An unbelievably savory dish of perfectly seasoned brown rice with tender and juicy chicken thighs. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes to make in the Instant Pot. In fact, whenever people ask me what they should make when they first get an instant Pot, this is the recipe I recommend.
Chicken Thighs are Perfect for Instant Pot Cooking
Chicken thighs are an excellent meal to make in an Instant Pot. They hold up great to pressure cooking and don’t need to be shredded to enjoy. For this recipe we use 4 bone-in, skin on chicken thighs with a simple seasoning mix that gives it a wonderful and traditional roasted chicken flavor. And we can enjoy the chicken with a knife and fork.
Sear the Seasoned Chicken First
Another great thing about an Instant Pot is that you can saute. This means we can season our chicken thighs and seal in all the flavor before we pressure cook it. The chicken will be seasoned with some classic chicken seasonings – fresh thyme, paprika, garlic powder, salt and some lemon juice. If using dry thyme, use about half the amount. Mix the dry spices together with the lemon juice and rub it all over the chicken thighs. Then we heat the oil on “saute” mode and when hot, we sear each side of the chicken thighs for 2-3 minutes each. When searing, don’t move them around. As the chicken sears, it will begin to loosen from the bottom of the pot.
After the chicken is seared, remove them and set aside on a plate. Continuing in the saute mode Add the butter and chopped onion. Saute for about 2-3 minutes or until they start to become translucent. Then add in the garlic and stir another minute. Don’t let the garlic saute too long. It will start to burn after about a minute or so. Press cancel to stop the saute mode.
Now, pour in about a ¼ cup of the chicken broth and use a wooden and scrape the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. This is called deglazing. It’s important to get it all up. Next, add the remaining broth and stir in the rice (drained and rinsed). Add the chicken thighs on top of the rice, secure the lid with the vent set to the sealing position, and pressure cook (manual setting on some pots) on high pressure for 18 minutes. After the 18 minutes are up, we let the pressure naturally release for 15 minutes. Then remove the chicken to a plate and let the rice sit in the Instant Pot, with the lid off, for about 5 minutes. It will continue to absorb the liquid and thicken to perfection. As an option, you can place the chicken under the broiler of your oven for about 5 minutes to crisp up the skin. It’s worth the time!
Best Damn Instant Pot Chicken and Brown Rice
- Total Time: About 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Description
A savory recipe for chicken thighs and brown rice for your Instant Pot. One of the easiest and best recipes to show off how good an Instant Pot recipe can be!
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in chicken thighs with skin
- 1 cup long grain brown rice
- 1 ¼ cup chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ⅓ cup chopped onion
- chopped parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Mix lemon juice, thyme, salt, pepper, paprika and garlic powder; season chicken thighs with mixture.
- Set Instant Pot to saute mode and add oil. Once oil is heated add chicken thighs, skin side down. Sear for 2-3 minutes then flip and sear other side for 2-3 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.
- Continuing in saute mode, add butter to the pot, followed by onion. Saute onions for about 2-3 minutes or until translucent, then add garlic and saute another 1 minute.
- Press cancel to stop the saute mode and pour in about ¼ cup of the broth. Scrape the bottom of the pot to get any browned bits that might be stuck on. Add the rice into the pot. Pour in remaining broth and place chicken on top of rice. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired.
- Secure the lid, set the valve to sealed position and pressure cook (manual on some Instant Pots) on high pressure for 18 minutes. After cycle is complete, let pressure naturally release for 15 minutes (quick release after 15 minutes if it’s not fully released).
- Remove chicken and let rice sit for 5 minutes with the lid removed to continue to absorb liquid.
- Optional Step: Place chicken under broiler for 5 minutes to crisp skin.
Notes
A personal note: this is my absolute favorite Instant Pot recipe and the one we make the most. ~Jason
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 18min + 15min NPR
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: instant pot, chicken thighs, brown rice
Miranda R
Made this today, following the instructions exactly. It turned out perfectly! Cooked it in my Instant Pot Duo Mini (3L). Am definitely going to make it again for company.
I have a couple of questions:
1. My rice was delicious but slightly risotto-like with as creamy texture. Could I add wine at some point, eg as part of the ratio of the stock, to make it taste like risotto too?
2. Could this be done with white rice?
RecipeTeacher
Hi Miranda. I don’t see why you couldn’t use wine as part of the liquid ratio. I’ll bet it would be really good! As for the white rice, it would cook too quickly and the time wouldn’t work with the cooking time required for the chicken thighs.
Cortney
I made this tonight for supper. We haven’t eaten it yet because it just has gotten done releasing the pressure! I added way more water though since I’ve never added enough water in the past when cooking rice, so we’ll see! It smells delicious, though!! I can’t wait to try it! I’m thinking of putting some frozen mixed veggies in with the rice once I take the chicken out.
JDR
Does it work with skinless chicken breast?
RecipeTeacher
Hi, JDR. Unfortunately it does not work with chicken breast. The cooking times just don’t work with making the rice at the same time.
Traci Griffin
Have you ever substituted pork chops for the chicken?
RecipeTeacher
Unfortunately the long time needed for the rice would likely be too long for the pork chops.
Debbie
Delicious, thank you. 1st time I made it, I followed the recipe as is. The rice was slightly undercooked so let it sit some more. 2nd time I made it, same but added 2 more thighs (6 total), covered spiced chicken with Dijon mustard (upped spices by 50%), replaced 1/2 cup broth with white wine and added a package of sliced fresh mushrooms. Pressure cooked 21 min., natural release 15-17 min., let sit for 5 min. We loved it. Bonus: the rice was like risotto. So, so good! Served with sweet potato and a green salad. Excellent, thank you again.
★★★★★
Tena Bunch
So I have been trying new things off pintrest and not been impressed. More bad then good. This one was a pleasant surprise when I started browning the thighs it smelled so good I wanted them now like right now. I only have short brown and its taking longer to cook and it smells so good Im having trouble not eating all the chicken now and then all the rice when its done. This is a keeper and Im kind of bummed because the other half of my chicken thighs are in a different marinade. Thank you for this recipe. So goooooooood. I am freezing half and look forward to my meal later this week not sure it will last that long.
★★★★★
BJM
I’ve made this recipe in a Dutch oven on the stovetop for years, it is one of our fav comfort foods, and it’s perfect for the InstaPot, it’s easy peasy, with no risk of overcooking or scorching the rice. I use Lundberg’s wild & brown rice blend and scatter a 1/2 cup of sliced mushrooms on top of the chicken thighs before sealing the IP and cooking.
Marsha Moseley
I tried this instant pot recipe as an alternative to the oven-cooked chicken and rice recipe that I used in the past to avoid heating up the kitchen on a hot summer day. My husband said it was wonderful, which is music to my ears. I had trouble browning it because I used a little countertop broiler rather than the broiler in the range (again, to avoid heating up the house), that did not get hot enough to brown. It was good anyway.
TvH
I have a question: what do you mean by draining the rice? I don’t see where it is soaked? Is that what happens? I apologize if I am missing the obvious. Thank you! It looks delicious and I want to try this.
★★★★★
RecipeTeacher
My bad for that part being in there. I’ve since made the correction. Originally, I had suggested to soak the rice first, but it’s been deemed unnecessary.
Bayli
Can I double this recipe? How would the time change in the instant pot?
RecipeTeacher
Hi Bayli. The time would be the same, but I’d recommend doing two batches if possible. If you’re using an 8qt pressure cooker, you can comfortably fit another 2-4 chicken thighs depending on size.