Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is creamy and cheesy with tender morsels of chicken. You will fall in love with the flavors and our garlic secret. This is the quicker and easier version of our wildly popular stovetop chicken and rice recipe. Watch the video tutorial below and you’ll see how easy this is.
We love our instant pot because it produces the same great results in a fraction of the time so you can enjoy dinner fast! Some of our favorites include Instant Pot White Chicken Chili, Instant Pot Bone Broth, IP Corn on the Cob and the quickest Tender Ribs.
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The Secret to the Best Instant Pot Chicken and Rice:
The texture of this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is almost like a risotto but doesn’t require the tedious stirring for 30 minutes. The flavor is truly memorable and yet this recipe calls for simple ingredients. How? The secret is in using an entire head of garlic.
This Will Transform Your Rice: The garlic head is cut in half so the garlic cloves are exposed. The flavor infuses the rice and then you can remove the head of garlic if you want to, or squeeze the cloves into the rice. The garlic cloves will be melt in your mouth tender and so tasty. We used the same trick to make Instant Pot Beef and Rice (Plov).
Ingredients for Chicken and Rice:
You can use any kind of chicken here: chicken breast, thigh meat or chicken tenders. We prefer chicken tenders because they require very little prep (minimal trimming of fat), and reheat really well. They are also the most tender. We often use the chicken we have on hand.
The best rice for this recipe is jasmine rice (white, long-grain rice). You could also use Basmati or Texmati without adjusting the cooking time. Brown rice like we used in our Instant Pot Rice with Beef (Plov) recipe, would require a longer cooking time.
How to Cook Chicken and Rice in an Instant Pot:
We used a 6 Quart Instant Pot to make chicken and rice. This recipe moves fast so have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before you turn on your instant pot. Chop your onion, grate or julienne your carrots (here’s the julienne slicer we love), half your garlic head.
- Set your instant pot to sautee on high heat, add 2 Tbsp oil and 2 Tbsp butter.
- Add onion, carrots, and salt and saute 5 min.
- Add chicken and salt and saute 5 min.
- Pour in broth and rice and stir. Place halved garlic head cut-side-down.
- Cover with lid and set the lever to sealing position. Cook on manual high pressure 10 minutes with manual pressure release.
Tips for Using an Instant Pot:
First-time users: always read the users manual for your specific instant pot prior to starting since your machine may not operate or look exactly like ours.
- Make sure the rim and rubber seal on your instant pot are clean for the seal to form properly.
- Stir the rice together before turning on to avoid the “burn” notice.
- Remember to set your lever to the stealing position for pressure to build.
- When manually releasing pressure, wear an oven mitt and keep your face away from the hot steam vent.
- I keep a paper towel ready to shield the vent in case it sputters liquid while venting/releasing pressure.
- Always check the pressure indicator on your machine to ensure that the pressure has fully released prior to opening the lid.
- Follow timing instructions precisely and set timers. With pressure cooking it easy to over-cook something if you forget about your pot.
Easy 30-Minute Meals You Will Love:
These are our go-to 30-minute meals that our family-friendly (our kids go back for seconds), and they require minimal prep. These are our favorite, easy chicken dinners for busy weeknights!
- Chicken Pesto Pasta – easy 1-pan dinner
- Beef and Broccoli – with the best sauce
- Philly Cheesesteak – the authentic way
- Chicken Fried Rice – a great way to use leftovers
- Zuppa Toscana – famous restaurant copycat
Watch Natasha Make Chicken and Rice (Instant Pot Style):
This Instant pot chicken and rice recipe will transform dinner for you. It’s one of the easiest and tastiest dinners you’ll make and there’s minimal cleanup because it all comes together in the instant pot!
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Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 large carrots, thickly grated or julienned
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast, or thighs, or tenders (trimmed and cut into 1" pieces)
- 2 tsp sea salt, divided
- 1/4 tsp black pepper, ground
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups Jasmine rice, un-rinsed
- 1 head garlic, unpeeled, cut in half crosswise
- 1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped, plus more to garnish
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, plus more to serve
Instructions
- Set a 6 Qt Instant Pot to saute on high heat and add butter, oil, chopped onion, grated or julienned carrots, and 1 tsp salt. Sautee, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until soft and golden.
- Add trimmed, chopped chicken, another 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Sautee, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
- Add 4 cups chicken broth and 2 cups rice and stir to combine. Cut whole garlic head in half through the cloves and parallel to the base. Place garlic halves on top, cut-side down. Cover and cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes then quick release remaining pressure.
- Open the lid and stir in 1/2 cup parmesan with 1/3 cup chopped parsley. Serve with more cheese and garnish with parsley if desired.
Nutrition Per Serving
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Turned out delicious. But I made a few modifications. First off, I kept the same amount of chicken, but cut the amount of rice and chicken broth in half. Also, did a 1:1.5 instead of 1:2, and it turned out perfectly… Not mushy at all. Didn’t have a whole bulb of garlic, So I just chopped up five cloves and added them while I was sauteing the chicken. In addition, I included rosemary, thyme and sage to the mixture before I pressure cook it because I didn’t have any fresh parsley. It turned out yummy!
