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This Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Broccoli and Rice is an easy-to-make dinner that the whole family will love. Made with a few simple whole ingredients, this healthy dinner will soon be a family favorite. Made in partnership with my friends at Farmer Focus!
Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Rice and Broccoli
Everyone needs to have a healthy, hearty and most importantly, delicious dinner recipe that can be made quickly on a weeknight, and this Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice can be it! This easy chicken and rice dinner requires only about 10 minutes of prep and hands on cooking time, while the rest is done easily in the Instant Pot. The rice is creamy, the chicken is perfectly cooked and juicy and the broccoli is crisp tender. We’re confident in saying even the pickiest of eaters will like this one!
Ingredients Needed for Chicken Broccoli and Rice
- Farmer Focus Chicken Thighs (boneless and skinless)
- Long-grain White Rice
- Frozen Broccoli Florets
- Chicken Broth
- Onion
- Garlic
- Paprika
- Cheddar Cheese
Cooking Broccoli in the Instant Pot
Cooking Broccoli in the Instant PotWe knew exactly what we wanted when we set out to make this recipe: cheesy rice, with perfectly seasoned chicken and broccoli that was not overcooked. But this last bit proved to be the most difficult. Cooking broccoli in the Instant Pot usually results in overcooked broccoli. While for some dishes, that fall apart broccoli mess works, for this we were looking for crisp tender broccoli that stayed whole. Cooking it fully in the Instant Pot by adding it with the rice resulted in broccoli that fell apart. Cooking it in the Instant Pot after the rice had finished cooking for 0 (zero) minutes made the rice burn.
What we turned to was frozen broccoli florets that had been mostly thawed by rinsing under lukewarm water. Good quality frozen broccoli has already been blanched before freezing. Once thawed, the florets are much quicker to cook than fresh broccoli. So for this recipe, we added the thawed broccoli florets to the Instant Pot right after the rice finished cooking. Then closed the lid and allowed the broccoli to steam with the residual heat. This resulted in crisp-tender broccoli.
If you prefer to use fresh broccoli for this recipe you will need to cook it separately first, then add it to the finished rice along with the cheese. To do this in the Instant Pot: cook it first on a steaming rack with 1/2 cup of water on high pressure for 0 (zero) minutes. If you don’t mind broccoli that is fall apart and wish to cook it with the rice, that is fine too! In fact, some kids will prefer it this way. It will result in soft broccoli bits all throughout the rice.
Why Quality Chicken is a Must
Why Quality Chicken is a MustWith so few ingredients in this dish, it is incredibly important to use quality chicken. I am so happy partnering with my friends at Farmer Focus to bring you this easy Instant Pot chicken recipe! Farmer Focus has been my go-to, trusted chicken for years now, because they pride themselves in producing the highest quality meat grown on family-owned farms. You can 100% taste the difference. I love knowing that, without a doubt, when I pick up Farmer Focus chicken at the grocery store, it’s the best there is and I don’t have to question whether it was raised in a humane way.
Farmer Focus is building partnerships with farmers through their innovative Farmer Focus Business Model
Here is what I love about Farmer Focus: they are a company that supports their farmer partners and they are working hard to do things right and truly raise and produce the highest quality chicken! Every Farmer Focus product includes a 4-letter Farm ID that traces your chicken to the farm that raised it. Buying meat from Farmer Focus also gives me peace of mind that I am supporting hard-working family farmers.
Farmer Focus chickens are humanely raised and fed a diet free from animal byproducts, pesticides, and antibiotics. On their website you can see where all of the farms are located, so you know just where your chicken was raised! How awesome is that?!
You can also use their easy store locator to find where you can get this amazing quality chicken near you.
If you like this whole dinner in the Instant Pot, check out these others:
- Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Instant Pot Chicken Tikka Masala
- Instant Pot Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta (Gluten-Free)
For more chicken recipes, check out these:
- French Onion Chicken Bake
- Chili Garlic Chicken Satay Skewers
- Buffalo Chicken Burgers
- Paleo Orange Chicken
Watch the video:
Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken, Broccoli and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon avocado or olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup long-grain white rice rinsed and drained well
- 1-1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1-½ lb. Farmer Focus boneless and skinless chicken thighs cut into bite sized pieces
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 3 cups 9 ounces frozen broccoli florets (see note)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Heat oil, using the saute function in a 6 or 8 quart Instant Pot. Once hot, add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Shut off the saute function.
- To the pot, add rinsed rice, chicken broth, chicken, salt, pepper and paprika and mix well. Place the lid on the Instant Pot and set the valve to sealing. Cook on manual high pressure for 10 minutes and when done use a quick pressure release.
- While the chicken cooks, rinse frozen broccoli florets under lukewarm water for 2 minutes. Set aside.
- Once all the pressure has released, remove the lid from the Instant Pot and add in the broccoli florets and cheddar cheese and mix well to combine. Place the lid back on top, and switch the valve to sealing and let the mixture steam (leaving on the warming feature is fine) for 10 minutes. Release any built up pressure and remove the lid.
