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This Instant Pot chicken and rice recipe has tender, juicy chicken and the most amazingly soft and flavorful rice. You can even add carrots to make it a complete meal!
This lemon chicken and rice recipe came about because I keep seeing Crockpot recipes for chicken and rice that are cooked in there at the same time. Naturally, since I’m slightly obsessed with my Instant Pot (hello instant gratification), I wondered if it was possible to cook rice and chicken in an electric pressure cooker at the same time without anything going wrong. We’ll figure out a Crockpot version later. 😛
There’s just something tempting about throwing it all in there and it turning into a delicious dish with no extra work. I’m notorious for messing up stove-top rice, and I wanted to get this right!
Turns out it is possible to make rice and chicken in the Instant Pot at the same time, and the results are great. It’s also really hands-off once you close that lid, which to me is a bonus. 🙂
It saves time, dishes, and it’s just really tasty. And that rice turns out sooo creamy without using cream or any type of condensed soup. There isn’t a “sauce” per se, but the rice soaks up most of the liquid and becomes perfectly seasoned and almost has a risotto quality to it.
And, this is actually a fairly healthy meal. I like the rice so much that I have posted a separate recipe for just the rice sans the chicken.
If you want a veggie in there, add some carrots… so good.
How to make chicken and rice in the Instant Pot
It’s easy to make chicken and rice in the Instant Pot, but I do recommend following the tips below to ensure your recipe is successful. I have done a lot of research (and experimentation… this is probably my most tested recipe to date on the blog) to make sure it works. I’m going to put it out there that there’s a pretty good chance this recipe can go wrong if you don’t follow the cooking instructions exactly.
- Don’t guess on liquid measurements.
- Rinse the rice (I just measure it out, put it in a sieve, and then rinse and quickly let the water drain out).
- Stick to using white rice (I’ve tested jasmine and basmati). Brown rice is a different beast.
- Don’t make substitutions unless you’ve made the recipe first and you’re confident they will work… or you don’t mind if it goes wrong in the name of experimentation. 😉
- I usually make this recipe with larger chicken breasts. I don’t look for a particular weight, but you know sometimes the ones at the grocery store are just tinier than you’re used to. If you do end up with smaller ones, I’d reduce cooking time by a minute or so. You could definitely also try chicken thighs – they’re typically more forgiving when it comes to overcooking them.
I really think this is the best chicken and rice. It’s crazy easy and just so comforting.
Try my chicken and rice soup if you love these flavors!
Love Instant Pot chicken recipes? Try my Instant Pot teriyaki chicken, this Instant Pot chicken noodle soup, or my Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup recipe.
I hope you love this easy chicken and rice recipe!
Want to make just the rice? Check out the best Instant Pot rice recipe.
Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask. Leave me a comment below. 🙂
Update (5/7/2019): After reading the comments and doing further testing, I’ve slightly altered the recipe. Originally, the recipe called for 18 minutes on high pressure with a quick release. I’ve changed it to 12 minutes on high pressure with a 5 minute natural release, followed by a quick release for the remaining pressure. My logic behind this is two-fold: the 12 minutes leads to more tender chicken (as does a partial natural release). I also am learning that newer Instant Pots get the burn warning much easier than my older Instant Pot, and hopefully these changes will address that issue.
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2.5 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup white jasmine rice (or basmati) rinsed
- 4 dashes Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 medium carrots peeled & sliced (optional)
Instructions
- Season both sides of each piece of chicken with salt & pepper.
- Press the sauté button on your Instant Pot. Add the oil and onion and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic, then add the chicken broth, lemon juice, rice (rinse it first), Italian seasoning, and butter. If you want to add carrots, add those in at this point too. Leave the sauté button pressed so it heats up as you're adding the ingredients.
- Give the ingedients in the Instant Pot a good stir (make sure nothing is sticking), and then immediately add the chicken pieces on top. Close the lid, set the valve to "sealing", and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.
- Once the countdown has completed, let the pressure release naturally for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest of the pressure. Give the rice a stir prior to serving (it will absorb a little more liquid as it rests for a few minutes). The rice will have a consistency that's soft, creamy, and a little sticky. If needed, season with salt & pepper to taste.
Notes
- I have tested this recipe multiple times in my 6-quart Instant Pot, and it has worked every time without a burn warning (I've heard this can happen in some of the larger and newer Instant Pots when cooking certain recipes - such as ones with rice). I suggest following my instructions exactly as written for best results.
- If desired, use low-sodium chicken broth. I found this recipe to be perfectly seasoned with regular chicken broth, though.
- Makes 4 generous servings. If I was eating this by myself, it would be more like 6+ servings.
