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Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

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Instant Pot chicken and rice is a delicious and simple supper that you can make all in one pot. 👉🏻Pin this recipe here.👈🏻

Instant Pot chicken and rice

Don’t worry, internet friends! If you do not have an Instant Pot, I already have stove top instructions for this recipe here: one pot chicken and rice.

 

But if you don’t have an Instant Pot yet…why not? You should really look into getting one. See my full Instant Pot product review video here. But in short, I am loving mine. #NotSponsored

This post may contain affiliate links, which pay a referral fee to me at no additional cost to you. My full affiliate disclosure can be seen here.

Okay, back to this Instant Pot chicken and rice. It is such a quick and easy dinner!
Instant Pot chicken and rice cooked in one pot

And it’s a complete one pot meal with your protein, starch and veggies all in one pot. True comfort food!

How to make Instant Pot chicken and rice

First, gather your ingredients. For tastiest results, always use the best quality ingredients you have access to.

Ingredients

To make this Instant Pot chicken and rice recipe you will need the following:

  • boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • cooking spray
  • shallots
  • carrots
  • mushrooms
  • garlic
  • uncooked white jasmine rice
  • chicken stock or broth
  • fresh thyme leaves (half the amount of dried works well as a sub)
  • salt and pepper

Cooking on sauté

Instant Pot chicken and rice is every bit as good as the original stove top recipe. I did have to strategize a little to get the cooking times for all the ingredients to line up. Here is how I did it.

Generously salt and pepper the raw chicken thighs. Spray the inner pot with cooking spray, or add the oil. Using the sauté setting (normal level), preheat until the display reads “hot.”

Use tongs to put chicken in the pan (watch out for oil splatter!) Sear chicken thighs, 4 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside chicken on a plate.

Add 1/4 cup broth to deglaze the pan, scrape the bits with a wooden spoon (do not skip this step!). If there are any stuck on spots, be sure and lift those away from the pan with a wooden spoon.

Add shallot, mushroom and carrots, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Add garlic, and continue to cook for another minute.Add remaining chicken stock, rice, thyme and stir together.

Add chicken on top of the mixture, and do not stir them in.

Pressure cooking

Close the lid and lock it, setting the valve to sealing. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes, and allow the Instant Pot to release naturally (do not use the quick release lever) for 10 minutes. Quick release the remaining pressure.

Once any remaining pressure is fully release, remove the lid carefully.

Instant Pot chicken and rice cooked in one pot

Use two forks to shred the chicken, and stir the pot. It is really tender and will basically fall apart.

Instant Pot chicken and rice cooked in one pot two hands shredding chicken with forks


Serving tips

Sprinkle with some additional fresh thyme or parsley, if you prefer. Serve immediately. You could leave the chicken thighs whole if you prefer, as shown above.

Or you can do what we do at my house and shred them with two forks. Since they are so tender, they are pretty easy to shred.

Preventing scorching

Heads up, I did revise this recipe as of 8/20/2018 after several complaints about scorching and/ or not coming up to pressure.

The remedy? In the revised instructions below I added some additional chicken stock, and I cut off the NPR (natural pressure release) time at ten minutes by quick releasing any remaining pressure, rather than letting it depressurize fully.

It worked out great for me, three times in a row. So I am considering it blog worthy to publish these updated instructions.

I love that this worked so well in the pressure cooker! Y’all let me know if you try it.

FAQ’s for Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

Can I use frozen chicken thighs?

I would not recommend it. Some people have had good luck with this, but I have had mixed results. For best results, I recommend fully thawed chicken.

Can I use another type of rice?

Yes, as long as it has a similar cook time to jasmine rice. For example, white basmati rice should work well in this recipe. Brown rice may not work as well since it typically has a longer cook time.

Can I use chicken breasts in this recipe?

I probably would not recommend it. Why? Chicken breasts have a significantly lesser cook time, and they would likely dry out.

