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
Filed Under
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This instant pot chicken and rice dish is to die for! It is extremely rare that when I cook something it is eaten in its entirety! My husband is very picky and I was concerned he would not like the parmesan cheese but he did! Thank you for providing recipes for people who are not experts in the kitchen!
Yay, that is fantastic! Thank you so much for your awesome review, Sandra. I hope you and your family will love every recipe that you will try.
you did not add the rice in these instructions see below
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 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.
Hi Deanna, I apologize, it was in the print-friendly recipe but not in the summary above. I add it with the chicken broth. I have updated the summary above.
What is that special glove called? Where can it be purchased?
Hi Donna, it’s a regular oven mitt. You can find oven mitts in our Amazon Shop HERE under the Kitchen Tools category.
Made this again tonight and added some frozen peas after Parmesan and parsley just to “mix it up” haha. Love this meal and it’s my kids’ favorite ❤️
That is the best when kids love what we moms make. That’s so great!
The recipe says it serves 8 as a side dish. How many for a main dish? Maybe 6? I am going to make this for a large group in my instant pot as well as the stovetop version (so I have enough) and just wondering how many it will actually feed as a main dish. Thanks!
Hi Kim, something around that number I imagine.
I made the instant pot chicken and rice. It was super good and easy! I wasn’t sure about the whole garlic cut in half and put on top but I tried it and squeezed out all the cloves and I never new they were there. It just made it more delicious.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
I made this tonight and it came out like mushy soup. Any idea what I did wrong? I followed the directions and ingredients list.
Hi Christin, was anything possibly altered in the recipe? If using a different type of rice or letting it sit too long before releasing pressure, you run the risk of it becoming mushy. I hope that helps for next time.
Made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly. Like all of your recipes, this was excellent. Adding the cooked garlic back into the dish is essential for that extra layer of flavor. Your beef stew and beef stroganoff are some of our other favs.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Hi hi!
I love your recipes, thank you for coming up with new dishes all the time.
I have a question about using unrinsed rice…I thought we MUST rinse the rice, bucket,quinoa etc. Isnt it “dirty”?
Thank you
Hi Katherine, the result wouldn’t be the same consistency after rinsing. We do not rinse the rice so that extra starch helps with the creamier texture. I would have to run a test to tell you for sure, but I think you might add a couple of tablespoons less water if rinsing.
Thank you for this recipe! We have been looking for different chicken dishes. This was so good, we were fighting over who got the leftovers for lunch. Thank goodness there was enough for us to split. Even our picky eater liked it! It is a keeper.
Awesome! You’re very welcome, thanks for sharing your great comments and review with us. I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Love this recipe. I’ve made it without the instant pot and tonight with it and can honestly say I think I may love it more. The chicken just seems to be so much more tender.
That’s just awesome, Jordan! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
We cooked this recipe to the letter and it was great. We ate it as the main course with garlic bread. Fantastic.
That’s just awesome! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review!
Love your recipes!!! I just got a 3 quart mini Insta pot. I wanted to make the chicken and jasmine rice recipe. Do you think a three quart mini pot would work or should I half the recipe???
Hi Carol, I haven’t tried this in a 3 quart but I suspect it would overfill that size. I would probably cut the recipe in half.
I can confirm that it does overflow a 3qt. It’s all good until you have to vent it. You might find yourself scrubbing liquid butter off your walls. It’s a really great recipe, though!
This dish was rather bland. We didn’t think it had much garlic taste even though we squeezed out the whole bulb of garlic.Today we are going to eat the left overs i am going to add a little chicken broth to keep it moist and spinkle it with garlic salt.
Would I be able to make this I. A slow cooker, because I don’t have a instant pot! Love ALL your recipes! Thank you!
Hi Wilma, I don’t have a slow cooker version, but here is the full tutorial for the stovetop chicken and rice. I’m not sure this would work in a slow cooker; I haven’t tested it that way, so I’m not sure if the consistency would be right in a slow cooker
Can I make this without carrot and garlic and use mozzarella for cheese?
Or cheddar cheese?
Hi Elizabeth, it will be missing some flavor and color but I think that will work.
I’ve made this twice now. The first time, the biggest change I made was using cooked chicken that I had tossed in the freezer. I also added mushrooms and put about half the cheese as cheddar instead. So good!
The second time I made it, I traded pot barley for rice and added about 2 cups extra stock mix to account for the extra liquid barley needs, and cooked it for about 32 minutes (22minutes, then 10 more when it wasn’t ready yet). I also added mushrooms and cheddar, and used cooked chicken again. So good! Can’t wait to have more for lunch and dinner this week!🤤
Thank you for such a fab and easy recipe!
Hello there, you are very welcome! It’s my pleasure to be able to to share this great recipe with you all and I’m happy to know that you loved it!
Chicken rice for lunch thank you
So easy
I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Martha!
Can I use a different type of rice? Like Camilla?
Hi Delia, I haven’t tried that yet to advise. 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.
Phenomenal recipe! I made this last night for dinner, and both of us went back for seconds. He even heated up a third serving later on that night! We are garlic lovers, so I did squeeze all of the cloves back into the dish after cooking. I think next time, I’ll just peel it and add the loose cloves in before cooking, as I had a little trouble handling them to squeeze out while they were hot. Plus one half of the garlic head completely fell apart when I cut it in half, so that half got peeled and thrown in before cooking anyway. Overall, a truly delicious and easy meal that will be added into our regular dinner rotation. I can’t wait to experiment with adding more veggies!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us!
Thank you! This came out perfect.. I cut the rice and water in half. I was very good.
I use Better Then Bouillon as my broth.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this today and it was amaaaziiiing