Instant Pot Seasoned Chicken and Rice

Make perfect Instant Pot Chicken Thighs and Rice with this simple recipe! Season and sear chicken thighs and then cook with rice under high pressure for a quick and easy meal.

Make an easy chicken and rice recipe in your instant pot

I’ve come a long way in my instant pot journey in just a few short months. I used to think it was only good for some shredded chicken or pork, but now I want to make all things in my instant pot. Including some one pan meals like this instant pot seasoned chicken and rice.

Through many trials and errors I perfected making rice in my instant pot. Then I decided to up my game and make the chicken and rice at the same time. The result is truly wonderful.

The seasoned chicken is moist and flavorful. The rice is still fluffy yet almost creamy like risotto. The two together are truly wonderful especially when served with some roasted veggies like Brussels sprouts.

This is a great recipe to make for meal prep! It makes A LOT of rice so I use it as a way to make super flavorful rice that I can use all week long!!

Kitchen tools

• Small mixing bowl
• Instant Pot or any other pressure cooker
• Mixing spoon
• Fine mesh strainer
• Measuring spoons and measuring cups
• Liquid measuring cup

There are a few things you need to know before you attempt this instant pot seasoned chicken and rice. The size of instant pot matters. I have an 8 qt instant pot and I was able to fit 4 chicken thighs in mine comfortably. If you have a smaller instant pot or larger thighs, you may only be able to fit 3 in the pot.

ingredients

• Chicken thighs
• Smoked paprika
• Black pepper
• Dried oregano
• Cumin
• Oil
• Yellow onion
• Long grain brown rice
• Chicken broth or chicken stock

Ingredient substituions

I like to make this chicken and recipe recipe with bone in skin on chicken thighs. They are very juicy when cooked under pressure. You can use boneless chicken thighs instead if you prefer.

You can use chicken breast but it will not be as moist. I prefer any type of chicken thigh for this instant pot chicken and rice.

You can add some diced celery and diced carrot to the diced onion for more flavor. I like to use chicken broth to flavor the rice, but you can use vegetable broth instead.

I use long grain brown rice to cook with these instant pot chicken thighs. You can also use white rice, but it should always be long grain rice in order for the cook time to be accurate.

You must rinse your rice before cooking it. I made this mistake before and the result is hard and undercooked rice. Giving your rice that nice soaking before cooking allows it to cook evenly with the chicken.

Should i use fresh or frozen chicken?

I prefer to use fresh chicken thighs, but you can also use frozen chicken thighs. Allow the chicken thighs to thaw in the fridge or freezer on the counter.

It is important to use fully thawed chicken for this recipe. You want the chicken to come to an internal temperature of 165F once cooked.

how to make instant pot chicken thighs and rice

Step 1: season and sear chicken thighs

To make this instant pot seasoned chicken and rice start by combining paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin in a small bowl. Season chicken thighs on all sides with this seasoning mixture.

Turn instant pot on to sauté and pour in the avocado oil. When the oil is hot add the chicken thighs to the instant pot and brown them for 3 minutes on each side.

While the chicken is cooking rinse your rice until the water runs clean. It is important to make sure the rice is thoroughly rinsed. Remove the browned chicken from the instant pot and add the diced onion.

Step 2: sauté onions and rinse rice

Sauté onions in the instant pot until soft and fragrant. This will take about 3 minutes.

While you sauté the onions scrape up the “flavor bits” left over from the chicken.

Next, turn the instant pot off and pour in water and chicken broth to deglaze the pan. Then, add the rice.

Make sure rice lays in an even layer along the bottom of the instant pot. Arrange chicken thighs on top of rice with the skin side up.

Step 3: cook under high pressure

Close the lid and set instant pot vent to sealing. Then, set it to manual high pressure for 3 minutes.

When the instant pot is done cooking hit the off button and allow the pressure to release naturally – wait for the metal pin to drop, this can take up to 20 minutes. After the pin drops, open the instant pot, remove the chicken thighs and fluff the rice. Enjoy immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days

Storage and reheating

Allow the chicken and rice recipe to cool completely. Store in air tight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheat in the microwave or toasted oven until the chicken is just warmed through. I like to reheat the chicken and rice separately.

Check out these other delicious instant Pot recipes

• Creamy Chicken and Brown Rice Soup
• Instant Pot Salmon and Rice
• Short Rib Ragu
• Instant Pot Tomato Soup

Keep reading to find the whole recipe. As always, if you make this recipe, please let me know in the comments or on Instagram!

Recipe

Instant Pot Seasoned Chicken and Rice

★★★★★ 5 from 6 reviews

Cook dinner in no time at all with this instant pot chicken thighs and rice recipe

Recipe By: Madeline

Prep: 15 minCook: 45 minutesTotal: 1 hour

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Servings: 4 servings 1x

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Ingredients

• 4 bone-in skin on chicken thighs
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 yellow onion – diced
• 2 cups long grain brown rice
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup chicken broth

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Instructions

1. Combine smoked paprika, salt, pepper, oregano and cumin in a small bowl. Season chicken thighs on all sides with the seasoning mixture
2. Turn instant pot on saute mode. Pour in oil. Add seasoned chicken thighs to hot oil.
3. Brown chicken thighs for 3 minutes on each side and remove from instant pot. Pour diced onions into the instant pot and saute until soft and fragrant – about 5 minutes.
4. While you saute the onions, rinse the brown rice thoroughly. Rinse until the water is clear.
5. Turn the saute mode off. Pour the water and chicken broth into the instant pot followed by the rice. Make sure that the rice is covered with the liquid. Place the seared chicken thighs on top of the rice.
6. Close the instant pot and set the vent to sealing. Set the instant pot to manual high pressure for 3 minutes. When the instant pot is done cooking, turn it off and allow the pressure to release naturally – wait for the metal pin to drop completely, this can take up to 20 minutes.
7. Open the instant pot and remove the chicken thighs. Stir the rice and place the lid back on the instant pot to allow the rice to steam for another few minutes. Remove the lid and fluff the rice. Serve with the chicken and some veggies!

** This recipe makes a large amount of cooked brown rice. I like to serve it immediately with the chicken and then the leftovers with other meals!

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.