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 Chicken and Rice 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 take 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.
How To Make Chicken and Rice in the Instant Pot
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté mode. Add the butter and let it melt before adding onion and garlic. Sauté for 3-4 minutes.
- Add the chicken and stir. Cook until the chicken is no longer translucent. Add in the rice, broth, and lemon juice and stir well. Make sure nothing is sticking to the sides, and scoop the chicken pieces to the top.
- Close the lid and set valve to Sealing. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes, let naturally release for 2 minutes, then Quick Release the rest of the pressure. Stir everything well and season with Parmesan, salt, and pepper to taste.
Top Tips For Making Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- 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. 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:
- Instant Pot BBQ Chicken
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Breast
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Thighs
- Instant Pot Chicken and “Rice” Soup (Whole30, Low Carb)
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup (Paleo)
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Black Beans
- Frozen Chicken Breasts
- Baby Back Ribs
- BBQ Chicken
- Chicken and “Rice” Soup (Whole30, Low Carb)
- Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Dal
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Dreamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
This creamy chicken and rice is a real one-pot meal! With Parmesan cheese and a splash of lemon, it's an easy and delicious dinner.
Equipment
- Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 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 3 cups for a firmer rice, 4 cups for a more risotto-inspired, soupier version. We personally prefer 4 cups.
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice from one lemon
- 1 1/2 cups white rice rinsed. Do not use brown rice or instant rice
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt plus more or less to taste
- 1/4 teaspoons black pepper plus 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.
- Close lid and set valve to Sealing. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- When cooking is completed, let naturally release for 2 minutes, then Quick Release rest of 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.
Notes
- 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: Use white rice since brown rice takes longer to cook and will overcook the chicken. Do not use instant or minute rice.
- Cheese: Fresh Parmesan is ideal, but can sub shredded cheese.
- If you discover 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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 673kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 52gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 156mgSodium: 2435mgPotassium: 969mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 596IUVitamin C: 23mgCalcium: 352mgIron: 2mgNet Carbs: 60g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This sounds pretty yummy and I would like to make it tonight! My question is, if I added broccoli to this recipe, do I need to make any adjustments at all to cook time or recipe itself?
We’d probably add cooked broccoli towards the end of the recipe!
Thank you very much! This recipe was the best and I have tried many that were not to my liking.
I’d like to make this tonight, but my chicken is frozen. Can I use frozen chicken with this recipe?
We personally don’t recommend using frozen chicken in this recipe to avoid overcooking the rice! 🙂 If you’d like, you could always cook the chicken separately and just add towards the end. 🙂
Made Tonight. Delicious! I love that you live in Memphis. That’s my hometown. Thanks for the recipe
That’s awesome! 🙂
This is such an amazing recipe and very easy to make! My husband and I absolutely loved it! I added a whole lemon’s worth of lemon juice in it, as another reviewer did. I like my rice on the firmer side, so used three cups of chicken broth in it. This recipe will now be a regular on my recipe rotation! Thank you, Cheryl!
Can you use orzo for the recipe?
Sure! That would be delish!
I haven’t used my instant pot much so this is new cooking to me. Is there enough room in the instant pot to double recipe?
There should be!
So easy and so delicious! Everyone on the house loved it…which rarely happens! Thank you.
I would like to deliver this recipe to a friend. If I make it all ahead of time, but keep in in the fridge overnight, how would I advise my friend to reheat in the oven?? Silly question, but I don’t cook, so I don’t know!!!
They can reheat it on the stovetop or in the microwave. 🙂
I have reheated it both on the stove and in the microwave. On the stove I added a tablespoon of milk and heated it on medium heat. In the microwave I added the milk and heated it for 1min 30sec, with 30sec intervals after until it was as hot as I wanted. In the oven I would suggest setting it at 250° and doing it for about 10min. Then watching it till it reaches the heat you want.
Could I use Jasmine Rice instead of white rice?
Sure! 🙂
Does the chicken need to be cooked before putting in InstaPot?
Not at all! 🙂
You do it all in one pot. The direct walk you through cooking it. I usually leave the chicken a little pink before adding the liquid and rice. So it finishes cooking in the juice and isn’t dry
Is the nutrition info for the whole recipe or a serving
It’s for the whole recipe! 🙂
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Followed recipe with the 3 cups chicken broth.I upped lemon juice to a whole lemon worth…it infused beautifully.I also added broccoli (frozen,but thawed and heated with tap water)at the end when I stirred in the cheese.My family loved it! I will definitely make again!
This.is.so.so.so.so.soooooooo.good. Like ridiculously good! Thank you so much for this recipe.
P.s. I added broccoli at the end. Amazing!
LOVE broccoli!
I just got an Instant Pot and this was the first recipe I tried. I had everything I needed except the lemon. It turned out delicious. I had enough leftovers to freeze for another night. Thanks! Now what to try next?
We have a lot of Instant Pot recipes! Feel free to try them. 🙂
This recipe is a keeper! I grated the onion so my kids did not complain that there was “onion chunks” in it that they would normally pick out. In fact, all they said was how delicious it was. I did use 2 cups chicken broth and 1 cup vegetable broth because that’s what I had on hand. Pair with a salad and a good piece of bread and it’s the perfect quick weeknight meal.
Ohh, that’s a great idea! I’ll have to grate the onion next time!
Can you make this in a crockpot? Unfortunately I do not have an instapot.
We haven’t tried it, but that’s a great idea! It shouldn’t be too hard. Cook the rice ahead of time and set aside. Place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker, and cook on low for 5-6 hours or high for 3-4 hours. Stir in the cheese and rice!
This was SOOOOO easy and delicious. I mean really good. I only had 1/4 cup of grated parmesan, so for the additional 3/4 cup required I substituted grated Tillamook 4 cheese blend and it turned out great! I am adding it to my favorites recipe book since this was so incredibly quick and the family loved it. And it was a great comfort food for a blustery winter evening.
Glad you liked it! 🙂
Can I make this ahead and freeze it? What’s the best process for that? Just my wife and me – so weekend meal planning/prep really simplifies the week ahead.
LOVE this recipe!!!
Hi! You’ll just freeze the recipe in an airtight storage container. 🙂 When ready to enjoy, allow the chicken and rice to thaw in the refrigerator prior to heating.
Hi! If I add a veggie to this, will It get too mushy/overcooked ? Thanks!
I don’t think so! As long as the vegetables don’t have a lot of moisture and stirred in at the end, it should be okay.
This was so easy and quick. Creamy and delicious! Exactly what it described. Thank you!!
Glad you liked it!
Best instant pot recipe I’ve tried! Came out perfect! So happy. This is my new go to recipe on nights I don’t feel like doing anything elaborate. Easy and delicious! 5 stars
Glad you like it!
We removed the lemon and added a bit of heavy cream and velveeta….
Spot on!