Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is the perfect one-pot dinner recipe. A delicious comfort food to enjoy all year round! Make either chicken breast and white rice or chicken thighs and brown rice.
Save on time and dishes with this quick and easy recipe made entirely in the electric pressure cooker. Two of my most popular Instant Pot recipes are Instant Pot Rice and Instant Pot Chicken. So I decided to combine the two and make a one-pot meal out of both.
The advantage of a pressure cooker is that water doesn’t evaporate. Grains like rice and chicken can be cooked together perfectly because you use less water for the rice while the chicken sits on top and gets cooked with just the steam. The result is a super-duper tender and juicy chicken and fluffy rice.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot though, you can still enjoy this delicious recipe by making regular 1-Pot Chicken and Rice on the stove.
Instant Pot Chicken Breast and White Rice
The original recipe initially was for chicken breasts and white rice cooked together in the Instant Pot. After extensive testing, I found the right amount of cooking time to achieve fluffy rice and juicy chicken. After 5 minutes high-pressure and 10 minutes natural pressure release, the chicken is JUST cooked. It won’t be dry but it shouldn’t be pink at all, just white.
It’s important to note that if your pin drops before the 10 minutes, the pot most likely didn’t get to high pressure and the chicken might be undercooked. Double-check before you start that the sealing knob is in the sealing position, and no air or steam comes out of the knob.
Instant Pot Chicken Thighs and Rice
Some people asked me for versions of the original recipe but using either brown rice instead of white, or chicken thighs instead of breasts. After what feels like a million test trials, I finally got the formula. Yay!
Brown rice takes triple the time to cook than white rice and would dry out the chicken breasts in the process. The secret is to use bone-in chicken thighs with brown rice. The result was absolutely amazing.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chicken – use chicken breasts or chicken thighs. I recommend using chicken breasts no bigger than 6.5oz (180g). If too big, cut them into 1” cubes to ensure they cook through. If using chicken thighs, go for bone-in skinless thighs.
- Cilantro – you’ll need 1 whole bunch of fresh cilantro to make the flavorful cilantro water for the rice. I suggest you don’t replace it, but if needed, you could use parsley. Just keep in mind that it has a slightly stronger flavor.
- Avocado oil – I recommend using a high-smoke point fat, such as avocado oil, ghee or bacon fat. This is important so the fat doesn’t burn at the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Onion – use one small white or yellow onion.
- Garlic – you will need two cloves.
- Rice – use white basmati or brown basmati rice depending on what piece of chicken you’ll be cooking. I don’t recommend using any other type of rice because they need different cooking times on the Instant Pot.
- Carrots – a staple in many rice recipes. 1.5 or 2 medium carrots should yield a cup when chopped. You can also use baby carrots.
- Celery – when cooked, celery adds great flavor. For this chicken and rice recipe, you will need 2-3 celery stalks.
- Red bell pepper – the more veggies the better. I love red bell pepper for its color and texture. Orange or yellow bell pepper work great too.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Season Chicken – add sea salt and pepper generously to both sides of chicken breast or chicken thighs. Set aside.
- Prep Veggies – peel and dice the carrots. Deseed and dice the red bell pepper, and dice the celery. Also, finely chop a medium onion and two cloves of garlic.
- Prep Cilantro Water – add a bunch of cilantro and 1 cup of room-temperature water into a blender. Blend until completely smooth and no bits of cilantro are left.
- Preheat Instant Pot – press the “Sauté” button on the panel to preheat the pot.
- Sauté Onion and Garlic – once the Instant Pot display says “hot”, add a drizzle of oil or fat and then add the chopped onion and garlic. Sauté until translucent.
- Add Remaining Ingredients – this is a very important step and you need to work fast! Once the onion and garlic are ready, add the rice, season with salt and pepper, then add the cilantro water. Give a quick stir, then add the diced vegetables on top of the rice (make sure not to mix them in). Then, place the chicken on top of the veggies and close the lid immediately. The reason for this is to avoid too much water from evaporating so you don’t get the nasty “burn warning” on your Instant Pot. (See my tips to avoid the burn warning below).
