Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice (Arroz con Pollo)

Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice (Arroz con Pollo) A quick pressure cooker version of the Latin American classic, ready in under an hour.

Chicken and rice is a classic comfort food recipe, especially in Spain, Puerto Rico, and across Latin America. There's a lively debate about where it originally came from, and as a white suburban dad from Ohio, I'm going to stay far away from the discussion. (I know the third rail when I see it.)

What I also know is: when most Latin America claims a dish as their own, it has to be good.

A bowl of chicken legs and rice with an Instant Pot in the background — Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice

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My sister-in-law requested I try this recipe years ago because she kept getting burn warnings. Easy-peasy, I thought. I've got a reliable Instant Pot Rice Recipe, which never burns. I'll add some vegetables and spices, stir in the rice and broth amounts I usually use, and toss some chicken on top. But...my sister-in-law was not wrong. I kept getting burn warnings. The rice would settle on the bottom of the pot, stick, and start to burn.

After a few more tries (and burn warnings), I set the recipe aside. But it kept nagging at me. Eventually, I realized that I don't have any problems with Instant Pot Risotto, no matter how much stuff I add to the pot. What's the difference?

How do I avoid Instant Pot burn warnings with Chicken and Rice?

Lots of liquid. I use a water-to-liquid ratio of 2.5 cups of water to 2 cups of rice for my regular rice recipe. In other words, a 1:1 ratio. For risotto, I use twice as much liquid - 4 ½ cups - with 2 cups of rice. (Also, I use short grain rice because it is traditional in risotto, but more on the rice later.)

The 2:1 ratio of liquid to rice is the key to the recipe. The extra liquid keeps the broth thin enough for the rice not to stick to the pot's bottom and burn.

Now, is it too thin? No! There was liquid above the rice when it finished, but once I stirred it up, it was absorbed by the rest of the rice.

What didn't fix the burn warning with Chicken and Rice?

Rinsing the rice?

A couple of sources recommended rinsing the rice as a way to avoid a burn warning. It didn't work for me. Rinsed or not, a 1:1 ratio of rice to liquid still burned. That said, it doesn't hurt either, as long as you use the 2:1 ratio of rice to liquid. (I don't rinse my rice, but you can if you want. It doesn't change the recipe.

Long Grain vs. Short Grain rice?

I thought it might be the long-grain rice, too. Maybe short-grain rice releases less starch, so it doesn't stick and burn. In my testing, the rice type didn't affect the burn warning. Once I switched to the 2:1 ratio of liquid to rice, I could use any rice variety I had on hand. That said, I liked the results with the short grain rice a little better - it comes out a little creamier, like a risotto - but it's a subtle difference, and only one of my three taste testers noticed.

Ingredients

Chicken drumsticks (chicken legs separated into thighs and drumsticks)
Fine sea salt
Paprika (preferably Spanish Smoked paprika)
Garlic powder
Olive oil (or vegetable oil)
Onion
Green bell pepper
Garlic
Tomato paste
Dry white wine (or water
Short-grain rice
Chicken broth (homemade chicken broth or low sodium store bought)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt (if using homemade broth)
Parsley

See the recipe card for quantities.

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice

Browned chicken drumstick over an Instant Pot — Brown the chicken

Brown the chicken legs: Sprinkle the chicken drumsticks with salt, paprika, and garlic powder. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté Mode - High until the oil starts to shimmer. Brown the drumsticks skin side down in 2 batches, about 3 minutes per batch. Transfer the drumsticks to a bowl after browning.

An Instant Pot full of onions, peppers, and tomato paste — Sauté the aromatics

Sauté the aromatics: Add the diced onion, bell pepper, and smashed garlic to the pot, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt, and sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping with a flat-edged wooden spoon to unstick any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir the tomato paste into the onions and sauté for 1 minute, often scraping the bottom of the pot.

An instant pot with rice stirred into the onions, peppers, and tomato paste — Stir in the wine and rice

Add the wine and rice: Stir the rice in, coating it with the onion-tomato paste mixture, then add the wine. Simmer the wine for 1 minute or until it evaporates, often scraping the bottom of the pot.

Pouring chicken broth into an Instant Pot with rice and chicken — Everything in the pot

Everything in the pot: Stir in the chicken broth (and 1 teaspoon of salt if using homemade broth), then scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to ensure nothing is sticking. Set the chicken leg pieces on top of everything.

An Instant Pot set to pressure cook for 4 minutes — Pressure Cook for 4 minutes with a 10 minute natural release

Pressure Cook for 4 minutes with a 10-minute natural release: Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 4 minutes in an electric or stovetop pressure cooker. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook - High, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode for an Instant Pot, and set it to 4 minutes). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.

An Instant Pot full of cooked chicken legs and rice — Transfer to a platter and serve

Fluff and serve: Move the chicken legs from the pot to a platter, then stir the rice to soak up the remaining liquid in the pot. Pour the rice into a serving platter and serve, topping each plate of rice with a chicken leg or two. Enjoy!

Equipment

A 6-quart pressure cooker

Scaling

Cut all the ingredients in half, and this recipe will fit in a 3-quart pressure cooker. In theory, you can double this recipe if you have an 8-quart pressure cooker - it won't fit in a 6-quart cooker. But I haven't tried it in an 8-quart, and I worry about the burn warning coming back. (If you try it doubled, let me know how it goes in the comments.) Changing the amount does not change the cooking time; it takes the same amount of time to cook the rice and chicken through.

Substitutions

Rice options: I prefer short grain rice for this recipe, especially risotto types of rice, like Arborio or Carnaroli. But any length of white rice will work. If you have long-grain or medium-grain rice on hand, go ahead and use it. (Brown rice is a different recipe because it cooks so differently.)
Chicken options: I go with drumsticks for this recipe because my local grocery store sells them in easy-to-use family packs. You can also use chicken thighs in this recipe. If you have whole chicken legs, separate the drumsticks from the thighs before cooking - the whole leg won't cook through. You can also use 2 to 3 bone-in chicken breasts, with each breast cut in half crosswise, but I prefer dark meat in the pressure cooker.
No alcohol: The white wine is a carry-over from my risotto recipes; I like the extra flavor it adds to the recipe. If you don't want alcohol in the recipe, substitute extra chicken broth or water.

Storing Leftovers

Cooked rice does not keep for long - it carries bacteria spores (Bacillus cereus) that multiply in warm temperatures. If you need to store cooked rice, cool it down quickly in the refrigerator, or freeze it within an hour of cooking. Store refrigerated rice for 2-3 days or frozen rice for up to 3 months, and make sure to reheat it completely (to at least 165°F) before eating. (Source: Safe Handling of Cooked Rice, University of Wisconsin Extension).

Tips and Tricks

Scrape the bottom of the pot before pressure cooking: The other key to avoiding a burn warning is making sure nothing is sticking. A flat-edged wooden spoon is your friend here, and make sure to scrape all around the edge of the pot.

What to serve with Chicken and Rice

Chicken and rice is a one-pot meal. I serve it with a salad and a green vegetable side dish, like my Collard Greens or Kale with Garlic and Lemon.

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