Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

Classic pressure cooker chicken and rice! Combine everything in the pot and you’re back to a perfectly cooked casserole. Simple, cozy weeknight dinner.

Chicken and rice is one of my favorite weeknight meals—I love the one-pot convenience.

Video: How to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

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Instant Pot Chicken and Rice

How to cook chicken and rice in the Instant Pot

Cooking this casserole in my Instant Pot not only requires fewer dishes, but gets dinner on the table in under an hour. I also love that you can just “set and forget” in the pressure cooker.

This adaptation keeps the same flavors of Elise’s original recipe, but I made a few small tweaks to ensure it turns out nice in the pressure cooker.

In particular, I’ve found that casseroles work a lot better in my Instant Pot when The meat is on the bottom and the rice is layered on top. That way the rice doesn’t burn before the chicken is cooked (it also makes cleaning the pan a lot easier!).

  • New to Instant Pot? Check out our post How To Use an Instant Pot: A First-Timer’s Guide.

What to serve with chicken and rice

This recipe is absolute comfort food, an easy meal for those chilly fall and winter nights. It really is a complete meal in itself – you don’t have to serve anything else alongside! It makes four generous servings and easily doubles for a larger crowd.

You can also add a simple side salad or some roasted vegetables to round out the meal.

Proposals and Substitutions

So many of you have made this recipe since it was first posted! They’ve made some great variations and adjustments over the years. Here are a few favourites:

  • Replace the mushrooms with another vegetable, like diced carrots and celery
  • Finally, fold in some cooked broccoli (cooking it with chicken and rice will quickly make it mushy)
  • If you like a creamier dishadd some more sauce
  • For a dairy-free versionsubstitute chicken broth for heavy cream and sour cream (many people have had success with non-dairy sour cream and plant-based milk, too!)
  • To add more rice, Just add an equal amount of broth to add as much extra rice as you like
  • Skip the sherry? Increase the broth to 1 cup and add a small squirt of red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or lemon juice. Just something to brighten it up a bit!

Want to substitute brown rice? Unfortunately, swapping brown rice is not a direct swap. You would need to increase the cooking time to 25 minutes to ensure the brown rice is cooked, but the dairy products would likely burn during that time. If you really like brown rice, swap out the dairy for water or more broth, then stir in some sour cream at the end for creaminess.

Store and freeze chicken and rice

This recipe will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days and can be reheated in the microwave.

It also freezes well! Transfer to individual freezer containers and freeze for up to a month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then reheat in the microwave.

Can’t get enough chicken and rice? Try these!

  • Fried chicken and rice
  • Chicken and Rice Casserole
  • Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice Casserole
  • Pressure cooker chicken adobo and rice
  • Arroz with chicken

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice


preparation time
20 minutes

cooking time
25 minutes

total time
45 minutes

portions
4
up to 6 servings

You can also substitute chicken breasts or tenders for the thighs in this recipe if you prefer.

If you omit the sherry, increase the broth to 1 cup and add a small squirt of red wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or lemon juice. Just something to brighten it up a bit!

ingredients

For the sauce:

  • 1/4 Cup Dry sherry

  • 3/4 Cup chicken soup

  • 1/2 Cup sour cream

  • 1/4 Cup heavy cream

  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Italian spice

  • 1 1/4 teaspoon Salt

  • 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika

For the casserole:

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 Middle Onionrolled

  • 1/2 lb Cremini mushroomscut

  • 2 cloves garlicchopped

  • 1 1/2 pounds (5 to 6) boneless, skinless chicken thighscut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

  • 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice

Serve:

  • 1/4 Cup chopped Parsely

method

  1. Whisk the sauce:

    In a mixing bowl or large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the sherry, chicken stock, sour cream, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and paprika. Put aside.

  2. Sweat the vegetables in the pressure cooker:

    Select the sauté setting on the pressure cooker and heat the oil in the pressure cooker. (If using a pressure cooker, heat the oil over medium-high.)

    Add the onion and cook until slightly softened but not browned, 4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they begin to wilt and release their liquid, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and fry for a further 1 minute.

  3. Add the chicken:

    Stir in the chicken thighs and cook, stirring frequently, until opaque and mostly cooked (it’s okay if they’re still a little pink in the center), 5 to 6 minutes.

  4. Add rice and sauce:

    Use your spatula to pound the chicken and veggies into a fairly even layer. Scatter the rice over the top of the chicken in an even layer.

    Slowly pour the sauce over the rice, being careful not to disturb the layer. Use a spoon to press down any grains of rice that are stuck to the sides of the pot so that everything is covered in the cooking liquid.

  5. Pressure Cooking Chicken and Rice:

    Attach the lid to the pressure cooker. Make sure the pressure regulator is in the “Sealing” position. Cancel the “Sauté” program on the pressure cooker and then select the “Manual” or “Fast Cook” setting. Set the cooking time to 5 minutes on high pressure. (If you use a pressure cooker, the cooking time will be the same.)

    The pressure cooker will take 5 to 10 minutes to come up to pressure before the cook time starts.

  6. Release pressure naturally for at least 10 minutes, then release pressure quickly:

    by switching the vent from “Sealing” to “Venting” immediately. Beware of the steam! Alternatively, you can of course continue to depressurize the pot, which takes about 20 minutes in total.

    The sauce may look a little separated when you first open the pot. Don’t worry, it’s fine! Simply fluff up the rice with a fork and work the creamy layer back into the casserole.

  7. Serve casserole:

    Spoon the casserole into shallow bowls or onto plates, digging in to the bottom so you get both rice and chicken in each scoop. Sprinkle generously with chopped parsley and serve hot.

    Leftovers will keep for about a week and can be reheated in the microwave.

nutritional information (per serving)
478 calories
29g Fat
17g carbohydrates
38g protein
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Recipes Team
Hello everybody, Even if you're limited on time and money, I believe you can prepare wonderful food with everyday products. All you have to do is cook cleverly and creatively!

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