Pressure cooker chicken and rice casserole recipe made in our Instant Pot, Crockpot Express or Ninja Foodi is the best creamy dinner ever! Family favorite and so easy to do. Show
This amazingly easy pressure cooker chicken and rice recipe takes just 15 minutes to cook and prepare. Even my kids say it’s a great recipe. We love casseroles, this basic Campbells chicken and rice is from my childhood. Tt cooks a lot faster now! One of our favorite Instant Pot recipes! (originally published 3/17, affiliate links present) Ninja Foodi Chicken and RiceThat is right, this is one of our favorite easy Ninja Foodi recipes too! You can make this in any brand you have at home. Crockpot Express, Mealthy, whatever one works. I love cooking everything together at once. Makes it easier on days when I am just spent and allows us to eat together more often which I appreciate as a mom, a total win win. Let’s start with a few basic tips:
For reference, this is the pressure cooker I have and use for all recipe creations. Adding vegetables to this chicken recipe gives it great flavor, texture, and the more I include them in our dinners the more my kids like them. Of course you can omit if you wish. 😉 Seasoned with just some salt and black pepper, it’s so easy to throw together. I use frozen vegetables to make things easier. Now I generally use boneless skinless chicken breasts diced into bite size pieces. It’s the best way for this version, or our Instant Pot teriyaki chicken and rice dish. If I find chicken thighs on sale I would use those instead. I find that thighs have more flavor and are more tender than the latter.
As far as rice, I like Jasmine personally. It has a better texture than just the cheaper long grain version and less expensive than Basmati.
Cheese is a really great add in but of course if you need it to be dairy free, then leave that out too. If you have ever make this, the one you see here is very similar. BUT this is cooked in my Instant Pot so timing and a few more ingredients were added to it.
It has everything in a comfort food you’ll want including a bunch of mixed vegetables that cook in no time.
The first step is to add your meat and set to saute. All multi cookers have the function except some are labeled brown/saute instead. It is important that your meat is diced into bite size pieces so it cooks evenly and remains tender. If you don’t have one of these multi cookers and are a busy mom I would HIGHLY recommend it. It’s a pressure cooker with 6 other functions so you can replace a lot of your other kitchen appliances too. I have a Crock Pot Express and Ninja Foodi. I use all three to make this.
Can you use frozen chicken in the Instant Pot? Follow these frozen chicken in the Instant Pot directions to do so. Why? Because first of all the meat needs to be in bite size pieces. Chances are it wouldn’t be cut into small enough pieces like this before freezing. You also want to cook the outsides just a bit on the first step. This isn’t possible if your chicken is frozen. Another downside is more liquid will be added once it defrosts. This will make it a soupier texture. Why is rice burning in Instant Pot? When there’s not enough thin cooking liquid in a pressure cooker it may not be able to generate enough steam to come up to pressure. The bottom of the pot will become too hot triggering burn on Instant Pot. To avoid this do NOT stir rice into the mixture, instead gently submerge into the liquid on the top. Do yourself a favor and just use fresh diced boneless skinless breasts or chicken thighs to make this pressure cooker chicken and rice recipe. Instant Pot chicken riceMine came out really well but several people had issues with them not cooking through. Or their pot did not reach pressure so I have revised this recipe. Now the recipe reads with the chicken cut up into cubes so there shouldn’t be any issues any longer! A problem you may experience if you don’t follow the directions EXACTLY as they’re stated below is with the rice. Making Instant Pot white rice is the exception to this rule since there are no other ingredients other than water. At first I was intimidated because I had never used one before. Now that I’ve tinkered with it I use it every day and share new pressure cooker recipes each week. They are all yummy and super simple to do like this one. Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice
Chicken broth – can use water but broth is so much better 1 – 1/2 cup Cheese (optional but so good, we like sharp cheddar).
Variations of this Instant Pot chicken and rice recipe
Added vegetables and share it in our Instant Pot chicken broccoli rice recipe. Just naturally release steam for 3 minutes, lift the lid, and the cooked rice is so tender! Chicken is always tender, flavorful, and who doesn’t love a one pot meal?? I haven’t made it with brown rice yet but others have, comments for that method are below. I modified the recipe I found here but adjusted some ingredients and the time as well for it to come out moist and ensuring the rice was done perfectly. If you love this easy dinner idea try our other easy Instant Pot chicken recipes here are a few
Want to make this in your Ninja Foodi too? Of course we’ve done that. Just follow this Ninja Foodi chicken casserole recipe for that pot. If you want to make this using noodles instead of rice follow our pressure cooker chicken noodle casserole directions. Ready to make our cream of mushroom chicken and rice dish? Yes you can throw in quartered fresh mushrooms too! I suggest using baby bellas vs. button so they don’t get so soft. Bellas will keep their shape and maintain their texture better.
Want to make crockpot chicken and rice?? We have directions for a creamy Crockpot chicken method too! Instant Pot chicken and riceHere’s a quick step by step but I also have a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post. Time needed: 12 minutes. Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice
Add cheese now and stir so it melts (optional add in but it’s good). Serve topped with more cheese for added yumminess!! If you want to use noodles instead, try our Instant Pot chicken and pasta recipe instead. If you want to make this with a sausage link, try our Instant Pot sausage and rice recipe! Print the recipe below and enjoy! Pressure Cooker Chicken and RicePressure cooker chicken and rice casserole recipe we make in our Instant Pot the other night for dinner. Just 12 minutes cooks chicken, rice and vegetables perfectly in a Ninja Foodi too. Course Entree, Main Course Cuisine American Keyword casserole, chicken noodle soup, fried rice, instant pot, pressure cooker Prep Time 9 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Total Time 20 minutes Servings 4 Calories 528kcal
Nutrition Facts Pressure Cooker Chicken and Rice Amount Per Serving (4 oz) Calories 528 Calories from Fat 171 % Daily Value* Fat 19g29% Saturated Fat 6g38% Cholesterol 93mg31% Sodium 1209mg53% Potassium 743mg21% Carbohydrates 51g17% Fiber 2g8% Sugar 1g1% Protein 35g70% Vitamin A 2625IU53% Vitamin C 15.3mg19% Calcium 153mg15% Iron 2.4mg13% * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. How long should I cook chicken thighs in the Instant Pot?For Boneless Thighs: Pressure cook on high for 8 minutes for fresh or 12 minutes for frozen thighs. For Bone-in Thighs: Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes for fresh, or 15 minutes for frozen thighs. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 minutes, then turn the valve to “venting” to release any remaining steam.
Can you cook rice and meat in a pressure cooker at the same time?For example, you can make my Indian Butter Chicken and rice at the same time! Simply cut the chicken thighs into large bite-size pieces so they cook more quickly. Then add a trivet and rice as directed in the white rice recipe below and reduce the High Pressure cook time to 4 minutes with a 10-minute natural release.
Can you cook chicken and rice at the same time in a rice cooker?With that said, you can also use a rice cooker to cook both chicken and rice at the same time. A slow cooker cooks food over a long period of time, allowing the meat, vegetables and marinade to simmer and cook for hours at a time.
Why does chicken get rubbery in Instant Pot?If your boneless chicken breast winds up with a weird, rubbery texture, it probably means that you need to cook it longer. In general, the Instant Pot does better with longer cook times for meat.
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