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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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I needed a quick and easy chicken and rice meal for the Instant Pot. This popped up, I read some reviews, and I took a chance. It’s great! The 5-year old loves it! I love it! My husband loves it! I followed your recipe, using white rice. I think I might have been one minute away from getting a burn notice as the rice was just starting to stick to the bottom of the pot. I was really careful about deglazing the bottom of the pot after reading all the comments so I guess that saved me. I really like the risotto-like consistency of the rice.
Wonderful… I am so happy it worked out, Patricia! 🙂
This was really good… super creamy rice and the flavors were great! The only thing I would change is using smaller chicken breasts than the ones I picked up at the market (and season them a little more).
I am so happy you enjoyed it, Tamara!!
Great recipe. First time I made it, I followed it exactly and everyone loved it.
The next time, I decided to do a few things differently. More garlic (2-3 tbsp minced, we love lots of garlic), diced chicken (2.5-3 lbs) and baby carrots. It still turned out perfect.
I am so pleased it worked out, Ryan!! 🙂
I just made this for the first time yesterday and it was wonderful. One thing I am wondering since the recipe didn’t get specific – but I’m wondering if some of the problems people are having – is related to the type of chicken breast. I used skinless and boneless breasts which I cut up into 4 pieces. It was perfect. Not sure if skin-on or bone-in breasts would have worked.
Hi Rochelle! So pleased you liked it. I used boneless/skinless chicken breasts and did not cut them up. I am pretty sure skin-on and/or bone-in would work as well, but I find the skin gets kinda icky in the Instant Pot so I usually just end up taking it off before eating (I’ve tried other recipes using that cut of chicken).
I made this tonight and I think I know what went wrong. The recipe calls for 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth for 1 cup of rice, which almost twice the liquid that is needed. I believe it should be 1 1/2 cups of chicken broth. I believe this is why the rice came out too creamy and overcooked. I tried the Jasmine rice, but believe the flavor might have been better with another type of rice.
I also believe the cook time could be reduced a minute to keep from over cooking the chicken IF they are smaller breasts. Otherwise, very good.
Hi Tim! I’ve tried it with less liquid, and the rice was cemented on. To be honest, I love the creamy rice texture. To me, it’s the best part of the dish. Sorta like a no effort risotto haha. If you do try with less liquid, let me know the results. It seems (based on comments) that this dish can vary wildly from Instant Pot to Instant Pot, so I’m always interested in hearing feedback. This recipe never has a dull moment. 😂
I followed the newly modified recipe exactly, using thighs. (I did brown the skin side of the chicken before I sautéed the onions, however.) This turned out perfect! We loved the creamy, flavorful sauce. The touch of lemon gave it a subtle tang that complemented the Italian seasoning. The chicken, rice, and carrots all cooked perfectly. I cut the carrots in about one inch pieces, and they were the perfect texture. I had tried another chicken and rice recipe with no success – it kept burning and sticking. This will be my go-to recipe.
This makes me so happy! 🤗❤️❤️❤️
Way over cooked rice. Do not cook 18 min. Too long for pressure cooker and only one cup of rice
I want to make this tonight! I have a question though. Will the chicken breasts overlap each other? Is is ok if they do?
Hi! They can overlap a little if you use large pieces of chicken, but I didn’t find I had to stack them or anything in my 6 qt. Instant Pot. It shouldn’t really matter anyway since the Instant Pot will compensate by taking longer to come to pressure if there’s a lot of stuff in there (e.g. if you’re making soup). Hope you like the recipe!
Great recipe..with stovetop pressure cooker between 5 and 8 minute after the pot comes to pressure. This is a great 20 minute meal. Just like my grandma’s comfort food.
Thanks for the tip, Lisa! 🙂 So glad you like the recipe.
I would like to have more rice with this dish. Possibly a cup and a half but would prefer to double it to 2 cups. I know the liquid would have to be increased but I do not know by how much. I also would like to use chicken breast TENDERS instead of breasts. They are considerably smaller. Would it be possible to modify this recipe for one or both of these modifications? I have not tried to make this yet but I’m hoping it could become a weekly favorite. Thanks Natasha!
Hi Eleanor! This is a pretty tricky recipe for me to guess on because so much can go wrong hahaha. I’d definitely double the liquid as a starting point if you double the rice. I would also decrease cooking time since you want to use chicken tenders. Just the rice I do for 10 minutes, and I’m actually doing some experimenting to try to get this whole recipe down time-wise as well, since the chicken can be overcooked at times. Why not try doubling the liquid and cooking for 10 minutes then doing a quick pressure release or a 5 minute natural release? Let me know how it goes! 🙂