Instant Pot Garlic Herb Chicken and Rice
This Instant Pot Chicken and rice is a wholesome dinner that the entire family will love. Garlic Herb Chicken and Rice made in the Instant Pot results in fluffy buttery rice and Juicy Chicken thighs.
I am really obsessed with this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe. This Garlic Herb Chicken and rice have so much flavour in it from the butter, lots of garlic and herbs.
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Crispy Juicy Chicken thigh with perfectly seasoned rice is one of those family-friendly recipes that you can make on any day. It is easy, healthy and made in an Instant pot in just about 15 minutes.
It turned out to be perfect with amazing flavours. If you ask me, there is nothing like a one-pot Chicken and rice dish. It is always filling and satisfying. You can easily double the recipe for a larger crowd.
I have been exploring my new Instant Pot in every possible way. So far I am really loving the pressure cooker. After trying Instant Pot Sweet Potato Chickpea Curry, I tried making rice in the Instant Pot. Cooking rice in the instant pot is easy with an amazing result.
So, what was the result that simply wowed me? Perfect grains of rice every single time. A person like me who has been eating rice all her life was very happy with the result.
How to cook rice in the Instant Pot?
Cooking rice in the Instant Pot is easy. Rice to water ratio and the right timing is the key to perfect rice.
I cook rice in a pressure cooker or using the “cook and drain” method. When cooking rice in an open pot and drain the extra liquid you don’t need to worry about the rice to water ratio.
Because once the rice is cooked, you drain excess water. On the other hand, cooking rice in a pressure cooker needs an exact rice-water ratio.
To cook perfect rice below are a few tips
- Wash rice under running tap, until water runs clear.
- Measure water. As a general rule for every part of rice, you need two parts of water(1:2). But while cooking in Instant Pot because there is no evaporation of water, the amount of water you would need is less. The rice to water ratio would be 1:1.5
- Always add rice to warm water.
- While water is warming up, soak rice for 10 – 15 minutes.
These tips are for regular white rice, long grain Basmati rice and Brown rice. But rice varieties are not only limited to this. With my 20 years of experience in cooking rice, these few tips have always worked for me. But cooking perfect rice also depends on the quality of rice.
If the rice is of the starchy kind, you will have to adjust the quantity of water and time. The age of the rice grain also determines the end result. The older/aged the grain, the better it turns out.
Instant Pot Chicken And Rice With Butter, Garlic & Herbs
Making Chicken and rice in Instant Pot is easy and convenient. No need for cleaning multiple pans or spending hours in the kitchen. Make it in the instant pot from start to finish in just 20 minutes.
Start with seasoning Chicken. Seasoning Chicken well and browning helps in developing flavour. I have used chicken thighs but you can also use chicken breast instead.
Next is to caramelize onion and a lot of garlic in butter, which again adds lots of flavours. You can use Olive oil instead of butter, but believe me, it will not be the same. So for once keep your worries about calories aside and use butter.
I have used a mix of herbs Oregano, thyme and parsley. But you can use any of your favourite herbs.
Using Chicken Stock instead of water makes the flavour robust. Use water or a mix of water and stock instead.
How Long To Cook Rice In The Instant Pot?
Then comes the important part, cooking time. You could use a pre-set option for cooking rice. But I prefer cooking it in manual mode, by setting a timer.
After a lot of trial and error, I settled on 8 mins of high-pressure cooking and 10 minutes of natural pressure release.
While sauteing the instant pot heats up. And because of using soaked rice and warm stock, the overall cooking time reduces significantly. The Instant Pot goes to full high-pressure mode quickly.
Once you set the manual mode on and close the lid, it takes about 4-5 minutes to build pressure. And then the countdown begins. You would see no air coming out of the valves.
After 8 minutes the Instant Pot goes to standby mode. Switch it off and let it release pressure naturally for 10 minutes. Then realise pressure manually, using the back of a spatula.
I know once you open the lid, it is very tempting to scoop out the rice. But if you are not in a hurry you can let it rest for 10 minutes after opening the lid and then using a slotted spoon or fork separate the grain gently. Using a fork or a slotted spoon helps in keeping each grain of rice separately.
Avoiding Burn Notification While Cooking In Instant Pot?
