Instant Pot Chicken & Rice
This Instant Pot chicken and rice is an easy one-pot dinner made with juicy chicken thighs, fluffy rice, simple seasonings, and frozen vegetables. It's the kind of reliable, family-friendly meal you'll come back to on busy weeknights, and it's perfect for meal prep too!
Ingredients
- 6 skinless bone-in chicken thighs
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup long grain white rice rinsed thoroughly
- 1¾ cups chicken broth or water
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp dried thyme or Italian seasoning optional
- ½ cup frozen vegetables e.g. peas or veggie mix – added frozen
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to Sauté and add the olive oil. Once hot, sear the chicken thighs for 3-4 minutes per side until they're lightly golden. You don't need to cook them through at this stage. Transfer them to a plate.
- Press Cancel to turn off the heat. Add the rinsed rice, chicken broth, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and thyme, if using. Give everything a gentle stir.
- Scatter the frozen vegetables evenly over the rice. Don't stir them in.
- Arrange the chicken thighs on top, bone-side down. Again, don't press them into the rice or mix everything together.
- Secure the lid, set the valve to Sealing, and cook on High Pressure for 12 minutes.
- Once the cooking time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before carefully quick releasing the rest.
- Lift out the chicken, fluff the rice with a fork, then serve everything together while it's hot.