Instant Pot Vegan Arroz Con Pollo (Yellow Rice and Chik’n)

A simple one-pot dish made with an aromatic blend of rice, vegetables, and soy curls. Packed with flavor and nutrition, and made simple and fast in a pressure cooker. Fantastic on its own or served with a side salad, plantains, avocado, and black beans!

I’ve mentioned before that I had the great opportunity to enjoy many delicious ethnic foods while growing up in south Florida, including some great classics like Oven-roasted Sweet Plantains, Cuban Black Beans and Rice, Cuban pastries, and tamales. My heart actually skips a beat when I think about these delicious foods.

Another childhood favorite is Arroz Con Pollo. I grew up calling it yellow rice and chicken mainly because it’s yellow rice with chicken. I know, lame. But it surprised me whenever I hear someone refer to it as chicken and rice because the direct translation is rice with chicken. And yet, so many recipes call it chicken and rice. I really think it just depends on how you first heard it and what you’re used to.

And since it’s my post and my recipe, I’m going to call it the way I have always known it. You’ll have to tell me how wrong I am in the comments below. Needless to say, I enjoy making and eating this Instant Pot Vegan Arroz Con Pollo. It’s quick, easy, healthy, and delicious. My favorite part is obviously eating it, but using the Instant Pot or pressure cooker really makes it a breeze to make.

Another interesting consideration is there are a lot of variations on this dish – from Spain, central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. The most popular seem to be from Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.  Each has a slightly different spin and flavor composition. I’m going to share with you the way I’ve always enjoyed it. Though, technically, I have no idea which variant this version comes from. And hopefully you’ll agree, it’s a keeper.

Instead of serving the vegetable-soy curl medley over rice as you might with other dishes, this Arroz Con Pollo employs the technique used to produce Spain’s paella and Italy’s risotto. In other words, Arroz con Pollo is made by cooking the rice with the vegetables and soy curls. And Instant Pot Arroz con Pollo really simplifies the process to ensure it turns out perfect each and every time.

To make this one pot wonder, you’ll need a few basic but key components – rice, soy curls, vegetables, spices and seasonings, broth, and beer. And honestly, it’s only fair that the first ingredient we discuss is the rice. It’s the one thing you can’t omit. While you can use almost any kind of rice, including cauliflower rice, I use light brown rice. You get the nutritional benefits of brown rice but with the cooking time of white rice.

I love that when rice is combined with a legume, it forms a complete plant-powered protein. Of course, this brings us to the next important ingredient. Instead of chicken, I use soy curls, which provides a similar appearance and texture, but without the animal cruelty and cholesterol of using chicken. And since soybeans are a legume, combining it with rice is not just a smart idea, it works very well in this Instant Pot Vegan Arroz Con Pollo.

I absolutely love using vegetables as much as I can; but I also like incorporating different kinds of textures and proteins whenever possible. Have you ever used Butler Soy Curls? They are incredibly versatile and nutritious. Butler Soy Curls are made of 100% delicately textured Non-GMO soy beans. They are a whole food plant-based protein consisting of one ingredient. This means they have all the health benefits of the soybean.  One serving (3/4 cup or 30 grams) contains 5 grams of fat and 11 grams of protein. (Butler Foods)

You can buy Butler Soy Curls direct from Butler, on Amazon, or from Country Life Natural Foods. I prefer buying them from Country Life Natural Foods since they’re much more affordable and excellent quality. If you choose not to eat animal products, I highly recommend you check out these incredible soy curls. Simply rehydrate the soy curls. They add just the right amount of texture and protein to this Vegan Yellow Rice and Chik’n.

Next up are the vegetables. Not only do vegetables provide fantastic nutrition, they also add great flavor and gorgeous color. Similar to mirepoix which traditionally consists of onion, celery, and carrots, we’re going to use something akin to the holy trinity, which consists of onion, celery, and bell peppers.

According to the Food Network, the traditional holy trinity uses three parts onion, two parts celery, and one part green bell pepper (Food Network). Since this is not a Cajun or Creole recipe, I use a more balanced approach – one onion, a few stalks of celery, and a combination of green and red bell peppers. These are all sautéed along with some garlic using the sauté function in the Instant Pot, releasing incredible aromatic flavor.

When the onion is mostly translucent, the rice, drained soy curls, and a diced tomato are all added to the Instant Pot. Then sprinkle in a nice blend of spices, including bay leaves, cumin, oregano, saffron, turmeric, and ground pepper. To increase the depth of flavor in this Instant Pot Vegan Arroz Con Pollo, I employ my Umami Vegetable Broth and light beer or ale. Let’s first look at the veggie broth.

The broth available at most grocery stores tends contains a lot of sodium and other stuff my body doesn’t like, such as artificial caramel coloring to make broth look the way it’s supposed to look. My Umami Vegetable Broth, on the other hand, is FREE. Free as in free from excess sodium, free from artificial colors and flavors, and free in cost. Simply create an ambrosial vegetable broth made purely of vegetable scraps, herbs, and water.

