Instant Pot Chicken and Rice with Basil Cream Sauce
This Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe comes from our Chicken in Basil Cream Sauce recipe. This is a much simpler version and it can all be done in the Instant Pot! Dinner was literally done in about 20 minutes. Rice, chicken, sauce all in a tasty one-pot meal. My family asks for this dinner a lot, and I happily oblige. The flavors in the simple cream sauce are to die for. If you haven’t tried many instant pot recipes, start here! It’s so easy, saves gobs of time and your family will devour it! One of our most popular instant pot chicken recipes for sure!
Ingredients in Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
This is one of those easy chicken dinners that you probably already have most of the ingredients on hand! Of course, you can add extra veggies or different types of rice but here’s what we start with:
Chicken breasts – Generally two pounds of chicken breast is perfect for this reicpe, but you can use chicken thighs, or even bone-in chicken. Seasoning salt – This spice can be found at any grocery store, and is a mixture of garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, and other spices.Rice – We like to use jasmine rice, but you can try white rice, brown rice, or basmati.Chicken broth – There are delicious low-sodium options out there if you want to cut down on sodium but not flavor.Butter – for the sauce start with about four tablespoons of butterGarlic – mincedHeavy whipping cream – or combine with half and halfBasil – we usually use dried basil for the sauce. You can garnish with fresh basil if you have some on hand.salt and pepper – to tasteParmesan cheese – fresh grated cheese is delicious but you can use whatever type you like.
Tips for Making Chicken and Rice in an Instant Pot
When using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, I like to use Jasmine rice. Mostly because it is aromatic and it doesn’t stick as much as other rice varieties. I have used regular long-grain rice with this recipe and it came out too gummy. Jasmine rice is perfect. Also, it is important to note that you MUST rinse it before adding to the Instant Pot. This also helps with the gummy-ness. It makes it so it doesn’t clump as much. For any recipe it is probably a good idea to rinse the rice.This recipe calls for the chicken to be cut into pieces but it can easily be served with a full serving-size of chicken. If you do this, I would recommend seasoning the chicken and then browning it a little on each side. You can do this by using the “sauté” function on the Instant Pot and placing a little oil in it. Cook the chicken on each side until it starts to brown. Remove from the Instant Pot and follow the recipe as usual, adding the rice and then putting the chicken over the top.
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