Pressure Cooker Mediterranean Rice and Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken

Pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot) lemony brown rice, packed with fresh veggies, and topped with a HUGE dollop of cool and creamy tzatziki sauce.  Serve with a side of grilled lemon garlic chicken to make a complete rockstar meal.

Today we’re taking the basic Pressure Cooker Brown Rice, and turning it into a lemony, mediterranean style flavor bomb!  Oh heavens, where to even begin!  I love every component of this dish so much, but when all 3 are combined, watch out!

First – bite size Lemon Garlic Chicken-grilled-because as much as I love my pressure cooker, my grill takes first place as far as my outdoor cooking goes (it’s only competition being a fire pit that is being taken over by weeds and spiders, but still . . .).  The marinade for this chicken comes from one of my top 5 favorite sandwiches in the world-Garlic Lemon Chicken Sandwich with Tangy Pickle Dressing-coming soon in our cookbook Master the Electric Pressure Cooker!

Second – Brown rice with more “stuff” then actual rice, which is just how I like my dishes.  I may have a reputation for eating the toppings off of salads, pepperoni off of pizza, and cookie dough bites out of cartons of ice cream.  But with this dish, there is no need, because it is already LOADED.  Fresh, briny, lemony . . . oh mama, it’s good!

Third – Tzatziki Sauce (otherwise known as Tazeeky sauce because I can’t, for the life of me, remember how to spell that word!).  Cool and creamy, and yet another opportunity to add a bright splash of lemon.  This sauce takes this dish from awesome to incred-a-mazing (stole that term from my daughter 😊)!  No shame in having a tablespoon per bite of rice.  The recipe makes a good amount of it, so scoop, dollop, and dip away!

Healthy, bright, creamy, crunchy, briny-gangs all here!  Enjoy!

Pressure Cooker Mediterranean Rice and Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken

Pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot) lemony brown rice, packed with fresh veggies, and topped with a HUGE dollop of cool and creamy tzatziki sauce.  Serve with a side of grilled lemon garlic chicken to make a complete rockstar meal.

• Author: Marci
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 24 minutes (at high pressure)
• Total Time: 39 minutes
• Yield: 5-6 servings

Ingredients

For the Lemon Garlic Chicken

• 3 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• zest of 1 large lemon
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the Rice

• 1 cup brown rice (I like basmati brown rice)
• 1 1/3 cup broth
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup chopped fresh spinach
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup chopped artichokes (I like bottled, marinated artichokes)
• 1 cup chopped cucumbers
• 1 cup garbanzo beans, rinsed
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives, sliced (can substitute black olives)
• zest and juice of 1 lemon

For the Tzatziki Sauce

• 2 cups greek yogurt
• 1 cup peeled, seeded, and shredded cucumber
• zest and juice of 1 large lemon
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried dill (or 1 tablespoon fresh)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• cracked black pepper

Instructions

1. To a gallon size resealable bag, add all of the chicken ingredients.  Seal the bag closed and squeeze bag to mix ingredients together and coat the chicken.  Allow to marinate up to 8 hours (can be done in 2 hours if needed, or even cooked immediately in a pinch).
2. To make the Tzatziki Sauce, place shredded cucumber in a towel or nut milk bag and twist and squeeze to remove as much water as possible.  Place in a bowl and add the rest of the Tzatziki ingredients and stir well to combine.  Taste and add more lemon juice, salt, and or pepper to taste.  Set aside.  Can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored in the fridge.
3. When ready to cook, thread chicken on to a metal skewer (or wooden skewers that have been socked in water for 30 minutes).  Set aside.
4. Add rice, chicken broth, and salt to the pressure cooker pot.  Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position.  Cook at high pressure for 24 minutes.
5. While rice cooks, preheat grill on high heat.  When nice and hot, grill chicken 4-5 minutes on at least 2 sides until cooked through. Wrap in tinfoil to keep warm and set aside.
6. When pressure cooking is complete, use a natural release for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure.
7. Add spinach, tomatoes, artichokes, cucumbers, garbanzo beans, feta, kalamata olives, lemon zest and juice to the rice.  Select the saute function on the pressure cooker.  Stir to warm and incorporate ingredients.
8. To serve, scoop rice onto a plate, top with grilled chicken and an enormous dollop of Tzatziki Sauce.  Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice, if desired.

Notes

Leftovers reheat incredibly well!