This One Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice is a super easy and quick way to prepare an Instant Pot chicken and rice recipe with veggies. Perfect for busy weeknights and leftovers make amazing lunches.
I already shared with you here that I didn’t know about anything Cajun and definitely not Cajun cuisine until I moved from Germany to Canada as a young adult.
But one thing I know for sure is how much I love the ease and convenience of one pot meals. And this one pot Cajun chicken is no different.
The ‘one pot’ I chose for this Cajun chicken recipe is the almighty Instant Pot. Seriously, I’ve fallen in love hard with this electric pressure cooker.
Why I LOVE my Instant Pot
- I now make yogurt from scratch every other week from local, organic milk from pasture-raised cows
- Goodbye to canned pulses for good. I buy only dry beans, cook them in bulk and it takes no time (even without soaking), and then I freeze them for future use.
- Forgetting to take out meat from the freezer to thaw for dinner is no longer an issue. I have made Instant Pot chicken breast and ground beef from frozen without any adverse effects on flavor or texture.
- Spaghetti Squash fully cooked in 10 minutes – enough said!
And these are just a few of the reasons I love my Instant Pot. I am still learning some of its functions and will of course share with you here as I get into Instant Pot bone broth, whole chicken and even cheesecake (?!).
VIDEO: How To Cook Instant Pot Cajun Chicken & Rice
Note that the video still follows the old order of ingredients. I now recommend adding the rice at the very end and NOT to stir it in with the other ingredients.
This recipe is of course for the Instant Pot method of making Cajun chicken and rice. And it really couldn’t be much easier.
First, I used the Instant Pot sauté function to soften the onion and garlic and give it some colour (this step is optional). Then I stir in tomato paste and deglaze the pot.
Next, I add the diced bell pepper together with some Cajun seasoning (I used my homemade Cajun seasoning).
When cooking poultry in the Instant Pot chicken thighs are preferred by many, but I have used chicken breast with great success in this recipe. It comes out tender, flavorful and not dry at all.
To achieve that, I cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to ensure they are thinner and will cook through quickly. I season each half from both sides with Cajun seasoning, so there is a lot more seasoning in contact with the chicken as opposed to whole chicken breasts.
Next, I pour in the chicken broth and arrange the Cajun breast breast halves on top. Now, carefully spread the rice on top and let everything cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.
I let the pressure release naturally (NPR) for 5 minutes and then turn the valve to quick release (QR) any remaining pressure.
Finally, I shred the nice and tender chicken with two forks and stir it in with the rice. Voila! This chicken and rice pressure cooker recipe is done.
Which Rice to use for one pot cajun chicken and rice
I am a huge fan of whole grain brown or red rice, but it takes a long time to cook. Instant Pot rice recipes can vary a lot, but for me (at very high altitude) brown rice takes 26 minutes!
When I tried it with this Cajun chicken rice recipe, surprisingly the chicken still came out tender (not dry at all). But the bell pepper pieces were cooked to complete mush.
I like bell peppers with still a little texture, so for this Instant Pot chicken and rice casserole I chose parboiled rice.
It cooks just as fast as regular white rice, but actually has 80% of the nutrients of brown rice. It’s because parboiled (converted rice) gets soaked in the husk, which allows many of the vitamins and minerals to move into the kernel.
Since learning more about the process and nutritional value of parboiled rice, it has become my go-to whenever whole grain rice isn’t an option. And I actually really like the texture with a little more bite and more separated kernels, than regular white rice.
I have also tried this recipe with Jasmine rice and regular white rice and had good success.
What to serve with Cajun Chicken
This recipe for Cajun chicken is already fairly balanced with protein, carb and veggies, but I definitely prefer more vegetables with dinner – about half my plate.
So if you are wondering what goes with Cajun chicken, I’d say just a simple and quick green salad! Since the cooking time is completely hands-off in this Instant Pot chicken breast recipe, you’ll have plenty of time to set the table and toss up a salad – even with healthy homemade dressing.
More Ways to Make Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot chicken recipes are always super popular and this easy Cajun chicken is just one way to do it. You can easily modify this recipe to change things up or to adjust it to your liking.
