For many of us, an electric pressure cooker has changed our lives for the better. **Raises hand**
Dry beans now cook in less than an hour. <–I’m writing this while chickpeas cook in the Instant Pot for dinner. Chicken stock is ready in just a couple of hours. This means I can make chicken stock and soup on the same day, using the same pot, like this chicken and rice soup, broccoli cheddar soup, or Instant Pot beef soup.
And I have more time to enjoy the evening with my family thanks to the hands-off, one-pot nature of Instant Pot dinners.
I’m an electric pressure cooker convert. Maybe more of an enthusiast at this point. That’s something I never thought I would say….
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There was a time when I feared this appliance. The thought of a pressure cooker exploding on my counter was enough to keep me from even opening the Instant Pot box for over a year. Just think of how many bowls of soup and quarts of chicken stock I could have made during that time. Travesty, I know. Fear held me back.
(This sounds like a life lesson that applies to more than just the Instant Pot. Says the gal who is anxious and afraid to fly, yet boarding a plane for Iceland in four days. Fear is not going to hold me back this time.)
Back to the Instant Pot, and today’s recipe which you’ve probably guessed is made in the Instant Pot or your electric pressure cooker of choice.
This Instant Pot chicken and rice recipe is as easy as a dinner recipe can get. It’s truly a one-pot, dump the ingredients and forget about it kind of meal. That’s the kind of meal that I need in my life around this time of year (#endofschool). Okay, let me be honest. That’s the kind of meal I need in my life all year.
This meal has been my go-to on Wednesday nights, our busiest day of the week. With this meal, I don’t have to worry about adding anything to the slow-cooker in the morning, or mixing together any ingredients before heading out for the day. When we get home from work/school/life/karate, the simple ingredients are added to the Instant Pot and within 30 minutes a nourishing dinner is ready to be enjoyed. A dinner that’s enjoyed by the whole family.
One more thing…
Remember when we talked about simplifying real food with a capsule pantry? This meal is a perfect example of a capsule pantry meal. With just a few simple, multi-purpose, nourishing ingredients, a quick and easy meal can be made at home. The same ingredients can also be used to create so many other meals. That’s the beauty and simplicity of a capsule pantry.
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Instant Pot Chicken and Homemade Yellow Rice (Pressure Cooker Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs sprinkled with salt and pepper
- 3 TB extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion diced (about 1 cup once diced)
- 1 large carrot diced (about ½ cup once diced)
- 4 garlic cloves minced, or 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 3/4 cups chicken broth or veggie broth/stock or water
- 1 1/2 cups long grain white rice uncooked and rinsed under water in a sieve for 1-2 minutes
- 1 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt to taste
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 cup frozen green peas
Special Equipment:
Instructions
- Sprinkle the chicken thighs with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the paprika, turmeric, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. If you’re not using fresh garlic, also add garlic powder to this mixture.
- Add 2 tablespoons of oil to the Instant Pot. Make sure the oil evenly coats the base of the pot. Turn on the Instant Pot to Saute, Normal.
- Once hot, add the onion and carrots. Saute for 3-4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for another minute, until fragrant. Add the seasonings and stir to evenly coat the veggies.
- Press Cancel to turn off the heat.
- Add the broth or water, 1 tablespoon of oil, and rice. Stir to combine the ingredients. Place the chicken thighs on top (do not stir).
- Secure the lid and set to Sealing. Set the Instant Pot to Manual, High Pressure, for 8 minutes.
- Once the rice is done cooking, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before releasing the remaining pressure (use a hot pad holder or towel) and opening the lid.
- Shred the chicken with two forks. Fluff the rice with a fork. Add the frozen green peas and stir to combine the chicken, peas, and rice. Serve once the peas are warm/room temperature.
Super easy and fast to make. I added sliced andouille sausage because I felt like it needed something else. Couldn’t put my finger on it, maybe more salt. Did the exact instructions but my rice was a bit crunchy. Overall fast meal to make but add more spice or salt to make it more flavorful.
Hey Brandy, Andouille sausage is a great idea! Yes, salt to taste. What kind of rice did you use?
I make a lot of your recipes and I was making a chicken soup and thought Iwould quickly look up the seasoning mix from your turmeric chicken soup. I did a quick search on your site because I already had the soup cooking and started throwing it together. When I got to “paprika” I realized I had the wrong recipe but I kept going because I’ve loved all your soup recipes. It turned out delicious. I went back to your page to pin the recipe for next time and only then I realized this wasn’t a soup recipe at all. Moral of the story – don’t skim recipes too quickly and, this makes a great soup!
Lol, that’s awesome, Tiffany. So glad it turned out well.
I finally made this for the first time the other night. I wasn’t sure how my family was going to take to the turmeric flavor, but surprisingly they all liked it. The flavors weren’t too overwhelming, but they were just the perfect amount. I followed the recipe exactly. We ate it with jalapenos and it was great! The recipe made so much! I ended up having enough to take some for lunch a few days too.
That’s so awesome, Angie!
Can I double this recipe? I would like to have leftovers for the next day. If I do double it, do I keep cook time the same? Thank you!
Hey Angie, I haven’t tried doubling the recipe. Here’s tips on how to double an Instant Pot recipe that should help: https://www.thekitchn.com/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-doubling-instant-pot-recipes-23089108 As long as you have a large enough pot, it should be great!
