Instant Pot Ranch chicken and rice with crispy bacon is a one-pot dinner. Juicy chicken breast and rice, perfectly seasoned with ranch seasoning.
This Ranch chicken and rice recipe in Instant pot is another favorite recipe after Garlic herb chicken and rice. Easy to make with a handful of ingredients, perfectly seasoned rice, and the chicken is juicy. This is a delicious one-pot dinner which both the kids and the adults will love.
It is versatile and you can modify the recipe as per your preference. Load it up with veggies or make it cheesy, it is totally up to you.
How to make
Ranch chicken and rice are simple and easy to put together. It is made from scratch without any canned soup etc. Cooking it in an Instant Pot makes the entire process quick.
It starts with cooking the bacon until crispy. Then sauté onion and garlic until softened and aromatic. Then goes the chicken, ranch seasoning, rice, and stock. And we are done.
When the pressure is off, add bacon, sour cream, and parsley.
I have used long-grain white rice, you could also use jasmine rice.
Possible Variations
What I love about this recipe is, it is extremely versatile. You can use chicken thigh instead of chicken breast.
The rice is fluffy and moist. The sour cream adds a nice tang and creaminess to the dish. If you want it more creamy and rich, then add ½ cup heavy cream to it.
Want to add veggies for a more filling meal, once the rice is done add steamed broccoli or cooked spinach.
If you would like to know more about cooking rice in an Instant Pot, then I have included a detailed troubleshooting guide here.
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Instant Pot Ranch Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 pound Boneless chicken breast cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 7-8 bacon slices
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- ⅓ cup ranch seasoning
- 8 ounce sour cream at room temperature and softend
- ¼ cup chopped parsley
Instructions
- Wash rice in a colander under running tap, until the water runs clear. Keep aside.
- Using a kitchen scissor to cut bacon into bite-sized pieces.
- Turn on instant pot and switch to 'Saute' mode.
- When the inner pot is hot cook bacon until crispy. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon, keep aside. Discard bacon fat.
- Keep the Instant pot in saute mode, add oil, and let it heat.
- Add chopped onion, minced garlic. Saute until the onion has softened, looks translucent.
- Add chicken breast, rice, ranch seasoning, pepper, and stock to the pot. Give everything a good stir. Check the seasoning and add more salt if required.
- Close the lid, and set the valve to sealing. Use the manual/pressure cook button and set the time to 8 minutes.
- It will take some time for the pot to come to full pressure and then the timer will start.
- Once the timer is off, let it rest/ naturally release pressure for 10 minutes. Then move the valve to release any remaining pressure.
- Open the lid carefully. Add sour cream, crispy bacon, and chopped parsley. Stir to combine. (ref note 1).
- Serve hot.
Notes
- We prefer the rice this way, but if you feel it is too dry for your liking, add ⅓-1/2 cup heavy cream and stir. The rice will be more creamy and wet consistency.
David says
Not sure if my last message went through - am I correct to assume the chicken is added raw or does it first need to be cooked? Thanks!
David
Subhasmita says
You can add it raw. It gets cooked with rice. Please do let me know how it turned out.
David says
Thank you so much, very excited for it and will let you know!
David says
Really looking forward to trying this recipe!
Does the chicken already have to be cooked when dropped into the instant pot with the other ingredients or is it fine raw and will cook with the whole meal? Is there a difference in taste/consistency if you do it either way? Thanks!
Mary Thomas says
The recipe calls for 1/2 cup ranch seasoning isn't that quite a bit of seasoning for one recipe? We want to try this recipe but concerned about this quantity of seasoning.
Subhasmita says
Hi Mary, I have corrected it to 1/3. Thanks for spotting it.