Last updated on December 3rd, 2021
This gluten-free Instant Pot meal pulls together simple ingredients with delicious results. Kid-friendly flavors of sweet bell peppers and carrots mix with white rice and chicken cooked to perfection in the Instant Pot. Bonus: on a busy night cooking a one-pot meal makes clean-up easy.
If you’re new to the Instant Pot or need a simple chicken and rice recipe, look no further.
Early Grateful GF readers may remember an earlier version of this Instant Pot recipe. It turned out to have a few problems…
The first issue with the original Confetti Rice with Chicken recipe was that it was too flavorful.
Sure, that doesn’t sound like a bad thing. But sometimes flavor country isn’t the best destination for young eaters who are on the fence about chicken in the first place.
Full disclosure here: we really don’t eat that much chicken in our home anymore. One child doesn’t like it at all, and it’s hit or miss for the other kiddo.
So I pared down the seasoning to garlic powder, salt and pepper for a basic family-friendly meal. This lets the flavor of the bell peppers and carrots shine, and the vegetable confetti becomes the star of this simple meal.
If your family is ready step up the flavor, check out the variations below.
The second problem was that the chicken was turning out tough and overcooked.
The old recipe featured brown rice, mainly because that what was handy during development. However, brown rice takes 22 minutes to fully cook in the Instant Pot, while boneless chicken breasts typically need only 6 to 8 minutes of cook time in the an electric pressure cooker.
I tried to make up for the texture problem by shredding the chicken, but it just wasn’t right.
Solution: only use white rice for this recipe. Don’t try substitute brown, red, or black rice for the white rice. If you do try to sub in other types of rice, one of two scenarios will occur. Either the rice will come out under-cooked in the 6 to 8 minutes it takes for the chicken to cook, or the chicken will come out dry and unpleasant to chew in the time it will take the rice to fully cook.
After testing this recipe over and over, white rice is the way to go.
This Instant Pot chicken and rice recipe yields is so easy to put together and cooks quickly, perfect for a weeknight meal.
Ingredient Notes:
This recipe uses low sodium vegetable stock because that’s what I usually have on hand. Low sodium chicken stock would work well, too.
The avocado oil prevents the rice from sputtering when the pressure valve releases (which otherwise would cause a starchy mess).
To make things easy, this rice and chicken recipe favors garlic powder over fresh garlic. This is because the sauté setting on Instant Pots gets extremely hot (especially in newer models) and there’s a chance that the fresh garlic would burn. Plus, it’s one less ingredient to prep.
If you’re using enriched rice, don’t rinse it before adding it to the Instant Pot. Rinsing enriched rice will wash away the added nutrients. Not sure if you’re working with enriched rice? Check the packaging the rice came in. Enriched rice will be noted somewhere on the package, while plain white rice will not have this term on the label.
You’ll also like Instant Pot Turkey Soup!
Variations:
If you’re family is tolerant of more seasoning (and “green stuff” in the meal) it’s time to step up the flavor profile.
- Garnish with fresh herbs such as parsley or basil before serving.
- No fresh herbs available? Add a combination of up to 1 teaspoon each of dried oregano and parsley with the garlic powder.
- No fresh herbs available? Add a combination of up to 1 teaspoon each of dried oregano and parsley with the garlic powder.
- Turn up the heat. Match up to 1 teaspoon of oregano with the same amount of cayenne pepper or chili powder, or go smoky with smoked paprika.
- Try a new take on taco night and add prepared taco seasoning.
Ingredients
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable stock (chicken stock is fine as well)
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups red peppers, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup white rice, rinsed
- 2 cups red pepper, chopped
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
Directions
Combine vegetable stock, avocado oil, and garlic powder in an Instant Pot. Add peppers, carrots, and rice; season with salt and pepper. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper, and then place on top of the rice mixture.
Close and lock the lid of the electric pressure cooker. Select PRESSURE COOK (or MANUAL) and HIGH PRESSURE for 8 minutes. The Instant Pot will take 5 to 10 minutes for pressure to build. When cook time is complete, allow steam to naturally release for 5 minutes. After this time release any remaining pressure and remove the lid.
Transfer chicken from the inner pot to a plate or cutting board and shred with two forks. Return shredded chicken to the pot and stir into the rice mixture. Serve warm.
Store Confetti Rice with Chicken in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or freeze for up to 6 months for best consistency.
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
Confetti Rice with Chicken (Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 2 cups low sodium vegetable stock (chicken stock is fine)
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups red peppers, diced
- 1 cup carrots, diced
- 1 cup white rice, rinsed
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast
Directions
- Combine vegetable stock, avocado oil, and garlic powder in an Instant Pot. Add peppers, carrots, and rice; season with salt and pepper. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper, and then place on top of the rice mixture.
- Close and lock the lid of the electric pressure cooker. Select PRESSURE COOK (or MANUAL) and HIGH PRESSURE for 8 minutes. The Instant Pot will take 5 to 10 minutes for pressure to build. When cook time is complete, allow steam to naturally release for 5 minutes. After this time release any remaining pressure and remove the lid.
- Transfer chicken from the inner pot to a plate or cutting board and shred with two forks. Return shredded chicken to the pot and stir into the rice mixture. Serve warm.
Sounds yummy! I can’t wait to make it.
Thank you 😊 Let us know how it turns out!