Instant Pot Chicken Biryani is one of my favorite dishes and one of the most requested meals at my house. This one-pot meal is made of fragrant basmati rice, tender spiced chicken, and caramelized onions, and it can be cooked in less than an hour while maintaining the same authentic flavor and texture of traditional biryani.
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Family Treasured Recipe
Biryani is one of India's most beloved dishes; rich in flavor and tradition, but often time-consuming to make. Growing up, my mom's Stovetop Chicken Biryani was a special treat, and I knew I had to find a way to bring that same magic to busy weeknights.
After a few trials, I cracked the Instant Pot version that is quick, easy, and full of authentic flavor.
Since then, I've had so much fun creating more one-pot biryanis you'll love: From fragrant Vegetable Biryani, Shrimp Biryani to hearty Chickpea Biryani (with vegan options!), Brown Rice Biryani, Fish Biryani, and Egg Biryani there's something for everyone, and all made effortlessly in the Instant Pot!
The Famous Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
Thank you to all who have tried this recipe. It has become so popular that when I published The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook, I was requested that I also include this recipe in the cookbook. I hope you will enjoy 75+ modern recipes with authentic Indian flavors in my best-selling book.
How To Cook Different Chicken Cuts
I love biryani with chicken cooked tender and moist, while the rice is fluffy with each grain separated. There are 2 ways to cook biryani, depending on your chicken cut.
- Using bone-in, skinless chicken legs, I first partially cook the chicken by pressure cooking it for 4 minutes. Then layer over soaked and drained rice and pressure cook both chicken and rice for 6 minutes.
- Using small bone-in chicken pieces or boneless thighs - Skip the initial 4 minutes of pressure cooking and saute the marinated chicken for 2 to 3 minutes. Then layer the soaked and drained rice and pressure cook for 6 minutes.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Biryani
Here are step-by-step instructions with photos. Please check the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the ingredient quantities and detailed instructions.
1: Marinate the Chicken - Coat the chicken with ground spices, mint, cilantro, lemon juice, yogurt, and salt. For extra flavor and easy meal prep, you can marinate it ahead of time and refrigerate for up to 12 hours (photos 1-4).
2: Soak the Rice - Soak the rice for 20 minutes to ensure it cooks up light, fluffy, and with long, separate grains. I recommend using extra-long grain basmati rice for the best results-Kohinoor and Royal are two of my go-to brands, easily found at most Indian grocery stores (photos 5-6).
3: Caramelize the onions and deglaze - As the rice soaks, start to caramelize the onions. Caramelizing in the Instant Pot may cause the bottom of the pot to get scorched. Remember to deglaze the pot well with the liquids from the marinated chicken. Pressing cancel during deglazing also prevents further overheating (photos 7 - 10).
4: Partially Cook the Chicken - Bone-in chicken legs or drumsticks need a longer time to pressure cook than basmati rice. To achieve this, we first pressure-cook the chicken for 4 minutes. For boneless thighs, just sautéing for 2 to 3 minutes cooks the chicken partially, and then they can further cook along with the layered rice (photos 11 - 12).
5: Layer over Rice and Pressure Cook- Drain the rice and layer it over the partially cooked chicken. Add water and make sure all the rice is under the liquids (photos 13 - 14).
Once the Instant Pot has finished, open the lid and garnish the biryani with caramelized onions, saffron milk, fresh cilantro, and mint. Add the hard-boiled eggs on top (see photos 15-16). Let the rice cool slightly, then gently fluff it with a fork or silicone spatula. Serve with a side of raita and a squeeze of fresh lime!
Tips for making Biryani in the Instant Pot
- Marinate the Chicken Well: Pat dry the chicken to avoid excess moisture, then marinate for at least 20 minutes using plain full-fat yogurt. Use fresh garam masala for the best flavor-homemade is ideal.
- Caramelize and Deglaze Properly: If you're sautéing onions in the Instant Pot, be sure to deglaze the pot thoroughly after caramelizing. Turn off the pot and add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to loosen any browned bits-there should be no residue left at the bottom. This prevents the dreaded "BURN" message and helps the pot come to pressure. Also, make sure the sealing ring is secured properly before pressure cooking. To avoid issues altogether, you can caramelize the onions on the stovetop in a non-stick pan. It's faster and helps keep the Instant Pot insert clean and scorch-free.
- Layer and Cook Thoughtfully: Make sure all of the rice is fully submerged in liquid before closing the Instant Pot. After cooking, the top layer of rice may appear slightly undercooked; fluff it gently and mix using a silicone spatula.
- Scaling the Recipe - You can safely halve the recipe without changing the pressure cook time. To double it, use an 8-QT Instant Pot-doubling in a 6-QT is not recommended. Cooking time stays the same either way.
