I was desperate! It was late in the afternoon and I had no idea what I was going to feed my family for supper. Instant Pot Oregano Chicken and Rice to the rescue! I am so thankful for my Instant Pot as it has rescued me many a times from poor menu planning. Don’t have an Instant Pot yet? Well, what are you waiting for! It’s all the latest rage! Here is the one I use:

I have used mine to cook rice, roasts (yes, even frozen), hard boiled eggs, chicken stock, soups, and one-pot meals. All you do is punch in the setting you want and let it do it’s thing. The best thing is you don’t have to watch over it like you do with something on the stove top or in the oven. This can free up your time for other things that need attended to.

On this particular evening I literally threw a few things together. I was going for a chicken soup with rice but ended up with more of a creamy stew. Much better in my opinion! I had some cooked chicken that needed used up, chopped up some carrots I had on hand, used the rest of a bunch of kale, threw in a bag of frozen peas for more veggies, and one bay leaf. As an afterthought I added a touch of Oregano essential oil to my own bowl. I thought it made it even better! When I made this recipe again I added the Oregano essential oil to the whole pot. The family seemed to like it. In fact, the only complaint I got was from my husband requesting I leave out the kale next time. Perhaps I didn’t chop it up fine enough 🙂

My liquid base was homemade chicken stock (made in the Instant Pot of course). Chicken stock has so many benefits for your body, one of which is providing minerals.

“Stock contains minerals in a form the body can absorb easily—not just calcium but also magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace minerals.” 

And if your broth has a good amount of gelatin (derived from the knuckles, skin, and feet) you will also get the health benefits of that as well.

“Although gelatin is not a complete protein, containing only the amino acids arginine and glycine in large amounts, it acts as a protein sparer, helping the poor stretch a few morsels of meat into a complete meal.”

Bone stock helps heal and seal your gut, and promotes healthy digestion. The gelatin found in bone stock is a hydrophilic colloid. It attracts and holds liquids, including digestive juices, thereby supporting proper digestion. It also promotes healthy hair and nail growth.

In short, use and consume quality bone stock as much as you can!

Instant Pot Oregano Chicken and Rice

• 4 c. chicken stock (or water, to which you could add 1 T. gelatin)
• 2 c. cooked, chopped chicken
• 1 ½ c. chopped carrot
• 16oz. bag frozen peas
• ½ bunch kale, chopped
• 1 c. rice (non white)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 drop Oregano essential oil

1. In Instant Pot add all ingredients except the essential oil.
2. Seal Instant Pot, making sure rubber seal ring is properly in place and knob it turned to sealing position.
3. Plug in Instant Pot and use MultiGrain function, adjusting cooking time to 20 min.
4. The Instant Pot will beep when it’s done. Allow to depressurize slowly or flip knob to venting for a quick release (watch out for the steam).
5. Remove the bay leaf and add one drop Oregano essential oil, stirring to combine.
6. Serve and enjoy!

While this one-pot dinner cooks, bake the remainder of the kale leafs into Essential Oil Infused Kale Chips as a side dish.

If using white rice, adjust cooking time according to manufacture directions, perhaps just using the Rice function

Vegetarian/Vegan option: use plain water and omit chicken, replacing with more veggies

I would say the only negative to the Instant Pot is waiting for it to pressurize. But of course this isn’t a problem if you make sure to allow for that! For this recipe it took 30 min. to reach pressure before the cooking time started. I think the fuller the pot the longer it takes to come up to pressure.

Amy is a lover of Jesus, books movies, essential oils, home-schooling, and learning to manage her family’s home and health naturally. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband, two girls, and two parrots.

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