Instant Pot Parmesan Chicken and Rice with Mushrooms
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Your whole family will crave this Instant Pot Parmesan Chicken and Rice with Mushrooms so much you’ll put it on the regular rotation.
If the instant pot has become part of your weekly rotation, try Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos, Instant Pot Cheesy Mexican Chicken and Rice, and Instant Pot Honey Teriyaki Chicken.
By now you may have guessed that the Instant Pot is one of my favorite kitchen appliances. I almost said it was one of my favorite kitchen “toys” but I wasn’t sure if that would be appropriate. To me though, these appliances are like toys for home chefs. And in my case, there’s nothing I’d rather play around with. Plus, as life only seems to get busier and busier I’m finding comfort in the fact that I can make my family a wholesome, home cooked meal in less than an hour from pot to plate. That’s superhuman stuff right there.
Can you imagine if our parents had one of those growing up? What do you think they would have cooked? Would they have even used it? I don’t know…my mom was the cook of the house and she seemed to really enjoy the process of it so maybe she wouldn’t have wanted anything to take that process away from her. Things I think about…
But, I digress. In this increasingly busy world, making meals faster I think is just one of those things we have had to rely on. And, for this dish, what I wanted to make happen is for this lovely Chicken and Rice with Mushrooms to make it to our table as quickly as possible. I did have to experiment a little to figure out just the right settings to get the chicken and rice to cook together properly. And then of course to have an option for brown and white rice. I know not everyone is a fan of brown rice. I do love it but my kids, not so much. You could also try a wild rice mix with this but I’d suggest following the brown rice directions.
The inspiration for this dish came from my love of all things mushrooms, and then my love of all things cheese. Oh, and my love for chicken and rice of course. This is a hearty, wintery meal that I just want to put on repeat all season long.
What is the Difference between Chicken Thighs and Chicken Breasts?
Besides coming from a different part of the chicken, chicken thighs are smaller and contain more dark meat than chicken breasts. Often, skinless chicken breasts are substituted for red meat because of their lower fat content.
The choice between chicken breasts and chicken thighs also depends a lot on personal taste preference. Are you a dark meat or a white meat poultry lover? I actually love both, despite being a chicken-breast only person for the longest time. Then, I kept seeing all these recipes using chicken thighs — I tried a few and I have to say, I was quickly turned toward the thigh side. I think the dark meat can be more flavorful at times than the breasts and it tends to retain its moisture content better too.
However, chicken thighs are a little higher in fat content and calories when you measure against the same portion size of chicken breasts. If you want to trim the fat content off of the thighs, then you should literally trim some of the fat off of them. In that case, you’re going to want to use more of them. This recipe calls for four to six thighs so if you’re going to trim them, then I’d err on the side of cooking up six.
Make it Creamy
This dish should be nice and creamy with the addition of butter and cheese. If you’d like it to be even more creamy, you can substitute a third of the chicken broth for heavy cream. Or you could make a roux like I did in step 3 of this recipe for Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup and add it to the broth/mushroom/garlic mixture before adding the chicken.
How to Make this in the Slow Cooker
Yes. If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can use the slow cooker to make this parmesan chicken and mushroom dish. I still recommend sauteeing the garlic and mushrooms in the butter before adding to the slow cooker, then adding your rice and chicken. This will take 3-4 hours on high or 4-6 on low for white rice and 5-6 on high or 6-8 on low for brown.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Pork Lettuce Wraps
- Mushroom Sauce for Steak
- Garlic Butter Roasted Beef Tenderloin
- Personal Pizzas
- Caramelized Onion and Bacon Flatbread
- Creamy Parmesan Chicken with Mushrooms
Did you make this Instant Pot Parmesan Chicken and Rice with Mushrooms recipe? YAY! Please rate the recipe below!