Thank you for the providing the tips 🙂
You’re welcome, Angie! Enjoy
Second time using my instant pot. This was well explained and delicious!
Thank you, Brooke! So happy to hear that.
I love this recipe. The first time I made it it turned out perfectly, every time since I get the burn notice. Do you have any recommendations on how to adapt this recipe to the stovetop, or in the oven? I miss it, but get so frustrated when it gets ruined because of burn in Instant Pot to the point that I cannot use it anymore.
Hey Gail, You could try making something similar to this recipe (using similar measurements for the rice and liquid), but use the veggies and spices from this Instant Pot recipe: https://livesimply.me/one-pot-chicken-rice-and-vegetables/
Are you using a 6 qt. or 8 qt. pot? I know the 8 quart is notorious for the burn notice, which is why I ask.
Also, do you scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan before pressure cooking? Having bits stuck to the bottom may also cause a burn notice.
I don’t want to leave a low star cause I’m not sure if it’s my fault but mine burned too. I use the 6 quart. The only thing I didn’t do was rinse the rice for two minutes because I used short grain rice that’s usually ready to go. I got the Food Burn notice and then scraped the bottom and tried again, it happened again so I put 2 cups water in, then happened a third time so I just took out the rice and finished on my stove and did only the chicken in the instant pot. I see here so many others have burned too. Do you think it’s cause I didn’t rinse the rice? Does it make that much of a difference? Thanks!
Hey Susannah, I’m sorry that happened. It shouldn’t be due to the rinsing of the rice–I do the same. What size pot are you using? The 8-quart has issues with the burn notice, so that’s why I ask. Other than that, I’m not sure what may be happening.
This was great! I love to sear my chicken thighs so I used a dash of all the seasonings and did 4 minutes a side, took them out and then followed the directions making sure to deglaze the yummy seasonings all on the bottom of the pot. The kids LOVED it. I’d love to adjust to more of a curry flavor, too. Any suggestions on seasonings by chance?
Lauren,
So glad you enjoyed it! A curry flavor would be amazing!! Maybe use the flavor profiles in this recipe:
https://theflavoursofkitchen.com/instant-pot-curried-chicken-and-rice/
LS Team
Great recipe. I used chicken tenders vs full chicken breasts. So tender! Will use all week as I meal prep. Thanks for the delish recipe!
Can you use Jasmine rice instead of long grain?
It is a 6 quart
Okay, Lori. I was just checking because the burn notice is very common with the 8-quart. I’m not sure why it burned. Maybe some of the liquid escaped when added?
I really wanted to make this happen. It burnt within coming to pressure and I followed it exactly with nothing on the bottom. I scraped out what I could and put it in a cake pan and placed thighs on top. Added liquid to the bottom and cooked for five minutes Thighs were a little tough but flavor was awesome. I used Mahatna Jasmine rice so maybe that’s the reason it burnt.
Hey Lori, I’m sorry that happened to you. May I ask what size Instant Pot you have?
I have made this recipe a few times and my family loves it. It is quick to put together and so full of flavor.
Yay, Sara! So glad you’re loving it. Thank you for coming back to rate and share it. That means so much!
Question: what are the asterisks for beside pepper and rice (rinsed) in the ingredients? I didn’t see any notes that they must have been meant to refer to.
Hi Katy, I’m sorry those notes were deleted. The one for rice was to tell you how to rinse with a sieve and the pepper is to taste, so my preference is a couple of pinches.
I made this a week or so ago and it was sooo good! Question… I’d like to make just the rice to go along with fish that I’m frying. would I need to adjust the recipe leaving out the chicken?
Hey Becky, I would just leave the chicken out. So glad you liked it!
I made this last night without the chicken, as a side dish. I kept everything the same except the cook time. I did low pressure for 12 minutes with a quick release as was given in a “ how to cook long grained white rice” site. It was perfect. It had better texture when not cooked as long, as well. The rice recipe also said it could be cooked 2-3 minutes with a 10 minute natural release. I realize those times cannot be used when adding chicken, but for rice without the chicken, it was perfect.
How long would you cook it for chicken bee instead of thighs?
Hey Donna, The same time since that’s how long it takes to cook the rice (and how long is required to cook chicken breasts).
I made this last night. It was delicious! I was worried that the rice would be mush, but it wasn’t. We loved the cumin flavor and the turmeric. Thanks!
Yay, Becky! I’m so glad you loved it!!
We’re both T-2 diabetics, so can’t eat white rice. Brown rice is OK. So being it will take 22 min to cook brown rice, can I cook rice for 15 min, release steam, add chicken breast & cook another 7 minutes? I’m thinking I might need bit more liquid with brown rice. I’d appreciate your opinion before I try it. It looks so darn good!
I’m also thinking increasing onions or using those little frozen onion balls & adding mushrooms, there are so many possibilities with this recipe! Jicama, water chestnut slices or sliced almonds for “crunch”.
Hey Bev, You could try that. Not sure how the rice will turn out, but it’s worth a shot. Or stick with the chicken thighs and see how they do with a 22 minute cook time. Maybe just try one chicken thigh to see how it goes the first time.