Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice – Step by Step Video

This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe is a delicious one-pot meal. You would swear that this easy wild rice and chicken recipe took all day to make but cooks in less than 30 minutes.

Moist and tender chicken is mixed with creamy risotto-like wild rice and some beautiful veggies. This recipe is thick like an instant pot chicken and wild rice casserole.

This recipe has been updated. I’ve added some instructions and tips that I believe will make it easier to follow. No changes were made to the actual recipe. I hope you will enjoy making it and eating it as much as we do.

Had I known how easy it is to use my instant pot, I would have shown it a little love sooner. Where do I start? What should I make first? Instant pot wild rice and chicken is a great place to start!

Yay, I got an instant pot! That was me a few years ago and then it sat on a shelf. Why? Because I didn’t want to take the time to figure out how to use the darned thing.

Do you do this too or do you dive right in?

My sister just got an instant pot and she was so happy when she made mashed potatoes in a jiffy. I told her that I’d made a creamy chicken and rice instant pot recipe

She started asking me a ton of questions and said it would be helpful to have a video showing the steps I used to make this chicken and wild rice instant pot recipe.

First I’m going to tell you a little bit about this easy instant pot chicken and rice recipe and then I’ll share a lot of information about the instant pot. If you’re already a pro, this chicken wild rice instant pot recipe will be a cinch for you!

Chicken and Wild Rice Recipe

Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe Ingredients

• Chicken breasts, boneless and skinless. You can use bone-in but it will require you to cook your chicken and your rice separately.
• Rice – I used a wild rice blend. You can substitute with brown rice.
• Vegetables – Carrots, onions, and celery are what I used. You can use what you like including zucchini, peas, broccoli, or cauliflower. Make sure that they’re diced so that they will cook at the same rate as the other ingredients.
• Chicken broth – Canned or homemade. I use a low-fat, low-sodium variety.
• Seasonings – I used thyme, salt, and pepper. You could use whatever you choose. Rosemary or a spice blend such as Italian or Mediterranean would be delicious.

How To Cook Chicken and Rice in an Instant Pot

Feel free to use these instructions as a checklist for the perfect chicken and rice instant pot recipe.

1. Assemble all of your ingredients. Chop up your vegetables.
2. Lay the vegetables over the bottom of the instant pot.
3. Top the vegetables with the chicken and then add the rice.
4. Pour the chicken broth over all of the ingredients.
5. Sprinkle with seasonings.
6. Close the instant pot lid and set the pressure valve to “seal”. Set the manual function for 15 minutes.
7. When the time is complete, turn the instant pot off and allow it to naturally release for 10 minutes. Manually release the remaining pressure by opening up the pressure valve.
   1. I use a wooden spoon and keep my face at a distance. Hot steam can burn you.
8. Open up the lid. Shred the chicken. I remove it to a cutting board using two forks. Stir the chicken and rice together and serve.

Note: when cooking rice in the instant pot, the ratio is 1 cup of liquid to 1 cup of rice. I added additional liquid to this recipe to assure the chicken was moist. If you find your rice is sticky or mushy, reduce the liquid to 1 cup.

Frequently asked questions

Pro TIPS

• I always make a lot more than we can eat in one meal. I’ll put the extra amount we need for quick chicken and wild rice dinner in a zip-lock freezer bag and lay it flat on a baking sheet in the freezer.
  • The bags can be removed from the baking sheet once they’re frozen. You can stack the bags or put them in the freezer door.
• You can easily make this rice and chicken instant pot recipe into a chicken and wild rice soup by adding more broth. As is it’s more like an instant pot chicken and wild rice casserole.
• Use a timer anytime you make pressure cooker chicken and wild rice recipes. Recipes can get overcooked easily.
• Make sure that you seal the pressure valve. It’s easy to overlook that step. You’ll lose your steam and the instant pot will have difficulty coming up to temperature.
• Leave out the chicken and make a wild rice instant pot side dish recipe. Reduce the liquid to 1 cup of liquid to 1 cup of rice.

Products I use to make Insta Pot Chicken and Wild Rice:

The following are affiliate links. Hostess At Heart is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.  You can read my full disclosure. 

