Never have day old rice to make fried rice with? Make this super easy, one pot chicken fried rice in the Instant Pot. It just takes about 30 minutes, and is great for leftovers.
Traditional Chinese fried rice is made in a wok, it's often seasoned with some salt and maybe a bit of soy sauce. Eggs, vegetables, and small chunks of meat are common additions. Traditional fried rice recipes use dried cooked rice so the grains of rice aren't sticky or gummy. Here's a recipe to try from Serious Eats. J Kenji Lopez-Alt experimented with all the different methods to get the recipe right.
The chicken fried rice Instant Pot recipe I share today isn't a traditional fried rice recipe, I mean it's cooked in an Instant Pot.
How will this dish make your life easier?
Cook rice and chicken together to prep for this super easy one pot fried rice. This chicken fried rice Instant Pot is a great recipe that's done in about 30 minutes, and is the perfect recipe to use up leftover vegetables in your fridge. Note, the rice may be a bit sticky if you don't have time to cool it down completely, so the texture may not be perfect, but the great flavor & ease compensates for the rice texture. If you're short on time and don't have leftover rice, this is a great recipe.
Check out these other super easy one pot dinners: Black Bean Taco Pasta, Huevos Rancheros, and Baked Salmon 'in a bag'.
What makes it so good?
How do I make it?
Start your chicken fried rice Instant Pot by cooking your chicken and rice. Pour ¼-1/2 c water in Instant Pot bowl. Place a small-medium glass bowl in the Instant Pot bowl, then pour ½ c rinsed Jasmine rice and ¾ c MINUS 1 T water into glass bowl. Place trivet on top of the bowl, then place 2-3 frozen chicken tenders on the trivet. Close lid, set vent to SEALING and press MULTIGRAIN and set for 15 minutes.
While the chicken and rice for your chicken fried rice Instant Pot are cooking, prep fried rice by chopping 1 c vegetables.
When the timer hits zero, flip vent to STEAMING, once steam is released open lid. Check chicken temperature by using an instant read thermometer or by cutting it open. Remove chicken, which is done when middle is opaque and white or 165 degrees. Fluff rice. Rice is done when all water is absorbed and rice is soft and tender. Carefully remove rice with hot pads and transfer to sheet pan, spreading it out so it's not clumped together. Leave it out to dry out while cooking the vegetables.
Prepare fried rice by pouring out excess water from Instant Pot bowl, then return and turn on to SAUTEE. Add 1 T oil, 1 c vegetables, and ½ teaspoon minced garlic. Cook and stir until onions are translucent, and other vegetables are soft. Chop chicken and return to bowl. Add rice. Stir together until vegetables are distributed evenly and rice starts to brown. You may need to add a bit more oil so it browns, you definitely want browned rice in your chicken fried rice Instant Pot.
Move the fried rice out of center of bowl to make a circle to cook the egg. Crack egg into center of bowl. Stir it with a rubber spatula until egg is cooked through. Then mix together all ingredients. Add sauce ingredients: 1 T soy sauce and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed. Transfer your chicken fried rice Instant Pot to a bowl and eat your chicken fried rice Instant Pot immediately.
Expert Tips
- Don't skip rinsing the rice before cooking it. It'll remove excess starch and help your rice not get sticky or gooey. This is a must for this chicken fried rice Instant Pot recipe.
- The best vegetables to include in your chicken fried rice Instant Pot are onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots, and frozen peas. Set aside until rice and chicken are done cooking.
- Cook an 2-5 additional minutes on MANUAL if some water remains unabsorbed by rice, or if chicken isn't cooked through.
FAQ
Dried out rice is best for fried rice, but if you're having a fried rice craving and don't have any, you can make this one pot Instant Pot chicken fried rice. Essentially, you cook the chicken and rice using the pressure cooker function, then remove those and lay flat on a sheet pan to let it dry out while you cook veggies in oil and add back the rice and chicken, then add your sauce, and you're good to go.
You use rice, some kind of meat, chopped vegetables, egg, soy sauce, and sesame oil to make fried rice. There are lots of ingredients you can use in your fried rice recipe, but this list is the general ingredient list, and is also used in the recipe for chicken fried rice Instant Pot.
