This Instant Pot chicken and rice is just absolutely dreamy. It’s rich and creamy but SO quick and easy to make. The whole family will love it, and it’s a true one-pot meal! With Parmesan cheese and a splash of lemon, this weeknight family dinner recipe is inspired by my favorite risotto recipe but with none of the hard work required!
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Why This Chicken and Rice Is So Good
- Thick and creamy with melty Parmesan, a tang of lemon juice, and perfectly cooked chicken and rice, this recipe is the ultimate comfort food.
- This chicken and rice is so rich and delicious, but so easy to make! With just a few steps in the Instant Pot, this is the perfect easy but filling meal. It’s absolutely one of my favorite Instant Pot chicken recipes!
- This recipe only takes a handful of ingredients that you may already have in your house! We love how simple the ingredients are but how amazingly rich and cheesy this chicken and rice is.
How To Make Chicken and Rice in the Instant Pot
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add the butter and let it melt before adding onion and garlic. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken and stir. Cook until the chicken is no longer translucent. Add in the rice, broth, and lemon juice and stir well. Make sure nothing is sticking to the sides, and scoop the chicken pieces to the top.
- Close the lid and set valve to Sealing. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes, let naturally release for 2 minutes, then Quick Release the rest of the pressure. Stir everything well and season with Parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.
Top Tips For Making Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Parmesan cheese is optional for this recipe, but we definitely recommend it! Fresh Parm will make this taste more like risotto, but if you are out, you can use a shredded cheese, like cheddar.
- We used plain white rice for this recipe. Brown rice is not recommended since it would take about 10 minutes longer, which would overcook the chicken.
- You must follow the directions exactly for releasing the pressure. Leaving it too long will result in overcooked rice and a potentially gluey texture. Make sure you manually release pressure after 2 minutes of natural pressure release!
- This recipe does not make a soupy or stewy chicken and rice, but a thick and creamy risotto-like recipe. If you’re looking for something that isn’t thick and creamy, this isn’t the recipe for you!
You’ll Love These Other Instant Pot Chicken Recipes, Too
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast
- The Best Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs
- Chicken Burrito Bowls in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Chicken and “Rice” Soup (Whole30, Low Carb)
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup (Paleo)
- Easy Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup (Gluten Free Option)
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
More Instant Pot Recipes You Have to Try
- Instant Pot Black Beans
- Instant Pot Baby Back Ribs
- The Best EVER Instant Pot Black Eyed Peas
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Dal
- 50 Low Carb Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Whole30 Chili with Butternut Squash (Paleo, Low Carb)
- Instant Pot Stuffed Peppers
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Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
This Instant Pot chicken and rice is just absolutely dreamy. It's rich and creamy but SO quick and easy to make. The whole family will love it, and it's a true one-pot meal! With Parmesan cheese and a splash of lemon, this weeknight family dinner recipe is inspired by my favorite risotto recipe but with none of the hard work required!
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Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts about 2-3 breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3-4 cups chicken broth 3 cups for a firmer rice, 4 cups for a more risotto-inspired, soupier version. We personally prefer 4 cups.
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice from one lemon
- 1 ½ cups white rice rinsed, see Notes
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt plus more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoons black pepper plus more or less to taste
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add butter and let melt, then add garlic and onion. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- Add chicken and stir. Cook until no longer translucent, about 5 minutes. Add in rice, broth, and lemon juice. Stir well, bringing chicken pieces to top.
- Close lid and set valve to Sealing. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- When cooking is completed, let naturally release for 2 minutes, then Quick Release rest of pressure. Stir well and season with Parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste. Add a little more chicken broth, if desired, to reach desired consistency – optional.
- If you find liquid still remaining on the top of your Instant Pot chicken and rice after cooking, stir well and turn on Sauté mode to fully incorporate.
Video
Notes
- Chicken broth: Use 3 cups of chicken broth if you prefer a firmer rice with a more separate grain. Use 4 cups for a more risotto-inspired chicken and rice, with a soupier, more stew-like texture. The rice will still have a clear grain but will be nice and soft. My family and I prefer 4 cups; we like the risotto texture more than when made with 3 cups. However, if you want your version to have clear grains of rice and be less creamy, use 3 cups.
- Rice: Be sure to use white rice for this recipe! Brown rice is not recommended since it would take about 10 minutes longer, which would overcook the chicken. Do not use instant or minute rice.
- Cheese: Fresh Parmesan is ideal, but can sub shredded cheese.
- If you end up with a “gluey” texture to your chicken and rice, it’s likely you’ve overcooked the recipe by leaving it to release pressure naturally for too long. This part is important! Give it just 2 minutes after the Instant pot beeps, then manually release pressure.
- This recipe will be more like a risotto than a fried rice texture or rice pilaf.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 673kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 52gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 2435mgPotassium: 969mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 596IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 352mgIron: 2mgNet Carbs: 60g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
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Cheryl Malik is the recipe developer, writer, and photographer behind the healthy, flavorful, family friendly recipes at 40 Aprons. She’s been a blogger for 10+ years and is known for her delicious recipes and detailed recipe instructions. Cheryl is a mom of three who lives in Memphis, TN.
Betty says
Really nice creamy chicken and rice. I used cheddar cheese as I didn’t have parmigiana. I think it would also work well adding broccoli. I used 4 cups of broth and would recommend cutting it back maybe 1/2 cup. I will make this again. Yummy!
imsen says
This recipe was delicious! I made it for dinner tonight. I can’t wait to cook it again since the flavors were fantastic.
Megan | 40 Aprons Team says
Love to hear that, Imsen! Thanks so much!
kitcheniest says
I made this recipe tonight for dinner and it was great! The flavors were wonderful and I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you for the post and being so thorough in your directions! I can’t wait to try some of your other recipes!
Thank you!
Megan | 40 Aprons Team says
Our pleasure! Thank you for your kind review!
Barb Maynard says
Seriously the comfort food I was needing. It was soooo good, my entire family loved it. Followed instructions to a T and it came out terrific. I did use cbicken bone broth, which has like zero salt/lack of bright flavor so I added “better than bouillon” and again this was terrific. Definitely on my monthly rotation. Next time I may try adding broccoli 🥦.
Cheryl Malik says
Great to hear. Thank you for leaving a review! Hope you enjoy the broccoli next time 🙂
Kelly Howell says
I do my broccoli on the stove & it really blends so perfectly. I’ve never tried cooking it w it.
Bruce says
This was delicious, made it last night. Due to some of the “mushy” comments, I used 13/4 cups broth and 1/4 cup white wine, I also added 8oz uncooked button mushrooms that have a lot of water in them. I didn’t measure the seasonings, but I seasoned with”what looks right” after adding the chicken and when I added the mushrooms and rice I seasoned again. The texture was perfect. I used long grain rice. I think if I had added any more liquid with the mushrooms, it would have been too much.
Megan | 40 Aprons Team says
Yum, your version sounds great, Bruce! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Amelia says
This was great! Best way to reheat?
Kelly Howell says
I reheat mine in microwave (covered). Tastes just the same. Even after I freeze it!
jeni says
It’s hard to please the whole family in one recipe, but this one did it! We rinsed the rice well and used 4 cups of broth.
Jeannette says
The rice was not gluey because I rinsed it really well but it was esentially mush. No texture at all. More like over cooked rice soup. The flavor was ok but would not make again.