- Set the Instant Pot – Seal the pot lid and turn the pressure valve to the “sealing” position. then press the “Cancel” button. Now press the “Manual” button and select 6 minutes high pressure if you’re cooking chicken breast with white rice. Or select 22 minutes high pressure if you’re cooking chicken thighs with brown rice instead.
- Release Pressure – once the Instant Pot beeps, wait for full natural pressure release. This can take anywhere from 15-25 minutes until the safety pin drops on its own.
- Shred Chicken and Serve – when the Instant Pot chicken and rice is finished cooking, open the lid and shred the chicken using two forks. Then mix everything together and serve immediately. Sprinkle some chopped cilantro on top and dive in!
Tips To Avoid The Burn Warning
Sometimes Instant Pots can be finicky and give you the Burn Warning even when you think you made everything right. After some trial and error, I found some tips that will help you avoid the burn warning:
- Don’t skimp on the fat for sautéing the onion and garlic. Be generous.
- After sautéing the onion and garlic, make sure there are no burnt bits and pieces stuck to the bottom of the pot. If necessary add a splash of water and deglaze the bottom with a wooden spoon to scrape everything off.
- Have ingredients already measured out and ready to go so no time is wasted. This is especially important for the diced vegetables. Have them chopped and all in one bowl ready to add.
- Once you add the rice, add the cilantro water immediately and stir. Do not let the dry rice sit on the hot bottom of the pot without liquid for more than 5 seconds.
- Do not mix the vegetables and chicken in the cilantro water. Let them sit on top of the rice.
- Put the lid on quickly. The longer it takes to close the pot, the more liquid evaporates. This increases the chance to get the burn warning.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! As long as you choose the right cooking time to ensure either are well cooked through it is perfectly safe to cook both at the same time.
Yes! As long as you make sure chicken reaches 165F internal temperature it is 100% safe to add to the Instant Pot.
If you add dry or rinsed rice to an already preheated or hot Instant Pot and don’t add liquid to it at the same time or very quickly after your rice will immediately stick to the bottom and start burning.
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Equipment
- instant pot
Ingredients
- 2 5oz / 10 oz chicken breasts / bone-in skinless chicken thighs - (Either 2 five-ounce chicken breasts if you are making the recipe with white rice. OR. 2 ten-ounce bone-in chicken thighs if you are making the recipe with brown rice.)
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 cup water - (at room temperature, not cold!)
- 1/2 Tbsp ghee or bacon fat or avocado oil
- 1 small diced onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup white basmati rice or brown basmati rice - (choose white or brown depending on the type of chicken you are using)
- 1 cup diced carrot
- 1 cup diced celery
- 1 cup diced red bell pepper
- Salt
- Pepper
- cilantro for garnishing
Instructions
- Generously season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and set aside.
- Peel and dice carrot, dice celery, deseed and dice bell pepper.
- Add cilantro and room-temperature water into a blender and blend until completely smooth.
- Peel and chop onion and garlic.
- Preheat Instant Pot by pressing the “sauté” button.
- Once the Instant Pot's display says "hot": add fat or oil, chopped onion, and garlic, and sauté until translucent. Stir often. Make sure no burnt bits of onion or garlic are stuck to the bottom of the pot. If for some reason there are, deglaze by adding a tablespoon or two of water and scrape with a wooden to remove all bits from the bottom.
- Now work fast: add rice, salt and pepper to Instant Pot and then pour in cilantro water and give it a quick stir. Add diced vegetables on top in one layer (do not mix in!) and then top with seasoned chicken breasts. Then IMMEDIATELY close lid to avoid water from evaporating (<-important!)