Soo, I think I screwed up. In your ingredients, it says unpeeled garlic bulb. I didn’t peel, cut in half, and it’s in the instant pot now. Won’t the peelings get all in there? I didn’t see where you said to remove the garlic after cooking or where it said to peel it ever?
Hi Sam it should be fine. You can remove the bulb after the cooking process and you’re good to go!
Everything cooked perfectly, although the kids maybe could have gone for less mushy rice (I liked it). Also going to play around with getting a bit more spice/flavor (salt + lemon zest + ???)
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Dolen! It should not turn out super mushy. The important thing is to use the right amount of liquid and not overcook it.
I was skeptical at first as it seemed too simple to be so good but per the reviews I felt i I should give it a go. So I did and I’m so glad, it was delicious and super flavorful. To address the water to rice ratio complaints I decided to try 1:1.5. It turned out perfect. I also halved the recipe and I would say it would feed 3 people as a main dish. Thanks Natasha, i will be making this on the regular!
Made this almost exactly as written. I didn’t have fresh garlic so sprinkled in some garlic powder. This is satisfying in a way that will make you feel content without blowing you away. If you’ve been out in the cold, a nice hot bowl of this chicken and rice dish will be just the right thing to warm you up again.
This is one of my favorite dishes. I love it so much and crave it frequently. However, we usually have leftovers (I used breasts, not thighs bc we like white meat), but he chicken always tastes a little off and slightly rubbery/dry when reheating. We usually reheat in the microwave on low and use a wet paper towel to cover the dish to kind of steam it/add moisture. I add more parmesan cheese but it still has that re-cooked chicken taste and texture. Any tips for reheating?
Hello! Glad to hear that you enjoy this recipe. It should be fine to freeze leftovers just make sure that it’s no longer hot when you store it properly in an airtight container or freezer bag.The rice might need a splash of water or broth when you reheat it.
Does this freeze and reheat well? I’m wondering if I should half the recipe or if I can make it as is and freeze some for later. Looks great!
Hello! It should be fine to freeze leftovers just make sure that it’s no longer hot when you store it properly in an airtight container or freezer bag.The rice might need a splash of water or broth when you reheat it.
This is my fave!!! The best and easiest recipe!
Follow the recipe exactly and Comes out perfect every time! Amazing flavor.
So happy to hear that, Amber!
Thank you. I made this for dinner tonight and the family loved it.
That is the best when the family love what we parents make. That’s so great!
We really enjoyed this chicken and rice recipe. It was so delicious and creamy! I will definitely be making this again! Thank you for this delicious recipe!!
Thank you so much. Followed the recipe to a T. My whole family truly enjoyed this. Fast, easy, and delicious. Thank you 😊
You’re very welcome, Tara!
Wonderful meal recipe!! I threw in some mixed veggies and followed the rest accordingly. I will use low sodium chicken broth next time as I like to limit sodium intake. But overall very easy, quick prep and cook time, fabulous results! Thanks for the great recipe!
Flavorful, tender, and creamy. We love this easy recipe.
Very flavorful, creamy and tender.
It was so good! I added cream of mushroom and peas after cooking, on saute for five minutes plus some milk. Added celery to the veggies. So good!
This was the second recipe I tried in my IP and I was quite nervous because the first one didn’t turn out great (the oatmeal burned). WOW. Absolutely amazing. The whole family was floored. Thank you!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Bridget!
Super good!! Love all of Natasha’s recipes!
The flavors were outstanding. Super simple and yet, super delicious.
I have a question though, is the intention to have super mushy rice? I’m not criticizing, just curious. Normally with an IP, you would do a 1:1 ratio of water/rice rather than a 2:1 ratio.
I want to try it with a 1:1 next time. This recipe will definitely be in my future menu rotations! 😁
Hi thanks for your feedback! It should not turn out super mushy. The important thing is to use the right amount of liquid and not overcook it.
This was delicious and came out perfect! I would like to know if you squeeze the garlic and mix it in or just use it to infuse flavor while cooking. Not sure if I missed that, but I didn’t see anything that referred to using it after cooking.
I’m glad you enjoyed it! The garlic is used primarily to infuse flavor while cooking, not after cooking.
I have the same question. The dish is flavourful and very tasty. But the rice is very mushy. I thought I may have done something wrong. I read online that the ration should be 1:1, but perhaps the intent is for it to be mushy? It does say like risotto in the recipe. I am excited to try it with 1:1
Hi thanks for your feedback! It should not turn out super mushy. The important thing is to use the right amount of liquid and not overcook it.
This recipe comes together quickly with ingredients we usually have on hand. We happened to have a bag of frozen spinach that I added to the pot last minute – it was a fast and easy way to boost the vegetable intake for the family, and blended in with the rice quite well. This is definitely a recipe we’ll add to the weekly rotation. Thank you, Natasha!