These Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Meal Prep Bowls are a delicious make ahead lunch idea that comes together in one pot.
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How to make this recipe
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Add ingredients to Instant Pot in the following order: olive oil, chicken, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic and water.
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Pressure cook for 4 minutes.
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Meanwhile, cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to package directions.
- Make a slurry with cornstarch and water.
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Stir cornstarch slurry into the Instant Pot until well mixed then add the cooked rice and the raw broccoli.
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Once combined, let sit with the lid on for 5-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – use any other neutral oil in place of olive oil. Some neutral oils to use are sunflower oil, avocado oil or peanut oil.
- Chicken breasts – chicken thighs can be used in place of chicken breast. It may alter the cook time but it is also a juicier cut of meat!
- Soy sauce – coconut aminos or tamari are a great alternative to soy sauce.
- Honey – maple syrup, agave syrup or a brown sugar syrup can be used in place of honey.
- Rice vinegar – apple cider vinegar or plain white vinegar with sugar can be used instead of rice vinegar in a pinch.
- Garlic – use fresh or jarred minced garlic or garlic powder if you do not have fresh garlic available.
- Water – vegetable broth or chicken broth are great alternatives to water.
- Broccoli – feel free to switch out the broccoli for any veggies of choice.
Cornstarch slurry
- Cornstarch – flour, potato starch or tapioca are often used to replace cornstarch. Flour is the best option to make a slurry without cornstarch.
- Water
Rice
- White rice – use any variation of white rice that you prefer or opt out of the white rice and use brown rice instead. The rice you choose may alter cook times so keep that in mind.
- Water – using a vegetable or chicken broth can enhance the flavours of your rice.
- Butter – olive oil or another neutral oil can be used instead of butter. Leave out the butter entirely if you prefer not to use any.
- Salt (to taste)
Storing and reheating
For any leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge. This dish will keep well for up to five days, making it a great meal prep option!
When you’re ready to enjoy the bowl, reheat the leftovers one of three ways:
- Using the saute function on the Instant Pot: until fully warmed.
- On the stove in a pan for a few minutes.
- In the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Either way that you choose to reheat this dish, make sure to add water or chicken broth to add moisture to the dish and prevent the chicken or rice from drying out.
Freezing this recipe
This meal prep bowl freezes really well! All you need to do is transfer the contents to an airtight container and allow it to cool to room temperature before freezing. Allowing it to cool down before freezing will prevent freezer burn or the growth of any bacteria. Once frozen, it will keep well frozen for up to 3 months.
When ready to enjoy your bowl, thaw it in the fridge overnight then reheat using the instructions above and serve.
More rice bowl recipes
Meal prep tools
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on storing the leftovers
- I get all my free-range chicken from Butcher Box, conveniently delivered to me frozen
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
is the version I use in this recipe.
is the version I use in this recipe.
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium-sized chicken breasts, diced
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 head Broccoli, chopped into very small florets
Cornstarch slurry
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tbsp water
Rice
- 1 cup white rice
- 2 cups water
- 1 tsp butter
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Add olive oil, chicken, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic and 1/2 cup water to Instant Pot in that order. Cook on high pressure for 4 minutes then do a quick release of the pressure. Instant Pot will take about 15 minutes to preheat then pressure cook the 4 min.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to package directions. Mix the cornstarch with cold water to make the cornstarch slurry and set aside.
- Open lid of Instant Pot and stir in the cornstarch slurry until well mixed, then add the cooked rice and the raw broccoli. Mix together well then let sit with the lid on for 5-10 minutes. Serve and enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
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Aaron says
I don’t cook often so to change that I purchased an instant pot to meal prep. This is the second recipe I’ve decided to try but I feel like the instructions are WAY TOO vague. Like obviously the broccoli is going on steamed and already cooked as well… and the amount of water is different but doesn’t say which one for the cornstarch and which one for the pot. I’m in the process of trying this and it looks good… but please fix the instructions.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Aaron – I’m sorry for any confusion. I have updated the instructions in regards to the cornstarch slurry. The broccoli actually goes in raw and will get cooked through by sitting in the hot rice, so the instructions are accurate in that you add the rice and broccoli to the pot and let it sit for 5 minutes with the lid on.
April T. says
Hello! Do you have the instructions if wanting to use brown rice by chance?
Taylor Stinson says
Unfortunately I haven’t tried it with brown rice – sorry about this!
Mica says
Just cook the brown rice and add it the same way?? Not sure how it would alter the preparation based on instructions presented.
Evelyn K Ballew says
would it be possible to cook the rice in the pot with the chicken and everything else since it mixes together in the end anyway?
Taylor Stinson says
You could, but the liquid ratios would change! I believe you would need to add 1 more cup of water of chicken broth to the mix but I can’t say absolutely for sure because I have not done it myself.
Shauna says
I see that this has 365kcal, is that per serving or within the entire pot? If each serving is around 1.5 cups, what would the total actual calories be per serving?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Shauna – that’s per serving. I don’t give out servings by size/measurement, you will need to divide the recipe into 6 portions and each one is a serving.
Emily says
Super new to the instant pot. Does the chicken go in raw? 4 minutes seems so short to cook it but maybe that’s the power of the instant pot!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Emily! Yes it does – I know it doesn’t sound like a lot of time but the Instant Pot takes 10-15 minutes to preheat so the chicken cooks the entire time 🙂 It will also cook quickly because it’s chopped into 1-inch pieces.
Christina S says
Do you use one cup of cooked rice when you mix it in? Or do you cook one cup of uncooked rice and mix all of that in?
Taylor Stinson says
You will add 1 cup of uncooked rice and 2 cups of water to a rice cooker to cook the rice. Once the rice is cooked, then you mix it in with the chicken.
Nicole Arcamonte says
Hi! If I had chicken thighs instead of breasts, would I adjust the cooking time?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Nicole! As long as you’re using boneless chicken thighs and cutting them up just as you would the breasts, the cook time shouldn’t change.
Veronika says
Hi Taylor! Thank you for that recipe! Can I freeze some of it? I’m trying to cook for a week if not more.
Thank you!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Veronika, I’m so happy you love this recipe! I believe you could freeze it, yes. I’d recommend freezing individual portions then defrosting in the fridge overnight before reheating in the microwave. Hope that helps!
Ashley says
The ingredients mentions. Utter and salt but the instructions don’t..? When do we use them?
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Ashley – that is to make the rice in a rice cooker. If you’ll notice, those ingredients are underneath the rice heading.
Rainier says
Can you use frozen chicken? How much time do you have to add to cooking?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Rainier – I have not tested this recipe using frozen chicken but you could try it. I would add 5 more minutes cook time and make sure the frozen chicken is already diced into chunks. I don’t think it would work with whole frozen chicken breasts.