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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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What if you don’t have an Instant Pot? Looks amazing and wanting to try it so much!
Do you have a slow cooker? We have a Crockpot version of this recipe here: https://40aprons.com/crockpot-chicken-and-rice/
Have made it 2x before, about to do my 3rd. Everyone in my house absolutely loves it. We go with the higher amount of broth for more liquidy dish. Its fantastic
Thrilled to hear this! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Made this on a cold snowy day. It was wonderful. I use the 4 cups broth.
Perfection!
Good basically, but needs some more pizzaz. I am thinking about adding some white wine and herbs the next time.
Good tips, and glad you enjoyed it!
Wondering if basmati rice would work in this recipie?
We recommend using the rice listed in the recipe card so that it gets nice and creamy from the starch!
It’s a bit bland so next time I will add lemon pepper seasoning to the chicken before sauteing and maybe a tad bit more lemon juice to the broth. My pickey eater loved it, and my not-so-picky eater didn’t like it, but I’d make it again in a pinch. It was so fast and simple to make, very little ingredients and ready in under 45min!
Good tips! Glad y’all enjoyed it. 🙂
turned out great. Followed directions exactly as written.
Awesome!
OMG! I’m not very adept in the kitchen… that said, your easy to follow directions made me look like a chef!! I sauted mushrooms with my onions, crushed black pepper corns, & garlic. And at the end, I threw in some steamed baby green peas. My hubby told me he only likes “Mexican Rice” so I figured I’d be eating it the next 4 days. He’s 2 bowls in already!! Thank you so much for this great recipe!!
This is exactly what we strive for with our recipes! So glad this worked for you. Thanks for sharing! 🙂
You didn’t mention to cook meat thoroughly or about 75% finished cooking THEN turn on the pressure cooking mode!
What I got was cooked rice and uncooked chicken! Fun! Spent another hour trying to fix it. Then, I got a pot of mush!
So sorry you had that experience, Joe. We do say in step 2 to sauté the chicken until it’s no longer translucent (approximately 5 minutes or so) before securing the lid and cooking on Manual High Pressure for 8 minutes in step 3, to cook the rice and finish the chicken. It also cooks a little more during the pressure release time, but the chicken should be mostly cooked-through once it reaches “no longer translucent” in step 2, especially since it’s cut into bite-sized pieces before starting. I hope you’ll give this one another try!
Funny, I followed the directions and had no problem. The dish was great.
Happy to hear this!
My super picky mother in law LOVED it. Definitely my family’s new “go to” when we need something quick and want to cook at home.
I do have a question regarding the chicken – could I not cut up the chicken and then once done cooking, remove the chicken breasts and shred them? It would simplify things even more if I’m able to throw in whole chicken breasts.
Wow, so glad she and everyone enjoyed it! And you can totally try preparing the chicken this way! Let us know if you do and how it turns out.
Update: tried it with whole chicken breasts tonight. I threw them into my kitchen aid mixer to shred the meat once it was done cooking. I definitely prefer it this way.
Awesome! Glad this worked for you.