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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

  1. Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says

    Hi Nancy! I probably wouldn’t recommend that since the cook times won’t match up. Chicken breasts cook quicker than thighs. If you cooked the chicken breasts correctly, the rice may not be done. I haven’t tried it myself, but that would be my guess. Hope this helps!

    Reply

  2. Woods Cross denizen says

    I just found this recipe, and I made it for dinner tonight. Yum! It would have been better if I remembered the mushrooms, but it was still good. I use jasmine rice pretty regularly, and this came out like risotto – a bit of a surprise (but a good one). Next time I will add more carrots. Oh, and I live above 4000′ so I used 12 minutes for the time.

    Reply

  3. Nancy Arthur Best says

    I had to adapt the recipe a bit, as I only had 2/3 cup of long grained rice. This was absolutely delicious. I will be adding it to my regular meal rotations. Thanks. So much healthier than Shake and Bake!

    Reply

  5. Lucy Kellett says

    What a brilliant recipe, ready in less than half an hour. I had bone-in chicken thighs to use up and it work perfectly. Many thanks! Lucy x

    Reply

  7. HT says

    I’m currently making this and about one minute into the high pressure cooking, I got the beeping overheating error code. Anybody else have this issue with this recipe? I used the 1/3 cup of broth and then the 1.5 cups of broth. The only difference is I added an extra carrot and an extra half cup of mushrooms, but I added an additional 1/3 cup of water to cover the extra vegetables. I’m not sure why this is overheating. Maybe I should let the pot cool down completely after sautéing before pressure cooking?

    Reply

    • Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says

      Questions for you HT: (1) Are you using a 6 quart or an 8 quart model? (2) Did you rinse the rice first? The extra veggies should not make a difference. Lastly, (3) did you be sure and scrape any stuck parts off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon or wooden turner? Let me know! I am sorry it overheated. I have made this many times without trouble, but a few people have reported similar issues, and I would like to help figure out how to prevent it. In any case, thank you for your feedback!

      Reply

      • Maci Schau says

        I’ve made this twice now and had the same thing happen both times. I just quick release and everything is cooked but there is a layer of scorch on the bottom. Was also wondering if somehow it’s just sauteing too hot? It’s a bummer since this a recipe the whole family agrees on liking!

        Reply

  8. Mark Staben says

    I’ve made this twice now, and neither time does the pot come to pressure before starting the countdown. Turned out fine though, both times. I did rinse the rice, and follow the recipe and instructions to the letter. I just got the pot last week (IP-DUO80) and was worried that it wasn’t sealing… but I did a simple pot of black-eyed peas and ham last night and it worked perfectly.

    Reply

    • Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says

      Sorry to hear that!😫 I wonder if that has anything to do with using the 8 quart??? Mine is a 6 quart, and I wonder if that would make the difference.🤔 I have had a few people tell me that they can never get it to come to pressure, but you are the first one that I have heard mention using the larger model, and I wonder if that could be it? I have made it a bunch of times with no problem. In any case, thank you for that feedback!

      Reply

      • Mark Staben says

        No need to be sorry! Like I said: It came out perfectly anyway – without having to wait for NPR 🙂 Just made me worry something was wrong with my new IP…

        Reply

        • EVE says

          I wonder if it has to do with the button on top being left on “venting”, instead of “seal” I’ve done that before and will not pressure if left on venting. eASY TO ACCIDENTALLY TURN IT TO THE LEFT OR RIGHT VENTING.

          Reply

  9. Jackie Welling says

    I have a question – out of curiosity what would happen if you just tossed everything in and let it cook? You’d probably have to lengthen the cooking time a bit, but would it be pretty similar? I get that browning the meat is better, but I’m always on the lookout for recipes I can just toss in and press ON. Thoughts?

    Reply

  10. Jessica says

    Made this last night with a few tweaks based on what I had on hand, and it turned out awesome!! I didn’t have any fresh garlic, so I used this Garlic Blend seasoning we have and love, and also added some celery, and regular onion instead of shallot. Turned out excellent, thank you!

    Reply

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