Can you put raw chicken in the Instant Pot?

Yes! I have many recipes that do this. For this particular recipe, I recommend the sauté as written in the recipe instructions. This will give you best results.

Can I add parmesan cheese?

Of course! The dish is already delicious as is, so don’t worry if you do not have any. But if you want to add some, it will be delicious.

More Instant Pot Recipes You May Enjoy

See ALL of my Instant Pot recipes here.

Tools Used to Make This Recipe

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Instant Pot chicken and rice
4.15 from 91 votes
Print

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

Instant Pot chicken and rice is a delicious and simple supper that you can make all in one pot. It is SO delicious and easy!

Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Keyword instant pot chicken and rice
Prep Time 12 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Time to come to pressure 8 minutes
Total Time 32 minutes
Servings 5
Calories 340 kcal
Author Marjorie @APinchOfHealthy

Ingredients

  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs (up to 1.5 pounds works)
  • cooking spray (I used avocado oil spray, but a tablespoon of oil of your choice works)
  • 3 small shallots diced
  • 1 cup carrots diced
  • 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • 2 cloves medium fresh garlic minced
  • 1 1/2 cups uncooked white jasmine rice rinsed and drained (Do NOT skip the rinsing. Rice will likely scorch if not rinsed!)
  • 2 cups chicken stock or broth divided ( I use 1/4 cup for deglazing the pan)
  • 2 Tablespoons fresh thyme leaves chopped and divided (or 2 teaspoons dried)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Generously salt and pepper your chicken thighs.

  2. Spray the inner pot with cooking spray, or add the oil. 

  3. Using the sauté setting (normal level), preheat until the display reads “hot.”
  4. Use tongs to put chicken in the pan (watch out for oil splatter!)

  5. Sear chicken thighs, 4 minutes on each side.

  6. Remove and set aside chicken on a plate.

  7. Add 1/4 cup broth to deglaze the pan, scrape the bits with a wooden spoon (do not skip this step!). If there are any stuck on spots, be sure and lift those away from the pan with a wooden spoon.

  8. Add shallot, mushroom and carrots, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

  9. Add garlic, and continue to cook for another minute.

  10. Add remaining chicken stock, rice, thyme and stir together.

  11. Place the chicken thighs on top of the mixture, and do not stir them in.

  12. Place the lid on, and lock it, setting the valve to sealing.

  13. Cook on manual high pressure for 8 minutes, and allow the Instant Pot to release naturally (do not use the quick release lever) for 10 minutes. Quick release the remaining pressure.

  14. Once any remaining pressure is fully release, remove the lid carefully.

  15. Use two forks to shred the chicken, and stir the pot.
  16. Serve immediately.

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Do NOT skip rinsing the rice first! This will remove some of the starch, and will prevent scorching/ sticking to the bottom.

Nutritional information is approximate and was calculated using a recipe nutrition label generator.

I do not recommend using frozen chicken for this recipe.

If you want to substitute types of rice, make sure the substitute you choose has a similar cook time to white jasmine rice (ex: White basmati should work well in this recipe.)

If you are using very large chicken thighs, you may want to cut them in half. Just for reference, my thighs were about 4 thighs equaling 1 pound of weight (about 4 to 5 ounces each). It doesn’t have to be exact, but I just wanted to give y’all a heads up, since I have seen some really huge thighs at the store (ex of huge: 2 thighs equaling 1 pound of weight).

Nutrition Facts
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Amount Per Serving
Calories 340 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 86mg29%
Sodium 109mg5%
Potassium 496mg14%
Carbohydrates 51g17%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 22g44%
Vitamin A 4430IU89%
Vitamin C 8mg10%
Calcium 54mg5%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Note: Instant Pot chicken and rice originally appeared on A Pinch of Healthy 11/4/2016.

