Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jul 6, 2024 
Perfect Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken, is a quick and flavorful dish with tender chicken that is cooked in a sticky-sweet sauce and a little kick! The Instant Pot can make this family friendly meal in a fraction of the time!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Everyone in our family is crazy over Asian-inspired cuisine. Whenever I would ask my kids what they wanted me to cook for dinner it was almost always Chinese Hot Pots, Korean Pajun Veggie Pancakes, Beef Bulgogi, Cantonese Lo Mein, Thai Panang Chicken Curry, and so on.
When I (finally) bought an Instant Pot, I decided to try cooking some beloved Asian dishes in it, and I think I’ve got a winner! This Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken, is so fast and easy to make. Plus, it’s a healthy sesame chicken recipe, compared to takeout sesame chicken. And it is a definite family favorite!
Why You’ll Love Making Chinese Sesame Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Incredible flavor – Sesame chicken offers bold spicy-sweet flavors, and a deep nutty sesame note. Cooking chicken in the pressure cooker makes it perfectly tender, and that sticky-sweet sauce in next-level delicious!
- Lighter recipe – Our Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken is not deep fried, so you lose the fat and calories from breading and fry oil. But trust me when I say you don’t lose any tastiness!
- Great leftovers – Leftover chicken will keep well for a few days in the fridge. It is delicious when heated briefly in the microwave and served with rice and veggies. Definitely a meal prep winner!
Best of all, recipe only takes about 30 minutes to make, plus some time for the pressure to build in the pot. So it’s quick to put together after a long day, and great to enjoy as a cozy and vibrant dinner with barely any effort!
Ingredients and Tips
- Chicken – Chicken breasts or chicken thighs will work here, just dice them up into bite sized pieces.
- Cornstarch – For a great crispy texture without flour, which makes the dish gluten-free.
- Sesame Oil – Adds a nutty flavor.
- Aromatics – Includes onions, garlic, and fresh ginger!
- Sauce – The delicious sesame chicken sauce includes brown sugar, soy sauce, dry sherry, and chili garlic sauce.
- Garnish – Top it all off with a sprinkle of sesame seeds and chopped fresh green onions.
How to Make Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken
Tip for Success – We do a Quick Release of the steam after the cooking time is done. This keeps the chicken from overcooking so it stays nice and tender.
Find the full Chinese Sesame Chicken recipe with detailed instructions, storage tips, and a video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Storage Notes
This Instant Pot chicken recipe will stay fresh in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days! Simply reheat in the microwave in 15-20 second bursts at 50% power.
Serving Suggestions
One of the classic ways to serve this Instant Pot sesame chicken recipe is with a side of piping hot rice! You can also make rice in your Instant Pot, if you prefer. You can serve them with a number of other take-out inspired side dishes as well. Here are some of my personal favorites:
- Chinese Dumplings
- Wonton Soup
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Egg Drop Soup
- Panda Express Broccoli Super Greens Copycat
Frequently Asked Questions
Instant pots are prone to giving you a burn notice when things get stuck to the bottom of the pot while you are sauteing. To prevent this from happening, you can make sure to stir the food frequently to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
People often get these three dishes confused, due to their similarities. All three are traditionally deep-fried chicken recipes, bathed in a sticky-sweet glaze. Think of sesame chicken as the “mother” recipe. It’s salty, sweet, and light on heat, with rich undertones and sesame seeds sprinkled over the bites of chicken.
General Tso’s is very similar. However, it usually does not contain sesame seeds, but does offer a good bit of spice from the addition of chiles. Of the three, General Tso’s chicken is the most likely to be served with additional vegetables mixed in, like bell peppers and onions.
Orange chicken is usually the sweetest of the bunch. It is not normally spicy or covered in sesame seeds. However, it does have a unique orange essence from the inclusion of orange peel and/or orange juice.
