Southern Style Creamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot chicken and rice is your favorite creamy, cheesy casserole comfort food, except it’s made faster and easier in the Instant Pot pressure cooker!
Instant Pot creamy chicken and rice casserole is the perfect, stick-to-your-ribs home cooked dinner! You’ll love how easy it is!
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Updated September 5, 2024 with new photos and more detailed instructions.
Growing up in the south, we enjoyed our fair share of delicious food at church potluck dinners.
There was always a smattering of casseroles on the plastic tablecloth-lined tables that spanned the church’s fellowship hall, along with fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, southern style green beans, potato salad, and more.
Southern style casseroles have always held a special place in my heart, especially when they are creamy, delicious, and full of flavor.
I mean, isn’t a casserole the ultimate comfort food?
That’s why I know this creamy Instant Pot chicken and rice is going to be a hit with your family–I’m betting it’s going to be one of your favorite Instant Pot chicken dinner recipes!
More Instant Pot Recipe Inspiration for Chicken and Rice:
- Instant Pot French Onion Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli, and Rice
- Instant Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken and Wild Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice a Roni
Southern Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole
Making your favorite comfort foods in the Instant Pot is a great way to keep life simple.
I’ve made Instant Pot chicken pot pie, Instant Pot chicken with noodles, Instant Pot chicken and stuffing, and pressure cooker chicken and dumplings, so chicken and rice was a must-have, too!
The best Instant Pot chicken and rice recipes are the ones that are easy to make yet bring about a sense of warmth and comfort when you eat them!
Chicken and rice casserole has been one of my favorites over the years, and while there are many different variations.
Most are based on the same premise–white rice and tender chicken wrapped in a creamy sauce.
Sometimes it’s topped with crushed crackers or cornflakes, sometimes it’s topped with shredded cheese that gets melted to perfection.
This recipe for chicken and rice in the Instant Pot uses cream of chicken soup (homemade or canned) and shredded cheese to make that delicious sauce.
A few months ago, I came across this crock pot chicken and rice recipe from Julie at Back to My Southern Roots.
If you don’t follow her already, you totally should–she has so many southern goodies on her site.
I decided to convert the slow cooker recipe into a pressure cooker recipe, and made some adaptations to the recipe along the way.
But let me tell you, the final result of the Instant Pot version was delicious!
Want a recipe for your oven? Try my creamy chicken and rice casserole recipe!
Chicken and Rice in the Instant Pot with Cream of Chicken Soup
It’s so creamy and cheesy, and while it’s not exactly the “prettiest” casserole (but really, what casserole is?), it is a super tasty meal that your family is sure to love!
Not only is it delicious, but it’s SO easy to make in the Instant Pot.
It’s perfect paired with southern style green beans and homemade dinner rolls (did you know you can use the Instant Pot to proof dough?)!
You end up with a one-pot meal that tastes amazing and doesn’t require a ton of effort.
More Tips for Making Instant Pot Rice:
- Failproof Instant Pot Brown Rice
- Easy Instant Pot White Rice
- Perfectly Easy Instant Pot Basmati Rice
- Fragrant Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
How to Make Creamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
It’s actually quite easy to whip up this homemade classic for an easy dinner on your busy nights.
Ingredients You’ll Need:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Uncooked long grain white rice
- Chicken broth
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Black pepper
- Homemade cream of chicken soup (or condensed cream of chicken, if preferred)
- Shredded cheese (I use Colby Jack)
How to Make it:
(Full printable recipe card is available below)
Combine ingredients. You’ll start with a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts.
Cut them each into two or three uniform pieces and place them into the insert pot of your Instant Pot.
Add in some white rice and chicken broth to the inner pot, along with some garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper.
Pressure cook. Cook that at high pressure for 3 minutes. When the cooking time is complete allow a natural release of pressure.
Once the natural pressure release is complete and the valve has dropped, remove the chicken and shred or chop it as desired.
Then fluff the rice and return the juicy chicken to the insert pot.
Stir in some cream of chicken soup until combined.
Add some shredded cheese and stir with a wooden spoon until melted, and voila–dinner is ready!