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Comments

  2. Nicole M. says

    Followed recipe exactly (minus mushrooms), made sure to scrape the bottom of the pan really well after sautéing, QPR after 10 minutes – and the rice scorched on the bottom of the pan. Will make again but trying releasing pressure sooner. Thanks for a great recipe!

    Reply

    • Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says

      I have always cooked my jasmine rice rinsed first, with a 1:1 ratio of water for 10 minutes NPR. Even when it is by itself. And it is perfect for us. And the IP *official* recommendation is 4 to 10 minutes, which is a crazy wide window, so I have always wondered about that. All I can say is that we like it at 10. 🙂

      Reply

  5. Jackie Welling says

    Made this last night and it turned out really well! Only thing I changed is I used regular long grain white rice instead of jasmine, and it turned out fine (if slightly mushy) but I was fine with it because I didn’t have jasmine rice on hand. Yummy and easy!

    Reply

  7. Susan McClain says

    5 stars
    Just made this for lunch and it was delicious! I didn’t have mushrooms, so added a sauteed onion and celery after the chicken (and did a quick splash of white wine vinegar to deglaze the pan after the chicken). Also did 2 cups of jasmine rice to 2 1/4 cups of homemade stock. Only cooked for 6 minutes with a 10 minute release, everything cooked perfectly. I may even do 5 minutes next time. Thanks for a great recipe, the chicken was perfect!

    Reply

  8. Sue Lawrence says

    I just made this tonight as my first ever dish in the IP. As it came up to pressure I got the OverHeat message (although I didn’t know that’s what it was at the time). Short story, the rice scorched on the bottom of the pan. The chicken and top rice all tasted great and were cooked well. Do you think the scorching could be because I left out the mushrooms? I know they have a pretty high water content.
    Thanks,

    Reply

    • Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says

      Oh no! I am sorry to hear that. I wouldn’t think leaving out mushrooms would make that big a difference in the moisture. Did you make any other modifications to the recipe? For example, different type of rice, not rinsing rice first, etc.? Just trying to figure out why it would do that. PS…my maiden name is Lawrence. Maybe we are long lost relatives! 😉

      Reply

  9. Stephanie Liden says

    I made this and my IP did t come to pressure and then started counting down. I went to check if it had come to pressure yet and it had counted down to 1 already. So I opened it up and everything was cooked but the bottom of the pot was covered in stuck on rice. I added extra broth and a bit of water and just let it soften then mixed it up with the shredded chicken. It actually turned out fine even though my IP didn’t come to pressure. Not sure why that happened, I followed the recipe exactly. Just a heads up.

    Reply

    • Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says

      That is strange, and you are the first person to tell me that. Thanks for letting me know Stephanie! One question: did you rinse your rice first? If not, that excess starch could possibly cause sticking. You may have, but I am just trying to figure out what could have happened. Hmmm. Also, I have heard on the message boards that (1) a clogged vent and (2) an old sealing ring can cause things to either not to come to pressure, scorch, etc.

      Reply

      • Stephanie Liden says

        I made it again last night, taking more care to get all the bits off the bottom when I deglazed the pan and I even added a little bit more chicken stock just incase and it turned out perfectly! I was impatient to eat since it was 8pm so I did quick release and it was still great. Love this recipe!

        Reply

        • Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says

          Hi Stephanie! I am glad it turned out better the next time you made it! Thanks for letting me know. I may add a note to the original recipe about scraping those bits up really well. Perhaps that’s what made the difference.

          Reply

      • Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says

        So strange! Just a couple questions to see if I can figure out what is going on for you. Did you rinse the rice first? Are you using a 6 qt. IP? Did you make any other modifications to the recipe (different kind of rice, cut of chicken, etc.)?

        Reply

    • Deanna Hepp says

      I made a similar recipe last night and mine stuck to the bottom and never did come to pressure. Kept adding more liquid thinking that would help, but it didn’t. This is the second recipe that I have made where during the “get to pressure” phase, everything has stuck to the bottom. Not having good luck when there are multiple ingredients.

      Reply

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