- Turn venting knob to "sealing", hit "cancel" and then "manual" and adjust to 6 minutes high pressure for chicken breast / white rice version OR 22 minutes for chicken thigh / brown rice version.
- Wait for full natural pressure release. This means once the pot beeps don't do anything. Don't touch the valve and instead just wait for the safety pin to drop on its own. This can take anywhere from 15-25 minutes.
- Open the pot and enjoy the smell! Then use two forks to shred the chicken. Mix it all and serve immediately with some fresh cilantro sprinkled on top.
Notes
- *Please read the blog post section where I go into detail about what to pay attention to in order to succeed to avoid any error messages from the pot.
- nutritional info is for white rice and chicken breast.
Nutrition
Ashtin says
When doubling this recipe how would the cooking time change? We are planning on using chicken breasts and white rice.
We made this once before and husband loves it, he just wants enough to have lunch for the rest of the week now lol
Lorena says
Hi Ashtin, I’m glad you like it so much :D In theroy, the cooking time stays the same even when you double or triple the recipe because the pressure stays the same and cooks everything evenly. The pot will simply need longer to get to pressure but that’s it. I have never tried doubling it, so I can’t guarantee I’m afraid.
Peggy says
OK here’s what I did. Made the recipe as posted (only I used chicken broth) and like others I soon got the burn display. But I was watching for it! So I carefully salvaged the rice that wasn’t burnt and the chicken and transferted everything to the pressure cooker steamer pot. I washed the IP pot of the burnt rice and I put the steamer pot on the trivet and added my cup of water to the pot so it could come to presser and cooked for 8 minutes. Turned out great!
Lorena says
Ha! That is brilliant Peggy!!! Thank you so much for sharing this trick!! It’s still a mystery to me why some get the message and others don’t. I’m glad there is a solution to the problem though. Do you mind linking to the steamer pot you’re referring to?
Nancy says
Steamer pot? I’ve never seen an IPOT steamer pot… just the rack…would some enlighten me…I did search for the IPOT Steamer Pot and did not see it…can’t wait to hear about it…Thanks much!
Sarah says
I tried this recipe and it burnt on the bottom. I couldn’t shred the chicken but it was cooked… I did use the cup of rice and water. I don’t know what I did wrong?
Lorena says
Hi Sarah, if you followed all instructions I went into detail in the notes then it might simply be your specific Instant Pot. I’ve been in contact with Instant Pot directly to trouble shoot this problem because several have had it and they are at a loss as to why this is happening to some of you. I have not been able to recreate this problem and have tested this recipe extensively. Most people are being successful so it’s a complete mystery to me why some get the burn message. The only explanation I have is that your IP heats up more than most others. Some who have given this recipe another try have added another half cup of water and were then successful. You could try that method.
Deb says
I’m not sure how to leave a new comment but this recipe is AWESOME! Thank you so much it turned out perfectly and my belly couldn’t be happier. Thank you for your diligence and insight!
Jessi says
I made this for my family and they loved it! I am new to the Instant Pot and this is my 3rd recipe. I made a few adjustments (by beginners ignorance, but it worked). I used Jazmine white rice (yum) and I didn’t blend the cilantro and water. It still was delicious! I used 2.5 pounds of chicken, but they were thin breasts, I cooked it for 8 minutes manually and it worked like a charm. Thank you!!
Diane says
I’m making this for the second time! First time it came out perfect and my family requested it again! I used chicken breast, carrots, green pepper, onion and garlic..basmati rice and for the liquid I put soup bouillon in 1 cup of water. Set for 22 mins. Thanks!
Sarah says
Thanks for the recipe and all the effort you’ve made to try to help everyone with their various issues! Seems the Instant Pot is more tricky to master than I realized when purchasing! But anyway we made this a couple nights ago and while it turned out fine (no burnt bits, mushy rice or uncooked chicken) it was fairly bland. Adding more salt and pepper only helps so much. I added garlic powder on top of mine and liked it better. We both felt that some sausage added to this would make it great though. (Obviously that would take it out of the healthy category!) Maybe add more garlic too and some sort of spice blend?