- Inactive time indicates the time it takes the Instant Pot to get up to pressure and the time for natural pressure release.
- Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Salt & Lavender makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Followed the recipe exactly – rice came out very over-cooked and liquid still present. The bottom was starting to burn as well. Large chunks of carrots were also overly soft. Chicken came out fine though.
It’s so weird how Instant Pots vary so much. I’ve never had it stick on the bottom. I’m going to do some more tests to see if the cooking time can be reduced more. I’ve been hearing that some of the newer models of Instant Pots tend to burn/have the burn warning display much more frequently than the older models. Thanks for the feedback!
Hi Natasha, I am new to IP cooking and a little confused by your recipe. Do I sauté the chicken in step #1 and then remove it until step #3, or just the onion in step #1 and add raw chicken in step #3? Thanks.
Hi Mark! Nope, you don’t add the chicken until step 3. I just like to season the chicken before starting the cooking process so that it doesn’t delay things once you’ve started cooking. You just saute the onion in the oil and add the chicken prior to closing the lid. Hope you like the recipe! 🙂
Thanks. I will give it a try.
Made this last night and it was absolutely delicious, my mom and husband went back for thirds! I only had three chicken breasts so reduced cooking time to 15 minutes but followed everything else to a T. Will definitely be adding this to the rotation. Thank you!!!
That’s so great to hear! So glad you liked the recipe, Katherine!! 🙂
I just made this and it came out perfectly! Thank you!
Hi Natasha,we added a bag of baby carrots and 2 large chicken breasts,we have an 8 pot cooker and live in Utah at 5000 ft in elevation, we decreased the cook time to 15 minutes, the rice and carrots were nice not mushy, and the chicken was a little dry ,any way will do the rice and carrots again, thanks for posting this recipe 😁having fun with the IP ,we would have bought it alone for the perfect hard boiled eggs🥰
Try it with chicken thighs – that should reduce the dryness. It’s so hard cooking chicken breasts in the IP sometimes – it’s very hit and miss. Thanks for the tips on elevation, and I’m glad you liked the recipe. 🙂
I recently purchased at 6QT Instant Pot and this was my first recipe to try out. Followed recipe exactly however the only small change was that I had 2 large chicken breasts which would equate to 4. I loved the hint of lemon juice – very nice! As some others had posted, my rice also turned out somewhat mushy – more like a risotto, a bit overcooked. At the end of the cooking time, I added some frozen peas and let it sit for about 5 extra minutes which kicked up flavor & rice. I found the chicken to be a bit on the bland side but that’s something that can definitely be fixed. Chicken was also a tad bit on the dry side but once I cut up in bite sized pieces, it was better. I definitely would make this again and maybe next time try a Lipton Onion Soup mix packet for a change or Cream of Mushroom Soup (grew up having that recipe which is my FAV). I never received a burn message like some others posted; however, I did spray the bottom of the pan with a light coating of Pam Cooking Spray prior to sauteing. Thanks for sharing!! I remember my mom cooking in her old time pressure cooker growing up – miss those meals so had to invest in an Instant Pot to see what the raves are all about. 🙂
Thanks for the detailed response! I’m glad you liked the recipe. Yes, the risotto quality of the rice is my favorite part. 🙂 I like your ideas!
I have not tried this yet but want to confirm…. does it stay on saute for 18 minutes or change setting to manual after adding chicken?
Thanks,
Janet
Hi Janet! You’d switch the saute off and then cook on high pressure for 18 minutes.
I made this today. I cut down the time to 15 minutes and used a natural release. It was really good! I think I may add more rice next time because it was a bit soupier than I expected. Delicious, thanks, will be making again!
Awesome!! So glad it worked out for you, Mona! 🙂 That’s interesting how it ended up soupy with the longer pressure release time. I’m going to test it with a natural release at some point and see how it goes.
I used my instant pot tonight for the first time using your recipe. It came out exactly as it was suppose to. I used a different white long grain rice which was the best part of the dish. The rice turns out like risotto. I’ll be eating my leftovers for lunch tomorrow. Thanks for making my first meal a success i was definitely nervous about using an instant pot.
That’s awesome!! I’m so happy to hear it worked well. ❤️❤️
I did this last night in an 8 qt IP and it turned out great. I increased the chicken breasts to 6 and added an additional cup of rice, and increased the chicken stock to 5 cups and cooked it for 18 minutes and the chicken was tender and juicy. The rice came out creamy and yummy. My husband loved it. We served 6 people with this and I still had some for lunch today…yummm!
That is so good to hear!! So happy it worked out. 🙂