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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 Recipe 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.
Chef’s Tips
- 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, along the lines of my best ever risotto 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
- Japanese Curry in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Lentil Soup
- Instant Pot Applesauce
- 45 Incredible Vegan Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Jambalaya
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings
Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Inspired by risotto (but without all the hard work), this rich, creamy, and totally dreamy chicken and rice one-pot meal is sure to be a family favorite.
servings
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 see Notes
- 1 ½ tablespoons lemon juice juice from approximately 1 lemon
- 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice rinsed, see Notes
- 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese shredded or grated
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoons black pepper 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.
- Secure lid on pot and set valve to Sealing. Set to Manual High Pressure for 8 minutes.
- When cook time is completed, let naturally release for 2 minutes, then carefully Quick Release remaining 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
- 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.
- To Clean Instant Pot: If any rice sticks to your Instant Pot, use my easy trick to clean it. Fill the Instant Pot up ¼-⅓ of the way with water and dish soap. Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode on High/Extra High heat and let liquid simmer. After a few minutes, the rice will loosen and clean up easily.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 676calProtein: 54gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 1957mgPotassium: 912mgTotal Carbs: 61gFiber: 1gNet Carbs: 60gVitamin A: 598IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 347mgIron: 2mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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Can I use the Arborio rice that is used for risotto?
You should be able to use Arborio rice, but to be fair we haven’t tried that with this recipe. Just make sure nothing sticks or burns to the bottom of your Instant Pot. If you do make this with Arborio rice, let us know how it turns out!
4 cups made mine too mushy followed the recipe to the tea. Next time I’ll reduce it to 3 1/2 cupsOtherwise it was very yummy
How would you need to modify the recipe if using frozen chicken breasts?
You can absolutely use frozen chicken breasts in this recipe! Here’s our post on how to cook frozen chicken breasts in the Instant Pot: https://40aprons.com/instant-pot-frozen-chicken-breast/#How_To_Make_Instant_Pot_Frozen_Chicken_Breasts. To apply that to this recipe, you’ll need to cook them first before you sauté your veggies, then dice before adding back to the veggies, rice, and liquid. You don’t want to risk overcooking the rice or undercooking the chicken.
Followed the directions exactly. Half the rice grains were still crunchy, and there was a bunch of rice burt on the bottom of my pot…
We’re so sorry you had this experience, Philip. We strive to create recipes that are tested and perfected to be easy to follow while our readers make them in their home kitchens. What you described with the rice burning on the bottom and not cooking properly can happen if the Instant Pot is left on the SAUTE setting and not switched to HIGH PRESSURE, or if the rice isn’t stirred with the liquid and other ingredients before sealing. Regardless, we’re sorry you had this experience and appreciate your honest review.
What if instant rice is the only thing I have at the moment?
Hi Whitney, you can certainly try this recipe with instant rice. You’ll need to make sure the chicken is cooked through completely before adding the dry rice, since it won’t have to cook for nearly as long. For white rice, make sure to use equal amounts of rice and liquid. Give it a good stir, then set your Instant Pot to “Manual.” with HIGH Pressure. Set the timer for 1 minute, then use the Quick Release function to release the steam. Remove the lid, give it a good stir, and proceed from there. You’ll do the same for instant brown rice, but cook it for 5 minutes instead of 1 minute. Hope this helps!
This was absolutely delicious! And came together very quickly, great weeknight dinner. Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it, Greg!
I tried this tonight and it was incredibly delicious. As I was pulling all my ingredients together, I realized I only had 2 cups of chicken broth. So, in addition to the two cups of chicken broth, I used a can of cream of chicken condensed soup, and 1.5 cans of water, whisked until smooth. Was creamy and delicious. I’ll definitely try this again!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe and were able to make it work with what you had on hand!
Hey there! Recipe looks amazing and I’m excited to try it out! A couple of questions:
1) When you say 8 minutes does that mean 8 minutes from the time that the Instant Pot is fully pressurized or 8 minutes from the time the “On” button has been pressed (which includes the time it takes to pressurize.) I’m sorry if this is a silly question but I’m brand new to the Instant Pot world.
2) I have two non-cheese eaters (not lactose intolerant, but non-cheese eaters) in the house so I will have to omit the cheese. Will that make negatively impact the consistency of the finished product? Should I compensate with a can of cream of mushroom/chicken soup?
Thank you in advance for your help!
Not a silly question at all! After you set your Instant Pot to HIGH PRESSURE for 8 minutes and seal it, it will count down the cooking time from the time it is fully pressurized. There’s nothing you have to do here; just let your device do the work for you! And you can definitely omit the cheese. It is a good idea to substitute something like cream of mushroom, chicken, or celery in its place, but regardless it may not be as thick as it would with the cheese. However, the starch from the rice is what primarily contributes to this recipe’s thickness; so, it should still turn out well! Hope this helps!
I have a few tips and additions for this recipe.
One: Add more seasoning to the butter before sautéing the chicken. I added paprika, cayenne, and parsley. An absolute must in my opinion.
Two: Add heavy cream to the liquid for the rice for a much richer and creamy flavor. You can reduce the amount of broth if you’re worried about the rice to liquid ratio.
Three: Add more rice than it calls for if you opt to go for 4 cups of liquid. It turned out more like a soup for me and the rice exploded. I thought it was okay, but my husband wasn’t a fan.
Four: Add seasoned corn and peas to the finished product! (carrots also sound delicious, but i didn’t have any.) I boiled some peas and corn, drained them, and sauted them in a separate pot with butter, salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder. It was absolutely delicious! I love the way it adds new flavors and textures to the original dish. I don’t even normally like peas, either.
Five: Use chicken thighs. Thighs are much more forgiving when it comes to not over cooking them, and it has a better flavor – that might just be my imagination… but chicken fat is yummy!
Thanks for the tips! Glad you could adjust this recipe to best fit your and your family’s taste. 🙂
Will this recipe work with jasmine rice?
We haven’t tested this recipe with Jasmine rice, but it should work since it’s still a white rice. The main concern with straying from regular white rice is risking overcooking the chicken, so just be mindful of that. Also, it may not be as creamy as this original recipe, but the flavor should still be there!
I used jasmine rice tonight and it turned out really well! I rinsed it for about 3 or 4 minutes before prepping everything else and the consistency is very much like a risotto.
That’s great! Thanks so much for sharing. 🙂
Thank you! Loved this! So happy I found your site and this recipe. I used 4 cups…3 cups of homemade bone broth and 1 of regular broth. This is a definite keeper!
Thank you, JT! We’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe (and our site)!
DOubled the recipe (I have 5 kids) and followed instructions to a T. It was SOOOO good! And SOOOOO easy! And most of the kids liked it too! Was like a perfect risotto. It’s a keeper.
Kid-approved is the best kind of compliment! So glad you and your family enjoyed this dish, Jamie!
Did you do 16 mins when doubling instead of 8?