Instant Pot Huli Huli Chicken—an easy recipe for dump and go sweet and savory chicken thighs.
Note: the SLOW COOKER instructions are in the recipe card below
Instant Pot Huli Huli Chicken
Wow! I wasn’t expecting such flavorful chicken from this easy dump and go recipe. It turned out marvelously and all the chicken was eaten before the end of the night. Which means there was a piece left but around 9 pm my son needed his second dinner. It’s a thing. Especially when you are 12 and have a metabolism that’s through the roof. We are all super jelly of him. He eats more than anyone I know and has a flat stomach.
Traditionally huli huli chicken is a grilled chicken dish in Hawaiian cuisine, prepared by barbecuing a chicken over mesquite wood, and basting it with a sweet huli-huli sauce. While that sounds ABSOULUTELY amazing if you’re in a hurry and don’t have the time or energy for the grill this Instant Pot or Crockpot version is super tasty.
What should I serve with Instant Pot huli huli chicken? I served mine with brown rice and steamed frozen veggies. Another choice would be to serve over cauliflower rice or make Instant Pot fried rice. My favorite hack lately is to make the steamable bags of veggies. All you do is throw them in the microwave for 5 minutes. This makes veggies happen more often at my house. Convenience wins. They were on sale last week at Smiths for $1.00 each. I stocked up.
Can I make pot-in-pot rice at the same time? If you have room in your Instant Pot you can definitely make pot-in-pot rice (my chicken was frozen and there wasn’t enough room to make rice). Just place a tall trivet* in the pot and the pan with rice and water on top of the trivet. Cover the pan. Usually I use this pan for pot-in-pot rice.*
Can I use another cut of chicken? I loved the chicken thighs with this recipe. They soaked up the marinade and stayed moist and fork tender in the Instant Pot. Many of you will probably want to try chicken breasts. They’ll work fine. They won’t be as moist and tender though. I would cook them 12 minute for fresh and 15 minutes for frozen. Bone-in chicken legs or thighs will also work well. Cook them for the same amount of time as boneless thighs.
More Easy Instant Pot Chicken Recipes…
Instant Pot No Time To Cook Chicken
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken and Vegetables
Instant Pot General Tso’s Chicken
Instant Pot Garlic Lime Chicken
Instant Pot Chicken “Spareribs”
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Instant Pot Huli Huli Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15-18 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 41 minute
- Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Description
An easy recipe for dump and go sweet and savory chicken thighs.
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 – 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (frozen is okay)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp ketchup
- 6 Tbsp reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh gingerroot
- 1 tsp minced garlic
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Add chicken into Instant Pot.
- In a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, broth, ginger and garlic. Pour the mixture over the top of the chicken.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 15 minutes for fresh chicken or 18 minutes for frozen chicken. When time is up let the pot sit for 5-10 minutes and then move the valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Place chicken on a platter. If desired, reduce down the sauce in the Instant Pot by turning Instant Pot to the sauté setting and letting it boil for about 5 minutes.
- Serve chicken with extra sauce.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add chicken into slow cooker.
- In a small bowl whisk together the brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, broth, ginger and garlic. Pour the mixture over the top of the chicken.
- Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours.
- Serve chicken with extra sauce.
Notes
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. Make in the 8 or 3 quart pot with no changes.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Thumbs up from the entire family. Definitely going into rotation!
Do you think this could be used as a meal prep? Add marinade to the chicken and freeze before cooking?
★★★★★
yes I think that would be wonderful!
Made this for dinner tonight, was very good and easy.Husband liked the sauce. Will be making this again.
★★★★★
Thanks Maggie!
Delicious. l used a cornstarch slurry to thicken sauce, boiling didn’t work. This took a long time to make.
★★★★★
Made this for supper tonight. So easy and soooooooooo yummy. Also made coconut jasmine rice in the IP, before the chicken (prepped for the chicken while the rice was cooking) and finished off with coconut cream pudding for dessert. A nice light supper for a hot summer night.
★★★★★
Yum that sounds so great! Glad you enjoyed it!
