Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole is a delicious weeknight meal that takes only minutes to pull together. Eat straight out of the pot or add your favourite toppings for a crunchy and creamy texture.
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Casseroles weren’t popular when I was growing up but I can’ definitely see their appeal now. They are satisfying, savoury, cozy, delicious!
Many casserole recipes call for a can of cream of something soup and I don’t like using condensed soups in my cooking. So, I use cream cheese instead. I find that cream cheese adds a wonderful creaminess and richness to casseroles.
Making Chicken and Rice Casserole with the help of Instant Pot is a no-brainer. You don’t need to pre-cook the rice. You don’t need to preheat the oven.
Everything is cooked together in a matter of minutes. You then have a chance to eat it straight out of the pot or transfer to a casserole dish, add your favourite crunchy topping and broil for a few minutes.
Ingredients for Creamy Chicken and Rice Casserole
Exact quantities are in the actual recipe card at the bottom. If you’d like to skip the tips and suggestions then scroll to the bottom of the post or click Jump to Recipe.
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Chicken thighs
- Vermouth (optional, for deglazing)
- Seasonings (I use: garlic salt, onion powder, dried parsley)
- Cream cheese
- Basmati rice
- Chicken broth
- Cheddar cheese
- Broccoli
How to make Creamy Chicken and Rice in Instant Pot
Instant Pot, as always, makes this dish really easy and convenient to make.
- Sauté onions and diced chicken thighs in Instant Pot. This step is actually optional and can be omitted if desired.
- Layer the rest of the ingredients on top, except for the cheese and broccoli.
- Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes, add 10 minutes of natural pressure release.
- Add a cup of grated cheddar cheese, fresh chopped broccoli, mix, and let stand for 5 minutes.
At this point you can eat Cheesy and Creamy Chicken and Rice right out of Instant Pot. Or, you can transfer the food to a casserole pan, cover with your favourite casserole topping and broil for a few minutes.
Casserole topping options
- Crispy onions.
- Shredded mozzarella mixed with crispy onions. That’s what I used in this particular video.
- Crushed cornflakes (unsweetened) with parmesan cheese.
- I also really like the topping I use in Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta.
Ingredients and variations for the recipe
- Chicken
- I use chicken thighs almost exclusively whenever I cook with chicken as I find they are more flavourful.
- You can use chicken breast also.
- Vermouth
- I love using vermouth for deglazing. It has a wonderful savoury flavour. It’s also easier to store than regular wine as it doesn’t go bad after opening for a very long time.
- You can use regular white wine, chicken broth, or even just water.
- If you are omitting the step of sautéing the onions and chicken, then you do not even need to use anything for deglazing.
- Seasonings
- I went with just very basic garlic, onion, and parsley flavours.
- Feel free to use your favourite seasonings: italian seasoning would work great here or herbs de provance. Feel free to adjust to your taste.
- Cream cheese
- As I mentioned earlier, I like using cream cheese in place of cans of condensed soup.
- For even creamier chicken and rice, feel free to add more cream cheese.
- Also, you could add a bit of cream after everything is cooked and before you add cheese.
- Chicken broth
- Cheddar
- I used a relatively standard cheddar cheese for the recipe.
- You can use your favourite melty cheese. Different kinds of cheese will add different and unique flavour to the recipe.
- Broccoli
- You can add more or use less broccoli than the recipe calls for.
- Broccoli isn’t really cooked and it’s only just a little bit softened during 5 minutes of letting everything sit together.
- If you prefer softer broccoli in the Chicken and Rice Casserole, I’d suggest steaming it for a few minutes before adding to the recipe.
If you like creamy chicken dishes but prefer something without rice, then try my Instant Pot Chicken and Quinoa. Or, alternatively, for a less creamy Chicken and Rice combination, try my Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe made with parboiled rice, it has a totally different texture and flavour. Both of those recipes are from my new website dedicated to Instant Pot Recipes Only, called Instantlicious.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
- Instant Pot Chicken with Walnut Sauce (Satsivi)
- Instant Pot Greek Lemon Chicken and Potatoes
- Instant Pot Greek Chicken Pasta Salad
- Healthy chicken stew (Instant Pot or Stove Top)
- The Ultimate Guide for Making Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta
DO YOU WANT MORE INSTANT POT RECIPES?
Join my Real Ingredients Instant Pot Recipes Facebook Group!!! It’s a fun and safe place to share your own Instant Pot recipes made with Real Ingredients.
Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Casserole
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 6 skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1.5 pounds)
- 2 tablespoons vermouth (or chicken broth or white wine or water)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt (or more to taste)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/2 cup cream cheese, diced (half a block, 125 g)
- 1.5 cup basmati rice
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 4 cups broccoli florets, cut into bite sized pieces (about 1/2 pound)
- crispy onions for topping (optional)
Instructions
- Press Sauté button on Instant Pot.
- Add the oil to the pot and wait for the display to read Hot and for the oil to heat up.
- Add the diced onion and sauté for about 3-4 minutes until the onions start to turn colour.
- Add the diced up chicken and cook for another 2-3 minutes, mixing occasionally until the chicken turns opaque on all sides. No need to cook through.
- Add the vermouth to deglaze and scrape the bottom of the pot really well. You need to make sure that nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.
- Add all the seasonings and mix. Layer the cream cheese over the chicken. Evenly layer the basmati rice over the cream cheese. Pour the broth and push the rice inside so that it's mostly covered by the liquid.
- Turn Sauté function off.
- Close the lid. Turn the valve to sealing.
- Press Manual or Pressure Cooker button (depending on your model) and using the arrow buttons set the cook time to 4 minutes. Use default High Pressure.Depending on your Instant Pot model, it'll take around 8-10 minutes to come to pressure.
- Once the Instant Pot beeps that the 4 minutes of cooking are done, do a Natural Pressure Release for 10 minutes. It means that do nothing for 10 minutes and the pressure will naturally release from the pot. Finish with a Quick Release, this should take about 1-2 minutes at most.
- Open the lid, add the shredded cheese and mix well to melt it. Add the broccoli, mix well, close the lid and let sit for another 5 minutes. You could leave for longer if desired.
- Enjoy right out of the pot or transfer to a pan, cover with your favourite topping (such as Crispy onion) and broil for a few minutes.
Video
Nutrition
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