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.
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
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!
If you enjoyed this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Video tutorial, be sure to subscribe to our Youtube Channel and click the bell icon so you can be the first to know when a new video tutorial is posted. THANK YOU for subscribing!
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
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Made this 👍🤪💯 yummy! Recommend. U wont be sorry! 😁
I’m so happy you loved it! Thank you for the amazing review!
Soo quick and easy! Please make more instant pot recipes!
Hi Karina, I’m so glad you loved it! We have another winner coming in a couple of weeks that is so delicious and impressively fast for what it is. It will be a video recipe also. Thank you for the great review!
I cooked mine on low pressure and it turned out fantastic. A squeeze of lemon made it over the top. There was no “burn” notification on my instapot. The rice was a little wet which I did not mind. I’m keeping this on my weekly recipe rotation schedule. Thanks for sharing Natasha!
~Lexi
You’re welcome Lexi! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe!
This was SO easy and delicious. I used minced/ground chicken instead because I like that texture in rice (and maybe added a little bit of shredded cheese at the end, too), and this was such great comfort food. Thank you for another perfect recipe!
That’s just awesome!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review, Maggie!
I haven’t actually made this, but I’m looking into getting an Instant Pot. Is the one you’re using the Instant Pot DUO60 6 quart 7-in-1 Multi-Use Programmable?
Hi Ronald, We used this 6 Quart Instant Pot to make this chicken and rice.
Hi Natasha,
Just love all your recipes.
Sadly no Instant Pot available here in Australia, so I will try your stovetop recipe instead.
Come on Instant Pot, how about a dual voltage model!
Cheers,
John
I hope you love the stovetop version. It is one of our most popular recipes.
Natasha,
Thankyou!
How long does it have too coom on stove top?
Hi Terry, here is the full tutorial for the stovetop chicken and rice.
Właśnie coś takiego szukałam. Kolejny przepis na listę smakołyków. Wielkie dzięki
You’re welcome! Thank you for that awesome review!
Thought I’d leave a review while this rice is cooking. I better hurry only 6min left! So fast!! Thanks so much. Love your recipes and you are gorgeous.
Thank you for the wonderful compliment, Friend! I hope you love this recipe!
This looks very easy to do, thank you for the recipe. I am eating brown rice instead, so how would this recipe go with brown basmati rice? If you went over this, sorry I missed it!
Hi Joe, I haven’t experimented with brown rice, but it would be closer to the timing on our instant pot beef with brown rice.
Got an Instant Pot on Black Friday and this was the perfect (easy!) meal to try for a first time user. I added a little bit of frozen peas just before putting the lid on and it worked well. This was yummy and I will def. make it again.
That’s so great! Stay tuned for our next Instant Pot recipe Boxie!
Hi Natasha! This looks delicious. What would the cooking time be in a stove top pressure cooker?
Hi Patty, I haven’t experimented with one of those so I’m not sure if the timing would be different. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes.
Girl I tell you what. You are very funny a lot, love to see that. Love your recipes keep the very good work up. You are so fun to watch.
You’re so nice! Thank you Laura!
This was quick, easy so good. My whole family liked it. Saving this for future reference.
I’m so glad you all enjoyed that, Krissy!
Great dinner idea for busy weeknights! My whole family loves this!
That’s just awesome, Anna! Thank you for sharing that!
Hi
How would you cook this recipe if you don’t have an instant pot?
Hi Naomi, This is the quicker and easier version of our wildly popular stovetop chicken and rice recipe.
This is a fabulous IP recipe! The garlic really takes it to the next level!!!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that!! Thank you for the wonderful feedback!
I wonder, why so much broth? I usually make this already, kinda adopted from your brown rice plov, but I put almost the same amount of liquid to rice, or could just a tiny bit more
I would use the same proportions as in our brown rice and beef plov.
I would guess because if u only used the same amount as rice, the rice would soak it all up and the instant pot would run dry. There has to be a certain amount of liquid in the pot for it pressure cook properly.
This sounds wonderful. Would I be able to add broccoli to this recipe? Could I add it in the beginning so it would cook all at the same time?
I haven’t tested that but I bet it could work. If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
So moist and flavorful! Definitely pinning–my family would love this for a weeknight dinner!
I hope it becomes a new favorite and thank you for sharing!
Hey Natasha,
I LOVE your stovetop chicken and rice recipe, but I feel that the white wine really adds to the flavor of the dish. How would you add wine to this instant pot version?
Hi Crystal, you can add a splash but it isn’t necessary in this recipe. We loved it just as much as the original stove-top version – It was still really flavorful and didn’t seem like it was missing anything.