This Brown Rice Chicken Biryani is a healthier version of my popular Chicken Biryani. It is cooked with brown basmati rice, chicken breasts, fresh herbs and warm aromatic spices. Served with a cooling raita this my favorite feel-good comfort food!
After posting my Instant Pot Chicken Biryani recipe I received so many questions on how to make this with brown rice. My initial thinking was that it is not going to work out with the flavors and moreover the textures with the chicken and Rice cooking together.
Then I started experimenting with brown rice. More I started cooking with it, I figired out that soaking it can drastically change the cooking time especially with Instant Pot. After a few tries, I was able to come up with this recipe that has tender cooked chicken with perfectly cooked brown rice.
I would have never thought of making Biryani with brown rice if not for you guys, so THANK YOU!! This delicious biryani is now on repeat in my kitchen.
Here is the recipe with my expert tips and all it needs is some extra prep-time or a little bit of planning.
PRO Tips for the best Brown Rice Chicken Biryani:
- Soak the brown rice for 3 hours in warm water.
- Pat dry the chicken before marinating to avoid access liquids. Marinate chicken breasts for atleast 2-3 hours. Chicken can also be marinated overnight or upto 12 hours
- Use plain full fat yogurt for the marinade.
- Use fresh garam masala. Homemade garam masala works the best!
- Make sure all of the rice is under the liquids before closing the Instant Pot.
- It is normal for the top layer of the rice to look a bit undercooked. Simply fluff the top layer and then gently mix the biryani with a silicone spatula.
- This recipe makes medium spicy Biryani. For extra spicy add jalapeno. OR add another teaspoon of garam masala to the chicken.
- Lastly, although, Sauté function on the Instant Pot works great for true one pot cooking, you can also caramelize the onions using stove top in a non-stick pan. This will speed up the process and also will prevent the stainless steel insert getting scorched which may lead to “BURN” notice on the newer Instant Pot’s.
- Allow natural pressure release so the rice continues to cook and the chicken breasts cook tender and juicy
Chicken drumsticks or chicken thighs can also be used in this recipe with same pressure cook time
I see “BURN” on the Instant Pot, HELP!!
Instant Pot is a smart pressure cooker and will show “BURN” if the there are not enough liquids for it to come to pressure (Especially true for newer models). This happens for few reasons:
- Recipe does not have enough thin liquids
- You forgot to add the liquids
- Sealing ring is loose or not secure
- You forgot to put the sealing ring on the lid
- Bottom of the Instant Pot got burnt during saute process.
How to avoid the BURN:
- Make sure your recipe has enough thin liquids
- Make sure that the liquids have not evaporated by the time you close the lid
- Make sure the sealing ring is on and properly secure. If your sealing ring has become loose, place it in the freeze for an hour.
- Lastly, deglaze the pot. In this recipe after the onions are sautéed the bottom of the pot may get browned. So it is important to remove this browning which is called deglazing the pot. Turn the saute mode off and either using some of the marinated chicken or 2 tablespoons of water scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spatula. This will remove any browned bits from sautéing of the onions. This is an important step especially for Biryani recipes and will help the Instant Pot come to pressure and also prevent “BURN” signal.
Can I use lamb instead of chicken?
Yes! Marinade the lamb using the same ingredienst as the chicken. Here are 2 options to adjust cook time for Lamb Biryani:
- Pressure Cook the marinated lamb for 20-25 mins on meat/stew setting. Then add the soaked brown rice and follow the remaining recipe.
- Pressure Cook the marinated lamb for 15 mins on meat/stew setting. Then add unsoaked brown rice, with extra 1/2 cup of water and cook for 20 mins with natural pressure release.
What is the best brown rice for this recipe?
- You can use any variety – brown basmati, brown jasmine or short grain brown rice such as Sona Masoori
- Some of my readers have also made this recipe using the instant cook brown rice which does not need to be soaked. Simply adjust the cook time to 6 minutes followed by natural pressure release
Served with a yogurt-based raita, boiled egg and fresh lime wedge makes this a hearty one-pot meal that is finger-licking good and satisfying!
