This simple dump and go Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli is an easy weeknight dinner that needs little to no prep time. It’s an easy chicken dinner that’s healthy and takes less than 10 minutes to make.
Today I’ve got for you another take-out favourite, Chinese chicken and broccoli but made at home in the Instant Pot! It’s surprisingly easy to make and it doubles as a meal prep! Watch the video to see just how easy it is to make this Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli! (note: for those asking where the video is, the player is blocked if you have an ad block extension added to your browser!)
Why You’ll Love This Instant Pot Chinese Chicken and Broccoli
- It’s not fussy. It’s pretty difficult to mess this one up! No worries about a burn notice for this chicken and broccoli Instant Pot recipe.
- It’s saucy. I love saucy recipes because I can drizzle the sauce all over my rice.
- It’s easy. Everything gets dumped into the Instant Pot (hence why it’s called a dump and go recipe!). It’s a recipe that doesn’t require a lot of work, until the end when you stir in the cornstarch and broccoli.
- It’s healthy! What makes this Instant Pot Chinese chicken and broccoli healthy? Well, for one it’s homemade! The ingredients are not overly processed and we get to control the amount of sodium and sugars in this recipe. Sometimes I find take out to be a little too salty and there are a lot of chicken and broccoli recipes with extra added sugars. While I believe in eating whatever I want in moderation, I avoid adding sugar to a recipe unless I need to and I find that the hoisin in the recipe adds enough sweetness to the chicken and broccoli.
What You’ll Need
- chicken thighs
- soy sauce — be sure to use low sodium soy sauce.
- hoisin sauce
- sesame oil
- chicken stock
- minced garlic
- cornstarch — mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 1 tbsp of cold water to make a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce.
- broccoli
- cooked rice to serve with and toasted sesame seeds as a ganrish.
How To Make Chicken and Broccoli in the Instant Pot
- Add your chicken to the Instant Pot liner.
- Add in the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, chicken stock, and minced garlic.
- Place the lid on, set it to sealing, and pressure cook (manual button) for 4 minutes.
- When done, quick release the steam. Press the saute button and then add in the cornstarch slurry. Stir for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened to your liking. You can either stir your broccoli in at this time or at the end, place the broccoli in the pot, place the lid on, and let the residual steam cook the broccoli.
- Top with toasted sesame seeds if desired.
Make Ahead Tips
- Meal prep: store the cooked chicken and broccoli in an airtight container for up to 4 days in the fridge.
- Freezer: allow the chicken and broccoli to cool before transferring it into an airtight container before storing them in the freezer.
FAQs
If you’ve diced your chicken in advance, you can totally do this with frozen chicken. When cooking frozen meat in Instant Pot, it does actually need longer cooking time. It just takes longer to come to pressure because inside temperature is lower. However, I like to add an extra minute to be on the safe side. If your chicken not diced, you could always just shred it after it’s been cooked and toss it in the sauce.
You can definitely make this with chicken breasts. Since chicken breasts take less time to cook than chicken thighs, I’d take a minute off the pressure cook time.
Make it spicy by adding in 1-2 tbsp of sriracha sauce alongside the cornstarch slurry. You can also make this sweeter if you’d like by adding 1-2 tbsp of honey to the sauce. You can also add 1 tbsp of fresh ginger to the sauce before cooking as well.
More Asian Instant Pot Recipes You’ll Love
- Instant Pot Cashew Chicken
- Instant Pot Spicy Honey Garlic Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki
- Instant Pot Thai Inspired Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Kung Pao Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot Chicken and Broccoli
Ingredients
- 8-10 chicken thighs, boneless, skinless, diced into 1-2 inch cubes
- ¼ cup soy sauce, low sodium
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ¾ cup chicken stock
- 2-3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 crown broccoli, cut into florets
Equipment
Instructions
- Add your chicken to the Instant Pot liner.
- Add in the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, chicken stock, and minced garlic.
- Place the lid on, set it to sealing, and pressure cook (manual button) for 4 minutes.
- When done, quick release the steam.
- Mix 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 1 tbsp of cold water to make a cornstarch slurry.
- Press the saute button and then add in the cornstarch slurry. Stir for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened to your liking. You can either stir your broccoli in at this time or at the end, place the broccoli in the pot, place the lid on, and let the residual steam cook the broccoli.
- Top with toasted sesame seeds if desired.
Nutrition
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Mindy
This was such an easy to follow recipe. Thanks!
KATHERINE LELEU
I was thinking of adding carrots and snow peas to the broccoli, too. How long would that need to be in the InstantPot to cook? thanks!
Carmy
Hi Katherine,
I would suggest adding the carrots and snow peas at the same time as the broccoli. You’ll have to slice the carrots thinly so they can steam through with the broccoli for 4-5 mins! I use that method here: https://carmyy.com/instant-pot-cashew-chicken/