Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Casserole–chicken and rice with three levels of smoke! There is so much flavor in this dish and it’s an easy dump and go recipe.
Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken and Rice
With smoked paprika, liquid smoke and smoky chipotle chiles in adobo sauce this chicken and rice dish has a ton of smoky flavor. It comes together quickly and is a dump and go recipe. Greg and I loved this one!
Ingredients
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
- Converted rice–or long grain white rice
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts–or boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Smoked paprika–if you have a Winco look for this spice in the bulk bins for a super great price
- Liquid smoke–find this in the aisle next to the barbecue sauces
- Olive oil
- Chipotle chiles in adobo–these are smoked and dried jalapeños rehydrated and canned in a sweet and tangy purée of tomato, vinegar, garlic, and some other spices, for a sauce that packs lots of heat but with plenty of balance and body. If you don’t like heat then I would suggest only using one chipotle chile instead of 2.
- Cheddar cheese–I shred mind off the block and use sharp cheddar for more flavor. Try using a smoked cheddar for even more amazing smoky flavor
Instructions
- Add broth and rice: Pour broth into Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the rice.
- Season chicken: But the chicken across the grain into 1 inch strips. Place into a mixing bowl. Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, liquid smoke, olive oil and chipotle chiles. Stir to coat chicken evenly in seasonings. Add the chicken into the Instant Pot on top of the rice.
- Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting.
- Sprinkle the cheddar on top. Replace the lid and let the cheese melt for a few minutes on the keep warm setting. You can also let the cheese melt by placing an air fryer lid on top for a minute or two.
- Serve and enjoy!
I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1*. But you can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
What is liquid smoke?
Liquid smoke is a natural product made from condensing the smoke from burning wood. It adds lots of flavor to meat dishes. It is inexpensive and can be found in the aisle next to the barbecue sauces.
What is converted rice?
Converted rice is also called parboiled rice. Don’t confuse parboiled rice with pre-cooked or minute rice. Parboiled rice has been processed in its husk by soaking, steaming, and drying. As a result, all the nutrients from the husk are absorbed into the grain before it’s removed. The starch content alters in the process, making cooked parboiled rice less sticky than regular white rice. The rice kernels aren’t clumpy and glued together instead they are more separated. I found a bag of parboiled rice at Walmart next to the normal long grain white rice. I also sometimes buy the Uncle Ben’s brand or buy it in the bulk section at Winco.
Kinds of rice you can use
If you don’t have converted rice try using long grain white rice, jasmine or basmati rice.
Kinds of chicken you can use
I used sliced boneless skinless chicken breasts. You can also use chicken tenderloins or sliced boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
How to cut the chicken
Make sure to cut the chicken across the grain so that the chicken can be as tender as possible. Slice across the grain in about 1 inch strips. All muscle has a grain to it. The placement of your knife to this grain will determine the length of the muscle fibers in an individual slice of meat, which in turn will have a profound effect on how tender or tough that meat is.
What to serve with smoky chicken and rice?
This dinner tastes amazing with roasted broccoli, asparagus or brussels sprouts.
How to store leftovers?
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
More Smoky Recipes…
Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken
Instant Pot/Crockpot “Smoked” Pulled Pork
Instant Pot Next Level Bacon Mac
Instant Pot Chicken Tinga Tacos
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
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Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 24 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Chicken and rice with three levels of smoke! There is so much flavor in this dish and it’s an easy dump and go recipe.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup converted rice or long grain white rice, uncooked
- 1–1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 chipotle chiles in adobo, finely chopped
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Pour broth into Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the rice.
- But the chicken across the grain into 1 inch strips. Place into a mixing bowl. Add in the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, liquid smoke, olive oil and chipotle chiles. Stir to coat chicken evenly in seasonings. Add the chicken into the Instant Pot on top of the rice.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting.
- Sprinkle the cheddar on top. Replace the lid and let the cheese melt for a few minutes on the keep warm setting. You can also let the cheese melt by placing an air fryer lid on top for a minute or two.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
This has become a staple in our house. We use some extra adobo sauce and no liquid smoke. Chicken thighs work great too.
★★★★★
Sounds like an awesome version! Go Buckeyes!
This was a fail for me. Burn notice- then took pressure down added 1 cup more water. Brought back up to pressure 2nd burn notice occurred. Was only up to pressure for 3 minutes total. In the end chicken was overcooked and tough. Rice was sprinkled not stirred. Too much time and trouble for a quick week night meal. Now I have to try to remove the burnt rice from the bottom of the pot.
★
I’m sorry to hear this! I’m not sure why this happened.
Do you have a slow cooker recipe for this dish?
no, I’m sorry I do not.
Such a simple recipe, but the combination of chipotle and smoked paprika is genius! I scaled the recipe up 1.5x and added a can of cream of chicken soup at my husband’s request-all other instructions followed. We both loved it!
★★★★★
Your version sounds great!
When I made this, I got the burn message. How do you cook the rice directly on the bottom without the burn happening?
Darn! Did you sprinkle in the rice and not stir? That’s what I do.
I did, too (using long-grain rice and definitely sprinkling it). I ended up adding another 1/2c of broth and restarted. It ended up working but next time I’m going to use Minute Rice instead.
★★★★★
Excellent recipe. Great taste and very easy to make. I did substitute bone-in thighs with their skins on, rolled them around in the spices, then heated up a skillet with olive oil and butter and browned all sides first before putting them on top of the Jasmine rice/broth in the Instant Pot. Then I added in two finely diced peppers in adobe sauce, and pressure cooked them for 4 minutes and then let the pot sit for 10 more minutes after the pin dropped and it was completely powered down. This is a wonderful, very flavorful recipe. I’ll definitely make it again.
★★★★★
Okay this is good to know that the bone-in thighs were cooked through! Thanks!
Are the directions any different if I use brown rice or wild rice?
Brown rice takes a 22 minute pressure cooking time with a 10 minute natural pressure release. So you’d have overcooked chicken if you did that. If you wanted to use bone-in chicken pieces they would hold up well.
I was intrigued by the smoky flavor but… Never cooked with Chipotle in Adobo and after a quick taste decided to only use one not two. Still far too spicy for us! Any/all smoky flavor was lost to the heat! Now trying to think of a way to tone down the leftovers (about half] so I don’t have to toss it! Suggestions?
★★★
How long would you cook this without an instant pot?
We all loved this!
I left out the liquid smoke and used sweet paprika and it was still plenty smoky. Also, I used partially frozen chicken tenders. They were a little overdone so next time I’ll use boneless thighs.
I will make burritos with the leftovers tomorrow and add salsa, guacamole, lettuce and sour cream.
★★★★★
I LOVE the idea of leftovers used in burrito bowls. Brilliant!