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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
Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Rice and BroccoliEveryone 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 is one of my go to weeknight dinners at this point. I have the recipe memorized. I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand and it is quick and delicious.
Hi! I’m excited to try it. Was wondering if there is a substitute for the rice if one is watching carbs. Could it be omitted and cooked on the side? Or could cauliflower rice work? Thank you!
You can take a look at the body of the post for this–we talk about this. The short answer is no!
Soooo easy and SO yummy
Loved this!! Even my picky red heads loved it!!
I made a variation of this last night and was very happy with the result! I scrolled through all the comments looking for advice on using brown rice but couldn’t find anything helpful. I’m here to say that I used 1 cup jasmine brown rice and 1 1/4 cups chicken broth and cooked for 20 minutes on high pressure, then followed the final steps of the recipe. (I also used a large chicken breast which I seared prior to sautéing the onions and garlic, and it was perfectly cooked after the 20 minute cooking time! I just removed it from the Instant pot when I added the broccoli and cheese, chopped it up and then stirred it in at the end!)
Hi Catherine! Thanks so much for sharing, that’s super helpful!
Made this yesterday and was very happy with it. I wanted to bump up the flavor so I added about 1/2 teaspoon of ground thyme and a tablespoon of whole grain Dijon mustard. It was a great pop of extra flavor.
This is a delicious recipe and has become a favorite in our house. It is a one bowl meal that is warm and comforting. I don’t like frozen broccoli so I always par-steam fresh. Add a dash of Frank’s Hot Sauce and I’m a happy girl.
Leftovers are amazing too!
Can I make this with brown rice if so how long should I cook?
Hi Susy, this doesn’t work the same with brown rice. We haven’t tested it so we can’t advise on cooking time. Let us know if you try!
I make this recipe at least once a month. It’s relatively fast and my fiancé and I love it for a delicious weeknight dinner that never disappoints.
I’ve made this once before and it turned out perfectly. Big hit. Tonight the instant pot kept giving me a burn food message. Has anyone else had that happen?
Hi Jeanne! Actually one time (out of dozens of times making it) my IP also gave me a burn notification. Since then, I’ve tried to replicate it to figure out why, but I haven’t been able to. If I do figure it out, I’ll update the recipe to indicate how to prevent it!
Delicious!!! Made it exactly as written – will absolutely make again! Thank you so much for a truly EASY instant pot recipe!
I doubled the recipe and kept cooking time the same. It was perfect! I have lunch now for several days!
Thanks for sharing Chelsey! So glad it worked out for you!
Love this recipe!! I want to make it again on Sunday. Do you think it could be doubled?
So glad to hear you loved it! It should be ok to double. Double all of the ingredients, but do not increase the time. It theoretically should cook in the same amount of time as the single batch. Let us know how it goes!
Well, something has dethroned your Philly Cheesesteak Skillet as my favorite food. This is pure heaven! It tastes like my childhood. In love! Thank you, Lexi, for making my transition to healthier eating so pleasant!
I love this! So glad you love it as much as we do!
This is a favorite in our house! The first time I followed the recipe and the frozen broccoli I got was so uneven in size so I’ve been using fresh ever since. Cut it down, par-steam for 5ish minutes and good to go.
Tonight I subbed sharp cheddar. Yum. Overall, this is on heavy rotation in our house. So easy and in the summer no stove or oven to heat up!! In the winter, very warm and comforting.
So glad you love it as much as we do! Thanks for sharing!
This is one of our family favorites and is on constant rotation. Super easy to make. Tastes amazing – even for younger kiddos. Heats up great for leftovers and/or to use for lunches (although there is never much left).
Hi, I am planning to purchase an Instant Pot and cant wait to try this recipe. Will a 3 QT work? I don’t have the room or need for the 6 Qt as I am only feeding 1 or 2 people at a time. Thank you.
Hi there! I think you might have messaged us on facebook too? I have 2 different IPs, including a 3 quart. I wouldn’t recommend getting a 3 quart because it will impact your ability to make a lot of recipes, unless you plan to cut them in half.
So simple and so good. This is now in our regular rotation!
I have been making this recipe every other week for the past 2 months. Simple ingredients that I always have on hand (even during this crazy pandemic), so fast, and delicious enough to get both my 10 year old and my 3 year old to eat it. Thank you, Lexi!
Love this recipe! Made a bunch of times. So easy and delicious!
So happy you love it.