Description
Instant Pot Chicken Legs and Rice (Arroz con Pollo). A quick pressure cooker version of the Latin American classic, ready in under an hour.
Ingredients
Scale
- 10 chicken drumsticks (or 4 chicken legs separated into thighs and drumsticks)
- 1½ teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika (preferably Spanish Smoked paprika)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- ½ cup white wine (or chicken broth, or water)
- 2 cups short-grain rice
- 4 cups chicken broth (preferably homemade or low sodium store-bought)
- 1 teaspoon of fine sea salt (if using homemade broth)
- Minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Brown the chicken legs: Sprinkle the chicken drumsticks with salt, paprika, and garlic powder. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in an Instant Pot set to Sauté Mode - High until the oil starts to shimmer. Brown the drumsticks skin side down in 2 batches, about 3 minutes per batch. Transfer the drumsticks to a bowl after browning.
- Sauté the aromatics: Add the diced onion, bell pepper, and smashed garlic to the pot, sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt, and sauté until the onions soften, about 5 minutes, stirring and scraping with a flat-edged wooden spoon to unstick any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir the tomato paste into the onions and sauté for 1 minute, often scraping the bottom of the pot.
- Add the wine and rice: Stir the rice in, coating it with the onion-tomato paste mixture, then add the wine. Simmer the wine for 1 minute or until it evaporates, often scraping the bottom of the pot.
- Everything in the pot: Stir in the chicken broth (and 1 teaspoon of salt if using homemade broth), then scrape the bottom of the pot one last time to ensure nothing is sticking. Set the chicken leg pieces on top of everything.
- Pressure Cook for 4 minutes with a 10-minute natural release: Lock the lid and cook at high pressure for 4 minutes in an electric or stovetop pressure cooker. (Use Manual, Pressure Cook - High, or Pressure Cook - Custom mode for an Instant Pot, and set it to 4 minutes). Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release the remaining pressure.
- Fluff and serve: Move the chicken legs from the pot to a platter, then stir the rice to soak up the remaining liquid in the pot. Pour the rice into a serving platter and serve, topping each plate of rice with a chicken leg or two, and a sprinkle of parsley. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 34 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Spanish