This Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli Rice dish tastes just like the casserole. Make this recipe tonight for a comfort food meal in just half the time!

overhead shot of chicken, broccoli, and rice on white plates topped with chips and cheese


 

Even if your weeknights are hectic, it’s still possible to have a delicious home-cooked meal. 

Traditionally, each ingredient in this dish is prepared separately before being baked in a casserole dish. Not only does this take a lot of time and energy, but it can make the kitchen unpleasantly hot. 

Instead, you can have this Instant Pot cheesy chicken and rice on the table in about half an hour. Plus, because everything is cooked in the same pot, you won’t have a pile of dishes to clean afterward!

If you like this Instant Pot chicken casserole recipe, Try this Gluten-Free Chicken and Rice or this Instant Pot Southwestern Chicken and Rice. You also might like this gluten-free macaroni and cheese or chicken cordon bleu casserole!

You also might like these recipes for gluten-free cream of mushroom soup and gluten-free cream of chicken soup!

Ingredients You’ll Need

labeled ingredients to make Instant Pot cheesy chicken and rice
  • Chicken breasts – You’ll want to keep the amount of chicken to 1lb. So you many end up using just 1 chicken breast!
  • Broccoli – Cut into florets
  • Brown rice – Don’t swap in white rice here as the cook time isn’t the same.
  • Chicken stock – Adds more flavor than water when cooking the rice.
  • Soy sauce – Adds a little extra flavor to the dish!
  • Topping – I use crushed tortilla chips and melted butter for the topping. It adds a little crunch. You could also use gluten-free breadcrumbs.

Check out these instant pot sloppy joes for another favorite recipe!

How to Cut Broccoli

To save time, you can find bagged broccoli florets in the produce section of the grocery store. Otherwise, buy a fresh broccoli bunch and cut your own as follows:

  1. Rinse the broccoli well and gently shake out any excess water.
  2. Use a sharp knife to cut off the stem as close to the head as possible.
  3. Hold the broccoli head on a cutting board with the remaining stem facing up. Make downward cuts to remove the florets from the center stem.
  4. Slice larger florets partway through the stem and pull apart the rest of the way with your fingers so you don’t get buds everywhere.

How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli Rice

numbered steps for making Instant Pot chicken casserole

Steam the broccoli first, then cook the chicken and rice at the same time. After that, mix everything together and add some crunchy topping. It’s that simple!

  1. Cook the broccoli florets in the Instant Pot using a steamer basket insert. Set the cook time to 0 minutes so the florets can cook as it comes to pressure, then do an immediate Quick Release. Set the broccoli aside and empty the water from the pot liner.
  2. Prepare the crunchy topping and set aside (this can also be done while the chicken/rice cooks!).
  3. Add the rice, liquids, and spices to the Instant Pot and give it a quick stir. Place the whole chicken breasts in the pot, pushing them down into the rice mixture. Cook on High for 22 minutes with a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release. Then do a Quick Release, if needed, to remove the last of the pressure.
  4. Next, transfer the chicken to a plate. Shred with two forks into bite-sized pieces.
  5. Fluff the rice in the Instant Pot before mixing in the sour cream, shredded cheese, and hot sauce. Then add the broccoli and chicken to the pot.
  6. Stir everything together until well combined. Spoon into bowl and top with the crushed chip topping.
Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli and Rice in white bowls on a counter

Recipe Notes

  • Whole chicken breasts – It’s best to leave the breasts whole so they don’t dry out. If your chicken breasts are extra thick, however, go ahead and slice them lengthwise to make sure they cook all the way through.
  • Frozen chicken – Because the brown rice needs so long to cook, fresh or frozen will work just fine. Make sure not to use more than 1 pound of frozen chicken.
  • Shredded cheese – Always buy fresh and shred your own. Bagged shreds have a preservative that has an unpleasant waxy texture.
  • Gluten-free – To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce for coconut aminos or gluten-free certified tamari.

For another gluten-free comfort food casserole, try this tater tot casserole!

close up of cheesy chicken and rice with broccoli in a white bowl

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! If you try this recipe please leave me a comment and star-rating below. I’d love to hear from you!

chicken and rice on white plate topped with shredded cheese
5 from 17 votes

Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli Rice

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Servings 6 servings
This Instant Pot chicken broccoli rice dish tastes just like the casserole. Make this recipe tonight for a comfort food meal in just half the time!

