Chinese take-out right in your Instant pot. Packed with chunks of tender chicken, scrambled eggs, carrots and peas, this Instant pot chicken fried rice is easier and healthier. No more take-outs!!!
I'm having a love affair with my Instant pot these past few months. Check out all these amazing Instant Pot Recipes
It took a while to get going ( I mean, mine was still in the original packaging for at least 2 months after purchase). But, once I realized the convenience, there is no stopping.
My favorite part of a fried rice in an instant pot is that it does not require cooked, cooled leftover rice. No planning needed! You might also love this easy pesto rice made in the instant pot.
I'm all set to make chicken fried rice when the craving hits or in need a quick fix for school lunch box. An absolutely perfect side dish for all your favorite Chinese dishes or just a simple meal in itself.
(Hint: tis delicious with a fried egg on top <---- simple yet satisfying)
Why Instapot chicken fried rice?
Instant pot was a game changer. I began with cooking white rice and slowly exploring more variations. So simple and is a great base for all your Mexican meals.
Ever since, I have been putting my instant pot to good use. Chicken makes it's appearance at least three nights a week in our home. So, chicken fried rice instant pot was a no brainer. My favorite part is that you don't have to depend on leftover rice to enjoy hot pressure cooker chicken fried rice whenever your craving hits.
It is so convent that it is perfect for weekday meals and a balanced one as well <--- carbs, protein and veggies, all in one.
Wanna another reason? If I haven't sold this recipe to you already:) Leftovers make great lunch box for next day.
How to make chicken fried rice in instant pot?
Step-1 : Heat oil in instant pot, scramble eggs and transfer
Step-2: If using frozen peas, add frozen peas in the now empty pot and cook for about a minute until thawed. Transfer
Step-3: Add a touch more oil, saute chicken, then onion and garlic.
Step-4: Add rinsed and drained rice, saute for about 20 seconds.
Step-5: Stir in chicken stock and chopped carrots.
Step-6: Cook ---> There are two different methods given. Scroll below for more details.
Step-7: Stir in soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, ground black pepper, scrambled eggs and peas.
Instant pot fried rice for the win!
How to make non-mushy fried rice in Instant pot?
It totally depends on your rice, yes! Many, many readers have had huge success with this recipe and there are a few who have had mushy rice. Reason? it depends on the basmati rice you are using. Not all brands, packages of rice are the same though they all say basmati rice in the package ---> Some need more water and some less. Some need more cooking time and some less.
How do we solve this? I came up with two different cooking methods for you (you are welcome!). So, which method is right for you?
Cooking method-1
- If you have tried this recipe already and you have had great success. Just stick to this.
- If you cook different rice recipes in your Instant pot and use the rice setting and love the way the rice gets cooked , then this is right for you.
Cooking method-2
- If you have tried this recipe before and had a mushy outcome, then go for this.
- If you are not sure about your rice or cooking method.
Another important note for cooking rice in instant pot -----> It depends on the size of your Instant pot.
I tried making this recipe in a 3-quart Instant pot and a 8-quart Instant Pot. Result? Fried rice in 8-quart was much more firmer that the 3-quart. So, if you a own a larger Instant Pot, then use that for firmer rice.
Few notes on making this instant pot fried rice recipe:
- Rinse rice in a strainer and let it hang out for couple of minutes to drain as much water as possible. This step is important to not only wash the rice, as well as remove excess starch <--- less mushier rice
- Do not double the recipe. It's just too much to work with and makes the rice overcooked in the process.
- I used 1 cup of 33% less sodium chicken stock and the salt was perfect along with soy sauce. But, if you have regular sodium chicken stock, then I'd suggest using ¾ cup stock + ¼ cup water.
Can I make pressure cooker chicken fried rice with brown rice?
One of my reader made it with great success. Here is how she made it:
Followed cooking Method #1 AND doubled the recipe (she used the Duo Plus 8 qt and the 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 ½ a teaspoon) and an additional teaspoon or two of soy sauce. Tasted it, and it really is just perfect!"
I love you guys!!!
Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 3-4 tablepsoons vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs, whisked to combine
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite size chunks
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup white basmati rice, rinsed and drained well
- 1 cup (33% less sodium) chicken stock refer notes
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into ¼ inch cubes
- 3 tablepsoons soy sauce (more or less as desired)
- ½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Set instant pot in saute mode. When hot, add 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add eggs and scramble, remove on to a plate when done. (You don't have to continuously stir eggs. Stir 'em every 20 seconds or so, until cooked. This will yield larger pieces of scrambled eggs)Into the now empty pot (still in saute mode), add frozen peas. Saute, until thawed completely . The moisture from peas will help in loosening the eggs sticking to the bottom of the pan. Try scraping most of it. Transfer peas to the plate.
- Add 1-2 tablespoons oil to the now empty instant pot, Add chicken in a single layer, cook undisturbed for 2 minutes. Stir around and then add chopped onions and garlic, cook (stirring occasionally) for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add rinsed and drained rice and saute for about 20 seconds and then stir in chicken stock and carrots. Scrape sides, close Instant pot, lock lid, set valve to sealing, press cancel. (Refer notes below to see which method is right for you).
- Cooking Method-1 : Select rice mode. (This is an automatic setting and mine took 12 minutes). When cook time is done, let the Instant pot be in warm mode for 5 minutes. When 5 minutes is done, turn valve to vent and let pressure release.Press cancel and open lid. Stir in cooked eggs, peas, soy sauce, sesame oil and ground pepper.
- Cooking Method-2 : Cook for 3 minutes on manual mode. When cook time is done, let it be in warm mode for 10 minutes (for al dente rice) and 15 minutes (for more softer rice) When cooking time is done, turn valve to vent and let pressure release.Press cancel and open lid. Stir in cooked eggs, peas, soy sauce, sesame oil and ground pepper.
- Some readers have suggested that doubling the recipe results in slightly overcooked rice. So, I'd suggest using the recipe as is.
- Remove pot insert from the instant pot base and place on a wire rack to cool for 5-10 minutes, before serving. Enjoy hot Instant pot chicken fried rice for lunch/dinner or cool and pack into meal prep containers for the week.
Notes
- If you have tried this recipe already and you have had great success. Just stick to this.
- If you cook different rice recipes in your Instant pot and use the rice setting and love the way the rice gets cooked , then this is right for you.
- If you have tried this recipe before and had a mushy outcome, then go for this.
- If you are not sure about your rice or cooking method.
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.
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting kitchenathoskins.com
All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.
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 🙂