Notes and Adaptations for Creamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice:
- I use homemade cream of chicken soup, because it’s a cinch to make and it really adds a lot of flavor. However, you can substitute a can of cream of chicken soup mixed with a can of water if you prefer.
- I liked having the shredded cheese melted into the chicken and rice, but if you’re counting calories, you can omit the cheese and it will still be very flavorful.
- I wait to add the cream of chicken and the cheese until after pressure cooking, so nothing sticks to the bottom of the Instant Pot and causes a Burn notice.
- If you want to add a topping (crushed crackers, cornflakes, or cheese), just transfer the chicken and rice mixture to a baking dish after it has cooked, top as desired, and pop it in the oven until the topping is crisp or melted.
- Leftovers can be frozen! Just transfer any leftovers to a freezer safe container, cool to room temperature, and freeze. Otherwise, store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-5 days.
- You can substitute pulled rotisserie chicken if you’d like (keep the cook time the same).
- I wouldn’t recommend using brown rice, because it takes a good bit longer to cook than white rice. The white rice has a similar cook time to the chicken, making them ideal to cook together. If you cook the chicken and brown rice together, the chicken will be overcooked by the time the brown rice is finished. You’d have to cook them separately, and that kind of negates the convenience factor of this meal!
Recommended Equipment:
- Instant Pot (I have the DUO60 model and love it!)
Creamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot chicken and rice is your favorite creamy, cheesy casserole comfort food, except it's made faster and easier in the Instant Pot pressure cooker!
Ingredients
- 2 medium-large boneless skinless chicken breasts, each cut into three uniform pieces
- 2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
- 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups homemade cream of chicken soup (or 1 can condensed soup mixed with 1 can water or milk)
- 1 cup shredded cheese (I use Colby Jack)
Instructions
- Place chicken pieces into the bottom of the insert pot of an Instant Pot. Top with white rice.
- Pour broth over the rice, ensuring it is covered.
- Sprinkle in garlic and onion powder, as well as black pepper.
- Place lid on Instant Pot and set the vent to the sealed position. Select a 3 minute cook time at high pressure using the Manual/Pressure Cook setting.
- Once cook time has completed, allow a natural pressure release. Once pressure has released and valve has dropped, carefully remove lid.
- Remove chicken pieces and fluff rice with a fork. Shred or chop chicken as desired and return to the insert pot.
- Stir in the cream of chicken soup until combined. Then stir in 1 cup of shredded cheese until melted.
Notes
- I use homemade cream of chicken soup, because it's a cinch to make and it really adds a lot of flavor. However, you can substitute a can of cream of chicken soup mixed with a can of water if you prefer.
- I liked having the shredded cheese melted into the chicken and rice, but if you're counting calories, you can omit the cheese and it will still be very flavorful.
- If you want to add a topping (crushed crackers, cornflakes, or cheese), just transfer the chicken and rice mixture to a baking dish after it has cooked, top as desired, and pop it in the oven until the topping is crisp or melted.
- Leftovers can be frozen! Just transfer any leftovers to a freezer safe container, cool to room temperature, and freeze.
- You can substitute pulled rotisserie chicken if you'd like (keep the cook time the same).
- I wouldn't recommend using brown rice, because it takes a good bit longer to cook than white rice. The white rice has a similar cook time to the chicken, making them ideal to cook together. If you cook the chicken and brown rice together, the chicken will be overcooked by the time the brown rice is finished. You'd have to cook them separately, and that kind of negates the convenience factor of this meal!
Adapted from Back to My Southern Roots
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 253Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 58mgSodium: 804mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 20g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
More Delicious Instant Pot Dinners You’re Sure to Love:
- Instant Pot Mississippi Chicken
- Hearty Pressure Cooker Beef Stew
- Pressure Cooker Chicken Fettucine Alfredo
- Instant Pot Cheeseburger Macaroni
- Instant Pot Chili Mac
Be sure to save this recipe to your Instant Pot board on Pinterest!
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Hi Chrysti,
It looks good! But I don’t like too much creamy. What can I do?
Hi Joseph! You can leave out the cream of chicken soup all together and just stir in some cheese at the end (and maybe some additional seasonings), or keep the soup in but leave out the cheese. I’d probably go the second route, personally, but either would still be good.
