If you like Thai food, you’ll love these Instant Pot Thai Chicken Rice Bowls. The best thing about them is that since they’re made in the Instant Pot
I love Thai food and I’m a big fan of one-pot meals so these Instant Pot Thai Chicken Rice Bowls are one of my favorite recipes. My kids love it too, but I have to keep the spices down when I make it for the family.
When I make a batch for my own lunches (this reheats great!), I kick up the hot sauce and spices a few notches. Feel free to adjust the seasonings to suit your own preferences.
How to Make Instant Pot Thai Chicken Rice Bowls
One of the best features of the Instant Pot
Step One – Brown the Chicken
Choose the saute function on your Instant Pot. Once the pot is hot, add the oil and then the chicken. (Note: I buy a 4-pack of chicken from the meat section at the store and it’s usually about 2 pounds.)
Sear it on both sides to seal in the moisture and give the breasts a nice brown coat.
Step Two – Prepare the Sauce
Next, you’ll create the secret sauce that makes this dish amazing. Combine all the ingredients in a liquid measuring cup.
Then, place the chicken in a glass pan and pour the sauce over the top.
Step Three – Pressure Cook
Add the rice to the Instant Pot (I use a long-grain rice like jasmine or basmati). If you use a different type of rice, refer to this guide to adjust the liquid and cooking time. Overall cooking time will be similar so chicken will be fully cooked with any of the rice methods.
Then add the chicken, including the marinade (just dump it out of the glass pan into the pot). Next, pour in the broth.
Set your Instant Pot to “Manual” (high pressure) and the time for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. Dinner’s ready! When you open the lid to your Instant Pot, you should see something like this:
But spooned into a bowl and topped with some shredded carrots, zucchini and peanuts, it’s transformed into this:
FREE Instant Pot Cheat Sheet
Instant Pot Thai Chicken Rice Bowls Recipe
Ready to make these amazing Instant Pot Thai Chicken Rice Bowls? Here’s the recipe!
IMPORTANT NOTE: The original recipe (and the way I make it in my own home) called for 3 cups of broth. After MANY comments from people who have tried the recipe reporting that the consistency was too mushy, I’ve reduced the amount to 2 cups.
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 chicken breasts (about 2 lbs)
- 1 cup uncooked long-grain white rice
- 2 cups broth
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter optional
- 1/2 cup sweet chili Thai sauce
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce - to taste
- 1/2 Tablespoon fish sauce
- 1/2 Tablespoon ginger minced
- 1/2 Tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha or hot sauce
- Cilantro optional garnish
- Shredded zucchini optional garnish
- Shredded carrots optional garnish
- Bean sprouts optional garnish
- Peanuts optional garnish
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Select the saute setting on your instant pot and add the olive oil.
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Sear the chicken breasts for 2-3 minutes on either side to seal in their juices. Remove to a glass baking dish (and turn off the instant pot).
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Mix the sweet chili Thai sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, ginger, garlic, lime juice, sriracha (and peanut butter if you want to include it) together.
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Pour the sauce over the chicken breasts and stir to combine.
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Place the rice in your Instant Pot and add the chicken and sauce over top.
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Add the broth and secure the lid.
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Select the manual pressure setting (high) and set the timer to 10 minutes. Natural release.
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Shred the chicken with two forks and then mix with the rice before serving.
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Garnish with cilantro, shredded veggies and peanuts. Serve with extra soy sauce to taste.
Weight Watchers Freestyle = 7 Points Per Serving with 4 Servings, Skipping Peanut Butter
More Instant Pot Rice Bowl Recipes
If you liked these Instant Pot Thai Chicken Rice Bowls, you might enjoy some of these other all-in-one Instant Pot rice bowl recipes.
Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls
Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken Bowls
Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli and Rice (a great recipe from my friend Ashley at I Don’t Have Time for That!)
Check out the complete list of all my Instant Pot recipes, plus helpful tips, terms, and resources.
