This Post May Contain Affiliate Links. Please Read Our Disclosure Policy.
This chicken and rice Instant Pot recipe is 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!
See recipe card below for full list of measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Cheryl’s Note
I’ve made this recipe numerous times and have tried it with brown rice, instant rice, and minute rice, and each time it turned into a burned rice disaster or was completely overcooked with the brown rice.
This recipe requires long-grain white rice. Chicken and rice in the Instant Pot 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.
Why This Recipe is So Good
- This hits that creamy, comforting sweet spot that makes weeknight dinners feel special. The rice gets all tender and luxurious with melty Parmesan and bright lemon—it’s like risotto without any of the babysitting or arm workout.
- One pot, minimal cleanup, maximum flavor. Everything cooks together in your Instant Pot, which means you’re not juggling multiple pans or watching a pot on the stove. Just set it and walk away!
- It’s ridiculously adaptable to what you’ve got on hand. Want it firmer? Use less broth. Craving something soupier? Add more. Throw in some frozen veggies at the end or swap chicken thighs for breasts—this recipe rolls with whatever you need.
- My kids devour this (hello, cheese and butter!), but it looks and tastes like you put in way more effort than you actually did. When it comes to Instant Pot chicken and rice recipes, this one is uber delicious, melt-in-your-mouth, and a weeknight hero!
What You Need to Know Before You Start
- Don’t skip the 2-minute natural release timing. If you let the pressure release naturally for more than 2 minutes, your rice will turn into a gluey, sticky mess. Set a timer on your phone the second that cook time ends.
- A pro tip is to rinse your rice before adding it to the pot. This removes excess starch and helps prevent that gummy texture no one wants. Just a quick rinse under cold water in a fine-mesh strainer does the trick.
- To adjust the broth, use 3 cups if you want firmer rice with more distinct grains (though it still won’t be like fried rice). Use 4 cups if you want it creamier and more risotto-like. I typically go with 4 cups because I love that dreamy Instant Pot chicken-and-rice consistency.
- When you add the broth and rice, make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot really well with your spoon. Those golden bits of onion and garlic are pure gold, and you don’t want a “burn” warning from your Instant Pot.
Not Wanting a Chicken and Rice Instant Pot Recipe?
If you’re looking for a risotto instead, 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 recipe for chicken and rice made with 4 cups of broth.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, unfortunately, brown rice requires a much longer cooking time (around 20 minutes at pressure), which would completely overcook your chicken. Stick with long-grain white rice for this recipe.
This usually happens when the pressure is allowed to natural release for more than 2 minutes. The residual heat continues cooking the rice, which makes it overcooked and gummy. Time that release carefully!
You can, but make sure you’re using at least an 8-quart Instant Pot. The 6-quart size works perfectly for the recipe as written, but doubling it will require more space.
Reheat gently on the stovetop over low heat with a splash of chicken broth to restore the creamy texture. You can also microwave it in 1-minute intervals, stirring between each burst, until heated through.
While you can technically freeze it, the rice texture changes quite a bit after freezing and thawing. I’d recommend making this fresh and storing leftovers in the fridge for up to 3 days instead.
Fresh is really best here for that bright, tangy flavor, but if you’re in a pinch, you can use 1 ½ tablespoons of bottled lemon juice. Just be aware it won’t have quite the same pop.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken Risotto
- Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
- Instant Pot Bourbon Chicken
- Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Teriyaki
- Instant Pot Chicken Breasts
- Instant Pot Chicken Carnitas
- Instant Pot Chicken Adobo
- Instant Pot Butter Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Wings
- Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
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 Cheesy 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.
Video
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?
Tag @40aprons on Instagram and be sure to leave a review on the blog post!
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
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Made this tonight. Used four cups of broth and Arborio rice. Bit soupy, but I just let it cook down a bit. I will cut the amount of broth next time. Overall, yummy! Served it with a Caprese salad and some bread hot from the oven. Hug hit!!
YUM, caprese salad and fresh, warm bread with a helping of chicken and rice?? Let me know when to be over for dinner! 🤣 Sounds delicious, Donna! So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
Really easy and delicious! I followed the recipe exactly but added some extra veggies. I used 4 cups of broth and also added 1 chopped broccoli crown and 2 large diced white mushrooms before closing the instant pot. When it was done cooking I also mixed in 3 large handfuls of fresh spinach. This will definitely be added to the easy meal rotation!
That sounds delicious!! I’ll have to try that next time I make this recipe. Thank you for sharing, Kelsey!
My husband always says that he doesn’t care for risotto but enjoyed this dish! The directions are easy to follow and I added mushrooms. Very tasty.
So happy to hear that! This is a favorite of mine. Thanks for sharing, Melanie!
Can you do this with frozen chicken?
We haven’t tested it with frozen chicken so I can’t say for sure. The chicken might not be fully cooked by the time the rice is ready. If you’re able to defrost it first, I recommend that!
My family is hooked on this recipe! I sauté mushrooms with the onions and skip the parm to keep it dairy free. Easy and always delicious!
Kirby, I’m so happy to hear that! We’re always thrilled when we can make everyone at the table happy. 🙂 Thank you so much for sharing your review with us!
It was really good. I’m a beginner and I feel fancy for making this. lol.
Haha, we love to hear that! Thanks for leaving a review, Jen!
This looks delicious! Would jasmine rice work in this recipe?
We haven’t tried it with jasmine rice specifically, so we can’t say for sure. In theory, white jasmine rice should work, but I’d avoid whole-grain jasmine rice. Make sure to rinse it well before cooking, too. Jasmine rice is pretty sticky so if it’s not rinsed well, you’ll likely end up with a thick layer of starch on the bottom of the Instant Pot and the dish may not cook like it should. Jasmine rice may also cook faster, so that’s something to keep in mind. If you try it, let us know how it turns out!
I used Basmati rice with 4 cups of broth. Adding chopped green onions with the cheese. Delicious and very “risotto” in texture.
That sounds delicious! Next time I’ll have to try that. Thanks for sharing!
Love this recipe, but we’ve made one addition, after the cooking is over and we’re stirring in the parm cheese, we also add 3 cups of baby spinach as well. It wilts pretty quickly, expands both the flavor and the color palette of the dish, and gives you a veggie as well
That’s a great addition, Dean. Thanks for sharing!
But far my families favorite meal! Love every single part. We opt for the 4 cups of broth.
Thank you so much for your feedback, Cieanna! I’m so happy you all enjoy this one so much!
I didn’t see anything about rinsing the rice in the notes. Is it necessary?
We mention it in the in-line notes in the ingredients section! “1 ½ cups white rice rinsed”
You’ll definitely want to rinse the rice first for the best consistency.