This Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice recipe is a quick, easy, flavorful, and comforting instant pot meal! Easy 30-minute meal perfect for busy weeknights!
If you are looking for more chicken and rice dishes, then try my instant pot Mexican chicken and rice or the pesto chicken rice recipe next!
A Quick Look at the Recipe
✅ Recipe Name: Instant pot chicken fried rice
🕒 Ready In: ~25 minutes
👪 Makes: 4 servings
🧑🍳 Main Ingredients: Chicken thighs, basmati rice, soy sauce, eggs, carrot and peas.
📖 Dietary Info: Healthy, clean eating, protein rich with gluten free option.
📌 Difficulty: Easy instant pot recipe
Why you’ll love this chicken fried rice recipe?
Making chicken fried rice in the Instant Pot is a total game changer. It's faster, mostly hands-off, and turns out perfectly every time. Best of all, you don't need leftover rice!
Everything cooks together in one pot—the rice, chicken, veggies, and seasonings—so cleanup is incredibly easy. The rice comes out fluffy, flavorful, and never mushy, with all the delicious flavors of your favorite takeout, but made right at home.
It's my kind of weeknight dinner: a complete meal with protein, rice, and vegetables in every bite, minimal cleanup, and a recipe the whole family is always happy to dig into. After all, who doesn't love fried rice?
- maria doss
Featured Comments
One reader Sandra writes, "This is so delicious, I have made it several times. I’m doing it again tonight." ★★★★★
One reader JTK writes, "Absolutely amazing! I love this recipe. Easy, quick, and perfect. I use frozen peas and carrots and it works out great." ★★★★★
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Ingredients you'll need
Scroll down to the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and amounts.
- Rice – Unlike traditional fried rice recipes that uses leftover rice, instapot fried rice starts with raw rice like basmati or jasmine; just make sure to rinse and drain it thoroughly to prevent sticking.
- Chicken – Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are ideal because they stay tender and juicy during pressure cooking, while adding flavor to the rice.
- Eggs – You'll need two eggs, which are scrambled directly in the instant pot for a classic fried rice touch and added protein.
- Vegetables – Chopped carrots and frozen green peas not only add color and flavor, but also boost nutrition and are an easy way to sneak veggies into kids.
- Stock – Using reduced-sodium chicken stock gives the rice a deep, savory flavor and that restaurant-style richness without needing any added MSG.
- Sauces – A combo of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil creates the signature umami flavor and aroma that makes fried rice taste like your favorite restaurant.
Tips for Success
- Rinse and drain the rice – Rinse the rice in a fine mesh strainer and let it sit for a couple of minutes to drain as much water as possible. This step is important not just for cleaning the rice, but also for removing excess starch — which helps prevent mushy chicken & egg fried rice.
- Don’t double the recipe – Doubling the ingredients can lead to overcooked rice in the instant pot, so it’s best to stick to the original quantities.
- Stock & salt balance – I used 1 cup of 33% less sodium chicken stock, and the salt level was perfect when combined with the soy sauce. If you're using regular sodium stock, I recommend using ¾ cup stock + ¼ cup water to avoid the dish becoming too salty.
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Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tablepsoons vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- 1 cup white basmati rice rinsed and drained well
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite size chunks
- 1 cup chicken stock I used 33% reduced sodium
- 2 medium carrots chopped into ¼ inch cubes
- 1 cup peas fresh or frozen
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce use according to taste
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Instructions
- Cook eggs. Turn on your Instant Pot and set it to sauté mode. Once it’s hot, add about half the oil. Crack the eggs and scramble them, stirring often until fully cooked. Transfer the eggs to a plate and set aside.
- Saute onion and garlic. Add the rest of the oil, then toss in the chopped onions and garlic. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally until fragrant.👉 While that’s cooking, rinse and drain your rice thoroughly.
- Pressure cook. Next, add the rice, chicken, stock, peas, carrots and pepper. Give everything a good stir, scraping down the sides as needed. Close and lock the lid, set the valve to sealing, and cook on manual (or pressure cook) mode for 3 minutes. Once the cooking time is up, let it be in warm mode for 10 minutes.
