Instant Pot Southwestern Chicken and Rice! Throw everything in the instant pot and walk away. You’ll have a delicious, satisfying, healthy dinner 30 minutes later!
You really just throw everything in the instant pot and let it cook. It makes for a satisfying, healthy and budget-friendly meal with no clean-up.
Have you jumped on the Instant Pot train yet? I caved and bought one on cyber Monday when they were a smoking deal last November.
I know a lot of people who also bought an instant pot 2 weeks ago on Amazon Prime Day. Why is it so hard to pass up deals on Amazon?
All I know is I’m glad I made the leap and bought one. I use my instant pot all the time to make my favorite sprouted brown rice as well as quinoa to go with all kinds of dinners.
It also works great for any recipes where you’d usually use the slow-cooker.
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How to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
This Slow-Cooker Moroccan Apricot Chicken turns out great in the instant pot!
You can use the saute function to brown everything and then select the slow-cooker function or cook it all in 30 minutes on high pressure. I love the versatility!
This Instant Pot Southwestern Chicken and Rice is my very favorite instant pot recipe to-date! When I showed my husband how easy it was to make his mind was blown.
Instant Pot Southwestern Chicken and Rice
I love making this with the sprouted brown rice I mentioned earlier. I also like eating this with tortilla chips, hot sauce and sharp cheddar.
The leftovers from this meal are delicious and highly coveted at my house.
You can also freeze any leftovers (see instructions in the recipe) for easy meals/lunches later.
If there is one recipe to convince you to buy an instant pot it should be this one. I’m planning on sharing more of my instant pot favorites regularly! For another favorite chicken recipe try this chicken fajita marinade!
FAQ
Can I use frozen chicken?
Yes frozen chicken will work great! Just be sure it does not exceed 1lb of frozen chicken. If you’re using 2 chicken breasts be sure they are frozen separate and not in one big clump. I find this works best with one large frozen chicken breast instead of 2.
Can I use white rice?
This recipe was designed for brown rice. It will burn if you use white rice and keep the cook time/liquid the same. The longer cook time is to insure the brown rice gets fully cooked. This is my favorite brown rice on Amazon!
Help! It burned on the bottom.
There can be a number of reasons for things burning in the instant pot. If you’ve used brown rice and not too much frozen chicken (white rice and too much frozen chicken can cause this to burn) if is probably because your instant pot didn’t seal correctly. Make sure the inner ring is clean and the valve is set “sealing”.
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Instant Pot Southwestern Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups brown rice I like using this Sprouted Brown Rice best
- 3/4 cup salsa any kind you like
- 15 oz can kidney beans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 chicken breasts about 1 pound
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- chips hot sauce and more cheese for serving
Instructions
- Place the brown rice, salsa, kidney beans, corn 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. Sprinkle the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and salt partly over the chicken and partly over the liquid/rice mixture. Spread out the spices and mix some in with the liquid with spoon. (This doesn't have to be precise. Just get some in with the rice and some on the chicken.)
- Secure the lid and cook on HIGH PRESSURE for 24 minutes (select Manual and then dial up or down to get to the correctly number of minutes; the IP will start on it’s own).
- 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 chicken and shredded cheese.
- Serve topped with cheese, hot sauce and chips for dipping. Enjoy!
I made this last minute & it was a definite winner! I used black beans instead of kidney beans, added a little more spice on the chicken (poultry seasoning/spice) and sautéed some onion, red/green/yellow bell peppers on the side, to serve with it. It was SO good!
This is a very yummy recipe, thanks!! i used fresh salsa and i think that was a wonderful addition, very tasty.
I would definitely advise against using white rice based on comments below and my own experience last night. I got the “burn” notice, shut down, scraped bottom, added a whole quart of chicken broth got another burn notice. Funny thing is rice and beans were pretty close to being done, chicken was not… had to throw away a big meal. It was not a sealing issue. I think rice absorbs water too fast on high pressure cook. Might play around with some setting and cheaper chicken thighs. I will let you know if anything works…
Thanks for letting us know! I only use brown rice when I make this so I haven’t tested it with white myself. Helpful to know this!
You are right! This recipe doesn’t work with white rice. I’ve been emailing a few people who used white rice and got the BURN notice. This recipe needs to be made as written with brown rice to turn out correctly. Thanks!
I pulled it out of the instant pot and finished it in a casserole dish with foil on top for about 45 minutes. It smells delicious, and we’ll warm it up and eat it tomorrow!
I made this tonight exactly as written and it was SO GOOD! THANK YOU!
I made the Southwestern Chicken and Rice last night for supper last night. Needed something simple and fast. I made it with white long grain rice which I rinsed. Did a TPR after five minutes. It was very good. We put salsa, sour cream, cheese and fresh cilantro when it was served. Very good. Thank you.
I’m not sure what I did wrong! Haha my rice was mush!!! I feel like it needs more seasoning but my daughter who hates most foods, loved it, so thank you!!! I used white rice. Any ideas why it was mush??
Thanks again!!
The cooking temperature is definitely too long for white rice. I would try it with brown! Or decrease the cook time to 10 minutes.
Will Lundberg short grain organic rice work? Any change with water amount or time? Did you use a regular measuring cup for the rice or the cup that comes with the pot? Thank you!
Hi, maybe its a dumb question, but do you cook the brown rice before hand?
No! It’s uncooked brown rice 🙂
I followed the recipe to the letter except I used white rice and wild rice. it never got up to pressure and then burned…… did I do something wrong?
I tried this last night. Flavor was great and the chicken was very good. Unfortunately, the rice was not done at the same time as the chicken? Any advice?
Did you cook everything for the instructed time? Since this recipe has brown rice it needs to cook 24 minutes. The chicken could definitely cook in less time but you need the long cook time for the rice. The chicken gets submerged in the liquid and turns out perfectly shred-able from my experience.
I tried this for dinner, and my Instant Pot keeps saying “burn” shortly after it reaches pressure. What the heck? Not enough liquid? I used dry brown rice. I’d it supposed to be already cooked?
Yes you use dry brown rice. Did you instant pot seal properly? Sometimes if there is too much steam escaping during the pressurizing process it can cause too much evaporation before it comes to pressure. Make sure the sealing ring is properly in place and the valve is set to sealing.
I made this with frozen chicken, short grain brown rice and black beans. InstantPot took 10-15 mins to start cooking; start to finish was about 45-50 mins. I swerved it with guacamole. It just needed a little more salt. I will definitely make this again.
So glad you liked it!
Excellent
Added some sautéed onions and celery to premix. Also subbed green salsa and black beans. Would probably add pablano or Anaheim pepper next time. Had a 3rd breast in mix which made it a little too meaty but all 3 shredded great.
I made this for the first time and it was great. I will make it again
My IP said “burn” on it before it was done cooking. Should I have turned it onto light pressure? The chicken was almost done but not up to the right temp. What could be the problem?
It sounds like the instant pot might not have sealed properly. I would check the sealing ring and make sure it’s in place correctly.