This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is one of the first recipes I tried in my Instant Pot. It’s a simple one pot dish that combines the cooking of rice and meat in the Instant Pot. It makes me happy every time I throw it together!
When I first bought my Instant Pot Pressure Cooker, I was a little bit nervous about what exactly to try. I had thought it would be a throw everything in for 20-40 minutes type of appliance, but the truth is, it’s a little bit more complicated than that. It all depends on the recipe, how many vegetables and kinds of vegetables there are in the recipe and if you care if the vegetables are at all mushy or not.
Will the Vegetables be Mushy?
Some people have serious texture problems and can’t handle a mushy vegetable. Some people don’t mind either way. Me? I’m in the middle. I prefer them not to be too mushy, but don’t mind them softer than a lot of people do. I’m definitely not too texture sensitive though.
Regardless, I also realize that I can’t cook all vegetables for the same amount of time that meat and rice cook for. Once, I tried putting broccoli in the Instant Pot, in with my chicken and rice and I ended up with green chicken and rice. The broccoli was nowhere to be found. Or actually, you could kind of tell it used to be broccoli….but it had totally disintegrated into the dish.
The good thing about THIS particular recipe is that you CAN cook the vegetables for the same amount of time as the meat and rice. If you have a problem with your carrots being mushy, make the pieces a little bigger, so that they don’t fall apart quite as fast.
I make this recipe pretty regularly, when I haven’t put anything in the slow cooker earlier in the day. It’s super simple and is very tasty. I love the way that the thyme seasons the chicken and the rice, and since we’re using a whole grain (the brown rice), a vegetable and a lean meat, it’s pretty good for you, too!
I love what my kids have to say on the days that they smell this one cooking. They come running in and say, “Are you making that yummy chicken and rice dish?!” I’m like, YES, I AM! They all shout, YAY!! And we’re all happy!
Can I use frozen chicken breast in the Instant Pot? or do I have to use thawed chicken breast?
The recipe actually calls for frozen chicken breast. This is because I typically buy my chicken breasts frozen at Walmart in 3-10 pound bags. If you are not like me and have thawed chicken breasts on hand, feel free to use it, and don’t worry about adjusting the time. The chicken will shred really easily and all will be fine.
What if I only have white rice and not brown rice?
You will need to take notice of how long your rice is supposed to cook. Check out the cooking times on my Instant Pot Rice post. If your chicken is cooking from frozen it will need about 15-20 minutes of cook time. If you’re cooking your chicken thawed, you can get away with 10 minutes cook time and 10 minutes natural release time. Your rice could be mushy if you choose to do white rice this way. I’ve not officially tried it with white rice yet, so take this as a suggestion and let me know if it works if you do try it. I’ll try to update the post once I’ve tried it with white rice. 🙂
Can I leave out the vegetables?
Sure, you can. If your family doesn’t like carrots, mushrooms or onions leave them out. The onions do a lot of flavoring, so if you can handle the flavor but don’t like to eat them, I’d consider using some onion powder instead. You could stir in some broccoli, peas or green beans after it’s cooked if you need a vegetable substitute.
Check out the video of us making it here:
Want more Instant Pot Rice recipes? Check these out:
- Instant Pot Beef & Broccoli Rice
- Instant Pot Spanish Rice with Ground Beef
- Instant Pot Spanish Rice
- Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
- Instant Pot Fried Rice
- Instant Pot Ground Beef & Rice
Instant Pot Chicken & Rice
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 green onions
- 3 carrots diced
- 1 cup mushrooms
- 1-1/2 cups brown rice rinsed and drained
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth plus 1/2 cup for deglazing vegetables
- 2 tsp dried thyme
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- On the sauté setting, preheat on normal for 1-1/2 minutes.
- Add 1 tbsp of oil (I used coconut oil)
- Add in garlic, green onions, carrots, mushrooms and cook for about 4 minutes
- Add 1/2 cup broth to deglaze the vegetables.
- Rinse rice, to prevent the rice sticking to the bottom.
- Add 1 and 1/2 cups of chicken broth and brown rice and stir together
- Add thyme, salt and pepper and stir
- Add the frozen, boneless chicken breasts
- Place the lid on, lock it and set valve to sealing
- Cook on manual, high pressure for 20 minutes.
- Switch over the valve release to release the pressure and remove the lid carefully
- Use kitchen shears to cut up chicken into chunks or shred with forks and stir the pot.
- Serve!
Amber Macy says
I really wanted to try this, and I still do – but I want to know if the time changes or anything else for that matter with white rice? I see quite anfew others that have asked, but no replies 🙁
Sarah says
Yes the time will change. Typically white rice only cooks for about 5-6 minutes. Thawed chicken cooks for 10 minutes, with a natural release of pressure of 10 minutes. You could try that, but since I haven’t tried it that way, I can’t guarantee results.
Robin Blackwell says
I’m making this for the second time! We all love it!
Stacey says
Is it the same time if you use white rice?
James Carter says
Made this for my 18 month old(picky eater). I used different veg. and turned out great. Feels good when the kid eats dad’s cooking. Thank you so much.
Alisha says
mine wasn’t done after 20 min…. even with thawed chicken… my chicken looked weird and brownish pink..
Alisha says
I put it on for 10 more minutes and it was good to go! it was delicious
Jeff says
Wondering if I can you use white basmati rice? What adjustments would you make? Thanks!
Sarah says
The chicken needs to cook at least 10 minutes, with a natural release of 10 minutes. White basmati typically cooks for 6 minutes with a 10 minute natural release. I would likely try it at 10 minutes with a 10 minute natural release, but I’ve never done it before, so I can’t guarantee results. 🙂
Erin says
I made this tonight and had little time to make dinner due to sick children. I didn’t measure the veggies or spices but did use a pound of frozen chicken thighs and measured rice and broth. It was easy, fast, and delicious. Perfect, actually. It was a great dinner! Highly recommend! Thank you!
Beth says
Can u make this with white rice? Will the time change?
Jeff says
Can you use white rice? How long should you cook it?
Shannon says
Pinned it !! Look forward to trying this in the near future. Thank you
Roselyn says
My kids are going to love this!
Linda Hill says
I will have to try this recipe. Looks good.
Shannon says
We loved this recipe!! I did use a can of condensed cream of mushroom soup on top of the chicken. We like the chicken and rice to be a little creamy. I cooked it for 25 mins and let natural release for 10 mins. I just wanted to make sure the chicken was cooked. It was perfect!!
Staci says
Looking forward to trying this with my guys!
Michelle Ferrier says
This looks delicious. I’m a new Instant Pot user. if I cut the recipe in 1/2 would Use the same cooking time? Only a couple in my family would eat rice.
Sarah says
Yes, cook the same amount of time.
Kim says
Looks yummy! I can’t wait to try it!
Jenna says
I doubled the recipe but only increased the broth to 3 cups total, and it turned out perfect! I kept the cooking time the same. Thanks for the recipe! I love that it uses brown rice and frozen chicken.
Sarah says
I know I emailed you, but thought I’d respond here in case anyone else had the same problem. I’ve made this recipe several times with no problems at all. I have heard from some others that are in higher elevations, say that they need more liquid. If you are reading this and have had a problem with the amount of liquid, let us know. It’s strange how it works great for some, but not for others.
Dan says
The issue may also be the size of the Instant Pot. The largest one has a bigger pot, more surface area for the liquid to spread, and needs more liquid. Discovered this the hard way and have been adding more water or chicken broth to recipes when I use that one.
Amy says
Do you know the calories per serving. My family loved it. I had to cook 5 more minutes because chicken breasts weren’t cooked through.