What’s better than a creamy, comforting casserole that’s been cooking in the oven for an hour? One that is just as dreamy, but ready in less than a quarter of the time! This Instant Pot Dairy-Free Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole is — with a little advance prep — ready and on your table in just under 20 minutes. Between the new cookbook manuscript and the kids’ activities, I find myself short on time to get healthy meals on the table. Which is where a super fast meal like this comes in handy!
Instant Pot casserole
The real hack for this meal comes down to two things. The first is using pre-prepped or pre-made dairy-free queso and the second is that it all cooks in the Instant Pot.
dairy-free queso
Just about everyone who tries my paleo, dairy-free Nacho Cheese Sauce claims it as an instant favorite recipe. It’s an irresistible mix of white sweet potatoes, carrot, ghee, and nutritional yeast that magically takes on all the properties of melty, creamy, cheese. It doesn’t take long to make — about 20 minutes — but if you’re looking to save time you can prep it ahead. It also freezes well (I use silicone muffin molds) so I highly recommend doubling or tripling a batch to have some in reserve. Or, to make things even quicker, you can use a store-bought dairy-free queso. I like Siete and Primal Kitchen brand versions.
Instant Pot chicken casserole
The Instant Pot makes things SUPER quick in this recipe. You’re only really cooking this recipe for 6 minutes! After that you have a little more time to steam with power off and then miraculously you have a creamy, delicious dinner! It’s important to note that I use a 6 quart Instant Pot and that’s what was used to develop this recipe. If you are using an 8 quart version, you’ll want to increase the broth to 2 cups and the rice to 1 cup. The cook time may also vary.
creamy chicken and rice
My guess is that when you make this dairy-free casserole you’re going to have a hard time believing it has no dairy! That’s because it turns into an incredible creamy one pot meal of tender chicken with perfectly cooked rice and broccoli. I like to use long grain white rice in this dish. Remember to rinse it and to measure carefully and precisely for best results.
burnt broccoli
Aside from some chicken broth and the dairy-free nacho cheese, the depth of flavor for this dish relies on my favorite seasoning blend — Burnt Broccoli! It gives warmth, spice, the tiniest heat, and tastes like comfort in a jar to me. And considering I love the spice blend on both broccoli and on chicken, I love that I get it with both together in this recipe.
dump and go instant pot recipes
The description of “dump and go instant pot recipes” made me chuckle, but truly that’s exactly what this recipe is! After a quick saute of your chicken, most other ingredients — rice, Burnt Broccoli, broth, and nacho cheese — go in. And without so much as a stir, you pop the top on and you’re off. After a mere 6 minutes, you add the broccoli, stir (now you can stir), and then close the lid and let it steam for approximately 10-15 more minutes. After that the broccoli and rice should be tender and you can season to taste and enjoy!
Instant Pot easy recipes
I pulled some more of my favorite EASY Instant Pot recipes — take a peek!
Instant Pot Taco Pasta
Instant Pot Arroz Con Pollo
Instant Pot Spaghetti & Meatballs
Shop the recipe
PrintInstant Pot Dairy-Free Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 18 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
- 1 teaspoon Burnt Broccoli Seasoning
- 3/4 cup uncooked long grain white rice, rinsed (measure carefully for best results)
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted chicken bone broth, or water
- 1 ½ cups Dairy-Free Nacho Cheese Sauce
- 3 cups fresh small broccoli florets
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon avocado oil in the Instant Pot on saute mode with high heat. Season the chicken generously with salt. Layer the chicken, Burnt Broccoli, and rice in the pot. Pour the broth over the rice and spoon the nacho cheese on top. Do not stir.
- Secure the lid and set the pressure release valve to sealing. Cook on manual high pressure, with a 6 minute timer. When the timer sounds, press cancel and use the quick release method to release the pressure.
- Add the broccoli and stir well. Close the lid and let steam with the power off for 10 to 15 minutes or until the rice is tender and the broccoli is tender-crisp. Season to taste.
Notes
- Recipe Note: This recipe was developed using a 6-quart Instant Pot. If using an 8-qt. Instant Pot, increase the broth to 2 cups and the rice to 1 cup. Cooking time may vary.
- As a shortcut, feel free to try a store-bought queso such as Siete or Primal Kitchen brand.
- Make a triple batch of the Nacho sauce and freeze in silicone muffin molds. Defrost in the fridge overnight.
Keywords: Dinner, easy, Danielle walker, dairy free, instant pot, quick
5/17/23
Instant Pot Dairy-Free Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole
I don’t have an instapot. Would this work to bake?