★ Tried this recipe? I'd love to hear how it turned out! Leave a comment and let me know, or snap a quick pic and upload it-I love seeing your creations. If you're on Instagram, tag @ministry_of_curry so I can check it out. Your feedback means so much to me and makes all the time I spend perfecting each recipe totally worth it. Thank you!
Recipe
Instant Pot Chicken Biryani (Better Than Restaurant!)
Equipment
Recipe Video
Ingredients
Marinade
- 2 teaspoons garam masala Add 3 teaspoon for spicier Biryani
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic paste
- 1 tablespoon kashmiri red chili powder
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- ¼ cup mint leaves
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ¾ cup plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 pounds whole bone in chicken skinless cut into 12 pieces (If using chicken thighs cut into 2 inch pieces)
Other Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons ghee divided
- 2 large yellow onions thinly sliced
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups extra long grain Basmati rice
- 2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon saffron mixed in 1 tablespoon warm milk
- 6 eggs hard boiled and shelled, optional
- 1 jalapeno sliced into 8 wedges optional for extra spicy **
Raita
- 2 cups plain yogurt
- 1 medium yellow onion finely diced
- 2 tomatoes diced
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Make the 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 at least 30 minutes.
- While the chicken is marinating, wash and soak the basmati rice in water. Keep aside for 20 minutes.
- Turn the Instant Pot to Saute(Hi). After the 'hot' sign displays, add half of the ghee and add thinly sliced onions. Cook stirring frequently for 10 minutes or until the onions are golden brown and caramelized. Take out half of the onion and keep aside for garnishing the biryani. Note: You can also air fry the onions
- Add the remaining ghee to the Instant Pot with half of the caramelized onions already in the pot. For extra spicy Biryani add sliced jalapeno. Add bay leaves and half of the marinated chicken and the liquid from the marinade. Press Cancel. Mix well, deglazing the pot with a spatula to take out all the browning of the pot from sautéing the onions. This is an important step that will prevent the possible "BURN" signal during pressure cooking. Once all the browning on the pot is completely removed, stir in the remaining chicken.
- a) For Chicken on bone - Close the Instant Pot and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Select Manual/Pressure Cook(Hi) and adjust the time to 4 minutes. Follow with Quick release. Mix the chicken well, once again scraping the bottom of the pot removing any food stuck to the bottom.
- or
- b) For boneless Chicken thighs - Cook on Saute mode for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pot to make sure there is no food sticking to the bottom.
- Drain the rice and gently pour it over the chicken. Add salt from the other ingredients list. Add water and gently push all the rice under the liquids. Do not stir. Close the Instant Pot and turn the pressure valve to sealing. Select Manual/Pressure Cook(Hi) mode and adjust the time to 6 minutes. Follow with Quick release.
- Open the Instant Pot. If the top layer of the rice looks uncooked, simply fluff the top layer of the rice. Then mix the rice with the chicken on the bottom of the pan. Using a silicone spatula to gently mix will also prevent the rice grains from breaking.
- Garnish with the remaining caramelized onions, saffron mixed with milk and cilantro. Serve with Raita, hard-boiled egg, and lemon wedges.
Raita
- To make the raita, whisk the yogurt in a medium bowl. Add onions, tomatoes, salt, and mix well. Garnish with cilantro.
Notes
- Deglaze the pot using some of the marinated chicken to remove any browned bits from the sautéing of the onions. This will help the Instant Pot come to pressure and also prevent the "BURN" signal.
- Deglaze the pot, once again just before adding the rice.
- 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.
- Tip - Although Sauté (more) function on the Instant Pot works great for true one-pot cooking, you can also caramelize the onions, stovetop in a non-stick pan. This will speed up the process and also will prevent the stainless steel insert from getting scorched which may lead to a "BURN" notice on the newer Instant Pots.
- Using small bone-in chicken pieces or boneless thighs - Skip the initial 4 minutes of pressure cooking and instead saute the marinated chicken for 2 to 3 minutes. Then layer the soaked and drained rice and pressure cook for 6 minutes
Nutrition
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Mati says
Hi Archana, do you have a recipe for how to prepare the saffron with milk in this recipe? Should the saffron threads be ground or cooked first? Thank you!
Archana says
I simply add them to warm milk and allow it to bloom as the biryani pressure cooks.
ST says
Hi Archana,
I've made this several times and absolutely love the recipe.
I live alone I sometimes feel the rice is a bit much. Is there a way I can use 2 cups of rice and still use 2 pounds of chicken? How do you suggest I alter the recipe
Archana says
2 pounds of chicken and 2 cups of rice is what I would recommend too!
ST says
Thanks! And I use 2 cups of water?
Archana says
yes!
Angela says
My first time making biryani. I was anxious and your recipe led me through it wonderfully. Thank you!
Archana says
Thank you so much!
Josie says
I made this tonight and it was awesome! Not only did it taste good, it's actually the best rice I've ever made in the instant pot. It was fluffy and not at all soggy. It was also very easy to deglaze the pot from the onions with the chicken/marinade. Thank you so much for the recipe! I'll definitely be making it again (and checking out your other recipes!).