- Finish. Turn the valve to venting to release any remaining pressure. Open the lid and stir in the cooked eggs, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Mix gently until everything is evenly combined.
- Serve. Remove the inner pot from the instant pot base and place it on a wire rack to cool for 5–10 minutes before serving—this helps the fried rice firm up a bit and keeps it from getting too soft. Garnish with chopped scallions.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information, based on third-party calculations, should be seen as estimates, not guarantees, as various factors like product types, brands, processing methods, and more can alter the nutritional content in recipes.
How to make?
You can find full printable recipe below, but here is a quick overview of the procedure along with step-by-step photos.
More Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Dishes
- Instant Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice is a quick, easy, and cheesy one-pot meal ready in under 30 minutes.
- Pesto rice with chicken is a simple one pot meal with flavorful rice, chicken and green beans all together in an instant pot.
- This restaurant style Instant pot Thai chicken fried rice recipe is the absolute best. It's quick and delicious plain with wedges of tomato and cucumber slices.
MADE THIS RECIPE AND LOVED IT? 💚 Please leave a ⭐️STAR rating and COMMENT below- I love to hear your feedback! Tag me with your creations on Instagram and find me on Facebook.
Hi, I’m Maria! I share easy, flavor-packed dinners, high-protein meals, and irresistible baking ideas. If you’ve ever asked, “Don’t know what to cook tonight?” you’re in the right place. And yes—there’s plenty here for breakfast, snacks, and dessert too. More about maria ->
Neha
What a quick, easy and delicious one pot recipe it sounds! I am loving the addition of chicken stock to the rice. I can only imagine the flavor it will give to the meal. Simply amazing! Neha recently posted- https://greedyeats.com/dragon-fruit-smoothie-bowl-seeds-fruits/
Maria Doss
Thank you so much Neha
Dawn
OMG! Made this tonight and it was AHHHHHHHHHMAZING!!!!!! Thank you for a quick and easy recipe. I used cooking method #1, but I couldn’t find any of the Batsami rice at the store due to Covid-19, so I used what I had at home...brown instant rice👍
heather (delicious not gorgeous)
ahhh i love fried rice! and love that you don't have to have leftover rice on hand in order to make it (:
Maria Doss
Thank you Heather:)
Denise
Super easy to make. Rinsing the rice made a difference. I used Gluten free soy sauce. Yum. Thanks for sharing 😊
Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats
Again I sigh because I don't have me an Instant Pot!! I totally need one. Plus I would make this rice because my stepson LOVES getting this when we eat out, but you know I love to make everything at home as much as I can. Great recipe Maria!! XOXO
Jilean A.
I only had regular sesame oil, but it came out great!The rice was a tad bit mushy but not by much. I used method 2 & left it on natural release for 15 min. Next time I'll try 10. And there most definitely will be a next time ! My 5yr old LOVED IT & my husband waited till we were done eating then ate the rest & said 'This isn't going to be a leftover type of meal.' Lol! Ok, I thought after the eggs & peas they I didn't be able to scrape off the burnt bits & it would result in a burn message, but when the chicken, onions & garlic was cooking, it scraped up super easy! Thanks for a great recipe!
Maria Doss
Thank you Kelly, this is a kids favorite for sure.
Corinne
What size instant pot did you use for this recipe? I have a 6 quart and was wondering if it would be possible to double this recipe.
Maria Doss
Hi Corinne, I used a 8-quart for this and have also tried 3-quart for half the recipe (1/2-cup rice).
Maria Doss
You could totally use a 6-quart, but the only issue would be moving the rice to one side and scrambling the eggs. I'd suggest one of two options:
1. Scramble eggs separately in a pan and then stir with the rice
2. Remove cooked rice into a seperate dish, scramble eggs in a now empty Instant pot and then stir the rice with it.
Hope it helps.
