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 all 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 will soon be posting 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… I tested this recipe 5x before finally posting it) 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. 😉
- This recipe works best 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 two. 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.
Love Instant Pot chicken recipes? Try my Instant Pot teriyaki chicken or my Instant Pot chicken tortilla soup recipe.
I hope you love this easy chicken and rice recipe!
Questions? Don’t hesitate to ask. Leave me a comment below. 🙂
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
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!
Ingredients
- 4 large 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, and then immediately add the chicken pieces on top. Close the lid, set the valve to "sealing", and cook on high pressure for 18 minutes.
Carefully do a quick pressure release once the countdown has completed. Serve immediately. If needed, season with salt & pepper to taste.
Recipe 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 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.
- I've tested this recipe with larger and smaller chicken breasts. The smaller ones do tend to be slightly too cooked for my liking when I cook the recipe for 18 minutes. If they're particularly small, you may want to try reducing the cooking time by a minute or two.
- 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.
Liz says
Hi!
Would you ever consider doing alternative timing for your instapot recipes for slow-cookers? Not sure if this is possible, but I love all of these instapot recipes and only have a crockpot :(.
Thanks!
Natasha says
Hi Liz! Actually, I do have some slow cooker versions of IP recipes. They will be linked within the blog post if they do exist (for example, I have IP and slow cooker versions of my ham and potato soup). If it’s a pretty straightforward recipe like some soups, I try to include Crockpot method suggestions within the recipe card so that the instructions work for both IP and Crockpot. Unfortunately, sometimes the timing and the method can be very different between the two appliances (especially for a recipe like this one), so it’s like developing a whole new recipe, and I don’t always have the capacity to do that between working full-time and trying to get a variety of different recipes on my blog. I try to target some of my recipes just to those who have Instant Pots since there is a definite demand for them, but I realize that does leave some people out unfortunately. I would be interested in seeing if I can replicate this recipe in the slow cooker, but I haven’t gotten there yet haha.
R.A. McClain says
I like to use julienned/sticks of carrots, as don’t particularly like the taste of chunks, but can toleralte the sticks. Any problem you see using those instead? Recipe looks great.
Natasha says
Good question. I think since they’re so small, they will end up VERY soft and you may end up with a very carrot-flavored dish (especially if you use a lot of them). That’s my only concern since it sounds like you don’t like carrots that much. I think leaving them out altogether may be the best option.
Rori says
We made this recipe tonight – everything was waaaay over cooked. Followed everything in the recipe. Not sure what happened?
Natasha says
Hmm that’s not good! So the rice was overcooked as well? I wish I was in the kitchen with you so I could figure out what went wrong. 🙁 Like I mention in the post, sometimes smaller chicken breasts can end up a bit overcooked, but in the 5x I’ve tested this recipe (and like 3x on top of that where I did just the rice) it never ended up all overcooked, so I’m definitely wondering what happened. Do you have a 6 qt. Instant Pot?
Rori says
Yeah it was the rice and carrots that were very over cooked. We used chicken thighs and they came out perfect! It’s definitely a 6-quart instapot so not sure what happened. 😞 Will definitely try some of your other recipes!! 😊
Natasha says
Thanks for letting me know! Yup, the carrots always come out super soft… the rice is a bit puzzling though haha.
Rori says
No worries!! Other than the rice, the flavor was great and the chicken was delicious.
Christine says
So you mention two 10 oz cans of broth which threw me because a standard can is 14.5 oz.
Natasha says
Hi Christine! Where I live (Canada), the standard can of chicken broth is 284 ml (I buy Campbell’s), which works out to 9.6 fluid ounces. I just round up for ease of reading the recipe. I try to adhere as much as possible to what I know is standard in the USA since the majority of my readers are from there, but I guess this may be one thing that differs and I had no idea. I’m going to look more into this, and next time I’m in the States I’m going to a grocery store to look in the chicken broth aisle haha. No idea why this would be different between the 2 countries since so much is the same. Sigh! I’ve just updated the recipe to put the amount in cups – this should make it easier.
Angela says
I followed the recipe exactly in my 6qt instant pot and I got the burn warning three times 🙁 I added extra water the first two times and turned the pressure level down the third time. I don’t know what’s happening.
Natasha says
Argh that’s so frustrating. I tested this recipe multiple times and have never gotten a burn warning. I wish I knew why this happened. 🙁
Kelly | Foodtasia says
Such a great recipe! I can’t even believe how quick it is. So cozy and comforting!
Natasha says
Thanks, Kelly!
Monica D says
This was WONDERFUL and absolutely a new staple for our family’s fall/winter! Thank you for this super yummy recipe! I could eat the rice from this recipe with every meal! (Ok, since we’re on the subject, do you think I could, feasibly, make the recipe without the chicken breasts, following the same instructions?)