Getting burn notice while cooking on an instant pot is quite annoying, especially while you have a hungry family to feed. I have made this chicken and rice in the instant pot multiple times without any issue.
First of all, every time the pot is giving a burn notice doesn’t mean something has burned. It might be an indication that the bottom layer of the pot has some brown bits stuck. So it is very important to deglaze the pot to release any brown patches from the bottom. Like in the above recipe, Stock is added to deglaze the pan.
Another reason for the burn notice could be because of very little liquid in the pot. In the recipe, the amount of stock is enough for the chicken. Also when the chicken thigh gets cooked it releases liquid.
The last reason could be the Inner pot is very hot, while setting it to manual high-pressure mode. In this recipe, first chicken thighs are being sauteed followed by onion and garlic. If you tend to get frequent burn notifications in your IP, then after you saute the chicken thighs, switch off the IP and let it cool down a bit. Then again switch to saute mode and start cooking onion and garlic.
One of the readers has to say
I got the burn notice too. Followed the recipe exactly. Bit I’ve been reading that perhaps the newer pots are triggering the burn notice more easily. It’s very frustrating. Next time I’ll try with a half cup more broth.
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Update! The burn notice happened about 4 minutes after it came to pressure.so I let it sit until it naturally released, maybe 25 minutes. When I opened it, it was cooked perfectly. So good! There was a small scorched area, which caused the burn notice, but it was easily avoided. I really do think the new pots are getting too hot, and particularly in one spot. Have a 6-quart Ultra, purchased last fall. I get the burn notice with many recipes.
What The Readers Are Saying About This Recipe?
So many have tried making this Chicken and Rice in the Instant Pot. It makes me so happy to read through the feedback.
Holy cow – this is delish! I am eating it right now and had to put down my fork to leave a comment. I followed the directions exactly but adjusted ingredients based on what I had – 1 cup of rice, 2 cups stock, boneless skinless thighs, lime juice instead of lemon, extra garlic, and fresh herbs from my garden (parsley, oregano, sage, rosemary). The rice came out perfectly and the whole dish is so flavorful. I served it with sautéed mushrooms and green beans. I’m obsessed! Thank you 🙂
This was great! Made it last night exactly as the recipe says.
Made this Chicken and Rice recipe as my first Ninja Foodi PC recipe and it came out great! I used skinless boneless thighs and added a bag of frozen edamame after I added the rice. After letting it rest I sprinkled in some Italian cheese and ran the air crisper for 5 minutes. My family loved it but would have liked more garlic.
OTHER INSTANT POT RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE
CAULIFLOWER SOUP
CREAMY BALSAMIC CHICKEN AND POTATOES
HONEY GARLIC CHICKEN
SWEET CORN CHICKEN SOUP
SWEET POTATO CHICKPEA CURRY
Instant Pot Garlic Herb Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1.5 Cup Long Grain Basmati Rice
- 2 Cup Chicken Stock
- 1 tbsp Oil
- 2 tbsp Butter
- 1 large Onion
- 1.5 tbsp Garlic Minced
- 1.5 tbsp Mixed Herb (Oregano,Thyme,Parsley)
- ½ tspn Chili Powder (adjust as per taste)
- 1 tbsp Paprika
- Salt to taste
- Pepper to taste
- Grated Parmesan to serve
To Season Chicken
- 5-6 Chicken Thighs With Bone
- ½ tspn Chili Powder adjust as per taste
- 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
- 1 tspn Salt
- ½ tspn Pepper
Instructions
- First measure rice. Wash it until the water runs clear. Add enough water to soak the rice and keep it aside. Don't soak rice for more than 15-20 minutes.
- Measure the Stock required for cooking rice and keep it warm(to fasten the cooking process).
- To the Chicken thighs add salt, pepper, chilli powder, lemon juice. Mix well. Keep aside while you are preparing other ingredients.
- Turn on the Instant Pot and put it in Saute Mode.
- When the Instant Pot is pre-heated, add Oil.
- Add seasoned Chicken Thighs to the pot and sear it 2-3 minutes on each side. Once they look light golden brown and crispy, remove and keep aside.
- Add butter to the pot, followed by chopped Onion. Saute until Onion looks soft and translucent.
- Add Chopped garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add herbs, Paprika, Chilli powder. Mix well.
- Drain any extra liquid and add soaked rice.
