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This dairy free 15-minute Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli & Rice Casserole is the perfect quick, family-friendly weeknight meal! It reminds me a lot of the cream of mushroom soup version my mom used to make when I was growing up. I have included a cauliflower rice version, as well as a regular long-grain white rice version. I honestly enjoy both – just depends on whether you do grains/carbs or not!
The creamy factor comes from adding some Kite Hill Foods almond milk cream cheese at the end. I recently found this at both Safeway and Giant, so it’s becoming more easily accessible! I know Wegmans, Whole Foods, and Mom’s Organic Market sell it, as well. In terms of whether or not it’s Whole30 compliant, I will leave that decision up to you! The only ingredients are almond milk, salt, enzymes, xanthan gum, guar gum, lactic acid, and cultures.
My Instant Pot was one of the best purchases I ever made for my kitchen. Once I actually figured out how to use it and started experimenting, I realized there is an entire world of easy recipes to be made! I’ve been on a big rice kick lately – I try to avoid grains for the most part, but white rice tends to be ok. Plus I need lots of carbs for running! However, I am including a cauliflower rice option below for anyone who is doing a Whole30 or avoiding carbs.
I like my broccoli to be slightly crunchy, and roasting it is the only way I enjoy it. So this is why I decided to quickly roast the broccoli and mushrooms on the side while the rice and chicken are cooking. If mushrooms aren’t your thing, you can totally omit them!
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Instant Pot Chicken Broccoli & Rice Casserole
Ingredients
Paleo/Caulirice Version
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 16 oz package frozen cauliflower rice , I prefer the texture of frozen vs fresh. I get mine from Costco or Trader Joe's.
- 12 oz broccoli florets
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 8 oz package Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese, or regular, if not dairy free
White Rice Version
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 cup long grain white rice, I like Jasmine rice the best!
- 12 oz broccoli florets
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp paprika
- 1 8 oz package Kite Hill almond milk cream cheese , or regular if not dairy free
Instructions
Paleo/Caulirice version
- Preheat your oven to 415. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Spread the broccoli florets (and mushrooms if using) out evenly on the pan and drizzle/toss with 1 tbsp olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- While the oven comes to temperature, make the caulirice. Select the "saute" function on your Instant Pot. Add remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and let it heat for a minute or two. Add the frozen cauliflower rice with a pinch of salt and pepper, and saute for 5-7 minutes until cooked through. Hit "cancel". Remove the caulirice, place it in a bowl and set aside.
- At this point, you can put the broccoli in the oven. Set a timer for 12 minutes.
- Add the chicken breasts to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add the sea salt, garlic powder, onion powder, and paprika. Pour the chicken broth over top of the chicken and seasonings. Lock the lid, turn the vent to "sealing", and select "manual" high pressure for 10 minutes.
- When the chicken is done, manually release the pressure. Shred the chicken with 2 forks. There will be some extra liquid, but that is a good thing! You don't want your "casserole" to be too dry. Add in the cooked caulirice, cooked broccoli, and stir to combine. Select the "saute" function again. Add the cream cheese and stir well while everything heats together for 2-3 minutes. Hit "cancel". Add salt and pepper to taste, serve, and enjoy!
White Rice Version
- Preheat oven to 415. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Spread broccoli florets (and sliced mushrooms if using) out evenly on the pan and toss with the olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 12 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add chicken breasts to the bottom of your Instant Pot. Add rice, seasonings, and chicken broth. Lock the lid, turn the vent to sealing, and set to "manual" high pressure for 10 minutes.
- Let it slow release for 5 minutes, then manually release the pressure. Shred the chicken using two forks and fluff the rice. Add the roasted broccoli and the cream cheese and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
I made this with the rice for dinner. It was delicious and so easy to make. Next time I will make it with cauliflower rice.Â
Thank you Mary for all your wonderful recipes.
Love love love this recipe. Comfort food that’s diabetes and celiac friendly. My kids don’t even notice it’s cauliflower rice.Â
Love this recipe.
Would IP cook time differ if using thighs? Â Â
I made the rice version tonight, as written and it was SO good and so very easy. Thanks for all the great recipes, Mary!
This was the most amazing casserole that I have ever had. The he flavor and tenderness was soooo good. It’s going on repeat!Â
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it, Kelly!
Delicious!! I loved everything about this dish! We did the riced cauliflower from Costco but substituted dairy cream cheese. I added a some additional seasoning to the chicken because we like things with a kick, but oh man, this was delicious. I couldn’t even tell the riced cauliflower wasn’t rice.Â
Have you done this in crockpot? If so, how did you do it?
I haven’t but you definitely can! Just combine everything except the broccoli and cauliflower rice in the crock pot and cook on low for 8-10 hours. Shred the chicken. Cook the cauliflower rice separate in the microwave or stove top, and broccoli as directed, then add at the end with the cream cheese.
What if we don’t have an instant pot?ðŸ˜
Unfortunately I haven’t tested another cooking method but I will work on that!
Do you think you could use homemade cashew cream instead of the cream cheese?
Yes you could do that!
Another great recipe! Thank you! I made a cashew cream to sub for the cream cheese and it turned out great! I also threw in some nutritional yeast in the cashew cream that worked out great as well. Thank you!
Glad to know it worked without cream cheese! Thanks!!
Help!  This looks so good!  What is the oven version?  I don’t have an instant pot!
I made an oven version of this tonight and it was amazing!
Yum! glad you enjoyed it!!
Can you make this with rotisserie chicken? How would you change thr cooking time since the chicken is already cooked?