Step by step Recipe for Instant Pot Brown Rice Chicken Biryani:
step 1: Rinse and drain the brown basmati rice thoroughly 2 times. Add 2 cups of warm water and soak the rice for 3 hours. Make Marinade by mixing garam masala, ginger, garlic, red chili powder, turmeric, mint leaves, half of the chopped cilantro, lemon juice, yogurt and salt. Add chicken and coat evenly with the marinade. Keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours (photos 1 – 2).
step 2: After about 2-1/2 hours, turn Instant Pot to Saute(Hi) mode and add 1 tbsp of ghee. Add thinly sliced onions, cook stirring frequently for 10 to 12 mins or until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. Take out half of the onion and keep aside for garnishing the biryani (photos 3 – 4).
step 3: Add remaining 1 tbsp of ghee to the IP with half of the caramelized onions already in the pot. For extra spicy Biryani add sliced jalapeno. Add bay leaves and marinated chicken. Mix well and deglaze the pot with the liquids from the marinade. The deglazing step is important and will help take out the browning of the pot from sautéing the onions (photos 5 – 6).
step 4: Drain the rice and gently pour over the chicken. Spread the rice evenly over the chicken. Add 1-1/2 tsp of salt. Add 1 cup of water. Using a spatula, evenly spread the rice under water and gently push all the rice from the sides of the pot under the liquids. Close Instant Pot and turn pressure valve to sealing. Set to Manual mode for 10 mins. Allow Natural Pressure Release. Open the Instant Pot and gently fluff the top layer of the rice, if it looks slightly uncooked, simply close the instant pot and leave the Instant Pot on the keep warm mode for another 10 minutes (photos 7 – 8).
step 5: Garnish with the remaining caramelized onions, saffron and cilantro.
Here is the you tube video that shows how easy it is to make this brown rice chicken biryani:
Love one pot Indian meals? Here are more Instant Pot Biryani recipes that we have on repeat!
- Easy and Authentic Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
- Weeknight favorite Vegetable & Paneer Biryani
- Instant Pot Shrimp Biryani in 30 miniutes
- Instant Pot Fish Biryani
- Chickpea Biryani with vegan options
Enjoy brown rice? Check out this recipe that explains how to cook Instant Pot brown rice 2 ways!
★ Have you tried this recipe? We love your feedback, Please click on the stars in the recipe card below to rate.
A healthier version of the classic Chicken Biryani made with brown basmati rice, chicken breasts and aromatic spices.
- 2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tablespoon ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon garlic grated
- 1 tablespoon kashmiri red chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro divided
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- 3/4 cup plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 pounds chicken breasts cut each breast into 2 pieces
- 2 cups brown basmati rice
- 1 jalapeno sliced into 8 wedges optional for extra spicy **
- 2 tablespoons ghee divided
- 1 large onions thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 1.5 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon saffron mixed in 1 tablespoon warm milk
- 4 boiled and shelled eggs optional
- Rinse and drain the brown basmati rice thoroughly 2 times. Add 2 cups of warm water and soak the rice for 3 hours.
- Make Marinade by mixing garam masala, ginger, garlic, red chili powder, turmeric, mint leaves, half of the chopped cilantro, lemon juice, yogurt and salt. Add chicken and coat evenly with the marinade. Keep in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours
After about 2-1/2 hours, turn Instant Pot to Saute(Hi) mode and add 1 tbsp of ghee. Add thinly sliced onions, cook stirring frequently for 10 to 12 mins or until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. Take out half of the onion and keep aside for garnishing the biryani.
- Add remaining 1 tbsp of ghee to the IP with half of the caramelized onions already in the pot. For extra spicy Biryani add sliced jalapeno. Add bay leaves and marinated chicken. Mix well and deglaze the pot with the liquids from the marinade. The deglazing step is important and will help take out the browning of the pot from sautéing the onions.
- Drain the rice and gently pour over the chicken. Spread the rice evenly over the chicken. Add 1-1/2 tsp of salt. Add 1 cup of water.
- Using a spatula, evenly spread the rice under water and gently push all the rice from the sides of the pot under the liquids.
- Close Instant Pot and turn pressure valve to sealing. Set to Manual mode for 10 mins.
- Allow Natural Pressure Release. Once the pin drops, open the Instant Pot and gently fluff the top layer of the rice, if it looks slightly uncooked, simply close the instant pot and leave the Instant Pot on the keep warm mode for another 10 minutes.
- Gently fluff and mix the rice with the chicken on the bottom of the pan.
- Garnish with the remaining caramelized onions, saffron and cilantro.