- Gently stir for 2-3 minutes roast rice. (This step is optional, You can directly skip to the next step.)
- Pour in warm stock or water. Season it with salt and pepper.
- Arrange seared Chicken thighs in a single layer. Add any extra liquid that would have come from Chicken thigh while resting.
- Switch Instant Pot to manual mode. Set the timer for 8 mins. And let the Instant Pot do its job.
- When the timer is off, let the pressure release naturally for 8-10 minutes. Then release pressure using back of a spoon manually.
- Once the pressure is released completely, open the lid and let it rest for another 10 minutes.
- Using a slotted spoon or fork separate rice grain gently.
- While serving sprinkle some parsley and parmesan cheese.
Video
Notes
INSTANT POT GARLIC HERB CHICKEN AND RICE (STEP BY STEP VIDEO RECIPE)
- While seasoning Chicken salt is already added and Stock also has some amount of salt. So adjust salt at the end accordingly.
- Adjust the amount of chilli powder as per your taste.
- Substitute Stock with a mix of stock and water.
- While you Saute, if the Pot gets heated, Off the Instant Pot for 1-2 minutes. The contained heat at the bottom should be enough to do the rest of the work.
What if you don’t have manual mode?
It the high Pressure/pressure cooker mode.
To Make Chicken and Rice pressure Cooker
To make Chicken and Rice in the Pressure cooker, increase the amount of water to 3 cups.
The steps would be the same. Once you close the lid, let the pressure build. Reduce flame after one whistle and let it be on low flame for 6-7 minutes. Switch off the flame and let the pressure release naturally Where is there a flame? I’m confused. The instant pot is not fueled on gas. Low flame? What if someone is using boneless thighs?
I am sorry for not being clear here. In the note when I said pressure cooker it’s the traditional pressure cooker used on top of gas. Please ignore this section if you are using an Instant Pot.
Can I use long-grain white rice instead or will that not work with the tempurate, setting, and timing and timing you have listed?
Yes, you can substitute with long grain rice.
I made this long grain and think basmati does better holding its own. The long grain white got a little too gooey for my tase. Flavors are fabulous!
Made this tonight. All of our pickiest eaters loved it.
Made this tonight and it came out perfect. I used garlic butter and boneless chicken thighs. Realized afterward that I used cayenne pepper instead of paprika, so it had a little extra kick but the family loved it!! Will definitely be making again!!
Omg I did the same thing with the pepper
Do you use fresh or dried spices?
Dry spice
I made this last night and it turned out wonderfully. The rice was perfectly cooked and so flavorful! I wish I could show you a pic. I didn’t get any burn notice or extra liquid in the pot. I only used 3 chicken thighs. Thank you for this recipe. Definitely a keeper.
I made this tonight. I had boneless thighs and needed to change a few ingredients based on what I had on hand. I didn’t have chili powder so I used Cayenne pepper. Not sure if this made it more or less spicy but it was spicy! I used bone broth instead of chicken broth so I needed to add a little more salt to compensate for it’s blandness. My husband and I loved it! I will make this again.
The family loved it. I used boneless thighs! Great flavors!
This is a good recipe. It worked out perfectly for me. I think for those getting the “burn” notice, it may be because the rice isn’t throughly rinsed or all the bits on the bottom of the pan aren’t all up. That’s my take anyway.
Perfecto! Outstanding receipe!!! Cooked as per directions with no issues. I used Jasmine rice and use a ratio of 1:1 when cooking only rice. Your ratio was perfect for this receipe.
Thank you!
I am planning to make this recipe for dinner. Will there be any adverse consequences to the rice if the Instant Pot holds the meal on “Keep Warm” for 30-45 minutes?
Well there shouldn’t be, though I have not tried it personally.
I finished the meal in the IP. However, this is the first time that I got a Burn warning.
Here is my thought. When I preheated the pan in Saute mode and added the oil and put the chicken in, the chicken stuck pretty bad to the bottom of the inner pot.
My hypothesis is that it is the Saute temperature. There is no Saute temperature specified in the recipe, and my pot defaulted to High. But there are Low, Medium, and Custom settings for the Saute mode temperature.
Could this be why some people get burn warnings and others don’t? Because their Saute mode defaults to High?
