This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy.

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!

A bowl of creamy Instant Pot chicken and rice sitting on a blue and natural kitchen towel and rattan placemat.

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!

A close-up of creamy Instant Pot chicken and rice in an Instant Pot.
Close-up of Instant Pot chicken and rice in a bowl with a silver spoon.

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.

Instant pot chicken and rice in a bowl
Recipe By: Cheryl Malik
4.90 from 759 votes

Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

Prep 15 minutes
Cook 25 minutes
Total 40 minutes
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.
Remove Ads
4 servings

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

Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 684calProtein: 54gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 0.5gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 1860mgPotassium: 940mgTotal Carbs: 63gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gNet Carbs: 61gVitamin A: 598IUVitamin C: 9mgCalcium: 353mgIron: 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.

Did You Make This Recipe?

Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!

Rate this Recipe Tag @40Aprons on Instagram

Other Instant Pot Recipes You Have to Try

Cheryl Malik

In addition to being a certified health coach, certified yoga instructor, and mom of 3, Cheryl is also the recipe developer, editor-in-chief, food photographer, and passionate foodie behind 40 Aprons. Having spent the last 10+ years as a food blogger, she's become known for her flavorful recipes, detailed instructions, gorgeous photography, and down-to-earth approach to food and cooking in general.

Never Miss A Meal!

New Recipes Straight To Your Inbox

A curated selection of our most recent recipes, delivered straight to your inbox once a week.

Leave A Review

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

1,372 Comments

  1. I’m a beginner at cooking and a beginner with the instant pot. This recipe was so good and it was easy to make! Loved it! It was full of flavor and creamy. Will be making this again.5 stars

    Reply

  2. Made this recipe for a quick Saturday dinner. No mess, super easy. Instructions were exact. Only change was I added broccoli. Turned out amazing! This is added to our monthly meal plan. Everyone loved it!5 stars

    Reply

  3. Wow! That is a great chicken and rice recipe! My young, extremely picky(like if there is even one little thing he doesn’t like about it, ie:smell, look, color, ect.., he won’t even try a single bite, picky) dug right in! He loved it! He ate 2 bowls of the stuff!!!! My husband and I both loved it as well. It is also wonderfully cheap and easy to make. Thank you for sharing this recipe with everyone, it really is quite delicious.5 stars

    Reply

  6. This was great! I used leftover chicken from a chicken roaster. I opted out of the Parmesan and increased the chicken bouillon and added a bag of mixed vegetables. It was gobbled up by all!!5 stars

    Reply

  7. It was very difficult to clean up after, the Parmesan cheese stuck to the sides of the instant pot I added some celery, but overall the flavor was bland3 stars

    Reply

    1. We’re sorry you didn’t have a stellar experience with this recipe, Teri, but thank you for sharing this feedback15 stars

      Reply

  8. Made this tonight for dinner. It wasn’t bad, but felt like it was just missing something flavor wise. I used 4 cups of broth and followed the cooking time as shown. I was surprised at just how much liquid was still there when I removed the lid. I turned to saute as suggested and this did help a little. I was hoping for more of a fluffy rice dinner, but it was pretty much like a rice pudding texture and look wise.3 stars

    Reply

    1. Sorry you didn’t love this recipe, Karen, but thank you for sharing your experience, regardless!5 stars

      Reply

  9. This recipe was rather one note in flavor.

    I followed the recipe as written and there was liquid left at the end. I used the sauté function for a few minutes and that worked great.

    My biggest concern was the flavor wa s rather bland. The lemon juice, parm, and salt/pepper got lost in the food. I had some leftover bacon in the fridge and chopped it up. That added a bit of different flavor.

    If I had fresh herbs on hand, I would have thrown it on at the end to brighten it up3 stars

    Reply

Where To Next?