Not a fan of spicy Cajun chicken? You can still make pressure cooker chicken and rice but try a milder Mexican seasoning (like Taco or chili seasoning mix) and add tomatoes and corn to the rice.
How about an Italian version? Rub Italian herbs and salt + pepper on the chicken and stir in tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms for vegetables with the rice. I am thinking these veggies would still retain some bite even if cooked with brown rice (26 minutes).
I also want to try a one pot Instant Pot chicken curry and rice version. With curry powder on the chicken and curry paste (and/or powder) in the rice. In that case I would also replace some of the broth with coconut milk.
Also check out this post for more chicken instant pot recipes.
UPDATE: FAQs and Troubleshooting
Too soft/mushy rice
Quite a few of you have tried this recipe and loved the flavor. Unfortunately a large percentage had to deal with mushy rice in varying degrees.
From your comments I gathered that most of you don’t use parboiled rice (my favorite for this recipe). So I went back to the drawing board.
I went to the store and picked up regular white rice as well as Jasmine rice (unfortunately, they didn’t have Basmati). Armed with those rice varieties I went through a few more test runs of this recipe.
I concluded there are 2-3 possible culprits and solutions in the mushy rice dilemma:
- By rinsing the rice some water will already be absorbed and the rice-water ratio ends up a little off. So I tried the recipe with unrinsed rice and it still came out fine. BUT when I stopped recommending to use rinsed rice A LOT of readers had issues with the pot not pressurizing and/or displaying BURN.
-> So I am still recommending to rinse the starch off the rice, but I’ve measured approximately how much water gets absorbed during rinsing, and reduced the amount of broth called for in the recipe by 1/4 cup. - While parboiled rice still retains some bite after 10 minutes of pressure cooking, that seems a little too much for white and Jasmine rice. 8 minutes was perfect for me, but I am at high altitude.
-> So I now recommend a range of 7-8 minutes (the latter for high altitude). And because the chicken breasts are cut in half, they still cook through just fine. - I have learnt that using quick release (QR) with meat can dry it out. For that reason I used to recommend 10 minutes natural pressure release (NPR), before quick releasing any remaining pressure. However, in those 10 minutes the rice can end up overcook.
-> I settled on the happy medium of 5 minutes NPR. That way te chicken stays moist and the rice doesn’t cook too long.
Burn display/pot not pressurizing
The dreaded BURN message is giving many Instant Pot users and food bloggers a hard time. Personally, it has NEVER happened to me and left me completely puzzled for a while.
Finally, I learned that it most likely has to do with the manufacturing date of the pot. Mine and others from late 2016 and earlier don’t really have the BURN issue. But it seems like newer pots late 2017 and newer either run hotter or are more sensitive (or both) and produce the BURN message way more frequently especially with starchy rice or pasta dishes.
But I’ve come up with a few solutions:
- Most importantly, I changed the order of the ingredients. Instead of having the rice at the bottom, where it could easily get stuck or burn on, I now recommend adding it at the very end and DON’T stir.
- Aside from the rice starches burning at the bottom of the pot, another culprit could be stuck on browned bits from sautéing the onion and garlic.
-> You absolutely have to deglaze the bottom of the pot properly with a little water or broth. And scrape up any bits that may be stuck.
-> After one commenter said they don’t even bother with the browning step, I realized that the onions and garlic softened up nicely even if added raw. So I have made the sautéing into an optional step.
Mushy bell peppers
Pressure cooked bell peppers are on the soft side, there is no way around it.
- But I found that if I actually cut them into smaller pieces (dice) the soft consistency isn’t very noticeable in the rice & chicken mix.
- I’ve also replaced the bell pepper with 1-2 cups of frozen peas, corn, carrot mix and I actually like those veggies much better pressure cooked. They still remain a little bit of bite.
PRESSURE COOKERS I USE
I have 2 pressure cookers that I both love and use interchangeably:
Mealthy Multipot 2.0 – use code LEELA to get it for $10 OFF
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes You’ll Love
Instant Pot Cajun Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1 lb. chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning divided
- 1 tablespoon oil olive or avocado
- 1 small onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1.5 cups white rice (I have used regular white, Jasmine and parboiled rice with success) well rinsed
- 1 bell pepper, diced (I've also used 1-2 cups of frozen peas, carrots and corn instead)
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1.75 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Instructions
Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. This helps remove starches that may otherwise scorch at the bottom of your Instant Pot.
- Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise to make then thinner. Season well from both sides with Cajun seasoning (about 2 teaspoons).
Optional step: Soften first the onion and then garlic with the oil using the sauté function. Deglaze with a couple tablespoons of water and scrape up any brown bits. There should be NOTHING left stuck to the bottom, otherwise the Instant Pot will not be able to pressurize properly.
Then add bell peppers, tomato paste and 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (or more to taste and more heat). Stir until well combined.
Pour the broth over the veggie mixture and arrange the chicken breast halves over top. Now spread the rinsed rice on top and DO NOT stir!
Close the lid and turn the valve to ‘Sealing’. Cook on ‘Manual’ high pressure for 7-8 minutes (the latter at high altitude).
Let the pressure release naturally (NPR) for 5 minutes, then release remaining pressure by turning the valve to ‘Venting’.
- Once the pin drops, carefully open the lid. Shred the chicken with two forks, then stir to combine the Cajun chicken with the rice. You can adjust the seasoning to taste at this point.
Serve with chopped cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.
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John Abbatoy
Love this recipe and have used multiple times. I’ve started to use frozen chopped onion and frozen chopped bell pepper. This has made it a bit more soupy but the flavor is still great even after I drain the additional liquid.
I’m curious what your thoughts are on adding more rice and chicken to the dish. Both to increase how many servings I’ll get since I use this for a meal prep and to see if that will absorb the additional liquid from all frozen vegetables.
If I go this route, how long do you suggest I cook everything for?
Regina
So glad to hear you enjoy this recipe. Adding more rice might be a good way to soak up the additional liquid. I wouldn’t increase cooking time though, because usually that difference is made up automatically with a longer pressurizing time
Dina
Making this dish for the third time today. Very tasty! Sautéed the garlic and onions with no issues. We did add a lot more of the cajun spices since we love spicy food. A definite keeper in this household. Thank you for the recipe.
Ben
Great recipe, it worked out well for except for one small detail. Flavor was great, chicken was cooked perfectly (as usual with an instant pot!) but for some reason I had a small amount of rice on top that wasn’t cooked at all. Still dry. So strange. I’m wondering if was because i added two diced medium carrots with the bell pepper, maybe the carrot absorbed quite a bit of moisture. Any thoughts or tips? Thanks!
Kali
Wow, what a keeper, my family loved this meal. I have a picky teenager and he loved it. This is very easy and fast to make. This is what I did differently and it came out perfect. I did not sauté the onions and garlic. I added two tablespoons of tomato paste, 1/4 cup less chicken broth, two cups of frozen pea,corn,carrot mix instead of bell peppers. Rinsed the jasmine rice, and added it on top of the chicken. I did not stir after I added the chicken and rice on top. I pressure cooked for 8 minutes. Also for the Cajun seasoning I used chili powder instead of the cayenne pepper, dried minced onion instead of onion powder, I kept the rest of the recipe the same. Served with honey cornbread. My family kept commenting how good it was. Also the house smells delicious. This is a very good dish.
Marion
This turned out perfect! I’m so happy I tried it even after reading some of the reviews about the burning. I have a new Instant Pot (Christmas gift) and I’ve experienced the burning on another recipe, but not on this one. I did not sauté the onions or garlic first and used the frozen peas, carrots and corn instead of bell peppers. I used Jasmine rice (on top), followed the recipe exactly, cooked for 8 minutes and it was a hit for our family! I paired it with a spinach salad with walnuts, dried cranberries, avocado and balsamic vinaigrette which gave a little fresh sweetness to compliment the spice.
Regina
Yay! So glad to hear it work out well for you. Putting the rice on top seems to be key. Since I changed the recipe to this order I have not had a single comment complaining about burning issues
Becky
Just made this and it turned out great! I added some Cajun anoille sausage in addition to the chicken and kept it in for a few minutes longer before doing the quick release and it turned out great! Next time I may add some green beans or broccoli.
