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 sauté. 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 “sauté” 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 thighs are seared, remove them and set aside on a plate. Continuing in the sauté mode Add the butter and chopped onion. Sauté 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 sauté too long. It will start to burn after about a minute or so. Press cancel to stop the sauté 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 (rinsed first). 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!
Recipe
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, rinsed
- 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 sauté 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 sauté mode, add butter to the pot, followed by onion. Sauté onions for about 2-3 minutes or until translucent, then add garlic and sauté another 1 minute.
- Press cancel to stop the sauté 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 20 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
leduck says
This was great! Wonderful texture to the rice– I might up the spices a bit, however. Definitely going into my rotation.
RecipeTeacher says
Thanks so much. This is our absolute favorite Instant Pot recipe.
Carmen says
I love this recipe! I make it often and it is always a big hit.
RecipeTeacher says
Thanks Carmen! I say it all the time… this is our personal favorite Instant Pot meal.
Jim says
Anybody tried doubling this recipe? Any issues?
Shelly Jackson says
My hubby LOVES this recipe. He raved about it. I used Near East wild rice with the seasoning packet as I didn’t have brown rice. It came out amazing. I made Jiffy mix biscuits to go with it. I did make the mistake of quick releasing right away but lucky for me everything was cooked. Thank you for sharing. This is going in our rotation for sure.
Kathy says
I have tried several of Reciepe Teacher’s instant pot and air fryer recipes. My family has enjoyed tasting them and will try many more. This one is very good and easy to make.
RecipeTeacher says
Thanks so much Kathy! This one is our personal favorite too. 🙂
Diane says
This was really very good. The chicken was seasoned and cooked perfectly. The brown rice had a nice flavor. Nice easy one pot meal that was outstanding. Going into the dinner rotation with the air fryer pork chops! Thanks for sharing.
RecipeTeacher says
I’m so glad you liked it, Diane. It’s our #1 favorite Instant Pot recipe of mine too. Thank you for the feedback!!
Shannon says
If I have a recipe fo a chicken and rice casserole very similar to this, but uses cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup mixed with the rice before cooking, can I make this in the instant pot? Does it change the cooking time or the amount of chicken broth?
Thank you!
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Shannon. I wouldn’t make this with the soup mix. The liquid will be too thick and the Instant Pot won’t come to pressure and can burn the bottom of the pot.
Chad Cottrill says
If I I’m feeding a family of 5 I need to increase the rice what is the ratio of rice to liquid
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Chad. For this recipe we do 1.25 cups of liquid for 1 cup of rice.
Jodi Evors says
Do any changes need to be made for boneless thighs?
RecipeTeacher says
Hi Jody. I’ve not tried with boneless thighs yet. But chicken thighs are pretty forgiving in the Instant Pot. I’d do same everything.
Jim says
I’ve been using boneless thighs. It tastes great. The chicken is usually falling to shreds when it’s done.
Amy Boyce says
Hi there can you use white rice for this recipe?
RecipeTeacher says
I don’t recommend white rice for this recipe. The cooking time is much shorter and doesn’t lineup with the cooking time of the chicken thighs.
Ckr says
I would like to substitute brown rice for the white rice. Will the cooking time change?
RecipeTeacher says
The only real difference will be you don’t have to soak the rice first.