Brittany Sherman
I made this tonight and it was fantastic, so easy and good! I added a bag of frozen peas and carrots at the end, as soon as the rice was done and atirred it up, set the lid back on for just a few minutes while the heat of the rice thawed them out and heated them up. Just perfect!
Maria Doss
The addition of peas sounds delish. Thanks for trying, so glad that you liked it 🙂
F.Jordet
Delicious! My family of four polished this off in one sitting. We had eggrolls on the side. I will definitely make two separate batches next time because I know we'd all eat it again for lunch the next day. Thank you for sharing!!
Maria Doss
So happy that you loved it:)
Paige
10 minutes and the rice came out so mushy had to throw it all away.
Maria Doss
I'm so sorry that the rice came out mushy and you ended up wasting it. My sincere apologies...
Al
Can you substitute brown rice?
Maria Doss
Sorry no. The cook time and temperature varies for brown rice and it will not work in this recipe. I'm working on IP brown rice recipes and will be posting soon. Sorry that I'm not able to offer much help:)
Taylor
I just made this tonight with BROWN rice, following Cooking Method #1 AND doubling the recipe. I have the Duo Plus 8 qt and my rice setting was 12 minutes as well. The recipe came out PERFECT. I added a level teaspoon of pepper (for the original recipe, I would do 1/2 a teaspoon) and an additional teaspoon or two of soy sauce. Tasted it, and it really is just perfect!
Maria Doss
That's wonderful Taylor! Thank you so much for the detailed feedback:)
Kim
The chicken fried rice was awesome!
Maria Doss
Thank you Kim, so glad that you loved it:)
Deborah Swinson
Thank you for sharing your recipe. I'm going to make this for my daughter's birthday tomorrow.
I have an 8qt instant pot. Is it possible to double this recipe?
Maria Doss
My suggestion would be no! There is a chance for the rice to turn out mushy if doubled. I'd suggest making two batches instead. I'm sorry that does not make your job easier:)
Deborah Swinson
Thank you for the quick reply Maria.
Pam
This was awesome. So easy!!!
Maria Doss
So glad that you loved it 🙂
Ian
Just love how you have that slider to change the # of servings. Never seen that before and its such a great help. Just waiting to try this recipe. Thankyou!!
Maria Doss
Thanks to WordPress:)
kathy O'Dell
I am using Pressure Cooker XL hoping this will turn out. I have not had great success with rice of any type in it.
Maria Doss
Good luck Kathy, keep me posted:)
Kathleen
Turned out VERY liquidy (I guess the chicken stock... disappointed
Not sure what I did wrong
Maria Doss
I'm sorry about your experience Kathleen. Was all the measurements correct? 1 1/4 cups liquid for 1 cup rice, chicken and veggies work well. Second question is was the pressure released just after 5 mins of warm mode?
Pam
Very good, easy dish. I used my own chicken stock..The rice wasn't quite as fluffy as I'd like, but definately acceptable. My husband LOVED it. Thank you.
Maria Doss
So glad that you liked it:) I'd suggest try reducing the liquid by a touch next time to get it more to your liking:) Thanks hun:)
Karen O'Connell
Hi...followed recipe exactly but the rice turned out very soggy...next time could I put it on manual and cook for 8 or 10 minutes?
Maria Doss
Hi Karen, What was the size of instant pot used?
Freda
Can’t stop eating it! Even hubby loved it.Used my left over roast beef.
Maria Doss
That's awesome! Happy new year hun:)
Starla J Burkhart
I doubled the recipe on my own. It was very yummy but the rice was mushy. There was also too much in the pot to scramble the eggs in the pot. I'll have to tweak it next time. It tasted better the next day after the soy sauce soaked in.
Maria Doss
Hi Starla, Doubling the recipe is not seeming to work. I've had another reader say the same as well. I'll stick to the recipe as is:)
Abigayle
I have made this recipe 10 times in the last few months!! Had to finally leave a comment and tell you how amazing it is. Hits my fried rice craving while being easy to make. Thank you for this recipe!
Maria Doss
Wow!!! So glad that you love it 🙂