Regina
Yes, andouille sausage is a great addition to this dish. And I really like your idea of more veggies
Elizabeth
Turned out really good! The only thing was the chicken was a little under cooked. Took them out and pan fried for a few minutes before putting them back in the pot and shredding. Loved it! Will make again! Thank you!
Regina
Oh no, so sorry the chicken was undercooked for you. But glad you found a way to make it work
Kayla
Hi Regina!
I just made this and it turned out absolutely perfect!! I’ve never used an Instant Pot before and I was nervous but I followed your recipe closely and it was amazing! Thank you so much for sharing!
Kayla
Regina
Yay Kayla! I am so honored my recipe was the first you made in the Instant Pot. And so happy to hear it worked out well
Carey
I made this for dinner tonight with fajita seasoning instead of cajun seasoning because I thought it would be too spicy for my kids. It Was Delicious!!! I did skip the saute step after reading the comments about the issues with the burn alarm. I also added a can of undrained mild Rotel tomatoes. I cooked it for 7 minutes with 5 minutes npr. Everything was cooked perfectly!! Thanks!
Regina
That’s awesome, Carey! I am so glad to hear this worked out for you
Hugh
Did not sautee the onion and garlic but received “Burn” message 3 times. After working for about an hour with the pot cleaning and re-starting the rice was mushy and the flavor was quite blah, even though I doubled the Cajun spice and even added more after cooking. I appreciate that it worked for a few people but I will not be trying it again.
Regina
I am sorry this didn’t work for you. I recently learnt some new insight into the puzzling burn message. Apparently newer pots run hotter or are more sensitive. The issue is especially prevalent with starchy rice and pasta dishes. So now I recommend adding the rice on top at the very end so that it can’t burn at the bottom
Addison
It gave me a burn message as well. This is my second attempt at using my instant pot and so I followed the directions EXACTLY, and I think that’s what caused the burn. I think with this recipe the problem is that it says “pour broth over the rice”. so that’s what I did without mixing it up. My common sense was telling me to mix it up, but I’m unfamiliar with an instant pot so I didn’t. I think that caused the burn, but I don’t know though. Once I got the message I just took everything out and put it in the over for 10 min. it was good, but I just personally don’t really care for rice cooked in chicken broth. but that’s a “me” issue, not the recipes fault.
Regina
Sorry you also got the dreaded burn message. I just learnt something new about this issue. Apparently newer pots run hotter or are more sensitive. The issue usually comes up with starchy rice and pasta dishes. So now I recommend adding the rice on top of everything at the very end so that it can’t burn at the bottom. As for the chicken broth, you could totally replace it with water. In that case you might need to add extra salt for flavor
Randall
My very first time using an Instant Pot. I rinsed the rice, completely skipped the sauteing step (I just mixed in the onions and garlic directly), and still managed to get a BURN message. Between restarting the whole thing and it not cooking properly after that, I would have had a better and faster meal by sticking the chicken in the oven and making the rice in a standard pot on the stovetop.
Regina
Sorry for the frustrations with this recipe. I think I finally figured out that the issue are newer Instant Pots that either run hotter and/or are more sensitive to produce the burn message. For that reason I now recommend to add the rice at the very end and not to stir it, but rather let it steam only.
Cindy Linn
My instant pot does not have the “sealing” or “manual” settings. I am trying to wing it and am hoping for the best.
Rylan
first failed attempt on an instant pot recipe. 1 out of 10 isn’t bad I suppose. pretty disappointed. I never rinse my rice, not sure why I decided to this time, perhaps all the chatter about it. I have never even seen the BURN display before. oh well, live and learn
Kim
I’ve never commented on anything such as this. I’ve had my instant pot for a year and have never had a burn message. And while the sound the burn message makes is amusing, constantly burning rice is so infuriating. I have a 6qt. I followed the recipe exactly and got the burn message. Tried to scrape it up and add more broth. Nope. Took the rice and peppers out and put them in my rice cooker. Cooked the chicken with a cup of broth in the instant pot. Combined everything at the end. I’m pretty upset the recipe didn’t work. I think what’s most upsetting is that other people are saying they followed the exact same recipe and didn’t have any problems at all so it must be user error or something along those lines. Pretty damn rude. Anyway. Who knows why people keep getting the burn message. I’m thinking next time I’ll add more oil so rice doesn’t stick. ♀️
Regina
Hi Kim, I am very sorry for your frustration. I also am flabbergasted why this just won’t work for some. I actually think it has something to do with the pots – or maybe altitude. Or who knows what else makes pressure cooking different from one place to another. I really don’t think it is use error
Masch-al Malek
I tried this recipe for my first use of my Instant Pot competitor pot. It was like $35 on Amazon so I wasn’t expecting much but I mixed the chicken with everything else in the pot so the rice was everywhere and then cooked for the 8 minutes. I also added a little bit of water. Worked well. Chicken was just cooked enough. The rice burned a tiny bit on the bottom but I didn’t mind that. I made mine with Jasmine rice once cooked. My only comment is that the flavor was too mild if anything! But it tastes really healthy and once you add some lime and hot sauce it’s great!