Corinne Schmitt
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Monika says
This was really good ! I made some alterations – but still super yummy . Have no fear if you don’t have fish sauce on hand , I didn’t use it and it was still a success . Also I used only 2 chicken breast and it was still plenty of chicken . Use 4 if you want a lot of meat . I was concerned with the amount of broth to rice but the consistency was nice . It’s more of like a sticky rice consistency – and who doesn’t love that ?? Thanks for the great recipe !
Amy Burke says
Could you cook this in the instant pot without the rice (I eat low carb) and serve it over cauliflower rice ?
Thai food is a favorite for sure
Corinne Schmitt says
Absolutely. Just reduce the liquid to 1/2 cup of broth (or 1 cup if you want more sauce).
Kassondra Stevens says
Hey! Love this recipe. Looking to pre make a few and freeze them so I can just pull it out of the freezer and put it in the instant pot. Do you think this would work? Should I still sear the chicken before freezing everything or just put the raw chicken in the feeezee? Thanks!
Corinne Schmitt says
Hi Kassondra, thanks for the question. Do NOT sear the chicken first. And if you are going to go straight from the freezer to the Instant Pot, make sure to start on saute to melt some of the liquid first so that it can come to pressure.
Sue Spence says
I would love to try this recipe but don’t have an Instant Pot. Can you suggest another way of cooking this dish. Many thanks, Sue
Corinne Schmitt says
Hi Sue! You could easily convert this recipe for a slow cooker instead. Just omit one cup of the broth. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.
clara says
Is this recipe for a Mini or 6qt
Corinne Schmitt says
6 quart (also works in the 8 qt). It will be WAY too much to fit in a 3 qt. Halve the recipe if you want to use the smaller IP.
Rachell Fuentes says
This recipe was so delicious, thanks so much for sharing! I made this with chicken and loved it but I was wondering if you have recommendations on instant pot settings if I were to make it with a 3 pound chuck roast. Thanks again!
Lori says
This was delicious and so easy to make! I used 3 chicken breasts which I cut in half before searing. I used 1 tablespoon of coconut oil instead of olive oil. Once the chicken was browned I scraped the bits off the bottom of the pot. I added the 2 cups of broth, then the cup of rice then the chicken and then poured the sauce over everything. It cooked on high for 10 then natural release took about 20 minutes. Rice came out great, not mushy at all. I added extra veg to my bowl (lightly sautéed shredded cabbage, matchstick carrots and red onion) and also made zoodles. I left out the Sriracha for the kids sake but added it to my own bowl. Whole family loved it! Thanks
Corinne Schmitt says
Hi Lori! I’m glad you liked the recipe. Thank you so much for your detailed feedback! It’s super helpful to have others share their tips and variations. I really appreciate that you took the time to come back and comment.
Charlie says
This dish is amazing. It is the first one I have tried in the instant pot. I also deglazed the pan before I put the rice and the other ingredients. Looking forward to using the instant pot many more times.
Katy says
I’ve made this several times now and I just had to come and tell you how much my family with 2 teenage boys love it! They’d love to have it once a week! Thanks so much for a great recipe.
I did want to say that I switch up the order when putting food back in the pot. After searing the chicken I remove it and pour in about half of the broth and deglaze the bottom of the pot until all of the bits are up. I then add the rest of the broth, stir in the rice and add the chicken and the sauce on the top, not stirring again. I haven’t had a Burn notice issue. Thanks again!
Angie says
Not sure what I did wrong. I got the dreaded burn message shortly after the pot came to pressure. I took everything out, completely scrubbed the pot, and restarted. This time the pot came to pressure and cooked for about five minutes before the burn message appeared again. We ended up throwing out the rice but luckily the chicken wasn’t burnt and was cooked to temp. The flavor was fantastic. I would like to try this again. Any ideas of what might have gone wrong? I do have the 8 qt pot. Should I have adjusted something.
ep says
I just did the chicken in the instant pot and made the rice how i normally do, in a separate rice cooker, to avoid the mushiness problem. This is definitely a 5 star chicken recipe, so just avoid doing the rice in the same pot; rice is so easy to make on it’s own and cooks about the same time as the chicken so it doesn’t add extra time.
