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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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I was hoping to make this today but only have white Minute rice on hand- any idea how many minutes I should put this in the pressure cooker when using quick-cooking rice? Thanks!
You might want to add it towards the end and simply just saute´ until the rice is cooked.
I made this recipe tonight and it was quick and delicious! Will definitely make again.
I just made this tonight with only 2 diviations. I used a full 2 cups of rice (b/c thats all that was left), and added some sharp cheddar with the parmesan at the end, (approx 1 cup- again, all that was left). It turned out perfect! Thick, creamy and delicious. I work 2nd shift, so Im all about quick and easy. This recipe just made my list.
I don’t normally leave reviews, but I always love to read through for anything eye-catching before I attempt a first. This was amazing!!!
I did make some alterations to the method because I used FROZEN chicken, and I didn’t have fresh onion on hand.
I added butter, garlic, minced onion, rice, lemon juice and 3 cups broth to the IP. I gave that a good stir and gently placed four FROZEN chicken breasts on top. I set IP to Manual | 11 minutes, then did 5 minute NR. After releasing remaining pressure, I removed chicken, set aside on a plate to rest while adding seasoning and cheese to rice. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces and added back in.
Easy peasy. My kids (16,10,4) loved it! We all had seconds!!
Thank you for a classic, ready in no time recipe!!!
Thanks for the awesome review!
Hi! Read your response earlier to someone who was asking about freezing and that it’s better to cook everything but the rice and freeze instead – how much broth should I add if I’m not cooking the rice with the chicken?
Start off with a cup and increase from there!
Love this recipe! Do you think it would work to freeze it? My sister just had a baby and I’m trying to find delicious recipes (like this one) that would freeze and reheat easily. Thanks!
Hi Sarah! I’m so glad you love the recipe 🙂 Reheating rice often overcooks the rice and it becomes mushy. If you want to freeze/reheat, I’d suggest cooking everything BUT the rice to freeze/reheat and then using an instant rice when you’re ready to eat the meal!
I stress made this while waiting for the election results and it was THE PERFECT comfort meal. I had to make a few adjustments using what i had. 1:1 Parmesan and sharp cheddar. I only had 3cups of broth so i added a cup of water…. it still was perfecccccccct!
5⭐️
Thanks for the awesome review. We are so glad this recipe gave you some comfort!
Followed the recipe exactly as written, including a natural release for 2 minutes followed by a quick release, and it ended up very gluey and mushy. Other people commented the same thing and your reply was that it was overcooked – but I followed the recipe to a tee. What gives?
We are so sorry to hear you had a negative experience. We hope you will give it another try. We are sorry for the misunderstanding in our previous instructions- it’s high pressure for 8 mins and then a natural release for 2 minutes. Hope this helps!
Same happened here. Maybe adding 3 cups of broth instead of 4 would do the trick? Still tasted delicious!
There are 2 different cook times 10 minutes and below 8 minutes??
Sorry about that! It’s 8 minutes high pressure, 2 minutes natural release 🙂 We’ve updated the other sections of the post to reflect that change!
Is high pressure mean pressure cook button?
What kind of Instant Pot do you have?
How do I double this is the cooking time different if I do?
You shouldn’t need to adjust the cooking time – the volume will just make it take longer to come to pressure is all!