These Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Meal Prep Bowls are a delicious make ahead lunch idea that comes together in one pot.
How to make this recipe
- Add ingredients to Instant Pot in the following order: olive oil, chicken, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, garlic and water.
- Pressure cook for 4 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stovetop according to package directions. Make a slurry with cornstarch and water.
- Stir cornstarch slurry into the Instant Pot until well mixed then add the cooked rice and the raw broccoli.
- 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 is the version I use in this recipe.
Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Meal Prep Bowls
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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Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 365kcal
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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
Calories: 365kcal (18%)Carbohydrates: 25g (8%)Protein: 29g (58%)Fat: 16g (25%)Saturated Fat: 4g (25%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 86mg (29%)Sodium: 603mg (26%)Potassium: 271mg (8%)Fiber: 0.4g (2%)Sugar: 6g (7%)Vitamin A: 100IU (2%)Vitamin C: 18.2mg (22%)Calcium: 10mg (1%)Iron: 1.6mg (9%)
Comments & Reviews
Chai says
Hi, the nutrition seems off to me? 25% from fat seems high, can you explain how nutrition breakdown was formulated?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Chai – I use a recipe plugin that generates the best estimates of nutrition facts based on the ingredients used. I’m not a nutritionist or dietician so I cannot give a proper breakdown of exactly where the fat is coming from. If you are still unsure about the nutrition facts provided here you may want to input the ingredients into an app of your choice and break down the macros from there.
Steve says
Have you tried a double batch? In your opinion would it fit in the Instant Pot?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Steve – as long as you cook the rice separately in a rice cooker you should be fine to double batch it!
hannah says
just made this and i’m not loving it. i guess i used too much rice? i measured out two cups of rice and then cooked it in the rice cooker. guess it was my fault for not reading the ingredients well enough but i’ve never used a rice cooker before and would never have known to measure the rice after cooking. wish i read the comments before cooking.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Hannah – the recipe does say two cups of cooked white rice, not 2 cups of uncooked rice. Typically the back of a rice package will specify the ratios of water to rice but I after reading your feedback I think it would be helpful to specify how exactly to cook the rice since not everyone knows how. I’m sorry you didn’t like them but by the sounds of it you added about double the rice which would cause the dish to be really bland. My apologies for any confusion!
Grace VandenBerg says
Made this and added bits of broccoli along with some frozen sweet corn! Absolutely fabulous meal prep. My husband loved it and it will be a go-to. Broccoli does need to sit for 5 mins or steamed just for a minute or two. However it looked so good to him that he dug right in and the broccoli was a tad crunchy… but no complaints regardless. He still loved it and so do I. Thank you Taylor! Smart girl! I’m new to use of the IP but loving it.
Taylor Stinson says
So glad you liked it Grace!!! I must confess I like my broccoli a little undercooked so it definitely depends on how small you chopped everything up and how long you let it sit for. So glad you enjoyed it though, isn’t the Instant Pot awesome for meal prep?!
Crystal says
Can frozen chicken be used since i totally forgot to take my chicken out to thaw last night?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Crystal – you could try it but it would likely need 2-3 min extra cooking time. I haven’t tried this myself though so I can’t quite guarantee it will work!
Patty says
Does this freeze? Looks delicious!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Patty – I’ve never tried it before but you could give it a go!
Mary says
Pretty bland and heavy on the rice. Did you mean to say 2 cups of cooked rice rather than 2 cups of rice, cooked? Not loving it.
Taylor Stinson says
Sorry you didn’t like them Mary! I did mean 2 cups of cooked rice, I thought the wording I had used was clear but I have changed the wording based on your feedback and will take this into account moving forward. The bowls probably would have been a lot more flavourful with less rice used. Again my apologies!
Mallory says
Do I need to steam the broccoli separately? I didn’t see anything about how it gets cooked.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Mallory! The broccoli actually gets steamed when you throw it in alongside the hot rice and chicken – just make sure to let it all sit for 5 min. Hope that helps!
Andrea says
Making this tonight for dinner, looks delish! Thanks for being specific with your IP directions…when I first used mine I didn’t realize how long it took to come to pressure so thought I messed it up. Your step #1 directions are perfect for IP newbies like me!! Can’t wait for dinner 😀
Taylor Stinson says
Yay I’m so happy to hear that Andrea!!! I know it throws a lot of people off when you tell them to cook raw chicken for 2 minutes LOL so letting people know it does take a bit of time to reach pressure hopefully helps clear up some misconceptions. Looking forward to your thoughts on this recipe 🙂
Bethany Priester says
What if you don’t have an instapot. Can I use a slow cooker? If so, how?
Thank you!
Bethany
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Bethany – unfortunately since I haven’t tried it myself I can’t tell you whether it would work in the slow cooker. Sorry about this!