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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imperium says
Thanks for the answer.
I have an another question : when you make biryani, do you put tomatoes ? Because my mom and dad when they make this recipe they always put tomatoes. I don't know when exactly, maybe when they fried onions. If i'm asking to you it's because my parents are in India now for holidays so i can't ask them... my mom only learn me how to make pulao before leaving me, snif. Biryani khane ka bhaut man howa mujhe, snif !
Also do you know a recipe called "mattha" ? It's so good with biryani ! This is my parents version : in a mixer you put 125gr (1 pot) yoghurt, 2 garlic cloves, 1 or 2 little green mirchi and handfull, or maybe more, coriander. Then you mix everything. Then in a bowl you put 250 gr yoghurt, you mix the yoghurt a little with a whip in order to make it liquid. Then you put what the mixer contain in the bowl and you whip everthing. You finish by putting a cup or maybe 2 cups water and salt to taste then you whip everything. Try this inshaAllah.
Also do you know how to make a recipe called "khichda" ? This is my favorite recipe when my mom cook, and my favorite recipe from my dad side it's biryani.
ps : sorry if my english is not correct (my hindi/urdu too), it's because i was born in France.
Archana says
I do not put tomatoes in Biryani but you can put them along with the chicken. We make Mattha a lot in summers to enjoy with Khichdi, same recipe you mentioned except we put ginger instead of garlic. And yes love Khichda, although not exactly the same I have a few Khichdi recipes you may want to try. They are our goto for weeknight meals.
Happy Cooking!
Sai says
I tried the recipe today with overnight marinated chicken, tasted awesome. Color, spice, measurements , cooking time everything worked perfectly.
Razia says
Nice recipe... you can also find 3 types of biryani on this https://thebiryanirecipes.blogspot.in/
Archana says
Thank you Razia for this great information.
Maya says
Hi! What if I am using boneless chicken thighs? Would that work?
Archana says
Hi Maya, Yes it will work. Check the recipe for details on how to cook with boneless thighs.
Maya says
Sorry just thought of this, but what if I wanted to add potatoes. Same cook time?
Archana says
Hi Maya, you can def add cubed potatoes. Layer them on top of the chicken just before you add rice. It will cook perfectly with rice.
Joe Ong says
Third time made this recipe. It came out best. Our family love this meal. Thanks.
Archana says
Thank you for your lovely feedback. So happy to hear that the whole family enjoyed the chicken biryani.
Parth says
I want to add some pieces of chicken. And I normally cook biryani without chicken for 5minutes. Does biryani need more time to cook with chicken? Do I need to cook chicken and rice together?
Archana says
For boneless chicken you can just saute it for 2 to 3 minutes then add rice and it will cook along with the rice.
Radhika says
I made this tonight but the chicken was quite hard and dry, any idea what i did wrong?
Archana says
What kind of chicken did you use and how long did you marinate it for?
Radhika says
I used chicken breast and marinated it for about an hour or two. Just like to add that I'm actually Vegan, I've only cooked chicken a few times for hubby - always in a saucepan and it's fine, this was the first time in the instant pot.
Archana says
Hi Radhika, For chicken breasts, just saute marinated chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, no need to pressure cook first. Then add soaked rice, cook for 6 minutes and allow 5 minutes of natural pressure release before you open the pot.
SakC says
I made your recipe tonight and it came out delicious! We all enjoyed it, including my 11 month old grandson, of course with some extra yogurt.
Archana says
yay! Makes me so happy when little children enjoy my recipes.
Anthony Bastarache says
Made this tonight, but took some shortcuts. Patak's makes a very good biryani paste, so I used about 6 Tbsp whisked with the yogurt in place of most of the mixed spices for the marinade. I also made Madhur Jaffrey's hot and sour chickpeas, using the IP to soften them up from dried in 40 minutes instead of soaking for 20 hrs. Both dishes were wonderful!
Archana says
That sounds delicious! So glad Patak’s biryani paste worked well in the marinade. And those chickpeas must have been yummy!!
Farzana yasmeen says
Amazing recipe!! Comes out perfect every time. One question on the amount of rice, if i increase the rice measurement to 5 cups-5 cups of water, do i need to increase the pressure cook time? or will it still get cooked in the same time? Thanks in advance for your time.
