Instant Pot Smothered Chicken and Rice–creamy rice with chicken smothered in cheddar and bacon crumbles. An easy recipe that takes only a few minutes to prep and cook!

Instant Pot Smothered Chicken and Rice
This was a loved dinner! The rice was creamy and flavorful and the chicken was tender (tenderloins do well in the Instant Pot with a short cooking time). You may want to double the recipe so you can have leftovers the next day for lunch or dinner.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Water
- Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- Converted rice–also called parboiled rice. I found a bag of parboiled rice at Walmart next to the normal long grain white rice. Sometimes I buy it at Winco in the bulk section. I have also found it in the orange box (Ben’s brand) next to other rices. You can also use long grain white rice, same amount and same cooking time.
- Chicken tenderloins–or boneless skinless thighs or breasts cut into bite-size pieces
- Seasoned salt
- Poultry seasoning
- Heavy cream
- Shredded cheddar cheese–or another type of cheese you like
- Bacon crumbles–I find these in the salad dressing aisle. You can also fry some bacon and crumble.
Steps
- Add ingredients: Pour water into Instant Pot. Stir in the chicken base until mostly dissolved. Sprinkle in the rice. Place chicken into the pot and sprinkle the chicken with seasoned salt and poultry seasoning.
- Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes. Move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Finish it off: Stir in the heavy cream, cheese and bacon.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes/Tips
- Serve with broccoli, green beans or green salad.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- This recipe can easily be doubled. Double all the ingredients and keep the cooking time the same.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Other recipes you can make with seasoned salt are Instant Pot Smoked Sausage, Green Beans And Potatoes or Instant Pot Great Steak Sandwich.

4 More Chicken Bacon Instant Pot Recipes…
Instant Pot Bacon Honey Mustard Chicken
Tender bites of chicken, mushrooms and bacon with a creamy honey mustard sauce made quickly in your electric pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Bacon Cheddar Chicken Pot Pie
Chicken, potatoes, veggies, cheese and bacon served with a creamy sauce over biscuits. An easy way to make chicken pot pie with a fun bacon cheddar twist! You can also make this recipe in the slow cooker.
Instant Pot Chicken Bacon Spaghetti
Tender bites of chicken are cooked with spaghetti in your electric pressure cooker. The spaghetti is tossed with crumbled bacon, spinach, tomatoes, garlic and parmesan for a flavorful meal that the whole family will love.
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 Smothered Chicken and Rice
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings 1x
Description
Creamy rice with chicken smothered in cheddar and bacon crumbles. An easy recipe that takes only a few minutes to prep and cook!
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- 1 Tbsp Better than Bouillon Chicken Base
- 3/4 cup converted rice
- 1 pound chicken tenderloins
- 1/2 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 cup bacon crumbles
Instructions
- Pour water into Instant Pot. Stir in the chicken base until mostly dissolved. Sprinkle in the rice. Place chicken into the pot and sprinkle the chicken with seasoned salt and poultry seasoning.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes. When time is up let pot sit for 5-10 minutes. Move valve to venting and remove the lid.
- Stir in the heavy cream, cheese and bacon.
- 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.
Karen, you never fail me! Every recipe I try is full of flavor and perfectly cooked!
I used basmati rice instead of converted. This would be good even w/o the bacon if you are trying to save on the grocery bill.
Thank you for the wonderful and easy recipes. You make it easy to get a delicious, nutritious meal on the table for my family!
★★★★★
I’m so glad you find value here Kim!! Good to know about the basmati rice working well.
Wondering if you could add mushrooms to this? Or would they add too much moisture?
Sure! I may just reduce the broth by a few tablespoons or a quarter cup
Hey Karen,
I just love your recipes. Wondering if I Can Use Jasmine rice?
Thanks
Yes I would use same cooking time
I have an 8 quart and I think starting with just 1 cup of water will end up with a burn notice. I’d rather not double the recipe as we are just two. What do you think?
You could increase water to 1.25 cups and should be okay!
Hi Karen, when recipe calls for seasoned salt, which one do you use? also. can I use regular long grain rice?
Yes you can use regular long grain rice. And I use the Lawry’s brand of season salt
If using regular white rice, do you cook it longer?
It is the same cooking time for white rice
Sounds good, but just want to be sure 1 tablespoon of base is correct. Normally it’s 1 teaspoon per cup of water. Tks.
Yes I used a whole TBSP to give more flavor