Pot. Cook 5 minutes, stirring chicken occasionally, until chicken is lightly seared on all sides.
  • Add bourbon sauce mixture to Instant Pot. Stir to fully coat chicken in sauce, making sure to scrape up any browned bits of chicken that may have stuck to bottom of insert.
  • Secure lid on Instant Pot and lock lid with valve in Sealing position. Set Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure, then set cook time to 2 minutes. Instant Pot will come to pressure, then 2-minute cook time will begin.
  • While Instant Pot pressurizes, add 2 tablespoons cornstarch and 2 tablespoons cold water to small mixing bowl. Whisk vigorously to fully incorporate ingredients into thick slurry mixture. Set aside.
  • When 2-minute cook time ends, carefully Quick Release internal pressure. Use caution as any escaping steam will be very hot.
  • Use slotted spoon to remove all chicken from Instant Pot and place chicken in large bowl. Set chicken aside.
  • Add cornstarch slurry to Instant Pot insert. Whisk slurry and sauce together until well combined, then set Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Bring mixture to boil.
  • Once boiling, allow mixture to boil 30 to 60 seconds or until sauce has thickened.
  • When satisfied with sauce consistency, turn Instant Pot off and return chicken to insert. Stir to fully incorporate chicken into sauce.

To Serve

  • Portion chicken into desired servings. Spoon additional sauce over top of chicken, then garnish with thinly sliced green onions and white sesame seeds if desired. Serve warm with steamed rice or sides of choice.

Recipe Notes

  • Bourbon: To make this dish without alcohol, simply omit the bourbon entirely, or replace it with an equal amount of apple juice.
  • If you want to double the recipe, first be sure your Instant Pot is large enough to accommodate the additional amount of ingredients! You should not need to change the cook time from 2 minutes - the Instant Pot will simply take longer to pressurize.

Nutrition Information (Approximate)

Serving Size: 1 servingCalories: 427calProtein: 46gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 215mgSodium: 1363mgPotassium: 680mgTotal Carbs: 28gFiber: 0.5gSugar: 21gNet Carbs: 28gVitamin A: 205IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 48mgIron: 3mg
Recipe By: Cheryl Malik
https://40aprons.com/instant-pot-bourbon-chicken/