Instant Pot Chicken Spanish Rice: Flavorful One-Pot Dinner

Instant Pot Spanish Rice with Chicken is a simple, satisfying one-pot meal you can make for meal prep or any weeknight dinner. It’s flavorful, easy to assemble, and yields plenty of leftovers.

Chicken and rice are a weekly staple around here. Add roasted or sautéed vegetables and you’ve got a complete, balanced meal. This Spanish-style version adds bright tomato flavor and warm spices that keep the dish from feeling repetitive.

If you’ve tried a basic Spanish rice recipe before, this version will feel familiar — it simply adds chicken to turn the side into a satisfying main dish. It’s designed to be quick in the Instant Pot and scalable for families or meal prep.

Let’s get cooking.

Spanish Rice with Chicken Ingredients:

Chicken: Use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs seasoned with garlic powder, paprika, and sea salt. The bone-in thighs become very tender with pressure cooking.

Spanish Rice: This recipe uses white rice combined with onion, garlic, dried oregano, chicken broth, tomato paste, and a bit of salsa for extra flavor.

Recipe Customizations:

• If you prefer boneless thighs, reduce the pressure-cook time to 8 minutes instead of 12.
• Swap dried oregano for a blend of dried parsley, basil, rosemary, or Italian seasoning if desired.
• Do not substitute brown rice for white rice without adjusting cook times; brown rice requires different timing and more liquid.

Most of these ingredients are pantry staples, so it’s an easy recipe to pull together. Below are clear steps to make it in the Instant Pot.

How to Make Instant Pot Spanish Chicken and Rice:

1. Rinse or soak the dry white rice: place rice in a bowl, cover with about 2 inches of water and soak for at least 15 minutes (or overnight). Drain and set aside.

2. Prepare the Instant Pot: plug it in, select Sauté, and add the avocado oil. Let the pot heat for a few minutes.

3. Season the chicken: sprinkle chicken thighs with paprika, garlic powder, and sea salt and set them aside while the pot heats.

4. Sear the chicken: place thighs skin-side down in the hot pot and sear 4–5 minutes until golden and crisp; flip and brown the other side 4–5 minutes. Depending on pot size you may need to do this in batches. Remove browned chicken to a plate.

5. Sauté aromatics and rice: add butter or ghee and the chopped onion to the pot. Cook 3–5 minutes until the onion softens. Add garlic, soaked/drained rice, and chili powder and continue to sauté, stirring, for 2–3 minutes so the rice becomes well coated and aromatic.

6. Add liquids and finish in the pressure cooker: stir in dried oregano, chicken broth, tomato paste, and optional salsa until combined. Nestle the chicken back into the pot. Secure the lid, select Manual/Pressure Cook on High, and set the time for 12 minutes.

7. Release pressure: when cooking finishes, let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then carefully use the quick release to release remaining pressure. Open the lid and fluff the rice with a fork.

8. Serve: you can remove the skin before serving if you don’t want it, or crisp the skin under the broiler (instructions below) for a crunchy finish.

How to Make Crispy Chicken Skin:

Transfer the cooked chicken (leave the rice in the pot) to a baking sheet or casserole dish using tongs. Place under a high broiler on the middle or upper-middle rack and broil 5–10 minutes until the skin is golden-brown and crisp. Watch carefully so the skin doesn’t burn.

This meal is an easy go-to when you want a flavorful but straightforward chicken-and-rice dinner. It reheats well and makes a great option for meal prep.

More Instant Pot Meal Recipes:

• Instant Pot Pot Roast
• Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore
• Instant Pot Pulled Pork and Apples
• Instant Pot Hamburger Helper with Rice
• Instant Pot Beef Bourguignon