- Serve with Raita (Onions and tomatoes mixed in yogurt), hard boiled egg and lemon wedges.
Recipe Video
** This recipe makes medium spicy Biryani. For extra spicy add jalapeno. OR add another tsp of garam masala to the chicken.
You can replace chicken breasts with bone in chicken pieces , chicken thighs or drumsticks for the same cook time.
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Update Notes: This recipe was originally posted in Nov 2017, but was updated in Oct 2019 with new photos and information.
Hans Susser says
Beautiful 🙂
Archana says
Thank you Hans!
Apol says
What is the brand of brown rice here?
Archana says
I used Trader Joe’s brown basmati!
Freda says
Such a tempting platter of biryani! Looks fab, Archana 🙂
Archana says
Thank you Freda!
Ramya says
Wow.. this looks so yummy.. one quick question, do I need to add 1cup of water for 1cup of rice or 1cup water for 2cups rice ?
Archana says
Hi Ramya, lots of liquids are released by pressure cooking the chicken, so just 1 cup water is enough for 2 cups of soaked basmati rice. You want to make sure that all the rice is under liquids as shown in the video. Let me know if you have any questions.
Ramya says
Thanks Archana !!
Archana says
You are welcome
LovesToEat says
When you say one cup of rice, do you mean the cup that came with the instant pot?
Also, the instant pot cooking times state that it takes 20-22 minutes to cook brown rice. Your recipe cooks everything in 10 minutes – is that because the brown rice has been soaked for three hours?
Archana says
I use regular measuring cup for rice. The key is to use same cup to measure the rice and water. And yes soaking reduces the cook time for brown rice.
LovesToEat says
Ok ok, so you mean for this particular recipe you used a regular measuring cup (250ml)? But, you can use any quantity as long as the ratio is consistent? (1:1 or 1:1.25)?
Archana says
Yes!
Carmen says
I use the Sundari brand of brown basmati that cooks on the stove in 18-20 minutes, so in the instant pot it just takes 6 minutes on high pressure, with just 20 minutes of soaking. I guess it all depends on the particular brand you use, some brown basmatis take 45 minutes on the stove.
Archana says
I agree! I will def check out the Sundari brand rice next tine I go grocery shopping
Seema Inamdar says
Hi Archana! first of all, I must say I am hooked on to your recipes & specially the IP ones! It wont be a lie if I say I bought IP after reading your blog & reviews on IP 🙂 All the recipes I have tried so far have come out so well. You have a very good knack of explaining everything in simple words, really very impressive to know inspite of being from IT background, you are doing this to pursue your passion for cooking!
Now quick q on this recipe. Can I follow this same recipe to make egg biryani? only thing I am little unsure is how to marinate boiled eggs, is that even needed.
Archana says
Hi Seema! Thank you for your kind words. I am happy to hear that you are enjoying the new cooking experience. I would not marinade eggs. I would cook the brown rice with sautéed onions and half of the marinade. Then sauté whole boiled eggs in remaining marinade and onions on stovetop. And then simply mix the 2 together.
angie says
Can you marinate the chicken overnight? Or do you think it will alter the flavor? What about the rice? (for those of us that can’t marinate 3 hr before cooking during a schoolnight!)
Thanks!!
Archana says
You can def marinate chicken overnight. I have not tried soaking rice overnight but it should work too
Mike P says
I made this today, and the rice was still a bit grainy. I had added more water – around 1.25 cups to the 1 cup of rice – just to get it all under water, but after 10 minutes at high pressure and around 28 minutes natural pressure release, it was dry. Another 10 minutes at Keep Warm didn’t change much either.
I might try it again with 15 minutes’ time on the pressure, but it was still delicious. I wasn’t ever really a biryani fan since most biryanis I ate were kind of low on the flavor scale, but the marinade was dynamite.
Archana says
Hi Mike, Was the rice soaked before? 15 minutes will work good for the rice but I am afraid the chicken may be overcooked? Try soaking in warm water for a little bit longer?
Mike P. says
Yep, it was soaked in warm water for 3 hours. Maybe I should soak the rice in hot water next time?
For what it’s worth I was using Deep Foods brand brown basmati rice – not sure if that necessitates any changes.
Archana says
Hi Mike, I have used Deep Basmati and it works week for me. Soaking in hot water might break the rice grains. Try soaking for longer time, around 4 to 6 hours. Let me know how it works out. Also lately I have been using trader joe’s brown basmati. Although I do not think there is much difference. Depending on the age of the rice the cook times might change.