I made this for dinner Friday night for my husband and me. I kind of snuck this in on him because he DOES NOT LIKE DARK MEAT (I do). Guess what? He absolutely loved it! And so did I!
In his own words – “You have finally converted me! The thighs were so tender and delicious, and the sauce was awesome!” He was even bragging about it the next morning. Made it with white rice and broccoli. Delicious! As are all of your recipes we have tried! Thank you!!
Haha I’m so glad you “tricked” him! I am a huge lover of dark meat. It is the best!
Made this tonight and it was absolutely amazing! Followed the recipe to a tee! It was perfect! Will put in my dinner rotation! Thanks Karen ❤️
★★★★★
You’re welcome Mary! 😊
I made this Huli Huli chicken it was the best after I dished it out I put fresh pineapple 🍍 on top my Grandson and his wife loved it. I use my instapot and your recipes a lot and tell everyone
★★★★★
I’m so glad it turned out well! Thanks for sharing the IP love!
I doubled the sauce ingredients for a couple reasons, but really it’s because 3/4 cup is so much quicker to measure than 6 Tbsps., and I get a little neurotic about burn messages, not that you’re not 100% trustworthy, Karen. 🏆
At the end I removed the chicken to let the sauce boil down, but ended up adding a little cornstarch slurry (impatient cook). It thickened just a bit. I used Ginger People’s jarred minced ginger and next time will add a more, but the chicken was extremely tender with really nice flavor. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thanks so much for sharing your experience Beth! This is helpful.
Ii made them for dinner last night with bone in thighs. I marinated them in the sauce all aft I forgot to thicken the sauce but found it unnecessary as the rice soaked it up. Thank you delicious
Good idea to marinate!!
Can I make pot in pot rice in this recipe and how long would i cook for,or use the same time.
Sounds really good!
★★★★★
Can I make pot-in-pot rice at the same time? If you have room in your Instant Pot you can definitely make pot-in-pot rice (my chicken was frozen and there wasn’t enough room to make rice). Just place a tall trivet on top of chicken in the pot and the pan with rice and water on top of the trivet. Cover the pan.
I look forward to making this recipe, thank you!
you’re welcome Angel!
She gives further instructions before the recipe that covers all your questions
She gives further instructions in her notes before the recipe
Lots of people asking about chicken breasts. I’m wondering too!
It’s in the article. Toward the top.
There’s a section titled “Can I use another cut of chicken?”
She already answered that in her details above the recipe.
Can I use another cut of chicken? I loved the chicken thighs with this recipe. They soaked up the marinade and stayed moist and fork tender in the Instant Pot. Many of you will probably want to try chicken breasts. They’ll work fine. They won’t be as moist and tender though. I would cook them 12 minute for fresh and 15 minutes for frozen. Bone-in chicken legs or thighs will also work well. Cook them for the same amount of time as boneless thighs.
I was wondering about chicken breast too and I would do it in the slowcooker if it would be a change ?
She already answered those questions in her details above the recipe.
Can I use another cut of chicken? I loved the chicken thighs with this recipe. They soaked up the marinade and stayed moist and fork tender in the Instant Pot. Many of you will probably want to try chicken breasts. They’ll work fine. They won’t be as moist and tender though. I would cook them 12 minute for fresh and 15 minutes for frozen. Bone-in chicken legs or thighs will also work well. Cook them for the same amount of time as boneless thighs.
I wondered if there is enough thin liquid to avoid burn notice
Because chicken releases moisture I find that there is enough liquid to bring pot to pressure with no issues.
My 8-qt pot requires at least 2 cups of liquid… this isn’t even close. What do you suggest, PIP?
I’d add in an extra 1/2 cup of broth and you should be fine. Reduce sauce down at the end to increase flavor.
Made this last night. Wonderful! Used double amount of broth in 8 qt IP DUO and fresh boneless/skinless thighs. No burn notice. Wife had seconds (sure sign of great recipe).
NICE!!!