Archana says
Thank you for your lovely feedback 🙂
Chris says
All I keep getting is burn like 7 times I even fried the onions in a separate pot. What am I doing wrong? I just threw $40 down the drain and the instant pot is about to go flying across the kitchen, pls help what a waste of time and money
Archana says
I am sorry this didn't work out. Have you cooked other dishes in the Instant Pot and did they work. Sometimes even with the burn if you just keep the Instant Pot closed it cooks the biryani with remnant heat. I am happy to help you further with this recipe but if the issue is with other recipes too, then may be we can try a basic recipe first.
Lori Hagemann says
I'm making this tonight, very excited!
Have you ever added peas and carrots or any other type of veggie? Trying to make a pot me 🙂
Archana says
Yes! Add whatever veggies you like to this 🙂
Annon says
I would like to know if I was to add fresh tomatoes into this recipe. Where can I encorprate this and how long would it take please?
Also you said to cook on pressure but is this high or low pressue? I have 6gt IP.
Thanks
Archana says
Hi pressure for this recipe. Add tomatoes with the chicken. Reduce water by 1/4 cup if you add one tomato
priya says
Hi Archana,
I tried your biryani and absolutely loved how simple and easy it was to make. The taste was great but the rice turned out to be a bit soggy. It wasn't fluffy, and the grains were not separated from each other. I used the correct measurements. How to avoid this in future?
Archana says
You can reduce water by 1/2 cup or make sure that the chicken is dry, use paper towels to pat dry chicken before marinating
Nona Bains says
Hi there, I'd love to try this. If I am using boneless chicken instead of bone-in, for how long should I cook the chicken before adding rice?
Archana says
No need to pressure cook the boneless chicken first. Just sauté the marinated chicken for 2 to 3 minutes. Then layer the soaked and drained rice and pressure cook for 6 minutes
Dani A says
Would it be possible to put potatoes in this?
Archana says
Sure! Add them with the rice.
Dani A says
Would I have to adjust cooking time? Or par cook or anything?
Archana says
Same cook time. Cut into potatoes 1.5 inch cubes. Raw potatoes work, I like them skin on.
Dani A says
Thank you so much! Turned out great
Sandhya Nannem says
Made it last night & came out well . Only thing I would cut the amount of rice next time . Thank you Archana
ANUSUYA JEYAKUMAR says
Hi Archana
I would like to make with 2 cups of rice and 2 lbs chicken
How about the measurement of the ingredients to marinate and cooking in the instant pot
Archana says
In step 8 - Reduce 1 cup of water, 1 cup of rice and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Follow exact same recipe otherwise. Same cooking time.
ANUSUYA JEYAKUMAR says
Thanks
for bone in chicken thigh do we have to cook for 4 minutes
Archana says
Hi Anusuya! No need to do the first 4 minutes for bone in thighs 🙂
Tanya says
It was so delicious and turned out perfect- full of flavour and rice was fluffy! Thanks for the recipe.
Jesse R says
Great recipe! Followed instructions and came out great. I used 1.5 lbs chicken (boneless) and 2 cups Basmati rice. I also added the jalapeño for some extra spice, as well as some zucchini and red bell pepper. Very tasty and flavorful, I would make this again!
Archana says
Thank you Jesse!
Fadeelah says
Thank you so much for this recipe. I made it with an added cup of brown lentils which I soaked along with the rice because for me biryani must contain lentils. It was delicious! But next time I'd make the rice lentil mixture 3 cups in total, else you end up with too little chicken meat. Even the marinated raw chicken smelt good enough to eat, but then I was fasting so your sense of smell skyrockets haha. xxx
Archana says
Good idea to add masoor to this recipe. Hope you will make it again.
Rozmin says
I made your recipe yesterday. Along with ghee and Garam Masala! It was amazing
I hash tagged it on Facebook
Next time I will use boneless and with potatoes
Archana says
Thank you!
Shweta Kumar says
Hi Archana,
Thanks for the recipe! I made biryani for the first time and it turned out really nice. Indeed a one pot biryani recipe!
Shweta
Archana says
Thank you!
Bhavika says
Hi, I just made this. It turned out awesome. I added a tomato, a few cinnamon sticks and potatoes. I was blown away by how amazing it tasted. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Archana says
You are welcome! Thank you for the feedback and rating the recipe
Jasmine says
SO yummy and easy! It takes time to get it all together but it’s worth it ! I used lamb and a bit extra water to keep it all moist.
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback.
Annie says
Hi,
I made this with 2 cups of rice and 2 cups of water, the rice was overcooked.
Archana says
Depending on the age and type of rice it may need more or less water. Also make sure the chicken is patted dry before marinating so there is no excess water. I hop you enjoyed the taste. Reduce 1/2 cup of water next time.