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!
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 take 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:
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Chicken and “Rice” Soup (Whole30, Low Carb)
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup (Paleo)
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Black Beans
- Frozen Chicken Breasts
- Baby Back Ribs
- BBQ Chicken
- Chicken and “Rice” Soup (Whole30, Low Carb)
- Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Dal
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Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
This creamy chicken and rice is a real one-pot meal! With Parmesan cheese and a splash of lemon, it's an easy and delicious dinner.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 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 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice from one lemon
- 1 1/2 cups white rice rinsed
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt plus more or less to taste
- 1/4 teaspoons black pepper plus more or less to taste
Instructions
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Set Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add butter and let melt, then add garlic and onion. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.
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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.
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Close lid and set valve to Sealing. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
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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.
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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.
Recipe 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: Use white rice since brown rice takes longer to cook and will overcook the chicken.
- Cheese: Fresh Parmesan is ideal, but can sub shredded cheese.
- If you discover 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.
Can you add frozen broccoli to it?
Sure! That would be delicious.
This is so yummy. I used 3.5 cups of broth and Colby jack cheese and I LOVE it! Thank you for sharing.
That sounds delicious! Glad you enjoyed!
Sorry…meant to leave 5 stars!
Thank you. 🙂
Really good…chicken was very tender. Tastes like Greek avgolemono soup without the eggs, of course. I added a little more lemon and just a little salt. Used 4 cups of broth and it was a bit soupy but did “firm up” after a bit. Will make again!
Thanks for the awesome review!
I thought I’d try something new and really glad I did. This is so good and easy, but I don’t have an instant pot. Yet still it came out GREAT!
Yay, so glad to hear that!
My family loves this recipe! I was wondering though if I needed to change anything if I wanted to make this as a risotto without chicken. Do I keep the same measurements?
We think everything would stay the same! You may need to adjust your seasoning levels.
Will Jasmine White Rice work? Does that change cook time?
Jasmine rice will work!