I absolutely loved this meal! My family enjoyed it too. I had to force myself away from the rice, or I would have eaten all of the leftovers. The chicken was very moist and tender. I will fix this again, but Saute at a lower setting.
PS – there was enough rice left over that I am going to use it at the end of the week but add some Shrimp. The cooked rice reminds me of some fried rice I have eaten. If I add some shrimp and peas, we will have another meal.
I made this last night in my 8 quart Instant Pot Viva. I used Long Grain Basmati Rice and 5 bone in skin on chicken thighs. I followed the recipe exactly as it is listed and got the “Food Burn” notice. I immediately turned the steam valve to do a quick release. Once the pin dropped I took the lid off and although there was some seasoning residue stuck to the bottom of the pot the rice and chicken were cooked perfectly! I do think I was a little heavy handed on the seasoning but my family loved it and has requested it again for dinner tonight. This recipe is definitely a keeper and will be added to our dinner plan rotation.
Holy cow – this is delish! I am eating it right now and had to put down my fork to leave a comment. I followed the directions exactly but adjusted ingredients based on what I had – 1 cup of rice, 2 cups stock, boneless skinless thighs, lime juice instead of lemon, extra garlic, and fresh herbs from my garden (parsley, oregano, sage, rosemary). The rice came out perfectly and the whole dish is so flavorful. I served it with sautéed mushrooms and green beans. I’m obsessed! Thank you 🙂
Found this via a google search. From frozen chicken thighs to on the table in under an hour. I cooked a little longer due to being mostly frozen. . The 2 cups of broth was perfect. Used garlic salt in the broth. I will absolutely keep this recipe for future use.
How much time did you add for frozen?
Tried this recipe today and it turned out awesome. The flavor is amazing . I see it becoming a family favorite. Due to digestive issues I haven’t been able to find many recipes with much flavor,but this one is definitely a keeper. Thank you
Would the time chang for brown rice?
Yes. It will change.
what would the time adjustment be for brown rice?
I am sorry, I have not tried the recipe with brown rice.
I did last night!!! It was wonderful! I have moved this recipe from “recipes to try” to “Definitely Make Again”.
I only had 4 chicken thighs, so I used 1 cup brown rice and 2 1/4 cups of broth. Pressure for 9 min. I didn’t have any lime or lemon juice, so I put in a dash of Worcestershire Sauce. Probably could have done without it.
Next time I would put in 2 1/2 cups broth and set for at least 10 min pressure as the rice was just a tad bit underdone for my taste.
I took pictures, not sure how to post them. Looked great and SO good!
I got the burn notice too. Followed the recipe exactly. Bit I’ve been reading that perhaps the newer pots are triggering the burn notice more easily. It’s very frustrating. Next time I’ll try with a half cup more broth.
Update! The burn notice happened about 4 minutes after it came to pressure.so I let it sit until it naturally realeased, maybe 25 minutes. When I opened it, it was cooked perfectly. So good! There was a small scorched area, which caused the burn notice, but it was easily avoided. I really do think the new pots are getting too hot, and particularly in one spot. I have a 6 quart Ultra, purchased last fall. I get the burn notice with many recipes.
This was Absolutely Awesome!!! Made it today in my Instant Pot and it is now my favorite Chicken & Rice recipe ever! I did skip the Chili Powder and used long grain white rice because I was out of Basmati and it came out perfect! Thank You for this awesome recipe.
I am so glad that you liked it. Thank you!!
This was the second recipe that I made in my new InstantPot. I modified the spices a bit based on what I had in my cupboard and added mushrooms in with the onion to sauté. It was delicious! It went completely smoothly. I’m trying it again tonight and have run into an issue with the burn notice. The rice has basically cooked during the preheat phase but I’m having to finish cooking the chicken in the oven. I’m thinking it may be a combination of having sautéed longer this time and using frozen chicken which prolonged the preheat phase. I chalk it up to my learning process of using a PC, not the recipe as it worked perfectly the first time I made it. I love this recipe!
Thank you for trying the recipe. Glad that you liked it. Few of my readers are having the same issue of burn notice. Most of the time burn notice indicates that IP is heated for too long and doesn’t necessarily mean it has burnt at the bottom. I have been making different rice recipes using my IP and never got any burn notice. I am finding it hard to simulate and troubleshoot the issue.