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
Can you make it in the regular pot?
Hi Marianna, yes! Check out our stovetop chicken and rice recipe.
Thanks a million, I’ll give it a go
I hope you love it Marianna!
Looks Yummy! I’d like to do this but add more veggies… we kind of do heavy veggies and less rice.
when do you suggest I add the veggies? I’m thinking celery, maybe more carrots, mushrooms, broccoli (and maybe asparagus). I usually cut mushrooms kind of small (not a fan of the tecture) so not sure when to add them… and broccoli takes so little time to cook, also not sure when to add it. Thank you for your thoughts!
I’ve only made rice and quinoa by themselves so far – this will be my first ‘one pt’ meal with meat! Thank you for sharing your expertise!!
Thank you so much for sharing. I love the idea of adding more vegetables! I bet broccoli would be delicious Kerrie. But yes, more vegetables should work great I haven’t tested adding to advise. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
I have only recently started watch you and love it. I’m making the chicken and rice tonight. I would love more instant pot receipts. Next we will try your ribs. We use to live outside of Philadelphia and we added peppers and mushrooms to your cheese steak and it was delicious. Keep sending them out. You have a lovely family.
Mary Alice
I’m so glad you discovered our recipes, Mary Alice! Thank you for sharing those awesome tips with us.
Would like to make with Brown Jasmine rice – has anyone made it with that and what would the cooking time be
Hi Molly, I haven’t tried brown jasmine rice to advise so I can’t really tell. If you experiment, let me know how you liked the recipe.
SO GOOD!!! Made it last week and ate leftovers all week. Making it again this week and can’t wait to have it again! It was a little garlicy for me, so I topped it with avocado slices to mute the garlic a little. YUM!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite Sarah!
Hey Natasha! Would this work well with pork instead of chicken??
Hi Marta, I imagine that will work. I hope you love this recipe.
Oh i love this recipe! Iv made it a handful of times! Thank you!
Glad you love this! I hope you enjoy every recipe that you try.
Absolutely delicious!
I’m so happy you enjoyed that Jessica. Thank you!
Kids loved this recipe. My 17 year old made it, and he had no problems. Could I double the recipe?
I have seen this recipe so many times but never tried it because it seemed too simple to taste good. But I decided to make it for dinner tonight and WOW was I wrong ?!!! It was absolutely Delicious. The perfect one-pot meal 😋👌
Can you use white or brown rice with this!
Hi Heather, brown rice would have a longer cooking time in the instant pot. Check out our brown rice instant pot recipe here.
Made it tonight with instant pot. Tasted so good. I’ll use 2 garlic bulbs the next time I cook. I love the garlic this way. I was wondering if u can make mashed garlic as your side dish. Lol
I think that would work too – it really depends on your preference but I haven’t personally tried it yet. Let us know if you liked it if you give it a try!
Hi! I tried this today, and even though I followed the amounts exactly, my rice came out soupy! I think 4 cups of broth for only 2 of rice was too much. The flavor was fine, but I would have preferred the rice to be drier.
Thank you for sharing that with me, Diana! We believe we found the perfect balance to meet the minimum liquid requirement for the instant pot. If you test it out another way I would love to know how you like it.
I cut the recipe in half and just had the same problem. I used brown rice and adjusted the time to 20 minutes, but still lots of liquid
Hi Natasha, This recipe looks so delicious. I just have one question. What do you do with the garlic cloves when finished cooking? Add to the rice or discard? Thanks so much!!
Hi Deb, we have a note on that in the recipe: “remove garlic head (you can either push the cloves of garlic out into the rice and eat it or discard it)” I hope that helps.
Made this tonight in the instant pot for the first time and omg its so good. I’ve made the same recipe numerous times in the dutch oven but this one is better 100%!!!! Def a family favorite. Thank you Natasha!!!!! <
You’re welcome, Karyn! I’m so glad you liked that.
