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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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Other Instant Pot Recipes You Have to Try
- Instant Pot Black Beans
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- 45 Incredible Vegan Instant Pot Recipes
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Hi there!
Your recipes look amazing! I am looking for recipes that can be made ahead then froze for later use. Are your recipes adaptable for that? I will need to know asap as have purchased ingredients to make many different meals. Thank you
Some of them are! We try to mention when a recipe would make a great freezer meal. Be sure to read the blog posts!
I have made this twice, my husband loves it. It’s a perfect cold day meal.
It really is! So glad you both enjoy. Thanks so much for the review, Diane!
Followed recipe. After 3 burn notices I gave up on it…the chicken was cooked to safe temp and the rice had soaked up all the broth. It tastes ok but recipe might want to address how to best avoid burn notices. I did lift the chicken to the top.
So sorry to hear that was your experience, Lauren! You definitely shouldn’t get a burn notice with the recipe as-written. Just to make sure I follow, you got 3 burn notices after the chicken and rice were already cooked?
If you’re getting the burn notice before everything’s cooked, you’ll want to make sure none of the rice or onions are stuck to the bottom of the pot, and you might double check the sealing ring on your Instant Pot to make sure it’s not dirty, damaged, or placed incorrectly.
I’ve made this recipe a dozen times and it never fails. I add fresh carrots and peas. Sometimes
Broccoli too. A big family favorite and makes for great leftovers
Love the additions! Thanks so much for the review, Jennifer. So glad it’s a family favorite!
Hi! I want to try this recipe but I would like to double the protein. What adjustments do you think I need to make on cooking time/broth addition? Any guesses would be appreciated! TIA
You should be fine to keep everything else as-is! Your Instant Pot will likely take longer to pressurize but everything else should stay the same.
Delicious! I added a bit of red pepper powder for our spicy taste and used four cups of stock vs broth made it more soupy. Definitely give it a try.
Thanks for your review, Brandy! Glad you were able to make a few adjustments to better fit your preferences.
Awesome recipe. Someone in the family suggested adding peas… what do you think? And any ideas on how and when we would we do it??
Peas would be a super yummy addition! You could try frozen steam-in-bag peas, microwave them while the Instant Pot is doing it’s thing, then add them at the very end. Or you could try canned peas and I would suggest adding them before Step 3 of the recipe. We haven’t tested those options out yet, so let us know if you try it! Thanks so much for the review!
Kept giving me burn food, rice kept burning
Just to clarify – your Instant Pot kept giving you a burnt food warning, or your rice actually burned? You added 3-4 cups of chicken broth? That should be enough liquid that the rice doesn’t burn, unless maybe if you’re using a very large Instant Pot… If the rice didn’t actually burn but you kept getting a burn notice after adding the rice, you’ll want to check the sealing ring on your Instant Pot lid. Your seal might be going out, or the ring may not have been positioned correctly, or the lid may not have been sealed completely, or you may have had the vent in the wrong position during cooking.
I hope you’ll give this one another try!
How does one classify a recipe as healthy when it has almost 2000 mg of sodium per serving.
“Healthy” looks different to everyone, so what one person considers to be “healthy”, another person may not. That being said, we don’t claim this creamy chicken & rice to be a “healthy” recipe. It’s absolutely satisfying, filling, comforting, and delicious, though.
This is such a lovely recipe!! It is so delicious! It has become a staple in our home. My toddlers love it too! Thank you so much!!!
Thanks so much for your review, Sarah! That is great! It’s so nice when you can find those staple recipes the whole family loves—happy to hear this one makes the list!!