Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Chicken is made healthier than the classic version of this dish – say hello to your childhood fave re-envisioned!
Ingredients in this dish
The ingredient list is relatively short for this easy, creamy chicken recipe. Here's what you need on hand:
- chicken breasts
- mushrooms
- garlic
- shallots (or onions)
- chicken broth
- white rice
- sour cream
- parsley, for garnish (optional)
How to make mushroom chicken in the Instant Pot
It's so easy to make this recipe in the Instant Pot! You're basically just going to dump everything in and press start.
Here's how to make it:
- Add all ingredients to Instant Pot in the order in which they are listed.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, then allow a natural pressure release (about 15-20 minutes).
- Remove the lid once pressure gauge has fallen, then stir in sour cream and parsley.
- Let sit a couple of minutes to thicken (with or without the lid on), then serve and enjoy!
Making this dish on the stove top
It seems as though nearly everyone has an Instant Pot these days, but in case you don't, here are instructions for making Cream of Mushroom Chicken in a skillet on your stove top.
- Heat the pan and sear the chicken. To get a nice sear on the chicken, be sure to get your skillet nice and hot before adding anything to it.
When the pan is hot, add oil and place the chicken breasts into the skillet. Sear them for 3 minutes on each side and then temporarily place them onto a plate.
- Add and cook the mushrooms. Add your mushrooms to the hot pan. Cook them over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes, or until they're soft and caramelized.
- Add rice, garlic and shallot into the pan with the mushrooms. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the garlic and shallot are soft and fragrant.
- Pour chicken stock, salt and pepper over the rice mixture. Stir gently to combine everything.
- Add seared chicken back to the pan. Place the chicken breasts on top of the rice, lower the heat to medium and place a lid on the pan.
- Cook for 20-25 minutes. You'll know the dish is ready when the rice has absorbed all of the liquid. Be sure to use a cooking thermometer to check that the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165 F.
- Stir in sour cream, garnish with parsley and red pepper flakes, then serve!
Ingredient substitutions
- Chicken: Instead of boneless skinless chicken breasts, you can use boneless skinless thighs or even boneless pork chops.
- Fresh mushrooms: Although the flavour of this dish is best with fresh mushrooms, if you are truly in a pinch, you can drain a couple of small cans of mushrooms and use them instead.
- Chicken broth: Feel free to use chicken stock or vegetable broth or stock.
- Sour cream: Good substitutes for sour cream include light sour cream, Half & Half, or heavy cream.
- Rice: This Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Chicken recipe will work using any type of long or short grain white rice such as Jasmine, Basmati, etc. NOTE: Brown rice is not recommended because it requires more liquid and takes longer to cook than white rice.
Adding more veggies
You can give this meal a boost of vitamins and minerals by adding more fresh or frozen veggies. A few ideas include:
- Celery
- Carrots
- Corn
- Green Beans
- Zucchini
- Onion
What to serve as a side dish
Because there is rice in the dish, it's really a complete meal on its own.
If you want to serve something else with it, consider some buttermilk biscuits or dinner rolls, and maybe a light garden salad or some coleslaw.
More easy Instant Pot recipes
Want to Learn How to Meal Prep? Join Dinner Prep Pro!
Our meal planning service removes the guesswork and helps you get dinner on the table in 15-20 minutes each night thanks to our prep ahead checklists. It takes just one hour of ingredient prep on a Sunday!
Storing and reheating
Store any leftovers in an airtight container or individual glass meal prep containers and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
The best way to reheat the leftovers is in a skillet on the stove top, over medium heat. Stir occasionally until everything is warmed through.
You can also reheat individual portions in the microwave for 2 minutes, making sure to sprinkle some water overtop first so the rice doesn't dry out.
Freezing this dish
Cream of Mushroom Chicken freezes really well, making this recipe perfect for an easy meal prep dinner on a busy weeknight.
Before you transfer the dish to freezer-safe, airtight containers, be sure that the food is completely cool first. Otherwise, when the steam from the hot food freezes, it can cause ice crystals to form on top of the meal. If this happens, it is perfectly safe to eat, but the flavour will be diminished.
To reheat, simply defrost in the fridge overnight or reheat individual portions from frozen in the microwave for 7-8 minutes, sprinkling water overtop beforehand and stirring a couple times partway through the reheat time.
Meal prep tools
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
is the version I use in this recipe - Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on packing this dish up for lunch
- I get free range chicken from my monthly Butcher Box
is the version I use in this recipe
Instant Pot Cream of Mushroom Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium-sized chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces
- 2 8oz packages of mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup shallots, chopped
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups white rice
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- Red chili flakes for topping
Instructions
- Add olive oil, chicken, mushrooms, garlic, shallots, salt and pepper, chicken broth and rice to Instant Pot in that order. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes, then allow a natural pressure release (about 15-20 minutes).
- Remove lid once pressure gauge has fallen, then stir in sour cream and parsley. Let sit a couple of minutes to thicken, then serve and enjoy!
Comments & Reviews
Andrew says
Hey can you substitute the rice for quinoa? And would that change anything else?
Taylor Stinson says
I’ve never tried it so unfortunately I can’t say. Let me know if you try it out!
Alice says
Easy recipe. I would reduce the amount of garlic for my family but the final product was delicious.
Julie Woodside says
Hi… I’m just making this, and curious… your video shows you adding thyme, but it’s not listed in the ingredients…? I’m going to add some, as it sounds good. Stay tuned, lol!
Taylor Stinson says
Uh oh, looks like I forgot to add the 1/2 tsp of dried thyme, sorry about that Julie. Just updated the recipe to reflect the change. Thanks for pointing that out and hope you enjoy 🙂
Erin says
Hey, this was absolutely delicious! Next time I make it I want to add in some extra vegetables like you suggested. When would I add them in? Would I pressure cook them or just toss them in at the end? Thank you!!
Taylor Stinson says
So glad you enjoyed, Erin 🙂 Depending on the veggie, you can add them in during the pressure cooking cycle – heartier veggies like carrots would work well for that. Otherwise, if you’re looking at bell peppers or broccoli I suggest cutting/slicing very thinly then adding at the end and letting them sit with the lid on for 5 min. The hot food will steam them whereas the pressure cooker would turn them to mush. Good luck!!
Jackie says
Made this tonight and my husband and I enjoyed it very much! Will definitely be making this again 🙂.
Sarah Fournier says
Delicious recipe! The only thing I would change is to use more broth or water as the rice was not cook entirely through – still edible though, just very al dente!