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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!
Before You Get Started
- This recipe requires long-grain white rice. Do not use brown rice, instant rice, or minute rice!
- What to Expect: This Instant Pot chicken and rice will not have the texture or consistency of fried rice or rice pilaf. It’s more similar to a risotto – but it’s not quite a risotto, either. It’s thick and creamy, so if that’s not what you’re looking for, I’d recommend a different recipe.
How to Make This Recipe
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Saute and Sear.
With the Instant Pot set to Sauté mode, melt 4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, then add minced garlic and chopped onion. Sauté the aromatics for 5 minutes or so, until the onions are soft and translucent. At that point, add the bite-sized pieces of chicken and sear them, stirring occasionally, until they’re opaque on all sides.
Pressure Cook.
Pop the lid on the Instant Pot (make sure the vent is set to the “Sealing” position!) and set it to Manual High Pressure mode with an 8-minute cook time. The pressure cooker will take a few minutes (up to 15 depending on how full it is) to pressurize and then the cook time will begin.
Natural Release.
When the 8-minute cook time ends, Natural Release the pressure from the Instant Pot for only 2 minutes.
Cheryl’s Tip: If you let the pressure Natural Release for more than 2 minutes, you’ll end up with overcooked rice that has a “gluey”, sticky texture. Time it very carefully!
Quick Release.
After 2 minutes, immediately Quick Release any remaining pressure. Be careful, though – all the steam that escapes from the Instant Pot will be really hot and can burn you!
Stir and Adjust.
Stir the mixture well, then add parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper to taste. You can add a little more lemon juice, too, if you like. When you’re happy with the flavor, divide the chicken and rice into your preferred portion sizes and serve warm!
What I Love About This Recipe
- Thick and creamy rice, with melty Parmesan, tangy lemon juice, and perfectly cooked chicken. This recipe is the ultimate comfort food.
- This chicken and rice is so rich and delicious, but so easy to make! Seriously, this is absolutely one of my favorite Instant Pot chicken recipes.
- This recipe only needs a handful of ingredients that you may already have in your house. So simple, nothing complicated.
Recipe Variations
- For Firmer Rice: Use 3 cups of chicken broth if you want a chicken and rice that’s a little firmer, with more-separate grains. It won’t have the texture or consistency of fried rice or rice pilaf, but it won’t be as wet as if you used 4 cups of broth.
- For Creamier Rice: Use 4 cups of broth if you want a creamier, soupier consistency and softer grains of rice. It’ll be more similar to risotto than if you use only 3 cups of broth. (It won’t be risotto, though! If you’re looking for a risotto, try my Instant Pot Risotto or my Best EVER Stovetop Risotto.) I typically use 4 cups of broth when I make this recipe, and the photos in this post show the Instant Pot chicken and rice made with 4 cups of broth.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions or variations listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Equipment
- 6-quart Instant Pot
- Large wooden spoon or silicone spatula
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts approximately 2–3 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 cup chopped white onion approximately 1 medium onion
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic approximately 4 large cloves
- 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice rinsed, see Notes
- 3-4 cups chicken broth see Notes
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice juice from approximately 1 large lemon
- 1 cup shredded fresh parmesan or grated, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt more or less to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper more or less to taste
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode. Add 4 tablespoons unsalted butter to Instant Pot insert and let butter melt completely.
- When butter has melted, add 1 cup chopped white onion and 2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic to insert. Stir to incorporate, then sauté aromatics approximately 5 minutes or until onions are soft and translucent.
- Add 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts to insert. Sauté chicken pieces, stirring occasionally, approximately 5 minutes or until chicken pieces are opaque on all sides.
- Add 1 ½ cups long-grain white rice, 3-4 cups chicken broth (3 cups for firmer rice; 4 cups for softer, soupier rice), and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice to Instant Pot insert. Stir to fully incorporate ingredients, making sure to scrape bottom of insert to loosen any stuck bits of onion or garlic.
- Secure lid on Instant Pot with valve in Sealing position. Set Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure mode and set cook time to 8 minutes. Instant Pot will pressurize and then 8-minute cook time will begin.
- When 8-minute cook time ends, Natural Release internal pressure 2 minutes. Note: Do not release pressure longer than 2 minutes or rice can overcook.
- After 2-minute Natural Release, carefully Quick Release any remaining pressure and remove lid. Use caution as any escaping steam will be incredibly hot.
- Stir chicken and rice mixture well. Note: If mixture contains excess standing liquid after pressure cooking, set Instant Pot to Sauté mode and stir mixture until excess liquid has fully incorporated into rice.
- Taste mixture and add 1 cup shredded fresh parmesan, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Stir until additions are well incorporated, then taste mixture again and add more parmesan, salt, pepper, or lemon juice if desired.
- When satisfied with flavor of chicken and rice mixture, portion mixture into preferred servings. Garnish with additional parmesan cheese if desired and serve warm.
- Chicken Broth: For a firmer rice and more-dry/less-creamy consistency, use 3 cups of chicken broth. For a softer rice and soupier consistency, use 4 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.
- Regarding the Texture: This recipe will not give you rice with a texture like fried rice or rice pilaf. It will be more similar to a risotto.
- Overcooked Rice: If your rice has a sticky or “gluey” texture, you likely overcooked the rice, probably by letting the pressure Natural Release for more than 2 minutes.
Approximate Information for One Serving
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.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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My wife and I loved this recipe. I added shiitake and baby Bella mushrooms to the mix. Next time, I’m going to experiment with 3.5 cups of broth or even substituting 1/2 a cup of dry white wine for some of the broth.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Great tips, too.
This is delicious! I’m making for the 2nd time right now. I followed directions exactly.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Followed recipe exactly! Turned out like slop. Mushy, mushy, mushy! Even sauteed for several minutes after it should have been finished because it was super runny. Will never make again.
We’re so sorry you had this experience, Judith. Like with all of our recipes, this recipe was heavily tested to make sure it can easily be made at home. While we didn’t encounter this problem when making it as instructed, we’re sorry that you did, and we appreciate your honest feedback.
Wow!!!
Ditto!
Made this tonight and turned out great! Used shredded cheddar instead of Parmesan and added cream of chicken soup and diced broccoli, left out the onion. Everyone in my family of 6 cleaned their plates!
So glad you enjoyed it and could make it your own!
Delicious!!!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This may be a dumb question but can you use an onion flavoring packet instead of actual onions? Will that mess up anything? First time using an instapot. Thanks in advance
Not a dumb question at all! You can substitute onion powder. Just err on the side of caution, as you can always add more if needed after it’s all cooked.
Simple ingredients and prep. Whole family loved it. We’ll make it again!
So glad you enjoyed it!
SOOO delicious! I didn’t want a soupy dish, so I reduced the liquid a bit. Jasmine rice was perfect. So fast in the Instant Pot. This is a keeper!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Just wondering if you could use black rice? We prefer that but wasn’t sure if it would be similar to jasmine or more like brown rice. Any thoughts?
We haven’t tried cooking black rice in the Instant Pot, so we can’t really speak to how it would turn out. But if you try it, we’d love to know how it turns out!
Unfortunately this ended up way too salty and pretty bland. Was really looking forward to it too 🙁
Hi Lauren, we’re sorry you had this experience. We strive to create recipes that are easy to make at home in a way that mirrors our own experiences when testing the recipes out. While we didn’t find this recipe too salty or bland, we are so sorry you had this experience.
Is the chicken cooked before you put it in?
Nope! It cooks in the Instant Pot.