• Instant Pot – I really recommend this Instant Pot. It has been so easy getting to know. I have the 8-quart size but the 6-quart size would be adequate for most recipes.
• Chef’s Knife – This is my favorite knife and the one I use 99.9% of the time. It’s an investment but treated right will be like new for years to come. I consider it an investment into what I love and what’s more important than that?

What to Serve with Instant Pot Chicken and Wild rice recipe

A cool and creamy salad such as our Cherry Fluff Salad or Fruit Cocktail Salad would be quick and easy. Don’t forget a nice crusty bread such as easy-to-make Batard Bread.

It’s easy to make once you’ve done it, but I had some questions that I had and worked through.

Since I was cooking a recipe that had a variety of ingredients I knew I couldn’t just plug it in and go.

Common Instant Pot Questions

I own an 8qt Instant Pot. This recipe works perfectly in a 6 qt too. I’ve noticed that newer models of the Instant Pot now call the Manual button Pressure. They perform the same.

8qt and 6qt Instant Pot Control Panels

Common questions about cooking chicken in an Instant Pot.

1. What functions do I need to use?
   • 1. Manual 2. Keep Warm
2. Does the cooking time include the time it takes to heat up and release pressure?
   • No – Countdown starts when the pot reaches pressure. The fuller the pot the longer it will take to come up to pressure. When the timer goes off, the pot will go into the keep warm function and start the natural pressure release. Again, the fuller the pot the longer it will take to release the pressure.
3. What is Pressure release? How do you do it? How do I know which method to use? Keep reading.

What Operation Functions do I need to know right now about my Instant Pot?

• Preheat – After you set the cook time, it will take about 10 seconds to begin. The control panel will show “ON“. The cooking time appears and will begin the countdown when the pressure is reached. Don’t Freak out thinking your pot isn’t working or that you have failed Instant Pot 101 (like I did)! Also, it is NORMAL to see a little steam escape from the top as the pot comes under pressure. Just make sure your pressure release valve is in the “sealing” position.
• Keep Warm/Cancel Key – When the cooking time is reached the pot will beep and display L000. That is the Keep Warm function. Pressing the button will cancel any of the programs and takes the pot to standby.
• Pressure Release – The Instant Pot lid will not open when it’s under pressure – the float valve (red button) on top of the lid will be in the up position. There are three ways to release this pressure.
  1. Quick-release – releases pressure instantly by pressing Cancel and then turning the pressure release valve to the Venting position. Be careful not to stand over the pot when doing this. I use a wooden spoon to push it so I don’t get burned by hot steam! You don’t have to hold it. Just push it until it stays open. The float valve (little red button on top) will go down when the pressure is released and allow you to open the lid.
  2. Natural release – After the time countdown, the Instant Pot will beep. Press Cancel and let the pressure release on its own. The pressure button (little red button on top) will go down when the pressure is released and allow you to open the lid. This can take 20 minutes or more.
  3. 10-minute Natural Release – Let the Instant Pot go into the Keep Warm mode and set a timer for 10 minutes. Then press Cancel and release the steam like you would on the Quick release. I use this method most often.

Why did I use the Manual (pressure) function key? Since I’m using a variety of ingredients I knew I could program it to all finish at the right time using the Manual function. I use it 90% of the time.

When you make soup using the Soup function key the liquid will never go into the heavy boil state and the chicken will remain intact. I actually wanted mine to break down so I didn’t use it.

The Meat/Stew function will strip meat from the bone so it could be used if you are using bone-in meat. Since I was cooking rice and vegetables with my meat I didn’t use this function.

How do I figure out the time my recipes will use? Consult the manual. The time is calculated based on the longest item in the pot. For this recipe, it’s rice.

Cooking times reference – Sarah over at Instant Pot Life has some very handy reference sheets that you can keep handy for whatever you want to cook in your Instant Pot.

If you liked this recipe here are a few more I think you’ll enjoy

• Simple Asian Rice – Instant Pot Recipe
• Instant Pot Pork Green Chili with Beans
• Healthier Chicken Pot Pie Soup Recipe
• Gingerbread Bundt Cake with Maple Glaze

Be sure to stop back and tell me how your instant pot chicken and wild rice turned out.

I hope this easy Chicken and Rice recipe will get your instant pot off of the shelf and show you how easy it is to use. If this recipe doesn’t this Instant Pot Pulled Pork Taco recipe and our 4-ingredient Tomatillo Rice surely will!