If you are new to making takeout-style meals at home, Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice is the perfect starter meal. It’s so easy to make, and the taste is incredible. You may never buy takeout fried rice again.
Post includes Weight Watchers points.
When you order takeout, fried rice is a must-have item. It’s usually loaded with chicken, veggies like carrots and peas and has the incredible umami flavor of the sesame oil and soy sauce.
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Affordable Homemade Chicken Fried Rice
Buying takeout is easy, but did you know that making fried rice at home is not only simple but also much less expensive? And with this Instant Pot chicken fried rice recipe, you’ll get delicious restaurant-quality chicken fried rice every time!
Because the rice and the seasonings are the stars of this Instant Pot recipes, you can easily stick to your budget by using less chicken yet still serving up a tasty and totally satisfying dish.
This frugal recipe is so delicious, and it’s easy to make enough to feed a crowd. The leftovers keep for several days so if you love fried rice as I do, you can happily enjoy it all week long.
Just like this Instant Pot Coconut Rice or Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice and delicious Instant Pot Enchilada Rice.
Why Make This Recipe
- Frugal – Making Instant Pot chicken fried rice at home means you can avoid the restaurant mark-up.
- Easy – This entire fried rice recipe is made in the Instant Pot, so it’s effortless.
- Customizable – Add or subtract veggies to suit your preferences.
- Great for Leftovers – Rice recipes like this are delicious, budget-friendly, and reheat well.
Ingredient Notes
- Jasmine Rice – Medium or long grain rice works best. Jasmine seems to hold up well without clumping or falling apart.
- Chicken Breast – You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Dry Seasonings – Garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper will flavor the chicken and the rice.
- Sesame Oil – The nutty flavor of sesame oil gives that quintessential Asian flavor to the dish. Use toasted sesame oil or regular.
- Soy Sauce – You can also get low-sodium soy sauce or gluten-free Tamari soy sauce.
- Rice Vinegar – Rice vinegar is a bit milder and sweeter than other vinegar. Use what you have on hand.
- Unsalted Butter – Soy sauce has a lot of salt, so you want to use unsalted butter.
- Veggies – Use what is suggested in the recipe, or substitute whatever you have on hand.
How To Make Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
Get full ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.
- Rinse the rice and let it drain for 10-15 minutes. Add rice to the Instant Pot along with 2 cups of water.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot, turn the valve to sealing, and set to pressure cook for 3 minutes. When done allow for a 10-minute natural pressure release before turning the valve to venting and manually releasing any remaining pressure. Then open the lid, fluff the rice and transfer it to a bowl.
- Set the Instant Pot to sauté and add the sesame oil. Add chicken and cook for 5-7 minutes.
- Add the onion and sauté for another 1-2 minutes, then add the remaining veggies and butter and cook for 2 minutes more.
- Push the veggies to one side, add beaten eggs and quickly scramble. Then mix in with the veggies until fully cooked.
- Turn off the Instant Pot and add the rice back in, along with the soy sauce, vinegar, and sesame seeds. Mix to combine.
- Serve topped with sliced green onions and additional sesame seeds, if desired.
Tips For Success
- Rinse and drain the rice to remove excess starch. This will prevent cooked rice from clumping together.
- Check for doneness with a thermometer. Chicken should always be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F / 74 degrees C.
- Soy sauce can be salty. Look for low-sodium soy sauce or carefully season the dish to avoid over-salting.
Delicious Variations
- Add More Veggies – Add fresh carrot, frozen peas or broccoli, green onions, water chestnuts, or any of your favorite veggies.
- Make it Spicy – Add a little chili oil, sriracha, or crushed red pepper for spicy fried rice.
- Use Different Rice – it’s possible to make this with white rice, jasmine rice, basmati rice, brown rice, or even a rice mixture.
- Swap the Meat – Use stir fry beef or thinly sliced pork in place of the chicken. Shrimp would also be a tasty alternative.
- Add More Flavor – Use chicken broth or vegetable broth instead of water for your cooking liquid.
Budget-Friendly Tips
- Use Chicken Thighs – We’ve used chicken breast, but thighs can be less expensive. You may need to cook for a minute or two longer.
- Use fewer eggs – Eggs are a delicious part of fried rice, but you could use two eggs if need be.
- Use frozen peas and carrots and frozen corn – buy on sale and store in the freezer until you’re ready to make fried rice.
- Leave the Chicken Out – This rice is tasty enough on its own that you won’t even miss the chicken.