So you don’t add any liquid before pressure cooking?
Hi Erin! The 2.5 cups of chicken broth are added to the rice and chicken before pressure cooking. Hope that helps! 🙂
Can you use frozen chicken and if so, how would that change the cook time?
Hi Meg! I haven’t tried this recipe with frozen chicken. It usually takes a frozen chicken breast about 10-13 minutes to cook, which is a good bit longer than the rice requires, so I’d be afraid that increasing the cook time to accommodate frozen chicken could overcook the rice. I think if I were going to use frozen chicken, I’d probably use frozen chicken tenders, since their cook time would be closer to that of rice–I’d probably try a 5 minute cook time with frozen tenders. You could also cook the frozen chicken separately first, then remove the chicken and proceed with the recipe as written. I hope that helps–if you try it, I’d love to know how it goes! 🙂
Can you use chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts?
Hi Jessica! Yes, you can use the same cook time for boneless thighs. Enjoy! 🙂
I plan on making this for my dad and father in law. I’ll be putting them into little foil containers so they can reheat them easy. What temp would you set the oven to and how long do you think it would take to reheat?
Hi Andrea! What a thoughtful idea! I would probably reheat them at 350F. The length of time could vary a tad, depending on how big the foil pan is and whether or not it just came out of the fridge, but I’d guess probably 10-20 minutes should be sufficient. I hope they enjoy it! 🙂
How long does the natural release usually take with this recipe?
Hi Hannah–I’d allow about 15 minutes for the natural release. If you’re in a hurry, you could just allow a 10-minute NR followed by a quick release.
Thanks!! I too was wondering about the Natural release!!!
Could you use the mini lux instant pot for this recipe & if so should I adjust the time?
That’s a great question! The 3-quart Instant Pots typically operate at a slightly lower pressure than the larger ones, and they reach pressure faster. I haven’t tested this recipe in a smaller cooker, but I would recommend adding a couple of minutes to the cook time due to the pot reaching pressure faster and running at a slightly lower pressure. I hope that helps! 🙂
I would suggest a longer time because 3 minutes doesn’t cook the rice all the way through. And if using the canned soup don’t add the water with it.
Thanks for your suggestions, Monica!
How long would you cook if you were to double the recipe?
Hi Jenny! I’d use the same cook time. It may take a little longer to achieve pressure and to release pressure, but the cook time can stay the same. 🙂
Love this. Have made it multiple times. Keeps getting better. Thanks
Thank you, Susan! I’m so glad you are enjoying it! 🙂
If using chicken that is already cooked, would you wait to put it in and just cook the rice alone? I’m a newbie to the Instant Pot.
Hi Carey! Yes, I’d add the chicken afterward if it’s already cooked. I hope that helps! 🙂
What if you dont have chicken broth?
Hi Dawn! You could use vegetable broth or some chicken bouillon (with water) if you have it handy. If not, you could use plain water, but you’ll likely need to add some extra salt so it isn’t too bland. If you have a chunk of onion or rib of celery, you could add that into the water while it cooks to give it some extra flavor (then remove those after cooking). Hope that helps–enjoy! 🙂
I am making this right now as my first Insta Pot “meal”. I already made eggs and brownies. My house smells wonderful. Thank you so much for being so exact in your explanations. I am excited to serve this to my family. It is funny that the steamed broccoli will take longer than the entrée.
You are on a roll, Jennifer! I’m so glad you found the recipe easy to follow, and I hope you and your family enjoy it as much as mine does! 🙂
I made this last night and the flavor was very good. The rice was a bit crunchy though. I followed the recipe exactly and did a NPR for 21 minutes until my pin dropped. Is there something else I should’ve done to the rice?
Hi Shannon! I’m sorry the rice was still a bit crunchy–I’m not totally sure what could have happened! My first thought was that maybe the IP was set to low pressure instead of high. If that’s not the case, I’m wondering if maybe it was the type of rice used? I just use plain long-grain white rice, but if you use another variety of white rice such as jasmine or basmati rice, those do require a slightly longer cook time and a tad more liquid. At any rate, next time, you could add a little more liquid and maybe another couple minutes cook time to see if that helps!