Instant Pot Chinese Sesame Chicken
Video
Ingredients
- 2 – 2.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons fresh grated ginger
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup dry sherry
- 3 tablespoons chili garlic sauce
- 3 tablespoons chopped scallions
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut the chicken into 1-inch cubes, and toss the cubes with cornstarch to coat. Prepare all the herbs and vegetables.
- Set the Instant Pot on Sauté. Pour in the sesame oil. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Sauté for 2 minutes, then add the chicken pieces. Stir and brown for 3-5 minutes, until the chicken pieces are golden on most sides. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a metal spatula to make sure nothing is stuck to the bottom. (This can cause the "Burn Notice" on your IP.)
- Add the brown sugar, soy sauce, sherry, chili garlic sauce, and 2 tablespoons water to the Instant Pot. Stir well to coat the chicken.
- Cover and seal the pot. Set on Pressure Cook High for 3 minutes. Turn off the pressure cooker, and perform a Quick Release. Once the steam valve button drops, and it is safe to open, remove the lid. Stir the sesame chicken and sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve warm with rice, quinoa, or with steamed vegetables.
This came out awesome- everyone in the house loved it. And it was very easy. We will definitely make this again!
Hi all, tried this tonight after a Chinese craving. Really powerful tastes complemented by a nice gewurtztrmiener wine. Question: my chicken breast pieces seemed a little dry. Any tips, or would this be as good with thigh meat?
Hi Denise,
Is it possible you browned the chicken too long? That’s the only thing I can think of that might have dried out the chicken. And yes, boneless thighs would be a great option as well. :)
Great recipe , super easy and definitely gets your Asian tastes satisfied. Didn’t have garlic chili sauce so substituted sriracha (2 tbsp) use less if you dont want it spicy. Served with sauteed string beans- a great companion
Made this tonight, so good! I scraped the bottom of the pot with a lil water and had no burn notice. Thanks for the recipe.
Delicious, easy and authentic tasting. Substituted sriracha for chili garlic sauce
Served with skillet sauteed green beans – YUM
I have finally made a Chinese dish that is as good as any I’ve had from a restaurant!! Thank you–awesome recipe!!!
My first time preparing this dish and using the instant pot. Turned out surprisingly well! Do not underestimate the power of the chili sauce it has some heat to it. Kids loved it and they are talking about it to their mom which is a good sign :)
Just made this tonight and it was really really good! I added a little broccoli and green pepper and also added a corn starch slurry at the end to thicken it. It was way too spicy for me, so next time I’ll cut the chili garlic sauce in half. My husband loved the spiciness though.
I made this tonight, after craving Chinese. I followed the recipe with the following exceptions. I did not have sherry so I used chicken broth, I only used 2 tablespoons of sesame oil and did a NPR. It was so very good and it hit the spot. I did scrape the bottom of the pot just as you suggested to keep from getting the burn notice. Thank you for a delicious meal!
This is SO good. Like the recipe says, you have to scrape the bottom to avoid the burn notification. We added peppers and broccoli to it, so so good.
This didn’t taste anything like sesame chicken (at least any I’ve had), but it was delicious! I would add more corn starch next time to thicken it, dry the chicken first before coating (it was a gooey mess when I added it to the pot), and sauté in batches. Definitely a keeper!
The sauce is great, however after two times trying this recipe I keep getting a burn notice. I’ve tried adding more water, but it has to do with the cornstarch burning and overheating the pot. It takes multiple attempts to get the pressure to build. Not good!!
Hi Jen,
Yes, you need to scrape the bottom of the pot, before adding the ingredients for the sauce. This keeps the burn notice from going off.
Followed the recipe as published. Chicken did not brown as described. Very soupy after pressure cooking.
Photos show red pepper flakes in the sauce, but ingredients list doesn’t. Also, chicken needs to be split into two batches in order to brown appropriately .
Hi PGL,
The red you are seeing is coming from the chile garlic sauce. You can definitely split the chicken into batches if you want, but it does not need to be fully caramelized or crisp on the outside. It’s pressure cooked and bathed in sauce, therefore browning it a little in one batch is fine. Happy Cooking!