I put in 4 boneless/skinless chicken thighs, browned it, added the sauce (I didn’t add any broth at all, and I added a tablespoon of thai hot chili sauce to make it a little spicier, and I didn’t have ginger or lime juice or any of the garnishes). I definitely don’t think it needs the broth without the rice, the sauce was enough on its own.
I cooked on “meat/stew” setting for 16 minutes with natural release. The chicken came out so tender and flavorful, and I just dumped it over the rice and drizzled the extra sauce onto the rice. My husband loved it! Definitely will make again.
Corinne Schmitt says
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback and ideas!
Andrea says
Hi,
Just wondering if this recipe would still be good if you froze it after it has been made?
Corinne Schmitt says
Yes! Since my kids often find this too spicy, I freeze leftovers in lunch-sized portions and use them as homemade freezer meals. I microwave mine for 5 minutes and then let them stand for 1-2 minutes before eating.
Janna says
I just tried this the other night. The Rice came out super flavorful, but the chicken was beyond bland as all the sauce, and flavor went right into the rice when I put everything in the pot. Did I miss a step somewhere to marinade the chicken? The part int he directions that say to put the chicken in a glass dish with the sauce and then immediately pour everything into the cooker seemed odd. Like was the chicken supposed to sit int he sauce for a bit?
Corinne Schmitt says
In my original instructions, I did let the chicken marinate for a while in the fridge with the sauce but it was pointed out to me that this is a serious health risk since chicken should never sit like that once it’s been browned. That’s why the directions now call for it to be immediately be added to the pot. Yes, less flavor makes it into the chicken this way, but it’s much safer.
Daniel Lewis says
the hardest thing for a successful dish is to find good ingredients. Now in large and well-stocked supermarkets there is almost everything, but in case you did not, you can try them in organic shops and oriental shops.
Jess says
Well this went straight into the trash. I think the recipe is incorrect and it actually doesn’t match with the video provided. 1. The video show this pot being opened two times and broth being poured in, but in he recipe it states to pour both cups in at once. 2. After the 10 minutes and the natural pressure release I open d the pit and it was still full of liquid. 3. I had it go longer with no avail, and I’m pretty sure it’s due to to much liquid. I believe 1 cup will do the job, not 2
Corinne Schmitt says
Hi Jess, I’m not certain why your results were so different. This is one of my most popular recipes and most people love it. The video definitely adds the broth all at once as it was prepared exactly following the instructions in the post. I’m sorry yours didn’t turn out.
Jess says
I just watched the video again and you’re right, I wonder if the video glitched while I watched it. I saw others notes it was too much liquid as wel. Followed exactly to video, natural release. It came out literally like slop and I had to throw it away and order take out :/
Corinne Schmitt says
Hi Jess, I’m really sorry yours didn’t turn out, because I totally understand the frustration of looking forward to dinner and having it ruined, then having to find another solution when you’re already hungry and it’s dinner time. The original version of the recipe called for more liquid and based on the comments (I think) you are referencing, I did reduce the liquid in the recipe a while ago. I will definitely take your feedback into consideration and watch for other comments that echo your results to see if further adaptations need to be made. I truly appreciate the input and the time it takes to come back and leave it. Thank you!
Rusty says
I actually had the exact same results. The chicken came out really well, but it was still under a good amount of liquid and the rice turned to total mush. I basically just ate the chicken, which was perfectly fine and tender. Not sure what I messed up here, if anything. I think I’ll take another comment’s suggestion of trying this with chicken-only (minus the broth) and using my Zojirushi for the rice, since it nails that every time.