My Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is creamy and cheesy with tender morsels of juicy chicken in less time than the classic dish. You will fall in love with the flavors, especially with my secret tip for adding garlic. This is a fan-favorite recipe, so watch the video tutorial below to see how easy this is.
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Helpful Reader Review
“Follow the recipe exactly and Comes out perfect every time! Amazing flavor.” – Amber ★★★★★
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Video
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!
Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
The texture of this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is almost like a Risotto, but it doesn’t require the tedious stirring for 30 minutes. The flavor is truly memorable, and yet this recipe calls for simple ingredients.
The secret to great Chicken and Rice in the Instant Pot is in infusing the rice with an entire head of garlic. I add the whole head while cooking, so then the garlic will melt in your mouth. (We used the same trick to make Instant Pot Beef and Rice (Plov).)
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, Bone Broth, Corn on the Cob, and Tender Ribs.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Simple ingredients really shine in this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe! Grab a pack of chicken and a few pantry staples.
- Vegetables – onion, grated/julienned carrots, and parsley
- Garlic – I use a whole head of garlic, halved lengthwise and leave this unpeeled.
- Chicken – boneless breasts, thighs, or tenders cut into bite-sized pieces (1″). *We prefer chicken tenders because they require less prep and reheat well. They are also the most tender.
- Chicken broth – use Homemade Chicken Stock or a low-sodium version from the grocery store
- Jasmine rice – unrinsed. You could also use Basmati or Texmati without adjusting the cooking time. Brown rice would require a longer cooking time.
- Parmesan cheese – Salty and nutty flavor that permeates the whole dish
How to Make Chicken and Rice in the 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.
- Set your Instant Pot to sautee on high heat, add oil, butter, onion, carrots, and 1 tsp salt, cooking for 5 minutes.
- Add chicken and salt, and saute for another 5 min.
- Add in broth and rice and stir. Place the halved garlic head cut-side-down on top. Cook for 1 minute on manual high pressure, and then quick release.
- Open the lid to add the Parmesan cheese and parsley. Stir and serve with more cheese to sprinkle over the top.
Tips for Using an Instant Pot to Make Chicken and Rice
Always read the user’s manual for your specific machine because it may operate differently.
- 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 the heat to avoid the burn notice.
- For safety, wear an oven mitt when manually releasing pressure, and keep your face away from the hot steam vent. Also, keep a paper towel ready to shield the vent while venting/releasing pressure.
- Check the pressure indicator to ensure that the pressure has fully released prior to opening the lid.
- Follow timing instructions precisely and set timers. With pressure cooking, it’s easy to overcook something if you forget about your pot.
Helpful Reader Review
“Delicious and so easy. I used long-grain white rice and added about a cup of frozen spinach. Came out like a risotto and everyone loved it!” – Snk ★★★★★
Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice makes for the perfect go-to or first Instant Pot recipe! It’s simple and will impress you right out of the pot! It’s freezer-friendly and keeps in the fridge, so you can easily use this recipe for meal planning for the week. Let me know how you love it in the comments!
PS. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can still enjoy this recipe, because it is the quicker and easier version of our wildly popular Stovetop Chicken and Rice Recipe.
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. Sauté, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes or until soft and golden.
- Add trimmed, chopped chicken, another 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper. Sauté, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes.
- Add 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of rice and stir to combine. Cut the 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.
Notes
- To refrigerate – pack in an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- To freeze – place airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
- To reheat – place leftovers in a casserole dish covered in a 350°F oven or in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring occasionally until heated through to 165°F.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
Easy 30-Minute Meals You Will Love
Just like Instant Pot Chicken and Rice, these are go-to 30-minute meals that our family loves (our kids go back for seconds), and they require minimal prep. Perfect for a weeknight!
- Chicken Pesto Pasta
- Beef and Broccoli
- Baked Chicken Tacos
- Philly Cheesesteak
- Chicken Fried Rice
- Zuppa Toscana
- Lettuce Wraps
We have been making the Creamy Chicken and Rice stovetop method from your website for years. It’s a tried and true recipe for us, a total crowd pleaser. About a month ago I checked to see if you had made an Instant Pot version, and I was so happy to see it!
I did notice some changes from your original stovetop method in this instant pot one: no white wine, no bay leaves, and less butter (no second application of butter). I think these could be used in the instant pot, and they should improve the flavor too.
Thank you for such a great recipe!
Hello Matthew, thanks for sharing that with us and for giving some feedback too. I should try that next time, if you try that process with more ingredients, please share with us how it goes.
I making this for tonight’s dinner … actually 3 minutes away😋
I’m hoping this meal turns out as good as the other recipes I made from your website.. I had to increase the recipe (big family over here) 🤞🏻
I hope this becomes a favorite for you and your family, Denisse. Enjoy!
Natasha, where did you get the tool to use to grub your cut onion, and what the name of this tool?