Day or two day old rice is the secret to good fried rice. That helps you get non-gooey fried rice. But if you're short on time and don't have leftover rice, fresh rice still tastes great, it just might be gooey. That's what we're using in this chicken fried rice Instant Pot recipe. Also using enough oil is important to get crispy parts if you like crispy rice & vegetables in your fried rice.
What can I make with leftover ingredients?
- This chicken fried rice Instant Pot recipe is great because it tastes good with lots of different ingredients, that means it's the perfect recipe to use up what you already have.
- Chicken: Instant Pot Chicken and Yellow Rice, 15 Minute Chicken Noodle Stir-Fry, and Grilled Chicken Burgers
- Vegetables: Veggie Quesadilla, Vegetarian Hash, & Steak Fajitas
- Rice: Vegetarian Burrito Bowl, (add to) Veggie Tacos, and Chicken & Broccoli over Rice.
Did you make this chicken fried rice Instant Pot? Leave me a comment & rating to share how it turned out!
Chicken Fried Rice in the Instant Pot
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Trivet
- cutting board
- knife
- Small-medium glass bowl
- rubber spatula
- Measuring Spoons
- Measuring Cups
Ingredients
- ½ cup Jasmine rice
- 1 cup water divided
- 2-3 frozen chicken tenders
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil like canola, grapeseed, vegetable
- 1 cup chopped vegetables like onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots, peas, etc.
- egg
Sauce
- 1-3 tablespoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon minced garlic
Instructions
- Cook chicken and rice. Pour ¼-1/2 c water in Instant Pot bowl. Place small-medium glass bowl in Instant Pot bowl, pour ½ c rinsed Jasmine rice and ¾ c MINUS 1 T water into glass bowl. Place trivet on top of bowl, then place 2-3 frozen chicken tenders on trivet. Close lid, set vent to SEALING and press MULTIGRAIN and set for 15 minutes.
- While chicken and rice are cooking, prep fried rice by chopping 1 c vegetables. The best vegetables to include are onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots, and frozen peas. Set aside until rice and chicken are done cooking.
- When cooking time is done, flip vent to STEAMING, once steam is released open lid. Check chicken temperature by using an instant read thermometer or by cutting it open. Remove chicken, which is done when middle is opaque and white or 165 degrees. Fluff rice. Rice is done when all water is absorbed and rice is soft and tender. Carefully remove rice with hot pads and transfer to sheet pan, spreading it out so it's not clumped together. Leave it out to dry out while cooking the vegetables.
- Prepare fried rice by pouring out excess water from Instant Pot bowl, then return and turn on to SAUTEE. Add 1 T oil, 1 c vegetables, and ½ teaspoon minced garlic. Cook and stir until onions are translucent, and other vegetables are soft. Chop chicken and return to bowl. Add in rice. Stir together until vegetables are distributed evenly and rice starts to brown. You may need to add a bit more oil so it browns.
- Move fried rice out of center of bowl to make a circle to cook the egg. Crack egg into center of bowl. Stir it with a rubber spatula until egg is cooked through. Then mix together all ingredients. Add sauce ingredients: 1 T soy sauce and ½ teaspoon sesame oil. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed. Transfer to bowl and eat immediately.
Video
Notes
- Don't skip rinsing the rice before cooking it. It'll remove excess starch and help your rice not get sticky or gooey.
- The best vegetables to include are onions, bell peppers, celery, carrots, and frozen peas. Set aside until rice and chicken are done cooking.
- Cook 2-5 additional minutes on MANUAL if some water remains unabsorbed by rice, or if chicken isn't cooked through.
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nancy says
I loved one pot instant fried rice.
Rebecca says
great to hear! thanks
Sue says
Awesome, I love using my Instant Pot and this looks like just what I needed!
Rebecca says
exactly!
Julie says
What a fun way to make fried rice. Will have to try it this way.
Rebecca says
yes, it's so easy too!
Katherine says
I love how quick and easy this is in the Instant Pot!
Rebecca says
it's so easy!!!
Shanna says
I love how easy the Instant Pot makes recipes. I can't wait to try this one because it looks amazing.
Rebecca says
right?! isn't it awesome!
Tracy says
Another Instant pot winner! This is SO good and our family LOVES it.
Rebecca says
great to hear! IP recipes are the best