Make Ahead And Storage
- Prep Ahead – The rice can be cooked up to 24 hours in advance. Cover it and store it in the fridge until you are ready to prepare the rest of the recipe.
- Store – Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze – Follow the handy tips below for how to freeze this Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice.
- Allow the fried rice to cool completely, then scoop it into freezer-safe meal prep containers.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat – in the microwave.
FAQs
This recipe is easy to double in an 8-quart Instant Pot, and you can feed a crowd or save the leftovers for a future meal.
In this recipe, the chicken is cooked simply by sautéing inside the Instant Pot. Since it is not pressure-cooked, it is best to thaw the chicken first. Cooking it from frozen would result in an overdone exterior and a raw interior.
It is important to always check the internal temperature of chicken before consuming it to be sure it has reached 165 degrees F / 74 degrees C.
More Instant Pot Recipes You May Like
- Instant Pot Coconut Rice.
- Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
- Instant Pot Whole Chicken.
- Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta.
- Instant Pot Enchilada Rice.
- Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas.
- Instant Pot Fajita Rice.
- Instant Pot Chicken Pot Pie.
- Instant Pot Chicken Tenders.
- Instant Pot Chicken Thighs.
Weight Watchers Points
There are 7 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
Tools To Make This
- Instant Pot.
- Measuring cups and spoons.
- A sharp knife for cutting up veggies and meat.
- An instant read thermometer.
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Did you make this recipe? Then I would love to hear how it turned out. Please leave a comment and star rating below. And I really appreciate you sharing this recipe with your family and friends. Enjoy every mouthful 😊🍲 – Bintu
Get The Instant Pot Fried Rice Recipe:
Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
Ingredients
- 2 cups (400g) Jasmine rice rinsed and drained
- 2 cups (473ml) water
- 2 pounds (907g) boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 1-inch cubes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or gluten-free Tamari
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 4 eggs
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 cup (134g) frozen peas and carrots
- 1 cup (174g) sweet corn kernels
- sesame seeds for garnish
- diced green onions for garnish
Instructions
- Using a strainer, rinse the rice until it’s no longer cloudy then allow to drain for 10-15 minutes.
- Add the rice and 2 cups of water to the Instant Pot.
- Stir, close and lock the lid and turn the valve to sealing position. Set to manual / pressure cook, high pressure for 3 minutes.
- When done, allow for a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release (NPR) followed by a Quick Pressure Release.
- Open the lid, fluff the rice using two forks and transfer it to a bowl.
- Set the Instant Pot to Sauté mode and add in sesame oil.
- Once the oil begins to sizzle, add the chicken. Season with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Cook for 5-7 minutes, until the chicken is nicely browned.
- Add the onion and sauté for another 1-2 minutes. Then add the peas, carrots, corn, and butter and cook for an additional 2 minutes.
- Push the chicken and veggies to one side of the insert and add the eggs to the other side, quickly scramble, then combine with the other ingredients.
- Turn off the Instant Pot, add the rice back along with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame seeds, stirring to combine.
- Serve topped with additional sesame seeds and chopped green onions.
Video
Notes
- Rinse and drain the rice to remove excess starch. This will prevent cooked rice from clumping together.
- Check for doneness with a thermometer. Chicken should always be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 165 degrees F / 74 degrees C.
- Soy Sauce can be salty. Look for low-sodium soy sauce or carefully season the dish to avoid over salting.
- Use chicken thighs – We’ve used chicken breast, but thighs can be less expensive. You may need to cook for a minute or two longer.
- Use fewer eggs – Eggs are a delicious part of fried rice, but you could use two eggs if need be.
- Leave the Chicken Out – This rice is tasty enough on its own that you won’t even miss the chicken.
- Storage – keep leftovers in an airtight container inside the fridge for 3-4 days.
- There are 7 WW Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
Pam Greer
I love that you can do everything in the Instant Pot – even make the rice!
Claudia Lamascolo
I love how easy this recipe was this was super delicious and tasty and the whole family enjoyed it!
Michelle
Never thought to use my IP for making fried rice! Will definitely try it out! Thanks for sharing your how-to!
Jenny
My family loves fried rice and I’m happy to be able to make it in my Instant Pot now. It’s so much easier and less clean up afterwards!
Jen
We used thighs for this (all I had on hand) and it turned out so delicious! We’ll be skipping the take out from here on out. Easier on our budget too.