- Stir the rice and serve immediately.
This was so quick and easy and so incredibly delicious! Hubby and I loved it and had leftovers for a few days. This is a great recipe when you’re short on time and it requires just a few ingredients that you most likely have in your fridge anyway. Dreaming about making this again already and have shared with some friends too!
I neglected to properly follow instructions and made this with a brown and wild rice. I was concerned when it appeared soupy, but after I added the broccoli and let it sit, the liquid disappeared and it tastes great! The rice is maybe a tad aldente but the chicken isn’t overcooked.
PS. I used a smoked gouda which turned out wonderful!
We’re glad it still worked out in the end 🙂
P.S. Rice al dente because of the type used!
I’m going to double the recipe today. First time making it so we’ll see how it turns out! I’m feeding 6 including 2 teenagers so I always need to make large dishes. I’m a little concerned the instant pot might be too full.
How’d it go?
Has anyone doubled this recipe? I took it to work and it was a hit, but i need it to feed more than 4 people???
We haven’t tested doubling it, but if you do try, let us know how it goes! My best guess would be you could double everything, but keep it the same cooking time. -Kelli
Hey Lexi! Would it be too much to ask for your play on stove top instructions? I can usually figure it out but I’m not sure how or if it would work for this. Thanks 🙂
We haven’t tested it, but check this recipe out and give it a try: http://lexiscleankitchen.com/turmeric-chicken-and-rice/. Can’t promise the same results though. Let us know!
The first time was a medley rice, usually 40 min on the stove. So I blamed that. The second time was brown rice. After reading some of the other comments, seems like that could be the problem again. I ended up adding 10 min and it came out ok. Tasted good but as expected the chicken was a little over done. I’m pregnant and trying to find quick meals when baby arrives. Will try white rice next time.
Hi Kelly! Most definitely you cannot cook brown rice in the same amount of time as white rice, so that was the culprit. We hope you give it a try with white rice (Jasmin would be our top pick) as it’s really simple and delicious! -Kelli
Is it possible to make this recipe in the oven/crockpot? (We don’t have an instant pot)
Definitely but we haven’t tested it at that way. It would be a different recipe. Let us know if you try!
This was the first recipe that I tried with my new instant pot. It was incredibly delicious! My husband couldn’t quit raving. Thanks for the clear, precise directions that were easy to follow for this newbie. Thank you so much! I will be back for more recipes! Perfection!
And the rice wasn’t cooked. This was a 2x fail for me
Kelly, that is disappointing when a recipe doesn’t turn out for you. What type of rice did you use exactly? I’ve been making instant pot rice weekly for about 2 years now and have never had it not cook by 11-12 minutes, so I’m curious as to what might be failing with yours! Any changes made to the recipe? -Kelli
I have made this twice and both times after cooking the chicken and rice, it’s soupy. There’s so much liquid left. The first time I thought it was the medley rice I used. The second time I drained it and am waiting to see how it turns out.
Could I use brown rice instead of the white? Would I alter the IP cook time?
Thanks so much!! We LOVE this recipe!! ❤️
Hi Jess. I don’t think you could for this recipe, unfortunately. All of the time, including the chicken cook time, is based off of white rice. Brown rice does take longer, and possibly you might even need to alter the liquid amount. So my educated guess would be that it wouldn’t be an easy transition. But I do think you could use quinoa in place. Just reduce the cooking time to about 9 minutes. Let us know if you try. -Kelli
A favorite of mine on weekly rotation! Comforting and healthy — love it!
I’m pregnant and have had terrible food adversions. Not only was this easy but I enjoyed every bite!
I am so happy!
What changes are needed to use chicken breast instead of thighs.
It should work the same! Cook the chicken breast whole, and make sure to nestle them into the rice.
This recipe was so easy to make and took very little time. I especially loved the tip for the broccoli. It helped get the right texture for it. I thought the recipe was delicious and I will definitely make this again! I’m a busy student so I love being able to make something that’s simple but tasty.
I adore the recipe! My family did have to reduce the black pepper because it overwhelmed the dish. But it’s now a new go to as we always have the ingredients on hand!
So happy! Yes, can always start with less spice and add more as desired!
Just finished making this and we both went for seconds! It is so good. I used organic white cheddar and it was delicious! Thanks for the great recipe.
I’m making this for dinner and I’m sure it will be delicious like all of your recipes I’ve tried. But I have to say this video that is constantly playing and taking up most of my screen is incredibly annoying! It doesn’t give me the option to close it out and I t makes it difficult to find my place in the recipe I’m trying to make.
We will look into this — there should be an X out button.
Delicious! I have made this twice in a week and was a hit with adults and my toddler. I used white cheddar and it was perfect.
So glad!!!
Can you use chicken breasts instead of chicken thighs? How would you change cooking time?