This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is the perfect one-pot meal for the whole family!
It combines vegetables, chicken, rice, and spices to make a delicious and nutritious dinner that’s ready to serve in less than 20 minutes using your Instant Pot pressure cooker.
Contents
Why This Recipe Works
I love this recipe because it is a full dish on its own. It’s simple, requires little prep, and is super flavorful. Also, this hearty rice and chicken bowl is sure to leave you feeling full and satisfied. It’s perfect to get a good meal in on those busy weeknights!
This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is also great for meal prep because you can serve it at room temperature. I love it steaming hot right from the Instant Pot, but that’s a great option for when you have leftovers. It’s great to pack in your lunch to work or school.
Recipe Video
Recipe Ingredients
White rice – do not substitute brown rice in this recipe if it will dry out too much. Or if you do, be sure to add extra broth to compensate. For this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe, I would go with Jasmine rice or basmati rice.
Chicken – I’d recommend using chicken breasts as I did. I have also made this recipe with skinless and boneless chicken thighs, so they work great too. It really does not matter between these two, just make sure your chicken is cut into equal pieces.
Chicken broth – I find that plain water also works okay as a possible substitution, but chicken broth or stock gives you a better result. It adds a lot of flavor and richness. Or if you don't have any broth, you can use a bouillon chicken cube & water.
Smoked paprika – if you don’t love smoky flavor, feel free to substitute sweet paprika here.
Parsley – if you don’t have fresh parsley, that’s ok, it’s just for garnish. I like using fresh herbs as a garnish for color and freshness. You can also use fresh cilantro or basil or skip it altogether.
How to Make
Cook chicken with onion and garlic powder on Saute for 3-4 minutes.
Add the rest of the ingredients.
Lock the lid into place and cook on High pressure for 8 minutes. Then, once the cooking cycle is done, perform a quick pressure release.
Serve the chicken and rice warm and feel free to top with fresh parsley for garnish.
How to Serve Chicken and Rice
This recipe is a complete one-pot meal filled with nutritious vegetables, protein-packed chicken, and hearty rice. You can choose to serve additional vegetables on the side, or a side or garlic bread, but it’s not necessary.
FAQ About Chicken and Rice
What should I do with the leftovers?
If you have leftovers, keep them for lunch the next day. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to make a big batch to meal prep and eat this for lunch or dinner a couple days in a row. It’s that good!
Can I add cheese?
Yes! Feel free to add cheese on top in the end. Alternatively, you can try this Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice.
Can I make this with pork instead?
Sure! If you like pork, try this recipe for Instant Pot Pork Chops and Rice instead 🙂
More Instant Pot One-Pot Meals
You really can’t beat the convenience of a one-pot meal! Lucky for you, we have lots of DELICIOUS one-pot meals for you to choose from if you need some dinner inspiration. Try one of these next:
Instant Pot Chicken And Noodles
Instant Pot Spaghetti Bolognese
If you are into chicken, check out these amazing Instant Pot Chicken Recipes.
Instant Pot Chicken and rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 cup white rice uncooked
- 1 ¼ cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
- 2 medium carrots diced
- ½ cup celery chopped
- ½ cup mixed peppers, red, green, and yellow chopped
- 3 chicken breasts boneless skinless, cut in bite sized pieces
- chopped parsley for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Press "saute" and add oil.
- Once the oil is heated, add chicken, onion, and garlic powder and sauté for 4 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Close the lid and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
- When cooking time ends, do a quick pressure release.
- Open the lid and serve 🙂 Garnish with parsley if desired.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- You can absolutely use only one color of bell pepper to avoid waste. I like to use multiple colors when I can to add color to the dish and variety of flavor. But this recipe is very flexible—feel free to add whatever veggies you like!
Instant Pot Soothing Chicken And Rice
1st offical meal in the pot and it does not dissapoint!
So tasty!
I am using thighs. Can I double the recipe and still use my 6 quart pot?
Can I ask how much salt and pepper you like to use for this recipe please?
I usually don't measure exactly, but about 1.5 teaspoons of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper should be about right ◡̈
It says garlic powder minced? Is it garlic we are mincing or is it powder?
I used garlic powder, but you could also use minced garlic instead. Either works, whatever you have!
I made this for my husband and he loved it. I’m vegetarian and was thinking of making this with plant chicken, this wouldn’t need cooking at the start, so thought I would add it with the remainder of the ingredients. Do you think this would work ?
Made this this evening for my husband ( I’m vegetarian) he loved it.
I used skinless, boneless thighs, it worked well. Got 4 portions, one for fridge and 2 for freezer.
Thinking of trying this with chicken style vegi pieces.
That's great, it is a great meal prep meal! And chicken-style vegi pieces sound like a great meatless alternative for vegetarians such as yourself ◡̈
Hi Corrie, I made this with the vegetarian chicken alternative today, and it was lovely. It was so quick and tasty. Got one portion in the fridge and 2 portions for the freezer
That's great to hear, I'm so glad it worked well and tasted delicious!
How much is a serving? Is it one cup?
It's probably a little more than that. Closer to 1 1/2 cups per serving, depending on the size of the chicken breasts, it can vary.
Do I need to add more time if I substitute brown rice for white rice? And does the amount of liquid added remain the same.
Thanks
Yes! You will definitely need to add more liquid -- 2 cups of broth per 1 cup of dry rice. And I think 12 minutes would work to ensure the rice is fully cooked.
Can I use frozen chicken thighs
Well, the chicken should be cut up into pieces. So if you have frozen chicken thighs that were cut into pieces before freezing, yes, those would be great! If they were frozen whole, you'll probably need to defrost them at least partially so you're able to cut them.