This Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice is better than take-out! This one pot wonder is quick, easy, and packed with rotisserie chicken, veggies, and perfectly cooked rice.
I LOVE fried rice (see all our fried rice recipes)for quick and easy dinners. It’s the perfect way to use up leftovers, especially leftover rice! But what about those times when you don’t have leftover rice hanging around and you still need something quick and easy? Enter: instant pot chicken fried rice.
Step One: make rice in the Instant Pot.
Step Two: chill the rice while you make the chicken and veggie filling in the Instant Pot.
Step Three: DEVOUR.
Ingredients
Rice
- Long Grain White Rice – the best rice for fried rice. It holds its shape and stays separate when stir-fried so it doesn’t get mushy.
- Water – used to cook the rice. Use a 1:1 ratio of rice to water (1 cup rice: 1 cup water) for perfectly al denté rice.
- Unsalted Butter – adds a rich, buttery flavor that works amazingly well in the fried rice.
- Salt – the most common mistake is not seasoning your rice! A little salt goes a long way.
Chicken Fried Rice
- Unsalted Butter – used to cook the veggies. This provides a rich flavor and also prevents the veggies from sticking to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Yellow Onion and Carrot – gives the fried rice a sweet, caramel-y flavor, texture, and a boost of nutrition.
- Garlic – adds that subtle nutty taste.
- Ground Ginger, Salt, and Black Pepper – a simple yet effective seasoning blend.
- Eggs – scrambled into the veggies to give the rice the classic fried rice flavor and texture.
- Soy Sauce, Seasoned Rice Vinegar, Hoisin Sauce, Chili Garlic Sauce, and Sesame Oil – a salty, tangy, sweet, and spicy sauce to take this fried rice to another level.
- Frozen Peas – add color, nutrients, and a delicious pop of texture.
- Cooked Chicken – you can either cook your own chicken or use a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken for easy prep. Either way you’ll need about 1 pound!
- Cilantro, Green Onions, Sesame Seeds, and Sriracha – for serving, if desired!
How to make
This easy and healthy chicken and rice dinner takes 15 minutes to prep!
- Place rice, water, butter, and salt in your instant pot, stir to combine, then cook for 6 minutes.
- Remove the lid, fluff the rice with a fork, and spread out onto a baking sheet lined with a silicone mat. Place in the freezer to chill.
- Clean your pot then hit SAUTE. Add in butter and, once melted, stir in onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, and black pepper. Cook until the carrots are tender.
- Pour in egg and scramble before stirring in soy sauce, vinegar, hoisin, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, peas, and chicken.
- Mix in chilled rice, cook until everything is heated through, then serve and enjoy!
Should you rinse the rice?
Typically, yes, you should rinse your rice before cooking it. Rinsing the rice removes some of the starch so the rice stays separate as it cooks with the liquid. You don’t want it to clump up! BUT, for today’s recipe, do NOT rinse your rice. Because the Instant Pot requires a very specific water to rice ratio to cook correctly, we don’t want any extra water that the rice will have held on to from rinsing.
Do you have to chill the rice?
Yes, chilling the rice after it’s cooked dries it up a bit which gives that classic crispy fried rice texture. This doesn’t require any extra prep time. After you’ve made the rice, spread it out onto a pan, chill it in the freezer, then proceed with the recipe. By the time the rice needs to be stirred into the rest of the ingredients, it will be plenty cold!
Can you use uncooked chicken?
Yes, if you’d like to use uncooked chicken in this recipe, sauté it in the Instant Pot after you’ve made the rice, but before you’ve cooked the veggies:
- Hit sauté on the Instant Pot.
- Once it reads hot, add in 1 tablespoon olive oil (add more if necessary).
- Add in 1 pound cubed chicken (boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs are fine), then season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Sauté until the chicken is no longer pink.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the pan and proceed with the recipe as directed.
I like to use rotisserie chicken for easy prep but feel free to cook your own if you’d prefer!
Can you make chicken fried rice without an instant pot?
Absolutely! No instant pot, no problem! Instead, check out my stovetop fried rice recipe!
Variations
- Use a different meat. Try pork, turkey, shrimp, etc. Whatever you use, make sure it’s cooked first!
- Add or sub veggies. Pretty much any stir fry veggies would work! Try green beans, corn, broccoli, water chestnuts, mushrooms, edamame, bell pepper, you name it. Make sure all the veggies are cut roughly the same size so they cook fully and evenly!
- Make it vegetarian. Leave out the chicken.
- Make it gluten-free. Swap the soy sauce for a gluten-free variety like Tamari or coconut aminos.
What to serve with chicken fried rice
This chicken fried rice is delicious and filling on its own but I also love to bulk the meal up with one or two other dishes!
- Asian Roasted Broccoli
- Chinese Chicken Salad Wonton Cups
- Healthy Asian Lettuce Wraps
- Egg Drop Soup
- Egg Rolls
How to store
Store leftover chicken fried rice in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, thaw in the fridge if frozen then microwave, heat on the stovetop, or warm back in the instant pot until heated through.
– Jennifer
Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
Equipment for this recipe
Ingredients
Rice
- 1 cup long grain white rice don’t rinse
- 1 cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
Chicken Fried Rice
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ½ yellow onion diced
- ½ cup diced carrot
- 2 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or gluten free alternative, if necessary (tamari or coconut aminos)
- 2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar *
- 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce *
- ½ tablespoon chili garlic sauce * plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil *
- ½ cup frozen peas
- 4 cups chopped cooked chicken (about 1 pound) I used 1 rotisserie chicken with skin and bones removed
- salt to taste
- cilantro green onions, sesame seeds, sriracha for garnish, if desired
Instructions
Rice
- Place rice, water, 2 tablespoons butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into your 6 quart Instant Pot.
- Stir to combine.
- Close and lock the lid. Make sure the pressure valve is pointing to SEALING.
- Cook on manual, HIGH pressure, for 6 minutes.
- Once the cook time is up, allow the pot to do a natural release for 10 minutes.
- Flip the valve to quick release the pressure.
- Remove the lid, then use a fork to gently fluff the rice.
- Spread out onto a silicone mat lined baking sheet and place in the freezer to chill.
- Clean Instant Pot, then proceed with the recipe.
Chicken Fried Rice
- Hit SAUTE on your 6 quart Instant Pot.
- Once it reads hot, add in 1/4 cup butter and allow to melt.
- Once melted, add in onion, carrot, garlic, ginger, and black pepper.
- Cook, stirring regularly, until carrots are tender, about 10 minutes.
- Pour in egg and scramble until cooked to your liking.
- Stir in soy sauce, vinegar, hoisin, chili garlic sauce, sesame oil, peas, and chicken.
- Add in the chilled rice.
- Cook until everything is heated through, stirring regularly.
- Taste and re-season, if necessary, then serve with optional garnishes and enjoy!
- Take 5 seconds to rate this recipe below. We greatly appreciate it!
Notes
People Also Viewed
Nutrition Information
*Note: Nutrition information is estimated and varies based on products used.