Instant Pot chicken and rice is a delicious and simple supper that you can make all in one pot. 👉🏻Pin this recipe here.👈🏻
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!
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.
Use two forks to shred the chicken, and stir the pot. It is really tender and will basically fall apart.
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
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.
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.
I probably would not recommend it. Why? Chicken breasts have a significantly lesser cook time, and they would likely dry out.
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.
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
- Instant Pot whole “rotisserie” chicken
- Instant Pot “baked” sweet potatoes
- Instant Pot classic beef chili
- Instant Pot red beans and rice
- Instant Pot chicken breasts
- Instant Pot chicken thighs
- Instant Pot pasta e fagioli soup
- Instant Pot hard boiled eggs
- Instant Pot spaghetti (one pot)
- Instant Pot chicken recipes
- Instant Pot oatmeal (pot in pot method)
See ALL of my Instant Pot recipes here.
Tools Used to Make This Recipe
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.
- Instant Pot – my favorite electric pressure cooker
- Cutting board
- Chef’s knife
- Wooden spatula and/or wooden spoon
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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!
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
-
Generously salt and pepper your 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.
-
Place the chicken thighs on top of the mixture, and do not stir them in.
-
Place the lid on, and lock it, setting the valve to sealing.
-
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.
-
Once any remaining pressure is fully release, remove the lid carefully.
-
Use two forks to shred the chicken, and stir the pot.
-
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).
Note: Instant Pot chicken and rice originally appeared on A Pinch of Healthy 11/4/2016.
Kim Hergett says
Made tonight. Followed recipe closely, but I have a layer of burned rice on the bottom of the pan. I rinsed the rice twice and deglazed. Any thoughts on what went wrong?
Once I got the burn message, I turned the pot off, QR and opened up the pot. The rice was a bit mushy, but everything else was cooked. Seems like it cooked too quickly…but I’m not sure why. I want to try again as it was quite tasty, despite being mushy. Thank you!
Bethany Christian Allen says
If I wanted to add more rice instead of just 1 cup maybe 3 cups. Do you know how much time to add?
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Hmmm, I am not 100% sure since I haven’t tested it that way myself. I might actually reduce the time by 2 or 3 minutes. Reason being, it will take longer to come up to pressure and to release – and cooking is still happening even if it is not up to pressure. Make sense?.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Glad you enjoyed it Vic!🤗 Yes, try reducing the time a little bit next time, especially if you double the rice.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Glad the flavor was good. Yes, you can try quick releasing the remaining pressure after 10 minutes or so of NPR… and see how that turns out.
Laura says
I am going to make this tonight and I also have an 8qt did you adjust any times or just do a quick release. I also have bone in Thighs and they were out of the boneless ones.
Jess says
I made this for the second time tonight, and it scorched, stuck, and didn’t come to pressure. I tried removing the chicken again, scraping very well a second time, adding more liquid- it scorched again and didn’t come to pressure. Very frustrating! Last time it worked just fine with Calrose rice (it’s what I had on hand); this time, I bought jasmine rice specifically for the recipe, and it turned on me! Has anyone figured out why? (I rinsed it, followed the recipe, scraped very well before adding the veggies, rice and chicken.)
Libby says
I had the same problem! Did you figure out what the problem was?
Maci Schau says
I’m right there with you both! Would love to figure out where I’m going wrong 🙁
twinboysmom@comcast.net says
Well i ran out of chicken broth so i used cream of chicken and water. Pin didn’t pop up. 🙁 We’ll see how it is. I’ve made before correctly and it was YUMMY!
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Glad to know it worked (aside from the rice texture) in the 8 quart.
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Oh no! You could try a little larger slices for the carrots next time. As for the rice, you may have already done this…but the only thing I can think to tell you is to remember to pre-rinse it, and drain it. Then carefully measure the liquid, making sure not to get too much. Too much liquid can cause mushy rice. Better luck next time!
Valerie Wetlaufer says
Just made this recipe tonight–my very first Instant Pot recipe!–and it is maybe the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Oh my gosh, so delicious. It’s definitely going to become a staple in my home. Thank you!
Marjorie@APinchOfHealthy says
Woo hoo! SO happy to hear that Valerie💖