Instant Pot Parmesan Chicken and Rice with Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 4-6 chicken thighs, or 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons dried herb blend, divided, see note
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup long grain white rice or brown rice, (rinsed*)
- ⅓ cup fresh-grated parmesan cheese
- chopped parsley, optional for garnish
- 1-1 ½ cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Set Instant Pot to SAUTE. Rub chicken with oil, then season all over with salt and pepper to taste, garlic powder, and 1 teaspoon dried herbs. Add chicken to pot, brown for 1-2 minutes on each side, then transfer to a plate.
- Add butter and garlic to the pot and stir 1-2 minutes until butter is melted and garlic lightly browned and fragrant. Add mushrooms and stir for 2-3 minutes until browned.
- For white rice: Stir rice and 1 cup of broth into the pot. Add 1 teaspoon dried herbs. Set steam rack in the pot with the handles up. Place chicken on the rack. Cover and set to PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL for 5 minutes. Cook, then do a natural release for 5 minutes, remove lid.
- For brown rice: Stir rice and 1 1/2 cups of broth into the pot. Add 1 teaspoon dried herbs. Set steam rack in the pot with the handles up. Cover and set to PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL for 10 minutes. Cook, then do a quick release, then place chicken in the pot on the rack and return the lid. Set to PRESSURE COOK or MANUAL for 5 minutes, cook, then natural release for 5 minutes.
- Remove chicken and rack from the pot. Fluff rice with a fork and stir in parmesan cheese. Garnish chicken and rice with chopped parsley, cracked black pepper, and additional cheese if desired and serve.
*Rinsing the rice removes the starch and keeps it from sticking to the bottom of the pot
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Does it matter if I double the rice for the cooking time?
You shouldn’t need to! It just may an extra minute or so to get up to full pressure before cooking.
can salt and pepper be added anywhere? If so… how much?
This recipe calls for salt and pepper already, it’s used in step 1. But if that isn’t cutting it for you, you could probably add more after it’s finished in step 5.
I followed the recipe as directed using the brown rice. I added the steam handles and chicken and it Kept rEading as burn when nothing was buRning. I added a bit more water but Still got the error. any thoughts?
I haven’t had that happen before but I will look into it and get back to you if I find anything useful! I am excited to hear that your dish turned out delicious however!
I got the same error, but I added about 1/2 cup more broth and that solved it
Hello, thanks for posting, same happened here. I’m also noticing that the reply is in all caps, not my intention, but i can’t seem to change it. So back to the recipe, I added more water and retried…same thing. Used the new IP pot and it stilL gave a warning. Ended up adding more water and putting in skillet-result was soggy rice and bland chicken. :/
When do you add second tsp of herbs?
Sorry for the typo! Thanks for pointing that out. It is fixed! It is added with the rice.
This looks outrageously yummy!! What a perfect meal for these wintry days we’ve been having in the midwest. Thanks for sharing
Thanks so much, Kristy!
Can you possibly post a pic of the instant pot steamer basket w the handles yo? I am using a different pressure cooker and i dont know if Hiw this is supposed to look. Is the chicken supposed to be elevated above the rice? Or should i just drop the chicken right on top of the rice instead? Thanks!
*i mean “handles up” 🙂
This was really good. I did broil the thighs after cooking for a few minutes as it a little pale.
Great job, Karen!
In the ingredients, the chicken broth amount says 1-2 1/2 cups. Shouldn’t that be 1-1 1/2 cups?
Thanks for pointing out that typo! It’s fixed 🙂
If i dont have steam rack xab i still make this in the insta pot?
Yes, you can. You may need to pressure cook the rice for five minutes longer before adding the chicken though!
This looks so good! Do you use boneless, skinless thighs or with the skin and bone in? Also, what size instant pot do you have? I’m looking to get one.
Really whatever your preference is, but pictured is a boneless, skinless thigh! I have an 8 qt instant pot. I definitely recommend that size but you’ll likely still be able to use a 6 qt with most instant pot recipes out there!