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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Karnika says
I’d like to make this for a lunch party I’m having- apart from raita what would be good to serve on the side?
Archana says
How about a nice soup? Creamy Tomato Bisque? French onion Soup? Or a nice salad? Spicy mango salad. All recipes on ministryofcurry.com
Shashank says
My first attempt was flavorful and excellent; thanks for a well-presented recipe.
https://recipeallkitchen.blogspot.com
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback!
Amanda says
This was insanely delicious! I am going to decline to disclose how much I ate. Thank you so much for sharing, this will be going in the rotation.
Archana says
Thank you Amanda!
Radhika says
I typically like using chicken breast rather than thigh meat. Would you change the recipe for breast meat?
Archana says
yes! Cook for along with rice. I have the details in the recipe just before the pro tips 🙂
MeowBoops says
I had everything in my house except for the yogurt. I made it anyway. I sauteed the onions separately on the stove. I also added 1/2 cup of water to cook the 6 chicken legs w/bone I marinated (due to lack of yogurt). I cooked them on manual for 4 mins as per instructions. I followed the rest of the instructions/measurements. I accidentally left rice to NPR after cook time for about 1.5 minutes. Still turned out wonderful. I'm surprised how well the rice turned out since I've tried cooking jasmine rice only in the IP and did not care for how it turned out (scorched a little for me). This recipe is a keeper and I can't wait to make it again with yogurt! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Archana says
Thank you for your detailed review. I am so glad this is going on your repeat menu.
Michael Turner says
This turned out really well. I've never made a bryiani in a pressure cooker before but was really pleased with the result. The rice was lovely and the chicken very tender.
Archana says
Thank you! I would love a 5-star for that 🙂
Daydreamer says
Fantastic recipe...thank you so much for sharing it with us... it was easy to follow and the biryani turned out really well.
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback 🙂
Denise says
Wow this is soooooo tasty. I've been looking for a good biryani recipe for some time and this is it. I halved it as I'm cooking for just 1 but it was super easy to do. This is now bookmarked and I'll be making it again!
Archana says
Thank you Denise!
Wai Chan says
Used this recipe yesterday. Turned out fabulous.
Tweaked recipe a little. Used only 21/2 c Basmati
Rice. Reduced cooking time 4 min for bone in
chicken legs and 5 min for rice. Added raisins and cashews after release. Now I wonder if I should
have added the raisins just before the rice.
Thank you for this great recipe.
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback!
Joly says
This recipe was delicious! The only thing I noted was that parts of the rice felt over cooked (mushy). I’m not if that happened bc I soaked the rice too long or maybe 3 cups of water at the last step was too much? Overall, your recipe was easy to follow & the flavors were great!
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback. Make sure you spread the rice evenly submerged under water.
Grace says
Hi Archana, Do we need to cook rice and chicken in “high” pressure mode or “low” pressure mode ?
Archana says
High pressure mode.
Kunal says
How much time for goat meat ?
Archana says
I would increase the initial pressure cook time to 10 min and then follow the remaining recipe.
Meeta Roy says
I made this recipe tonight and it was FANTASTIC! ❤️
Archana says
Thank you for the feedback and 5-star rating!
Anu says
I have made biryani using this recipe a few times now. If you are a purist, Biryani in a ‘pressure cooker’ just doesn’t right. But this recipe works beautifully. The thing I have had to be careful with is the amount of water. It needs adjustment based on how much is generated after the first time the chicken gets done. I have used as less as 1&1/2 cups for this same recipe and it has worked well. Nice job putting the recipe together, thanks!
Archana says
I am so glad you enjoyed the Biryani!
Mariel Fiat says
Did everything except cooiking it in one pot or using basmati, although my favorite rice. Coked chicken and rice apart half way and then put all in the oven. Basmati is hard to find where I am right now, so used a local rice; however, the final product came out perfect! Delicious! Accompanied it with roasted brussel sprouts and red peppers.
Archana says
Love your variation and accompaniments. Thank you for the lovely feedback
Amanda says
This was the best recipe I have ever made in my Instant Pot (and I have used it very frequently for years!) My family loved it! I can’t wait to make it again. Thanks so much.
Archana says
Thank you! Thank you!!
Vinu says
Can I make using 3lbs chicken and 5 cups basmati rice in 6 at instant pot?
Archana says
I think that will be too much. The rice will turn out mushy on the bottom. Do it in 2 batches.
Dipti Khanna says
Made this biryani last night and it came out delicious! The only thing that I did differently was that there was a lot of liquid from the boneless chicken once it cooked, so I ended up adding only 1.5 cups of water to cover the rice and put it on manual for 6 mins followed by 5 mins of NPR and then a quick release. Thank you for sharing your recipe, my family loved it.
Lana P says
Hi Archana,
Love your site! Can I omit the mint or use more cilantro in its stead? Would it affect the dish much?
Also, do you know if this recipe could be made with brown rice? If so, what changes need to be made to the cooking time and/or method?
Archana says
yes you can omit mint. Here is my brown rice biryani recipe - https://ministryofcurry.com/brown-rice-chicken-biryani-instant-pot/
Priya says
Could I use dairy free yogurt? Like cashew or coconut yogurt?
Archana says
yes!
Rita says
Thanks for the delicious recipe. There was only one problem, i cooked the chicken in a separate pot and then added to IP and covered it with rice and then added water and closed it to pressure cook for 6 minutes. Before the pressure could build, it had BURN on display so i cancelled and released the steam to open. Then i closed it again for a little while and it was cooked but why does it have Burn display? I didnt even cook chicken in the pot just for that reason.
Archana says
oh no! Do you have Instant Pot Ultra? I have heard they are super sensitive. Next time, just leave the Instant pot closed for 10 mins and it will cook it anyway.
Reen says
Hello, do you not recommend using bone in chicken thighs with skin on?
Archana says
I have always taken the skin out for Indian foods. For biryani the skin won't crisp so another reason to take it out as it will be just mush. But feel free to leave it on if you like it will be delicious either ways 🙂
Ed says
Can I make this recipe with brown rice?
Archana says
Here is my brown rice biryani recipe - https://ministryofcurry.com/brown-rice-chicken-biryani-instant-pot/
Nina says
Hi,
What can I replace the yogurt with?
We have a dairy allergy in the house.
Thanks!
Archana says
Hi Nina, You can add extra tablespoon of lemon juice instead fo yogurt or use dairy free yogurt.
Chris says
This recipe looks amazing gonna make it for dinner tomorrow. I was wondering if I can marinade it overnight? Also I have boneless chicken thighs should I cut them in half or leave them whole?
Archana says
I might be a little late to reply bit, yes Whole thighs and you can marinate overnight.