Instant Pot Chicken and Rice with Vegetables
This no-fuss Instant Pot Chicken and Rice with Vegetables recipe offers a wholesome and balanced main meal with succulent pieces of chicken, an assortment of veggies, light and fluffy rice, and seasoning.
Simply add the ingredients to the Instant Pot and let a few minutes pass before you’re ready to sit down to a comforting home-cooked meal!
If you want perfectly cooked rice every time, the Instant Pot is the way to go! I love the light and fluffy texture so much that I’ve cooked all types of rice and rice-based dishes thanks to my trusty Instant Pot. Have a look at my Instant Pot Chipotle Rice or Instant Pot Spanish Rice as tasty examples!
But today, instead of just rice, I’ve also added juicy chicken breasts and vibrant vegetables to the mix. It’s a balanced and satisfying meal for the family that you can whip up in less than 10 minutes!
WHY THIS INSTANT POT CHICKEN AND RICE WITH VEGGIES
- A wholesome and balanced meal that you and the family can enjoy in just 10 minutes!
- Enjoy this one-pot dish as is or serve it alongside a light salad or homemade breadsticks.
- The perfect freezer meal as leftovers will last for up to 3 months. Reheating in the Instant is also a breeze.
While it’s certainly possible to cook your rice separately from the rest of the ingredients, you will miss out on all those flavor infusions from the uncooked rice steaming in chicken stock, seasoning, chicken, and vegetables.
With a recipe this easy, there’s no point in making things more complicated or creating more dirty dishes to clean. I love the fact that I get to cook everything together with minimal effort or time – perfect for those busy and tiring midweek evenings!
INGREDIENT NOTES
- Chicken stock – You can use store-bought or homemade chicken stock or vegetable stock. Choose low-sodium if you need to reduce your sodium intake.
- Lemon juice – Freshly squeezed lemon juice is always best for flavor, but you can use bottled lemon juice instead, if needed.
- Herb seasoning – I love to use Herbes de Provence or Italian seasoning when making this Instant Pot chicken and rice dish.
- Garlic – Use freshly minced garlic for depth of flavor.
- Salt and pepper – Adjust to taste.
- Onion – One large onion, diced, is enough for this recipe. Yellow or white onion will work.
- Bell peppers – Feel free to use 2 different colors of bell peppers for an extra pop of color to your meal. This recipe is great with red, green, or yellow bell peppers, depending on your preferences. Just make sure that you deseed them before you dice them.
- Rice – Basmati rice is the best rice for this dish. Simply add the uncooked rice straight into the Instant Pot to cook with the rest of the ingredients.
- Chicken – Dice and cut 3 large chicken breasts into 1-inch cubes.
- Sweet corn – You can use leftover corn on the cob or canned sweet corn, drained of any liquid.
THE BEST TYPE OF RICE
Cooking rice in the Instant Pot is a serious time-saver and also allows the rice to cook in the delicious cooking liquids and seasonings called by that specific recipe.
I’ve used basmati rice for this Instant Pot chicken and rice with vegetables recipe, resulting in light and fluffy rice that pairs beautifully with the rest of the ingredients. It’s also ideal as basmati rice is one of the quickest types of rice to cook which means that you can cook it directly with the other ingredients and not have to worry that it needs a longer time in the Instant Pot.
You could use Jasmine rice or white sushi rice in this dish which requires about 3-5 minutes of cooking time, however brown rice will take about 20 minutes which is too long to cook with the chicken and vegetables.
MORE RICE COOKING TIPS
Not all rice cooks equally! White rice like basmati and jasmine rice only needs 3 minutes in the Instant Pot, while brown rice needs about 20 minutes. And yes, you guessed it…the darker the rice, the longer the cook time! Wild rice, for example, will take 30 minutes to cook through in the Instant Pot.
That ‘helpful’ rice button on your Instant Pot is only really suitable for regular long-grain white rice, such as basmati or jasmine rice. It won’t work for any other type of rice, and I always prefer to just set my own high-pressure cooking times.
When cooking rice in the Instant Pot alone, I recommend that you use the natural release instead of the quick release so that the rice is light and fluffy. The quick release can sometimes result in sticky and mushy rice. That slightly longer cook time from the natural release guarantees the perfect texture every time.
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS
- Refrigeration: Store leftover Instant Pot chicken and rice with vegetables in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days.
- Reheat: Reheat this Instant Pot chicken and rice dish in a pan over medium-low heat with a splash of stock or water to loosen it. It can also be reheated in the microwave or in the Instant Pot. Follow my suggestion of how to reheat rice-based dishes in the Instant Pot in the FAQ section below.
- Freezer: This dish is the perfect freezer meal, lasting for up to 3 months in an airtight container or freezer-safe bag. Thaw in the fridge to reheat.
MORE INSTANT POT MAIN MEALS
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice with Vegetables
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice with Veggies offers a balanced dinner with juicy chicken, a mix of veggies, light and fluffy rice, and seasoning.
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence or Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 bell peppers, deseeded and diced
- 1 cup white basmati rice, rinsed and drained
- 3 large chicken breasts, diced and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 2 cups sweet corn kernels
Instructions
- Add in your chicken stock, Herbs De Provence, Salt, pepper, lemon juice, and garlic and mix it up. Now toss in your onions and peppers.
- Pour in your basmati rice, diced chicken, and close the lid on your Instant Pot. Make sure the valve is set to seal.
- Do manual high pressure 4 minutes with a quick release.
- Once you open the lid and pour in your corn and just place the lid on to help warm the rice. Let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Remove lid and give your rice recipe a stir and serve up. Top with more Herbs de Provence and green onions on your chicken and rice.
- This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is one of my favorite weeknight dinners that is so easy to make and requires minimal ingredients.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
No. The Instant Pot seals in the moisture which prevents evaporation during cooking, unlike stovetop cooking. You may, however, need to increase the cook time when you want to cook brown rice, wild rice, or a darker rice variety.
Yes, you can! Place the leftover rice in a heat-proof glass container. Place the trivet in the Instant Pot with a cup of water and position the rice container on the trivet. Seal the Instant Pot and reheat the rice for 5 minutes using the steam function. Use the quick pressure release and now you have delicious reheated rice!
Some say yes and some say no, so it seems that this is more about personal preference than it affecting how the rice cooks. If you do decide to rinse the rice before cooking it, make sure to drain it well in a fine mesh strainer before you add it to the Instant Pot.
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