Made this dish this week. I added 1/2 block of cream cheese instead of shredded! Yum! Me and my hubby enjoyed it. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
I bet cream cheese is a tasty addition, Ashlee–thank you for the idea! I’m so glad you enjoyed this dish! 🙂
I made this last night and it was delicious. I had to substitute a pouch of Velveeta cheese sauce because I forgot to get cheese at the store. LOL! It came out very creamy. Loved it!
Great way to be resourceful, Ken! I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
How would you make this in a regular pot on the stove?
Hi Tina–I haven’t tried making it on the stove, so I can’t say for sure, but I would probably try cooking the rice and chicken together (using the amount of liquid recommended on the package of the rice), then add the cream of chicken soup and cheese after cooking. I hope that helps! 🙂
Hi! I already have some rice cooked that I’d like to use with this recipe–to cook the chicken without the rice, would I just do what your recipe says without putting in the rice? Or would I need to use less broth or make other adjustments? Thanks!
Hi Hallie! I haven’t tried it with pre-cooked rice, but I’d recommend decreasing the amount of liquid if you are cooking the chicken without the rice. I’d do 1 cup of liquid with the chicken and keep the cook time the same. Once it’s cooked, I think you could probably discard most of the cooking liquid, shred the chicken, add in the cooked rice, seasonings, and cream of chicken soup, then the cheese. You may want to warm up the rice before adding it in, so the cheese will melt easier. I hope that helps! 🙂
I”m going to make this tonight and adding canned diced green chiles to it for some spunk. I’m going to add them after cooking so they don’t just melt in I think. Hope it comes out ok 🙂
That sounds delicious, Dianna–great way to “spice” it up a bit! Enjoy! 🙂
Can you add the cream of chicken with the broth at the beginning and cook it in the pot or do you have to add it at the end. I’m new to pressure cooking. When I do crockpot meals I add it sr the beginning and let it cook but wasn’t sure if it would work here. Thanks!
Hi Jennifer! That’s a great question. As a general rule of thumb, I try to add dairy-containing ingredients after cooking, because the high heat of pressure cooking can cause some dairy to curdle. Since my homemade cream of chicken soup contains dairy, I usually add it last just to be on the safe side. However, that being said, I have more recently tested another recipe where I added canned cream of chicken soup before cooking, and as long as the soup is whisked well into the broth (so it’s diluted), it works just fine and doesn’t curdle! I haven’t tested it yet with the homemade cream of chicken soup being added prior to cooking, so I can’t say for sure how it would work, but I think the principle should hold true that as long as it’s well diluted, and since it’s just a small bit of dairy in the soup (and not like a whole block of cream cheese or a lot of heavy cream), it should work fine. I hope that helps! 🙂
Made this last night and it was so good! Thank you!
Hi Jeanne! Thank you so much for your sweet comment–I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed it! 🙂
I really want to make this tonight but I have an 8 qt instant pot, how would I adjust the recipe for that?
Thank you in advance!
Hi Makensie! No need to make any adjustments–it should work just fine in your 8-quart model. Enjoy! 🙂
I keep getting a burn notice. I’ve tried multiple times and I get a burn notice, rice scorched to the bottom of the instant pot, and eventually end up on the stove. What am I doing wrong?
Hi Stephanie! I’m so sorry to hear that–so frustrating! There are a couple of things that could be going wrong. I know it sounds simple, but make sure your pot is sealed well. Accidentally leaving the vent open or not having a good seal with your silicone ring can cause the pot to boil too long, allowing liquid to evaporate and resulting in scorching. Also be sure to not add the cream of chicken soup during the pressure cooking. If that’s not the problem, it could be that you need a little bit more liquid. For some reason, some IP models seem to be more prone to the burn notice than others. In this case, adding an extra 1/4-1/2 cup of broth wouldn’t hurt, just to be sure it has enough liquid to keep things from scorching. I hope that helps!
Do you think I can use cream of mushroom soup instead of cream of chicken?
Hi Debbie! That should work fine. Enjoy! 🙂