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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 need to make food for my mom when she has surgery. So it can either be pulled out of freezer and warmed up or can be prepped raw and then dumped into the instant pot. Which way would you recommend doing this recipe?
Hmmm… freezing rice can make it really mushy, so I would probably prep the ingredients raw. I am kinda worried it might not work perfectly, though… like I would add the water, lemon juice etc. separately rather than freezing it all together then defrosting and just dumping it all in the IP if that makes sense.
Package up the components into freezer bags but leave everything uncooked. Keep the rice in its own package then put everything together in one big baggy. Not sauteing onions won’t hurt anything,
I used my Instant Pot for the first time tonight. I made the Chicken and Rice. It was delicious. I followed the recipe like Natasha mentioned. The only other vegetable I put in was some celery. Please send more recipes. Will be looking forward to them.
I am so glad it worked out for you, Delores!! 🙂
This tastes delicious and is so easy. As a college student this is one of my go-to recipes. Thank you Delores 🙂
Do I need to change anything if I have an 8qt pot?
I don’t believe so.
I know you mentioned brown rice is a different beast 🙂 But we rarely eat white rice anymore. Did you try it with brown rice and if so what problems did you encounter? I swapped white for brown in a recipe not long ago and just added more liquid and cook time and it worked. Tempted to try it with this recipe! What are your thoughts/tips?
Hi Heather! I haven’t yet tried it with brown rice. Honestly, especially since this recipe tends to vary a LOT from Instant Pot to Instant Pot (check out some of the comments), I’m very reluctant to make any suggestions. I don’t cook brown rice very often, so especially in a recipe like this, I really don’t have any good tips unfortunately. Also, brown rice doesn’t really release starch the same way so it becomes creamy. That’s the magic of this recipe. If you’re in an experimenting kinda mood, I encourage you to test it… I think the worst that could go wrong is that you waste some ingredients haha. Wish I could be more help.. sorry! If you do try, please report back – I think plenty of people have been wondering the same thing.
Thanks! I’m still learning with brown rice, but we are adamant about swapping it in whenever we can for health reasons. I’m going to go for it! My husband is pretty picky – especially healthy stuff – so I’ll let you know what his verdict is 🙂
My fingers are crossed!
Ok the verdict is in! I completely messed up the water to rice ratio (brown rice needs more water than white) plus I was feeding two very hungry teenage boys so I doubled the amount in the recipe anyway. First round it was just soup 🙁 so I added a couple of cups of minute brown rice and PCd for a couple more minutes (I had huge chicken breasts so I wasn’t worried about over cooking them). Turned out great!! The rice was still very creamy, and with no soups or cream added makes it healthier than my usual chicken and rice recipes. I myself actually needing a little more seasoning, but my hubs loved it and the boys liked the flavor as well. Will definitely be adding this to our rotation of healthy meals 🙂
Well, I am glad that you were able to pull it off haha!! Thanks for the update! 🙂
Rainy, cool day here in Raleigh and this recipe looks like the perfect dish for dinner tonight. All I have are frozen chicken tenderloins and I haven’t a clue how much it weighs or how many pieces there are! I’ll defrost a bit then take a wild guess at cooking time. Wish me luck!
Good luck!! Hope it works out!
Could I double or triple this recipe? If so, how would the measurements change? I’ve made this twice already as written and we love it! I want to make it for our small group at church. 8 adults and 9 kids…
Hi Casey! So glad you like the recipe. I would double everything and keep the cooking time the same. Mind you, based on all the comments, this recipe can be a little fussy in some models of the IP, so I can’t be sure of the results. Let me know how it goes!
The author was very clear about following exact instructions. BUT, I was not patient and did not read everything correctly. (100% my fault) Even with all my mistakes, this was a delicious dinner thanks to this surprisingly forgiving recipe.
—–
Things I changed:
1) Onion and garlic powder instead of raw onion and garlic. – Already felt like it was burning at bottom of the pan during sauteing stage. Whoops.
2) Vegetable oil instead of olive oil.
3) Regular long grain rice.
4) 3 big chicken breasts since the 4 would not fit in my 6-quart pot. – I know the author said they did it with that pot just fine but not for me.
4-A) I thought this was for a frozen chicken recipe so I added 2 minutes to cooking time thanks to the comments. WHOOPS.
—–
Turn out:
No burn warnings (And my pot always burn warns when I cook rice.)
I opened the lid after 14 minutes of cooking, 5 minutes of natural release and then a quick release of the remaining pressure.
It looked like there was a lot of water in the pot but it evaporated on its own within a minute or two of opening the lid.
The 3 big pieces of frozen chicken was cooked all the way through and fairly tasty if not a bit chewy. (Again my fault.)
Rice was so creamy and flavorful and not soupy at all. Considering how far I was from the recipe if you are even slightly following directions you should be fine.
I am so happy you liked it, Austin! Thanks for your detailed comment. 🙂
When you say “4 dashes Italian seasoning,” what does that equate to if using measuring spoons? I’m afraid I’ll dump in too much or use too little if I don’t measure it. 😬 I’ve got all the ingredients and plan to cook this for tomorrow’s dinner! 😀
Hi! If I had to guess, I’d say maybe 1/4 teaspoon? It isn’t too much. 😊 Let me know how the recipe goes!
I really like this recipe! Thank you so much for publishing it. I’m a IP newbie, but this was easy enough. I made a few changes to it to adapt for our tastes. Instead of Italian seasoning, I used herbes de Provence, a little extra dash of parsley, about a tap of extra rosemary, and a big dash of turmeric (for the anti-inflammatory properties). I also used about an extra quarter cup of water because it looked like so little once I added the rice. Is rinsing the rice necessary? I did it only because I worried that if I didn’t, the rice wouldn’t cook properly – moisture – but rice tends to fall through a regular colander, so I’d advise using cheesecloth or a colander with teeny-tiny holes, maybe. We used a pound of chicken breast “cutlets” or tenders, instead of 4 breasts, because that’s what we had, and it turned out perfectly. Seriously, the chicken was so tender that a fork shredded it easily, but it was not undercooked either. The rice was creamy and just delicious. My partner LOVED this dish. It’s very much like a conventional dish I make, but way faster. Bookmarked and will be cooking this over and over.
I am so glad you liked it!! I rinse the rice because Instant Pot recommends it. I think it helps it not stick… and I know this recipe can be a little finicky, so that’s why I don’t tempt fate haha.
This is the fourth recipes I’ve tried from your website. I just want to say THANK YOU! Everyone of them are delicious and easy remembering I’m not a good cook. I have a hard time to cook chicken breast, they usually came out gamey and ended just my husband eats it but your recipes make me able to eat chicken that I cook. Lol! I tried this recipes and the rice only recipe, following exactly what you wrote and the both came out great! My husband is not a rice eater but he ate them! 😉
This makes me so happy!! Thanks for your sweet comment. ❤️
Wow, what a delicious meal! The flavor of the rice is incredible. My wife loves to cook, but I wanted to give her a break so I decided to try this in our new instant pot tonight. Very easy recipe and your directions are spot on. I used the revised 12 minute pressure cooker time with the 5 minute natural release and it turned out perfect. I did have one slight modification. We only had about 2 1/8 cups of chicken broth, but the rice still came out fine. I’ll be trying more of your recipes.
Thanks Natasha!
You’re very welcome!! So happy to hear it worked out well! 🙂