Archana says
Thank you Farzana for your lovely feedback. Yes rice to water ratio is always 1:1 as long as you soak the rice. Although make sure your pot isn't too full. Chicken plus 5 cups of rice might be too much unless you have an 8 quart.
Awesome says
Hi Archana. First of all Thank You for the recipes. They have been awesome and by following these one can become an instant star chef :). I have been using your recipes vey regularly. However I haven’t had great success with the Biryanis yet. Quick question for you. When you mention cup measure I am assuming you refer dry cup measure for dry ingredients and liquid cup measure for liquid ingredients. Can you confirm please? I think I am messing up there.
Archana says
Hi! Thank you for your lovely feedback. I use the same cup to measure rice and water. I hope that will clear up any confusion.
Sana says
Hi Archana, this recipe looks amazing and I'm planning to try it this week. We have always made biryani with potatoes but I can't find any Instapot biryani recipe that incorporates potatoes. Do you think there is a variation of this instapot recipe where potatoes can be incorporated?
Archana says
Hi Sana, You can def add potatoes to this recipe. You want to add potatoes before you add the rice. Layer potatoes, cut into one inch cubes, then add rice and water. Gently push all the rice under water. If there is lot of rice that is not under water, add extra 1/2 cup of water. Let me know how it comes out.
Andrew says
Would this recipe work if you substituted chicken with chickpeas? I know you have a chickpea biryani recipe (which we tried and enjoyed), but for some reason the flavor of the chicken Biryani was better, and I’m wondering if that’s because of the yogurt marinade?
Archana says
Sure you can totally do similar marinade for chickpeas.
sam says
Hello , this might be a silly question as I am an amateur cook. How to pressure cook chicken for 4 minutes initially without water? wouldn't that burn the pot or something , because I though pressure cooking requires you to add some water always.
Archana says
Hi Sam, Very good question actually. So the marinated chicken releases enough water for the chicken to pressure cook that you do need to add more. Unless you are cooking chicken legs or drumsticks with bones you can also skip the initial pressure cooking step and just saute the boneless chicken. After pressure cooking or sautéing the chicken initially you have to make sure to deglaze the pot by nudging the browned or stuck bits from the bottom of the pot. This step makes sure that the pot will come to pressure properly.
Sana says
Just made it with the potatoes! They were so tender and the dish itself was awesome. Thanks so much!
Archana says
Happy to hear Sana! Thank you for the feedback.
Archana says
Please rate the recipe. Thank you!
Ashfia says
Hi Archana, this recipe looks amazing. Since I don’t own an instant pot, I’m planning to make this in my oven. Do you suggest I half cook the chicken first?
Archana says
Yes! Cook the chicken atleast half way through and then layer with rice.
Kay says
Hi Archana!
I wanted to try this tonight but I want to do the same amount of chicken but half the amount of rice, what else would I need to change? I'm assuming I use the same amount of ingredients to do the marinade but cut the water quantity in half?
Archana says
Yes, follow the same recipe, cut the rice and water in half. Depending on the spice level you like, also cut the garam masala and/or red chili powder in the recipe to half. Let me know if you have any other questions
Christy Martin says
Question: When you say "cup" for rice, is that a rice cup or a regular cup? I did this recipe last night, and I felt like there was too much rice with the regular cups; it made a lot more than we need and in proportion to the chicken. I wonder if you actually meant the rice cup size for the rice and water? If not, could I take it down to 2 cups rice, 2 cups water, or would the spice ratio get thrown off? Thanks! From the pictures, it seemed you had less rice, and yours turned out more fluffy than mine. I'd love to get this right. 🙂
Archana says
Hi Christy, I agree, Indian Biryani usually has more rice in it than chicken. I have made this recipe with 2 (regular) cups of rice and water. It comes out delicious. You can reduce the red chili powder by half and keep all the other spices same. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Dominique says
This looks amazing!! How would you alter this recipe if you were going to use brown rice instead of white?
Archana says
Hi! Here is my recipe for Brown Rice Chicken Biryani - https://ministryofcurry.com/brown-rice-chicken-biryani-instant-pot/ Let me know if you have any questions
Moushumi Mukherjee says
Love your recipes and have pre-ordered your book. Do you have an easy chicken Yukhni Instant Pot recipe that you could share? Thanks!
Archana says
Thank you Moushumi! I do have a yummy yakhni recipe, will post soon.
Moushumi Mukherjee says
Cannot wait! Thanks!