Hi! I have a stovetop / oven version in my cookbook Meals Made Simple p. 140 – enjoy!
I made this for the second time tonight using Primal Kitchen Queso. My kids love it, and it’s pretty much the only way my son will eat broccoli these days. I double the recipe every time, which is super easy to do. This is going to be a staple when school starts and I’m back to teaching full time.
★★★★★
Love to hear that it’s such a hit for you and your family, Susan!
I tried this and used Primal Kitchen mild queso and it was good! My husband raved about it. I did not use the full amount of queso since I didn’t know how it would taste. Will make again!
Thank you so much for this review and I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
So delish. I made the vegan cheese sauce – so it took a lot of time altogether. I’m also a dummy With my instant pot so I am not sure how to steam with it turned off…so I just set it to steam. No burnt broccoli seasoning either so just used salt and pepper. I love it. Hubby loved it. Kids haven’t tried yet – as I made for meal prep….
I made extra cheese sauce …I look forward to making again without having to make the cheese sauce too. Should make for a great quick meal option for the busy family.
★★★★★
So glad you and your hubby enjoyed it – I hope the kids do as well once they’ve had the chance to try it. Thanks so much for this review & happy cooking!
So delicious! Will be extra good when the cold weather hits this Fall. I forgot the ghee in my triple batch of cheese sauce but it was still as good as the first time I made it. I didn’t have burnt Broc seas so I mixed those spices in what seemed like the appropriate ratios instead. So much flavor and creaminess. 3 year old approved as well!
Thank you so much for this review and your support! I’m so glad it was approved by your kiddo as well!
Forgot to rate this!
★★★★★
Danielle’s recipes are all tried and true so I don’t hesitate to make any of her dishes. This one was no exception. SO good. I had 1 cup of frozen queso left in the freezer so I used that and opened a jar of Siete queso for the rest of it. This dish was SO good and SO easy! Next time I think I’ll take a minute off of the pressurized time and the do either 0 or 1 minute of pressure once I add the broccoli – as it took it a long time to cook and I finally just ate it fairly crunchy, lol. Enjoy!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for this review! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe – it’s quickly become a favorite here!
Loved it! I used a little less cheese sauce from Primal Kitchen and it turned out great and so easy. Going to make it again tonight!
★★★★★
Yay! Thank you so much for this review!
Hi Danielle,
I am so confused. I thought with UC we shouldn’t eat rice/grain?
Hi! I wrote a blog here that explains; thank you so much for your support! https://daniellewalker.com/welcome-to-daniellewalker-com/
Hi Danielle, I’m confused my this recipe because I thought grains were not a part of your recipe library? I’m a huge fan of your first several cookbooks, but feel like I might have missed something. 🙂
Hi! That’s a great question! I wrote a blog here that explains; thank you so much for your support!
https://daniellewalker.com/welcome-to-daniellewalker-com/
So good! I love your InstantPot recipes that truly make cooking dinner easy and so fast! Plus my teens have already said they want these recipes too when they have a place of their own.
★★★★★
Love that!! Thank you so much for this kind review; I’m glad you’re all enjoying this recipe!
Hi Danielle,
Sorry, me again! My thumb hit the wrong letter for my email address. Can you suggest a substitute for the long grain white rice? Or is it possible to omit it and cook the recipe then serve over cauliflower rice?
Hi Nancy! I have a stovetop version in my cookbook Meals Made Simple, p. 140 that is made with cauliflower rice!
We’ve tried this once and it was great. Do you think I could use frozen shredded chicken? I have a few bags I need to use up…from roasting chicken to make bone broth. Or is it best to stick to raw chicken? Thank you!
Hi! That should work! Frozen vs raw cook time doesn’t really change a lot in the IP. So to cook frozen shredded chicken, I’d keep the time the same as raw chicken.
Is it possible to use frozen broccoli for this recipe? Can’t wait to make it for my grandkids!
Hi! Sure! It hasn’t been tested that way and will likely be softer and less crisp than using raw, but give it a try!
I made a mistake and added the broccoli in the beginning (long day 🤦🏻♀️) and was worried I messed the whole thing up. Nope! It was still SO good. I always trust a Danielle Walker recipe.
Next time I’m going to double up because this went fast. Thank you for another delicious, quick, and most importantly HEALTHY recipe! ❤️
★★★★★
Awesome! So glad it worked still!
For a family of 5, do you think I could just double all the ingredients to make more? Or should I do that in 2 separate batches?
Hi! It would depend on how big your Instant pot is! If it can fit a doubled portion, I think it would be worth a try. But if you are worried about potentially wasting food if not, then two batches would be fool proof!