This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is an easy dinner recipe with pantry ingredients that cooks in 5 minutes in your pressure cooker. Made all in one pot, this dish is perfect for busy weekdays!
This is a very simple recipe, just like my Instant Pot Risotto and Instant Pot Mexican Quinoa. A perfect quick and easy meal your whole family will love!
When you need a break from pasta dinners but you still need a quick and easy recipe, rice to the rescue! All you need is a handful of pantry staples and you are minutes away from the most delicious Instant Pot Chicken and Rice. I like to make it, portion out into freezer-safe bags and freeze or refrigerate and serve for lunch during the week. This dish calls for a basic veggie trio: onion, celery and carrots; but can be easily adapted by adding mushrooms, spinach, broccoli, beans, etc. You can even use ground chicken in place of cubed chicken breasts.
Ingredients:
- rice: I used long-grain white rice
- chicken: I used boneless skinless chicken breast but thighs work too
- olive oil
- garlic
- onion
- celery
- carrots and peas: I used a frozen mix but you can use fresh carrots and saute them with onion and celery
- Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper
- water or chicken stock: I recommend low-sodium stock; you can also use a bouillon cube and water
- butter: optional, but it adds a little bit of creaminess to the dish
How to make Instant Pot Chicken and Rice?
- Start by heating up oil in the Instant Pot.
- Add onion, celery and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add Italian seasoning and rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Add 1/2 cup of water and deglaze the bottom of the pot by scraping any cooked-on bits with a wooden spoon.
- Add remaining water, seasoned chicken, frozen veggies and butter. Stir in.
- Close the lid, press "manual" or "pressure cook" button. Set timer to 5 minutes.
- Once the cooking cycle is done, press "cancel/off" button and let the Instant Pot release the pressure naturally.
- Open the lid and stir in the rice. You can add cheese and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Expert tips:
- chicken: I used chicken breast but thighs work even better since they are more juicy and flavorful. To save time on prep, cut the chicken into bite-size pieces as soon as you get home from shopping and keep it in the freezer already cubed.
- rice: I always toast the rice before cooking (it makes for the fluffies rice, and you can read all about it on my Instant Pot Rice recipe post) but you can skip this step and just stir it in with sauteed veggies;
- deglaze the pot: after sauteeing the veggies, it is very important to deglaze the pot. Add 1/2 cup of water and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. This will prevent the burn message.
Can I use brown rice to make this dish?
Brown rice takes longer to cook. To prevent the chicken from overcooking, place whole breasts or thighs on top of rice and cook for 18 minutes on high pressure. Shred the chicken and stir in with cooker rice before serving.
Can I use frozen chicken?
If you want to use frozen chicken, I recommend as above: cut the chicken into cubes, then freeze. Let it sit on the counter while you prep the veggies and saute them. Then place chicken on top of rice and veggies and pressure cook. The Instant Pot will take longer to build up pressure but the chicken will still be cooked.
Storing leftovers:
Any leftovers should be stored in a container with lid for up to 5 days, in the fridge. It's easy to reheat this dish in the microwave. You can also freeze this dish for up to 3 months.
More easy Instant Pot dinners:
- Instant Pot Lemon Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas
- Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
- Instant Pot French Onion Soup
For more recipes using the digital pressure cooker, feel free to browse our Instant Pot Category.
Also, check out my Instant Pot Guide for Beginners, filled with all the info you need to get started with your new appliance! Seeing BURN message on your IP? Read my Instant Pot Burn Message post to learn why and how to save your dish.
If you like this recipe and make it, snap a photo and share it on INSTAGRAM! Tag me @crunchycreamysweet so I can check it out and leave a comment! 😀
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 2 celery ribs chopped
- 2 cups frozen carrots and peas mix see notes
- 2 cups white long-grain rice
- 1 ½ lb boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cups chicken stock or water
- cheddar cheese or Parmesan cheese optional
- 2 tbsp butter
Instructions
- Make sure the stainless steel insert is in your Instant Pot.
- Press the "saute" setting and wait until the display shows HOT.
- Cut chicken into 1" pieces. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add oil to the pot and heat up.
- Add onion, celery and garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add Italian seasoning and rice and saute for 2 minutes, stirring often.
- Add ½ cup of water and deglaze the bottom of the pot by scraping any cooked-on bits with a wooden spoon. This is important as it will prevent the burn.
- Add remaining water, seasoned chicken, frozen veggies and butter. Stir in.
- Close the lid and turn the valve to "sealing" position (the newer IP models do it on their own). Press “manual” or “pressure cook” button. Set timer to 5 minutes. Make sure the IP is set to high pressure.
- The IP will beep and start building up pressure. This can take 10 to 12 minutes.
- Once the cooking cycle is done, press “cancel/off” button and let the Instant Pot release the pressure naturally.
- Open the lid and stir the rice. You can add cheese and season with more salt and pepper if needed.
Notes
- Please note, that the nutrition value can vary depending on what product you use. The information below is an estimate. Always use calorie counter you are familiar with.
- I recommend low-sodium stock; you can also use a bouillon cube and water.
Giselle says
Hey, great recipes for this beginner. I’m riding your coat tails while I learn and you have me excited about this journey. One question, is the rice that you add at the beginning cooked? Forgive me, 😀I did say I was a beginner😄.
Barry says
It says stir in the rice after the veggies have cooked. How long do you cook the rice?
Anna says
Hi Barry! The recipe does not say to "stir the rice after the veggies have cooked". Step 11 says: Open the lid and stir the rice. You can add cheese and season with more salt and pepper if needed. The whole dish cooks together (rice and veggies). Hope this clarifies it!
Penny Brown says
On step #7 you mentioned butter, but it wan't in the ingredients list. How much butter?
Anna says
Hi Penny! It should be 2 tablespoons of butter.