Regina
I am glad to hear the recipe worked for you and I love the addition of lime and hot sauce!
Anna
This recipe does not work, you cannot sauté first WITHOUT burning. The bottom of the pot is still in sauté mode, it doesn’t automatically stop cooking right away when you turn it off. It’s like when you boil water for cooking rice, the boiling does not cease immediately.
You either need to sauté in a different pan or just put it to pressure right away. So for those that are having trouble with it, DO NOT SAUTÉ FIRST.
chicook13
I saute almost every time I use my Instant Pot and I assure you it does work. You’re right that turning off saute doesn’t immediately stop the cooking but when you put in a bit of liquid & scrape the bottom of the liner it cools it down. Even turning it to pressure right away won’t cool off the bottom – it’s a direct heat source.
Cindy Ramos
I sauté all the time and I’ve never had a burn notice in a years and half using the instant pot. I always deglaze with wine, vinegar or broth.
Regina
Like others have mentioned, sauteéing before pressure cooking does work. At least for me. But because some seem to have an issue with their pot going to burn mode, I made that step optional in the instructions.
Brandon
First time we made this recipe, everything turned out perfect and it was DELICIOUS! Unfortunately, we have had burn message after burn message since and are still trying to figure out where we went wrong in order to make this great meal again.
Regina
How really strange! I think this is the first time I hear some someone having an issue with the recipe but not other times. Sorry I can’t be of more help. It really baffles me
Jennifer Chin
The recipe is delicious! I used the cajun seasoning recipe provided, it was spicy! Still loved it. I also got the burn message on my instant pot. I think it has to do with the seasoning on the chicken. Next time I will try dissolving all of the seasoning in the liquid. It’s going to cook into the chicken regardless, tada the magic of pressure cookers.
Regina
That’s an interesting idea about the seasoning on the chicken. I’ll have to think about and test this a little more
Jessica
I did not have any trouble with the burn error others are mentioning. I actually added everything to the pot (including chicken because I didn’t read the recipe correctly) and then stirred all the ingredients together. It turned out really well and we liked the texture of the rice! I did sauté the onion in avocado oil before adding all the other ingredients so maybe that helped a bit. Thanks for the quick and easy recipe!
Regina
Hi Jessica, I am glad to hear the recipe worked well for you even with just stirring everything up
Jonathan
I am so disappointed in this recipe. I have never had an issue with any instant pot recipe I have tried online. And after filling back to read the comments, I can see that I am not the only one. This is the first time I have ever gotten the ‘burn’ message to pop up. So disappointed, waste of my time and waste of food. The burn message popped up 2min into the process. Now I have to see what I can salvage from this meal. I cannot believe that this recipe is still up, even with how many comments have stated that it causes burn issues.
Rebecca
i just made this for the second time. First time I had the same issue and ended up with very tasty baby food. I didn’t eat it, luckily my boyfriend didn’t care about the texture. This time I put the chicken and veggies in the bottom and rice on top and didn’t have an issue. I also rinsed the rice the day before and actually soaked it a couple times before rinsing it.
Rebecca
I tried it as written, being sure to rinse the rice well and I had no problems or burn message. I did unplug the instant pot when done sauteing to cool before adding rice and I wonder if that helped prevent the burn issue.
Regina
Glad to hear the recipe worked well for you