Shreta says
Hi Archana, I wanted to try making this biryani with Brown sona masoori rice. Any idea if I should change the cook time?
Archana says
Hi Shreta! Same cook time will work for sona masoori brown rice.
Sarah says
Do you keep the instant on the “keep warm” setting while it is doing natural pressure release?
Archana says
Yes, for this recipe.
Alvina says
Can I use regular brown rice? Does it have to be basmati brown rice?
Thanks!
Archana says
Hi Alvina, yes you can use regular brown rice.
Jeanne E Norsworthy says
Hi Archana- I want to serve this recipe to my whole family coming for Easter next week- however due to the holiday, I’d love to use LAMB stew meat! how would you alter the time/ specifications for lamb instead of chicken breast? Thanks so much- I’m excited to expose my family to your recipes
Archana says
Hi Jeanne, Two options:
1. Pressure Cook the marinated lamb for 20-25 mins on meat/stew setting. Then add the soaked brown rice and follow the remaining recipe.
2. Pressure Cook the marinated lamb for 15 mins on meat/stew setting. The add unsoaked brown rice, with extra 1/2 cup of water and cook for 20 mins with natural pressure release.
Monica says
Hi Archana,
Thank you for this amazing and super easy recipe.
I made this in a 3 qt IP. The brown rice turned mushy, the flavor was on point though. How can I avoid that next time? Should I make only half the recipe in the 3 qt IP?
Archana says
Hi Monica, Thank you for the feedback. Depending on the age and variety of brown rice sometimes the cook time may vary. Here are few suggestions 1. Soak the brown rice only for 30 minutes. 2. Reduce the cook time to 8 minutes. 3. Reduce the water by 1/4 cup.
Monica says
Which brand brown rice do you normally use?
I want to try using biryani masala. Which brand would you recommend?
Archana says
I like Trader Joe’s Brown Basmati Rice. I have also tried the brown basmati from Indian stores.
Archana says
Also for Biryani Masala, try Shan Biryani Masala
Sarah M says
Mine was a soupy mess too. 🙁 will try again with less speaking time I suppose.
Archana says
oh no! What type of brown rice did you use?
Danita says
Flavor was great and the chicken was cooked perfectly but my rice was still very al dente. I soaked it for a little over 3 hours and also let it set on warm in the instant pot an additional 10 mins after the natural release as you suggested, it didn’t change the rice texture much. I made sure the rice was under the liquid too. I used a brand new package of Lundberg brown basmati. My husband is on a low carb diet so I’ve stopped using white rice. I am thinking parboiling the rice for 5 or 10 mins before vs the soaking?
Archana says
You can try soaking the rice in hot water. IT should really not take this long for the rice to cook. May be next time try a different brand of rice? If you are ok, try non organic brand.
Mona says
Hi! I wanted to add canned chickpeas, potatoes, and frozen thawed green peas to this recipe. Any suggestions if the water should be more or less? Would you add them in the beginning? Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated!
Archana says
Add then along with the rice. You just need enough water so all the rice is under liquids. Also you may need to adjust salt and spices according to taste.
Mona says
Thank you! I’m always confused when adding in potatoes. And I love them! How much spices and salt would you add in if it was about 1.5 diced potatoes? Thank you for the help! Can’t wait until tonight.
Archana says
1 teaspoon extra salt, half teaspoon of red chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon of garam masala should suffice.
Niv says
I’m interested in making this recipe with Quinoa instead of Brown rice. Can you please suggest modifications to the recipe to be able to make it with quinoa instead?
Archana says
I would pressure cook for 5 minutes with 10 minute natural pressure release. 1:1 water to quinoa ratio.
Anjali says
Hello! I was reading your comments and saw that you use Trader Joe’s Brown Basmati Rice. Do you use the regular or quick cook version of the Trader Joe’s Brown Rice for this? Thank you!
Archana says
Regular brown basmati, not the quick cook one.
Anjali says
Thank you! Can’t wait to try this!
Susie says
Can I pressure cook it for 25 minutes without soaking. I’m using 1 ¼ cup water for 1 cup Sona masoori brown fice.
Archana says
Susie, I am afraid the chicken breasts might overcook. If you use chicken thighs it will work great.