Hi Natasha, I thought I saw a video for this recipe come through my Facebook feed a little while ago and wanted to make it. Now, reading the steps I just want to confirm that the rice is added in Step 3? Do you need to alter cooking time if chicken is frozen?
Hi Laurie, yes it is in step 3. I haven’t tried cooking it while the chicken is still frozen to advise but it would be best to use thawed chicken to be sure
I made mine with still mostly frozen chicken, and it came out perfectly. What happens with frozen meat is the IP takes longer to come to pressure, but once there, the cooking time is the same. Also, in this recipe, the chicken will defrost a lot as you saute it.
You can use frozen chicken. It will just take longer for the pot to reach pressure. Also you should add about 3 minutes to the cook time.
Hi Natasha, this chicken and rice dish in instant pot could it be done in a 3 quart pot? Thank love your recipes
Lisa mcbride
Hi Lisa, it’s hard to say since I’ve only tried it in a 6-quart pot but I imagine that should work.
Can this recipe be doubled if you use an 8 qt instant pot? My family devoured this the first time I made it so I wanted to see about doubling it.
Hi Angie, I haven’t tested doubling this, but if you are doubling the recipe and using a larger instant pot than 6qt, that should work fine to double the ingredients and not the time. Let me know how it goes doubling it.
I used brown basmati rice because that’s what I had on hand. I adjusted liquid to 4.25 cups. After ten minutes there’s was still SO much liquid. I cooked it for another 10 minutes, and still some liquid. I’m about to cook it for another 10 minutes. What am I missing? Does it really take this much longer to cook brown basmati rice compared to jasmine rice?
Yes, brown rice takes twice as long as regular rice if not more to cook. I hope you figure this out.
Wondering if I could cut the recipe in half? Just worried about the broth and rice ratio. Thanks
Just put my plate down and had to comment!! This was wonderful!! You are right the rice is creamy. I added broccoli to it (after microwaving) and Viola. MAKE THIS!!
That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
Can I substitute Quinoa for the rice?
Hi Jodie, we haven’t tested substituting quinoa. If you experiment, please let me know how you liked it.
Has anyone tried this using quinoa instead of rice?
Hi Wendy, we haven’t tested that but if you do experiment, please let me know how it goes.
Tried it with quinoa and it came out mushy. I might try again and cook the quinoa separately.
Thank you so much for sharing that! I suspected that would be the case. I appreciate the feedback.
I have seen this recipe so many times but never tried it because it seemed too simple to taste good. But I decided to make it for dinner tonight and WOW was I wrong ?!!! It was absolutely Delicious. The perfect one-pot meal 😋👌
That’s awesome to know that the recipe exceeded your expectations! Thank you for sharing that with us and for your great feedback.
We love making this dish for a family meal, even our almost 2 year old loves it!! I add broccoli into ours so I can have my son eat more veggies.
**Question** Can this be made with cauliflower rice (not precooked)? I want to try it that way but I’m afraid it would become too mushy.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me and for giving great feedback! I haven’t really tried this with cauliflower rice to advise. Sorry I wish I could help you more but if you decide to experiment- I would love to know how it goes!
Made this on Wednesday when my niece and her boyfriend came for dinner. Great reviews from all, including my fussy granddaughter, and lots left over to send home with my niece. Served with a side salad and it was a full meal for us.
Next time, I would cut the recipe in half and still have a little leftover for the next day after the three of us eat.
Thank you so much for sharing that with me Pat! I’m so glad your family enjoyed this recipe.
My hubby made this for us the other night and it was really tasty and really easy to make. I am laid up right now with a broken foot and wanted a recipe my hubby could make and he did he watched your video and made it all by himself. The only thing was I added a can of cream of mushroom soup and only put in 3 & 1/2 cups of liquid .. love your recipes and videos!
Yum! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
Made this recipe tonight. Delicious!! The only change I made was added mushrooms and halved the recipe. Thank you for sharing your recipes. Love your blog.
You’re welcome! I’m so happy you enjoyed it Summer!