Thank you
Hello Larisa. You can see the kitchen tools that I use here in my Amazon affiliate shop
Another great success at my house. Thank you. I just bought a ninja so keep adding those instant pot recipes. 😉
You’re welcome, Chris. That is noted. Thank you for your suggestion!
We just ate this for our dinner. Got three sets of thumbs up from everyone in the house, and one “it’s so nourishing” from my MIL. I always hate to read comments that say something is good but they made modifications, and here I am doing the same thing. We’re still seeing shortages of certain items at the grocery stores, so I made due with what I had in the kitchen. I used vegetable stock because I was out of chicken stock. I used minced garlic from a jar because I haven’t seen bulbs in a while. Didn’t measure it, just spooned some in. I was out of fresh carrots, so I used a cup of frozen peas and carrots. Everything else was per the recipe and all steps were followed as written. We’ll be adding this to our regular rotation. Can’t wait to try it as written!!
Hello Landon, thank you for sharing that with us. I’m glad that you were able to find some ingredients to substitute and so good to know that it worked well too!
Before stirring in the parm, is the goal to squeeze 5e garlic cloves from their paper or remove the halves altogether?
Hi Andy, we remove them, some people choose to keep the garlic cloves in the rice.
Will long grain rice work in place of jasmine (same liquid Amt?)
Thanks
Hi Nancy, others commented and shared this “I used canned carrots and peas in lieu of shredded carrots and plain white long grain rice instead of jasmine rice. It still turned out great. I love the recipe. I love it. Thank you very much for sharing this.”
Perfect! Used sushi rice as that was what I had on hand and it was like a creamy risotto, and yummy. Kids had 2nds and 3rds!
I’m so happy to hear your family enjoyed that!
Really good Recipe and so easy! So like yummmmm
So great to hear that, Denise. Thank you!
Can’t wait to try this! How long would you suggest with brown rice?
Hi Nicole, I haven’t made this one with brown rice but one of my readers wrote: “I made it with brown rice since that was all I had on hand — and increased pressure cook time to 20 minutes.” I hope that helps!
I made this and it was so good and easy. This is one of a bunch of your recipes I have made and they are all great.
I’m so glad to hear that! Thanks for sharing that with us, Deborah.
I love your stuff. This is the third recipes I am making from you this week.
Nice to know that Greg! I hope you love each recipe that you try from Natashas Kitchen.
I made this recipe tonight for my family and every one loved it. After reading reviews of it being too blend, I added more spices and more cheese of course. However, the 4 cups of broth is way too much. I had to subtract 1 whole cup from it as it was soup like. Other than that it was a good healthy recipe. Oh and I added frozen peas for more color for my 2 year old.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Carolina!
Followed the recipe. The family loved it. My husband said, “This one is a keeper!”.
That’s just awesome Barbara! Thank you for that wonderful review!
Love this recipe! About a month ago we made this recipe for our friends affected in a tornado outbreak. Right after we got it out of the Instant Pot, it looked a little undercooked, so we tried it and when we did, we didn’t want to share! This recipe was extremely easy. Thank You
You’re welcome, Natali! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi! We love this recipe! However, my husband has recently been diagnosed with diabetes. Is there a way to make this meal with less rice and not be as soupy?
Hi Li, if you cut down the rice, you would need to cut down the liquid proportionally. Without testing all those variations, I could only guess to the amounts.
This chicken and rice dish in the ipot is excellent!!! Thank you for sharing it. I also loved the beff and brocoli stir fry. My son has been visiting for a week and I’m spoiling him. Next is the baby back ribs!
Hello Glenda, so awesome to hear that! I’m so happy to know that your son is enjoying his stay with you. Enjoy and may you both love every recipe that you try!
Mine came out in between risotto and soup consistency. Not sure what I did wrong.
Hi Randy, I haven’t had that experience but I’m curious if there was too much water or if using a different type of rice or letting it sit too long before releasing pressure, you do run the risk of it becoming mushy/ risotto like. I hope that helps for next time.
This recipe is SO delicious!! My 5 year old son asked me to make it again tomorrow night What I love about this dish is that it comes together so quickly and there’s minimal cleanup at the end. Thank you, Natasha!
You’re welcome Fivi! I’m so happy you enjoyed that!
Just made this & I love it
Super! Thank you Yvonne.
Fabulous dinner! I loved everything about this recipe. I used brown rice and so in the future I’ll add a little more time although it still was wonderful. I’m also considering adding more veggies.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing that with me!
This was a delicious dish!
I made it exactly as written.
Husband really enjoyed it–enough so that he commented
“this is very good”.
Translation? Make it again!
Yay, that is so awesome! Your husband really enjoyed this recipe, I hope you both will love every recipe that you’re going to try.
That is the best when the husband’s (and the family) love what we moms make. That’s so great!