Megan

Healthy and Easy Instant Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice

August 30, 2018 by Megan

Chicken and rice made fast and easy in the instant pot and it is as tasty as ever! This is one healthy chicken recipe you and your family will look forward to for dinner.

School is back in action,
fall will soon be here, and so…

I believe it’s time to get my Instant Pot out and do some magic!

This is a perfect go-to weeknight meal that is next level:

Because it’s so unbelievably tasty
Made easy in the Instant Pot
Healthy (yet unboring)

I really love this chicken and rice combo any day of the week. It’s a meal in and of itself but you can do so many things with it to switch things up a bit.

For starters, here’s what I am thinking:

Serve it nacho style with your favorite chips
Toss it over some chopped romaine to make it a lettuce bowl
Roll it up in a tortilla, add some avocado, black beans, and cheddar cheese
Spice it up with some jalapeños and add creaminess with a dollop of sour cream or plain greek yogurt

This Healthy and Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice is a two-step recipe.

Step 1 involves pressure cooking the rice in the Instant Pot for 8 minutes, using the quick release, and then transferring the rice to a bowl and covering it with a towel for 10 minutes.

Step 2 consists of brushing the chicken with extra-virgin olive oil, rubbing on the seasoning, and pressure cooking the chicken for 8 minutes.

Then all that is left is mixing the rice with a jar of black bean and corn salsa and shredding the chicken. Toppings are my favorite so I love adding avocado, chopped cilantro, a pinch of salt, and some chopped jalapeños.

And at that we just rocked dinner!! Your family will love you!

I really love everything about summer! The sun, the pools, the splash pads, the perfect evenings, and all the grilling!

But something about fall just gives me all the good feelings!

It’s such a cozy time of year. Not too hot, not too cold (hopefully) and who doesn’t love pumpkins?! I’ve already bought my first bags of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice and Cinnamon Dolce coffee just to appreciate all that fall has to offer!

Bring on the fall festivities!!!

Every time I use my Instant Pot I think why don’t I use this genius piece of equipment every single day?!!

Every recipe I make with my Instant Pot is 100% awesome and this one is no exception. Here are a couple other Instant Pot favorites on the blog– Easy Instant Pot BBQ Chicken, Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice, Best Instant Pot Chuck Roast, and Instant Pot Veggie Soup with Tortellini.

Healthy and Easy Instant Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice

Megan

Chicken and rice made fast and easy in the instant pot and it is as tasty as ever! This is one healthy chicken recipe you and your family will look forward to for dinner.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 16

Total Time 36

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 4 -5

Ingredients

Rice

1 cup long grain white rice
1 1/2 cups water
Pinch of Kosher salt
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
squeeze of lemon juice
1 16 oz jar corn and black bean salsa

Chicken

1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chicken rub see below
Juice of 1 lime

Toppings

Cilantro chopped
Jalapeños chopped
Avocado peeled, pitted, and sliced

Chicken Rub

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon coconut sugar or brown sugar
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon Ancho chile powder or regular chile powder
1 teaspoon ground oregano

Instructions

Rice

Add rice, water, salt, cilantro, and lime juice to the pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Place lid on and set release valve to sealing. Pressure cook for 8 minutes. When complete, use quick release and turn valve to venting. Use caution and be sure not to get your hand in the way of the valve where pressure escapes. Transfer rice to a bowl and cover with a clean towel for 10 minutes.
Stir in the jar of salsa to the rice until well incorporated.

Chicken

Combine ingredients for chicken rub in a small bowl and set aside. Brush chicken with olive oil or use olive oil spray. Rub 1 tablespoon chicken rub on both sides of chicken breasts. Place chicken in the Instant Pot. No need to clean it after cooking the rice. Squeeze lime juice over chicken. Place lid on Instant Pot, set valve to sealing, and pressure cook for 8 minutes. When complete, let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then transfer chicken to a baking sheet and shred. Add 2-3 ladles of the liquid in the pot to the chicken and stir in.

Serving

Serve shredded chicken atop the rice. Optional but RECOMMENDED! toppings include chopped cilantro, sprinkle of chile powder, chopped jalapeños, and sliced avocado.

Notes

The cooking time for the rice and chicken is 8 minutes each in the pressure cooker/Instant Pot. However, it takes about 5-10 minutes for it to warm up before it starts pressure cooking. Just a reminder to take that into account when planning your meal!

If you give this a try, let me know how it went with a picture over on Pinterest!!!
Thanks for reading!

More Great Chicken Dinners

Favorite 5-Minute Saskatchewan Chicken

Balsamic Cherry Rhubarb Chicken

Healthy Chicken Enchilada Pot

From Scratch Hash Browns with Peppers and Onions

August 27, 2018 by Megan

Hash browns made from scratch to promote more whole foods. When topped with sautéed red onion, jalapeños and banana peppers, these hash browns have that extra kick we sometimes need.

In life, sometimes all we want are the frozen hash browns and sometimes we go for ’em from scratch! Or do we?

Five years ago, I am pretty certain I would have done that “ya, right!” thingy I do in my head if someone asked me to try hash browns from scratch. That would have been followed up by the “I don’t even care” thingy 2 I say to myself when I am justifying something that I maybe should do or care about but just don’t. Can you relate? Then again five years ago I had a 1 1/2 year old and 3 month old so our menu looked drastically different than it does today. There’s a time for the frozen hash browns and every now and then there’s a time to try these!!

And you know what? My husband now expects these from scratch hash browns once a week per the Chef’s (muah) discretion of course!

Can we all just take a minute to enjoy this shot of shredded hash browns minus the additives that are in the store-bought kind…

When cooking hash browns there are a few tips I would like to share.

Rinse the shredded potatoes until the water runs clear and then place the potatoes in a bar towel and squeeze out the excess water. This will help the hash browns get crispy on the outside.
When cooking the potatoes, begin by patting them down with a spatula and then LEAVE them ALONE for 2 minutes, flip and repeat this process until they are golden brown.

These tips are what helped me get hash browns that turned out crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Feel free to season them with just salt and pepper, but I really loved the spiciness added from the jalapeños and banana peppers.

I am loving that now hash browns don’t have to be eaten just at restaurants which can serve them a bit on the greasy side sometimes but that’s just me. These are not greasy, totally crispy on the outside, and that perfect hash brown softness on the inside.

These from scratch hash browns are totally Sunday brunch worthy. And they go great paired with any kind of eggs you like. You might like them with one of these: 1) Best 15-minute fried egg sandwich, 2) Southwest egg skillet, or 3) Scrambled eggs

I always like scrambled or fried eggs with hash browns!

From Scratch Hash Browns with Peppers and Onions

Megan

Hash browns made from scratch to promote more whole foods. When topped with sautéed red onion, jalapeños and banana peppers, these hash browns have that extra kick we sometimes need.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Course Breakfast

Servings 4