Another delicious recipe, thank you Karen! Folks, any recipe that Karen posts, DO NOT JUMP TO RECIPE!!! Please read her ENTIRE post as she provides helpful information regarding the recipe. Karen, is there a way to remove the “jump to recipe” button so people will be more than likely to read your entire post?
★★★★★
Ahh thanks Tara! I think people would revolt if I removed that button 😉
Can you use the bottled Huli Huli sauce in lieu of making your own, and if so, how much would you use?
I am not sure. I’m thinking it would be too thick and probably cause the burn error message.
Don’t you need more liquid in order for it to come to pressure?
Because chicken releases moisture I find that there is enough liquid to bring pot to pressure with no issues.
Thank you! I look forward to making this in the very near future!
Hi Karen, I,m a newbie to Instant Pot and am confused. You PIP video doesn’t require a lid for the rice. I started the cooking 5 min ago and now see that you recommend cover PIP rice with lid. I hope will be ok. Will let you know.
Greetings from Ottawa Canada and love love your site. Many thanks and stay safe.
It’s fine either way with or without the lid!
I’ve noticed that all frozen chicken parts bags say “may contain up to 15% …..”. Do you think this is where adequate liquid comes from?
yep!
You’re singing my song – making it tomorrow. In one photo your chicken may look browned? If so, do you just place it under the broiler at the end for 5 minutes or so?
It’s the sauce that is brown
Yes, that’s clear! 😀 Sometimes Karen puts chicken under a broiler for a few minutes after pressure cooking. (Once in a blue moon something isn’t noted if it’s not necessary.) You’re probably right but because of one photo thought I’d ask.
★★★★★
I didn’t broil them. It must just be the lighting on the pic!
Can you use bone in frozen chicken thighs? How long to cook then?
Bone-in chicken legs or thighs will also work well. Cook them for the same amount of time as frozen boneless thighs as noted in the recipe.
Can you use Chicken Breast?
Can I use another cut of chicken? I loved the chicken thighs with this recipe. They soaked up the marinade and stayed moist and fork tender in the Instant Pot. Many of you will probably want to try chicken breasts. They’ll work fine. They won’t be as moist and tender though. I would cook them 12 minute for fresh and 15 minutes for frozen. Bone-in chicken legs or thighs will also work well. Cook them for the same amount of time as boneless thighs.
Can chicken brests be used? Any changes in cooking instructions?
I’m wondering too!
Can I use another cut of chicken? I loved the chicken thighs with this recipe. They soaked up the marinade and stayed moist and fork tender in the Instant Pot. Many of you will probably want to try chicken breasts. They’ll work fine. They won’t be as moist and tender though. I would cook them 12 minute for fresh and 15 minutes for frozen. Bone-in chicken legs or thighs will also work well. Cook them for the same amount of time as boneless thighs.
Hi Karen,
I’ve lived on the Islands and I have to report that your Huli sauce is inaccurate. Also you state that Huli Huli is grilled over Mesquite. This is completely inaccurate. After soaking in a non ketchup based sauce without garlic, the chicken is smoked and grilled over Ohia wood. No mesquite grows on the islands. Might want to consider using Hawaiian Foods Huli Huli sauce as a base next time!! And doing more research on such a treasured cooking tradition of HHC. Mahalo Nui.
Aloha,
Kai
★★
Karen already responded to a question that using Huli Huli sauce will likely be too thick for the Instant Pot, which could cause a burn error. She kindly and extremely patiently answers questions – see the same answer to one question repeated multiple times above – and is always willing to correct or add to a recipe.
★★★★★
Haha! Sorry about the inaccuracy. I got that from wikipedia but should have looked further. I will correct.
Karen, my hubby and I were in Hawaii years ago for our 20th anniversary. We took an all day trip to one of the “lesser visited” islands which included hamburgers cooked over a fire on the beach. They were sooooo good that we just had to ask what kind of wood they were using. You guessed it. Their reply, “Mesquite, it grows here on the island.” That cracked us up because we were from western OK…..where we considered it a trash wood. LOL (That was 36 yrs ago. Maybe they used it all up? lol)
Interesting!!! I’m not sure?!?