Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice

5 from 1 vote

Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice

This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken and Rice is as easy as tossing everything in and pressing start. Dinner is ready in a flash and with so little effort it almost seems to good to be true!

Prep Time10

Cook Time25

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 492kcal

Author: Lorie Yarro

Ingredients

2 lb chicken breasts
1 c brown rice, uncooked
1 onion, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes
2 c chicken broth
1 ½ c cheddar cheese, shredded
½ T chili powder
1 ½ teaspoon cumin
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
Dash Hot sauce or smoked paprika (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
⅓ c Cilantro, chopped

Instructions

Add measured rice, chicken broth and garlic to the bottom of Instant Pot (or any pressure cooker) and stir to combine. Place chicken breasts in and season well with salt and pepper.
Top chicken with tomatoes, onion, chili powder, cumin and hot sauce (or smoked paprika) if desired. Gently mix the spices into the tomatoes.
Close and lock Instant pot and turn steam release to sealing.
Turn on to pressure cooker and set for 25 minutes. That's it! Walk away, read a book, chase the kids, whatever! It can take around 20 minutes for the pressure to build if using frozen chicken.
At the end of 25 minutes, do a quick release by moving the steam release to venting.
After steam has released completely, shred chicken (you can remove it with tongs to do this), add in cheese, and stir until melted. Top with lots of chopped cilantro.
Serve with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Notes

The recipe times are specific to brown rice. White rice cooks differently than brown rice so I don't recommend using it. The brown rice is specifically to balance things out if you use frozen chicken.
I have added some diced green pepper and even some jalapeño to the recipe and we enjoyed both quite a bit. Whatever your mood may be, feel free to add them!
Make sure you read your pressure cooker instructions and feel comfortable and confident using it. It's a good idea to do a water test first if this is the first time. The manual will typically have you do a test run by boiling water in your Instant Pot. It is super helpful just to get to know the sounds and how to work it.

Nutrition