Also we have the 6 qt Duo Plus 9-in-1 and it worked out fine for others that may be wondering. We added 1 extra 5oz chicken breast (for a total of 3) since 2 wasn’t enough for our family and pressure cooked for 8 min instead of 5. Next time I would do less time as it was a touch overcooked.
Overall I think it could be a good dish with some sausage added and maybe a spice blend of some kind. Thanks!
Jena says
Hi there!
Thank you for this awesome recipe. I just took my Instant Pot IP-Duo out of the box today, and decided to try this recipe first. I also had the “burn” problem when trying to follow it as written, but was determined to make it work! I discovered that the rice setting seems to be the best option for this model. I’m going to try it again soon, starting with the rice setting instead… hopefully it turns out even better!
Thanks again :-)
Nancy says
Hi…what does the RICE setting indicate? How many minutes on what pressure..high or low….it’d be nice to know so can do manually if desired…thanks much!
Ariane says
I followed this to a T and it was very good and healthy. My husband who isn’t a fan of peppers (or vegetables to say the least) ate like 2/3 of the pot LMAO!!! Thank you, happy new year. :)
Suze says
I carefully read through all your directions and assembled the ingredients I had to work with: 2 lbs boneless chicken breasts and whole grain brown sushi rice (which we cook in the Instant pot every week for 22 mins at perfection). I had no fresh cilantro but subbed some dry spices, subbed chicken broth for the the appropriate amount of water, diced my chicken as hubby doesn’t like shredded, and threw in frozen peas and carrots. Set the timer at 22 minutes, let it rest for 10 minutes and when I opened the lid….the result was divine! The veggies were crisp, the chicken was done and tender, and the rice was perfect. I will never bake chicken and rice again. It was just starting to stick on the bottom but the smell was a wonderful, comforting, multi-layer deliciousness that caused my family to swarm into the kitchen asking when we were going to eat. Thank you so much for being brave enough to take this recipe on! We can all tweak till our hearts desire, but kudos to you for doing the hard work!
Lorena says
OMG Suze, I could cry! Your comment is absolutely wonderful. I should print and frame it! Thank you so so so much for your kind and wonderful words. Thank you for taking the time to come back to my blog and leave such a wonderful review. I really appreciate it!!!
Nancy says
WOW…I didn’t know you could put frozen peas in for that long…I’ve only ever put in box of frozen peas after everything has cooked…waited a few minutes(stirring sometimes) and they are done! Can’t wait to try this out. Thanks for input.
Clarice says
First time I have used the IP and I followed your recipe and it turned out delish in every way. Thank you so much.
Ron says
Came out great for me. I forgot the celery so I added a few dashes of celery root. Didn’t have any issues with the instant pot. I did make sure to have everything prepped and ready.
Whole family loved it! Thanks
Paige Miller says
My first ever Instant Pot recipe, it was fantastic. I made the brown rice and chicken thigh version. I am on a low salt diet, so I used on-sale Cajun seasoning instead of salt and pepper, glad I did. But now I want 2nds and 3rds,but I’m gonna save some for the rest of the week.
Ana says
I did this with the Pressure Cooker XL, I did on Rice/Risotto, quick white rice setting, I adjuster the time to 22 min, after the 22 min passed I released the pressure seal and let it release pressure for 10 min. Done, it came out great, the chicken was fully cooked. Thank you :)
Marilyn Russell says
I made this last night exactly as written. I am a newbie with the IP. This was perfectly cooked and tasted amazing. I loved all the veggies with the rice and the cilantro. Thanks for all your hard work getting the timing right on this!
Elaine says
I Made this tonight for dinner. My 3rd recipe to use since I got my InstaPot last week. My chicken breast were large so I cut them up into chunks. This was delicious. I will definitely be making it again. Thank you for sharing.