You can make this veggie broth with just about anything you use in your cooking; but a few essential scraps include onions, carrots, and celery. Instead of throwing the vegetable scraps in the trash, down the garbage disposal, or in the compost bin, place them in a freezer-safe ziplock bag or freezer-safe container. Then close it up and put it in the freezer until you need some broth, then place it all in a pressure cooker. The end product is an all-natural and sodium-free vegetable broth rich in umami flavor.

The next ingredient is beer. I recommend using a light beer or ale. Beer is used in many yellow rice and chicken recipes because it provides a depth and complexity to this dish, much like wine. Since my husband drinks Heineken 00 non-alcoholic beer, that is what I used in this recipe. If you prefer, simply use additional vegetable broth or water.

Now this wouldn’t be Instant Pot Vegan Arroz Con Pollo without using my trusty electric pressure cooker. I love my Instant Pot!! I actually have two – one in my house and one in my RV. Outside of camping, the latter is used all the time to make rice when I’m making a curry or beans. It provides such flexibility to have two; but when I don’t have two, it just takes a little more planning.

And that’s where this incredibly flavorful dish comes into play. You only need one Instant Pot to make this dish since the vegetables and rice cook together all at the same time!

I love simplicity.

A lot of recipes cook the chicken and vegetables separately and then combine them to the rice. Most cook on the stove or pressure cooker, but some bake it in the oven like a casserole. Several use a packet of seasoning or the package of yellow rice. And that’s fine, too. But I prefer this method using whole plant-based ingredients from my pantry and refrigerator. So the list may appear daunting, but I assure you, it’s super simple.

Once the pressure releases naturally, remove the lid, stir in the cilantro and peas. All it to rest two to three minutes to ensure both have been incorporated. Many people use cook their peas with their rice or add canned peas. I actually used to do this, too. Long before I learned the impressive stature of frozen garden peas. If you prefer softer peas with the hue of olive green, feel free to cook your peas with the other ingredients. If you prefer a brighter green and firmer pea, add it in after. The choice is yours.

I have two important notes to share with you about time. Both are very important. The time in the Instant Pot depends entirely on the kind of rice you use. If you use white rice, you only need five minutes on High Pressure. If you are using brown rice, you need to set it for twenty-five minutes on High Pressure.

The second important note is that this dish does take some time to come to pressure and again to release the pressure. So, this is definitely a fix-it-and-forget-about-it kind of meal since it takes about an hour to go through the whole pressurizing/de-pressurizing process. But honestly, I’m okay with that. If I get home at 5:30, I know dinner will be ready around 6:30.

Or better yet, I can make this Instant Pot Vegan Arroz Con Pollo on the weekend and then heat it up during the week for a really quick weekday dinner. Easy-peasy. And this brings up another great attribute for this dish. It stores extremely well. Just transfer it to an air-tight container for up to one week in the refrigerator or freezer for up to three months.

To serve, you have options. I mean, there are so many options!! Serve topped with shredded cheese, salsa, avocado slices, sour cream, or other toppings of choice.

I hope you enjoy this Instant Pot Vegan Arroz Con Pollo (Yellow Chik’n and Rice) one pot dish as much as I do.  

I would love to see your results! Please leave a comment and rate it down below, tag a picture @pebblesandtoast and #pebblesandtoast on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook!   Enjoy!!   

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Ingredients

• 8 ounces butler soy curls (3-4 cups)*

• 4-5 cups boiling water
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped
• 1-2 Tbsp minced garlic (3-6 cloves)
• 2 cups rice**
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• ½ tsp saffron
• ¼ tsp turmeric powder or annato powder
• ¼ tsp white pepper
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 oz (1½ cups) Umami Vegetable Broth (or water)
• 8 oz (1 cup) light beer*** or ale (or more vegetable broth)
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
• juice of 1 lime (1 Tbsp)
• salt (optional)and pepper to taste 
• for serving: lime wedges, cayenne, cilantro, jalapeno, hot sauce

Instructions

1. Place the soy curls in a bowl and cover with boiling water.  Set aside.

1. Using the sauté function on the Instant Pot, sauté the diced onions and bell peppers for 3-5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic for about 1 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add in a little broth or oil, if needed.

1. Press “cancel”.  Drain the soy curls and add them to the Instant Pot, along with the rice, tomatoes, bay leaves, cumin, oregano, saffron, and turmeric.  Pour in the beer and broth.

1. Attach the lid and turn the knob to sealing.  Cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.  Allow the pressure to release pressure naturally (about 20-25 minutes).  Remove the lid and bay leaves.
2. Fold in in the peas, cilantro, and lime juice. Adjust seasonings to taste. Allow the Arroz con Pollo to rest for 5 minutes. 
3. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with lime wedges, hot sauce, jalapeno, and/or cilantro, if desired.

Notes

* I use 2-3 large handfuls (or 3-4 cups) of soy curls.  This doesn’t need to be an exact measurement.

** 2 cups long grain white rice or basmati rice

*** I recommend using a light beer or ale. I use Heineken Zero beer that doesn’t contain any alcohol.