Natasha says
I am so happy you liked it, Monica!! I was starting to get worried with some of the comments I’ve received so far. I’m baffled why it doesn’t seem to work for some people but works for others. And yes, you definitely can just make the rice. I keep everything the same but cook it for 15 minutes. I actually am planning on putting just the rice recipe up. 🙂
Hillary says
I got an instant pot for Christmas and was looking for new recipes. I found this and made it two nights ago (my first IP dinner!) and it was fantastic! I followed the recipe almost exactly except I mis-read it and thought I was supposed to brown the chicken on the sautée setting (clearly didn’t read it well). But it still turned out great!! Tasted almost like chicken and rice soup (but not soupy). FYI 20 oz broth is equal to 2.5 cups so maybe you can make that conversion for your American readers? Thanks for a great recipe!
Natasha says
Hi Hillary! I’m so glad that the recipe worked for you and you liked it. Yup, it should be showing 2.5 cups now – I updated it a few days ago. ☺️
Khalilah says
This meal is looking like somebody’s answered prayer! I don’t have an IP but I am getting one quick, fast and in a hurry JUST so I can try this. Thank you so much for sharing!
Natasha says
Let me know how it goes! ☺️
Lori D says
Thanks for this recipe Natasha! I just received an 8 quart Instant Pot for Christmas & this was my first recipe using it!
Very tasty!
I used Trader Joe’s 21 season sauté seasoning along with Italian seasoning & some extra garlic & carrots for extra flavor.
I followed all other measurements & instructions as stated.
I had no burn warnings or issues.
A definite keeper recipe!
Thanks again for sharing!😋
Natasha says
I am so happy to hear this!! Thanks so much for letting me know, Lori! 🙂
Tilly says
Do you think this recipe could be halved? I also wanted to ask why you say to rinse the rice? I realize that rinsing rice is to get rid of the starch and I guess that would make sense for this recipe. But I do notice a huge taste difference and find I prefer not to rinse the rice anymore as ithe starch is flavor too. Rinsing is something I always did because you always see recipes saying to do so. I just was curious to know the reason.
This looks amazing and I’m planning to make it but my kids just will not eat it. They are weird and hate anything “casserole” like. So I’d make this just for myself and the husband.
Natasha says
Hi Tilly! In this case, I rinse the rice because Instant Pot recommends it in their “how to cook rice” guide. Rice can sometimes burn in the IP (it’s notoriously tricky), so that’s why I follow the best practice they suggest. Regarding halving the recipe, I haven’t tried that myself, and I am a bit wary because then there will be less liquid and I would say the likelihood of the burn warning goes up. I would make the same amount of rice but half the chicken if you’re thinking of doing that. The rice always goes really quickly in our house.
Jess says
Are you able to use frozen chicken breasts with this recipe? Or will the added time cause the rice to over cook? Thanks!
Natasha says
Good question. I think it’ll make the rice overcook. If you do try, please let me know how it went. 🙂
Melissa says
Interested in trying this soon! How would you adjust for chicken thighs?
Natasha says
Hi! I’d cook them for the same amount of time assuming they’re not super gigantic ones. Just ensure you check they’re fully cooked before serving. I will test the recipe with chicken thighs at some point. Let me know how it goes!
Tori says
Out of curiosity, how long do you cook rice if you are just cooking it plain? And what about if you cook just chicken breasts? I want to make this later this week but the 18 minutes seems wayyyy too long. I usually cook white rice for 1 minute on high pressure and chicken breasts (4 medium sized) for 6 minutes.
Natasha says
Hi! I’ve been doing just the rice for 15. And I don’t usually do just chicken breasts. But like in soup I’ve cooked them for a lot less, definitely. I’m going to see about testing some more to decrease timing in this recipe. In one of my tests the large chicken breasts weren’t cooked properly when I reduced the time, so that’s why I landed on 18 minutes, but I also want to fix the overcooking issue I’ve encountered with smaller chicken breasts.
Tori says
Thank you for responding! Since my Pot seems to cook plain rice a lot faster, I think I will try less time when I make this. I can always cook longer if needed.
Natasha says
You’re welcome! Let me know how it turns out. I’m so curious since everyone’s IP seems to vary and it’s so perplexing haha.
Areesha [email protected] Food says
That looks delicious! Comfort food recipes will always find a way to me eventually, I love trying new things. [linked edited out by blog author]
Lori says
Turned out perfectly. Exactly as described. Followed the recipe exactly. The rice is amazing! Thanks for the recipe!
Natasha says
Yay!!! I am so happy to hear that, Lori!!