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Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken and Rice is a delicious one-pot meal. Both kids and adults love this recipe, with sweet pineapple chunks, tender chicken, and a sweet & tangy sauce. The rice cooks at the same time as the meat and sauce. Pressure cooker Hawaiian chicken and Rice is a one-pot meal!
Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken and Rice
Today’s recipe is for a pressure cooker Hawaiian Chicken with rice, and it has lots of tender chicken and sweet pineapple chunks in it!
This recipe is a little more advanced, but not difficult. Just follow along with the steps in the recipe card and you will be eating this delicious Hawaiian Chicken in no time!
Why do you take out the bell pepper?
Bell peppers cook to complete mush if left in this recipe for the full cook time. By sautéing them and taking them out, we can add them back in after pressure cooking. They will have kept more of their crispness!
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What is a tall legged trivet and why do I need one?
It is just a trivet (or rack) that has legs that are 3 inches tall. The trivet will clear the food on the bottom, and hold the pan of rice on top.
This method is called “Pan-in-Pot” or “Pot-in-Pot” cooking. You can find a Tall Legged Trivet here (affiliate).
See the example below:
What is that pan you are using?
I prefer to cook my PIP (Pot-in-Pot) recipes in a good quality metal (stainless) container. I like that it cooks food faster than ceramic, and the size is perfect (7″x3″).
The pan pictured is one of two pans that comes with the Aozita Stackable Stainless set (affiliate). I use this set of pans a lot!
You will see this pan in these recipes: Bread Pudding, Stuffing, Egg Loaf, and of course any recipe that you can cook the rice PIP with it.
Instant Pot Hawaiian Pineapple Pork
Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Sloppy Joes
Instant Pot Kalua Pork / Kalua Pig
Instant Pot French Onion Chicken and Rice
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Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 2 lbs Skinless Boneless Chicken Breasts (about 3-4) cut slightly larger than bite sized pieces
- 2 tsp Kosher Salt, divided
- ½ tsp Pepper
- 2 ½ Tbsp Cooking Oil, divided
- 1 Red or Green Bell Pepper, large dice
- 1 sm Sweet Onion, chopped
- 2 tsp Ginger, grated (or 1 tsp powdered)
- 4 cloves Garlic, finely minced
- ¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes, or more to taste
- 1 (20 oz) can Pineapple Chunks in Juice
- ¾ cup Barbecue Sauce, (something smoky and just a little sweet, not honey)
To Finish
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
- 3 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
To Thicken (Mix these together while chicken is cooking)
- 3 Tbsp Corn Starch
- 4 Tbsp Cold Water
Garnish
- 2 Green Onions, sliced
For The Rice
- 2 cups White Long Grain Rice, well rinsed
- 2 cups Water
Instructions
- Salt and pepper the chicken pieces, saving 1 tsp of the salt for later. Set aside.
- Rinse the rice and add to a 7"x2.5" pan (like the ekovana stackable stainless), and add the water to the pan. Set aside.
- Turn on the Sauté setting. When it is hot, add half of the oil, then add the bell pepper. Cook just until softened, then remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil, then add the chicken. Cook, turning every couple of minutes, just to get a little color on the outside.
- Add the onion, stir and sauté for a couple of minutes.
- Add the ginger, garlic, remaining 1 tsp salt, and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, for a minute.
- Add the can of pineapple chunks, along with the juice. Don't stir.
- Pour over the BBQ sauce, but don't stir.
Add Rice
- Place a long legged trivet in the pan right on the chicken and pineapple. Make sure the legs of the trivet are about 3" tall.
- Set the pan of rice on the trivet.
- Cancel the Sauté setting. Close the lid and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
Pressure Cook
- Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button or dial, then the +/- button or dial to select 3 minutes. High Pressure. The pot will take several minutes to come to pressure.
- When the cook cycle has finished, turn off the pot and let it sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Then turn the steam release knob to the Venting position to release the remaining steam/pressure.
- When the pin in the lid drops back down, open the lid. Remove the pan of rice to a heat safe surface (be careful!). Take out the trivet.
Finish
- Add the brown sugar and the apple cider vinegar to the chicken in the pot. Stir. Taste and adjust salt, if needed.
Thicken
- Turn on the Sauté setting and add the corn starch slurry. Stir. When thickened, turn off the pot.
- Add the bell peppers back in and stir.
Serve
- Fluff the rice with a fork and serve the Hawaiian chicken over the rice. Garnish with green onion.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
RESOURCES TO MAKE Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken recipe and more
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I changed things up slightly, added a jalapeño pepper with the bell pepper and used 1/4 soy sauce instead of the bbq sauce, deleted red pepper, it came out wonderfully. Thank you for the recipe, I’m going to make it as originally written next time as well.
I tried it and just as I thought it would happen the entire thing got burned really bad and my pit is ruined! What did I do wrong? Usually you have to put water in the bottom to prevent burning but the recipe stated the put water and rice in the pan on top the 3 in rack?? What did I do wrong??? So upset!!! I took a picture of my out my pan but for some reason no spot to upload picture??
I’m so sorry that happened. It sounds like the directions weren’t followed. Did you read the post and see the photos of how I put the pan of rice and water above the chicken?
I am making now and I don’t know am I adding 2 c of water to the rice and there is no water in the bottom of the pan for chicken and such I think it will burn really bad if the water isn’t out in the bottom?? Help!!!!! Thanks
The pan of rice & water is separate from the chicken. The chicken will add some moisture So will the pineapple juice.
Tried this and the family loved it. It has been added to the list of meals made frequently.
Thank you for all your work in perfecting your recipes! You are one of my top go to bloggers for recipes.
Loved it ! <3
I love this recipe. I have made it several times. But I’d really like more sauce for my rice. How would I do that? Thanks!
You can add a little chicken broth to the pot with the chicken (about 1/2 cup). Then increase the cornstarch slurry to thicken it. Add as much liquid as you like, but try to balance out the seasoning so it doesn’t get watered down.
Can you think of a way I could cook this with brown rice? Or would I need to cook the rice separately? Love your website!
Brown rice takes too long to cook, so I would cook it separately.