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black bowl filled with instant pot chicken and rice casserole in front of an instant pot
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4.62 from 13 votes

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole

Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole that makes such a delicious and easy dinner recipe. A totally from scratch recipe with added instructions to cut corners and make it a little easier for your busy weeknights!
Prep Time5 minutes
Cook Time41 minutes
Total Time46 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Servings: 6 cups
Calories: 319kcal
Author: Lisa Longley

Equipment

  • Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 medium carrots chopped
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (see the note about salt)
  • 1 cup long grain rice
  • 1 pound chicken (see note)
  • 1 cup frozen green peas

Homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup (or a 10 ounce can of store bought)

  • 3 tablespoons salted butter
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 1 cup chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Before you begin chopping your vegetables, set your Instant Pot to Sauté . This way when you are done prepping your carrots and onion, it will be hot and ready for you to put the vegetables in. (Read the notes to learn how to skip this step.)
  • Once the Instant Pot says "Hot" add the butter and stir quickly, so that it doesn't burn. Add the chopped vegetables (carrots, onion, and garlic). Sauté for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring regularly to prevent burning, until the carrots are tender. Turn Instant Pot off.
  • In this order, add the chicken stock, rice, and set the chicken on top (please be sure to see the note about the chicken). Close the Instant Pot and set to High, Manual, 10 minutes. (Make sure that it is set to seal on top.)
    It will take the Instant Pot about 10 minutes to come to pressure. Once it is done cooking, let the Instant pot have a natural pressure release for 10 minutes (be sure to watch the time), then turn to venting until all the pressure has fully released.
    (Between coming to pressure, the cook time, natural release, and quick release it will be about 34 minutes.)
  • While the Instant Pot is doing it's job, make your homemade Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup. (Read the notes to learn how to skip this step.) In a small saucepan over medium low heat, melt the butter. Once melted, whisk in the flour.
  • Gradually whisk in the chicken stock. Stir in the milk and the spices. Continue stirring, bringing the mixture to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes while stirring to prevent burning .
  • When the 10 minutes is up and you have vented and fully released the pressure of your Instant Pot, open it. Remove the chicken, cut it to bite sized pieces (or shred in the IP). Return the chicken to the IP, add the peas, and the Cream of Condensed Chicken Soup. Stir to combine and enjoy.

Notes

Make sure that your chicken is no more than 1 1/2 inch thick. If necessary, cut the chicken in half, butterfly style.
HOW TO MAKE THIS RECIPE EASIER!
This is what you were waiting for, right? Here are a few corners we can cut. Because I would hate you to miss out on Instant Pot Chicken and Rice because it takes too much time.
  1. Skip the sautéing of vegetables. Buy a bag of frozen peas and carrots and add both at the end. We are losing the garlic and onion flavoring then, so add in a teaspoon each  of garlic powder and onion powder.
  2. Use a can of condensed cream of chicken soup. The instructions in this recipe leave you with the exact same amount as if you buy the can. So skip that step and just add in the store bought stuff.
With those two steps, the only real hands on work you are doing is cutting chicken at the end!
A NOTE ABOUT SALT
Because different chicken stocks vary GREATLY in their salt content, I left any additional salt out of this recipe. This may mean that your recipe turns out perfect, and it may mean that you need to add up to a teaspoon of salt at the end. Trust your tastebuds, my friends.

Nutrition

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 319kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 400mg | Potassium: 200mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 5300IU | Vitamin C: 7.4mg | Calcium: 290mg | Iron: 1.4mg