Video

Ingredients

  • 1 lb broccoli cut into small florets
  • 1 1/2 cups brown rice I like using this Sprouted Brown Rice best
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 lb chicken breast about 2 small chicken breasts
  • 1 tablespoon sour cream
  • 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 teaspoon hot sauce optional

Topping:

  • crushed tortilla chips + melted butter

Instructions 

  • Place a steamer basket in the bottom of the instant pot. (This also works with no steamer basket.) Add 1 cup of water and place the broccoli florets in the steamer basket. Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 0 minutes (select Manual or High pressure and then dial down to 0; the IP will start on it’s own and the broccoli will cook perfectly as it pressurizes). Immediately release the pressure and set the broccoli aside. Pour out the remaining water.
  • Place the brown rice, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, soy sauce and chicken stock in the instant pot. Stir to combine.
  • Nestle the chicken breasts (leave them whole so they won’t get dry during cooking) down in the rice/liquid mixture.
  • Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 22 minutes (make sure the valve is set to sealing then select Manual and then dial up to 22).
  • Meanwhile crushed the tortilla chips and mix with a tablespoon or so of melted butter for the topping.
  • Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes and then quick release the rest of the pressure. Remove the chicken breasts and shred into bite-sized pieces. Fluff the rice with a fork and mix in the sour cream, cheddar cheese and hot sauce. Gently stir in the chicken and broccoli.
  • Serve topped with the crushed tortilla chips. Enjoy!

Notes

I’ve tried this recipe with long grain brown rice and it works great, but I really love/prefer using my favorite Sprouted Brown Rice in this recipe. (Not sponsored, I just love this rice!) The broccoli cooks perfectly using this steamer basket.
WITH FROZEN CHICKEN: This works great with frozen chicken. Just keep the cook time the same. The long cook time is to ensure the rice cooks through so frozen or fresh chicken will work. It may take a few extra minutes for the pressure to come up, but the recipe will turn out great. Do not use more than 1lb of frozen chicken.
Gluten-Free – To make this recipe gluten-free, substitute the soy sauce for coconut aminos or gluten-free certified tamari.

Nutrition

Calories: 500kcal | Carbohydrates: 75g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 975mg | Potassium: 1149mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1105IU | Vitamin C: 103.5mg | Calcium: 315mg | Iron: 3.3mg

This post was originally published on January 24, 2018. It was updated with step-by-step instructions on June 30, 2020. 

Instant Pot Chicken, Broccoli and Cheddar Rice! #instantpot #instantpotrecipes #instantpotchickenandrice #easyinstantpotrecipes #glutenfreeinstantpot #instantpotdinner #glutenfreedinner #glutenfree

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Hi, I’m Erin!

BS Food Science,

MS Nutrition

I believe you can make amazing, gluten-free food with everyday ingredients that everyone will enjoy. I’m here to share my tried-and-true recipes with you!

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    84 yo Mom tasted and Mom approved. Just made this and it turned out wonderful. I used B/S thighs instead of breasts (1 lb., 4 thighs) and left out the hot sauce (My Mom is not a heat freak). The rice was perfect (used plain brown rice) and the chicken thighs shredded right in the pot with no effort at all.

    1. The rice still needs the same amount of liquid and cook time – so you can leave the chicken out and keep everything else the same!

    1. Unfortunately white rice won’t work here! The recipe time and amount of liquid works with brown rice only.

  2. 5 stars
    So goooood!!! Maybe add less cheese so it’s healthier but I cheezed it up and it’s bomb!!!!

  3. Hi! I love this recipe & so do my boys. I make it all the time. One thing I’d love to know how to do, is double it! How do you double recipes for an Instant Pot?? TIA!

    1. Hi Carrie! You can simply double the ingredients and keep the cook time the same. I hope this helps! 🙂

      1. I note up top it said not to use more than one pound of frozen chicken. Is that still true if doubling the recipe as suggested above? I have chicken tenders, smaller than breasts.

        1. As long as the chicken isn’t one big frozen block and you can spread out the tenders I think that will work fine!

  4. Hi! right now i only have instant rice will that work? if so how would you adjust the cook time in the instant pot?
    Thanks

    1. Unfortunately that won’t work for this recipe! It will absorb the water too quickly and the rice will burn.

  5. 5 stars
    Easy, quick and tasty recipe! I used steam in bag brocolli and it turned out great! The rice and chicken were sizzling when I opened the instant pot.. . I excluded the tortilla topping and hot sauce. Will definitely be a staple in my home. So glad I found this light chicken, brown rice and brocolli recipe!!

  6. I actually use it as a pre-prepared freezer meal. I add the brown rice, seasonings, chicken broth, and chicken breast and then freeze. Then I can pull it out of the freezer and pop it right in to the instant pot. I microwave a bag of steamable broccoli florets and mix those with the cooked rice/chicken, cheddar cheese and 1 T of greek yogurt (my husband doesn’t like sour cream). We eat it all the time, it’s easy, delicious, and filling and we really love it. Thanks for the recipe!

  7. 5 stars
    I did the calories and if you use your measures for 4 servings, it’s only 400kcal not 653. Just thought I’d pass that long! It was SOOO yummy and easy

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