This simple Peruvian inspired one pot chicken and rice dish is a fun dinner to pair with the Disney movie, The Emperor’s New Groove. It’s got a few unexpected ingredients like mint and butternut squash paired with common Latin American ingredients like tomatoes, garlic, and lime.
I’m sharing another addition to my kid’s movie themed dinners, this time traveling to Peru with a movie inspired by one of my favorites, The Emperor’s New Groove!
I really love the bright colors in this dish with it’s greens, oranges, and reds! With those bright colors comes some fun flavors from the tangy lime, to the slightly sweet butternut squash, and the savory garlic and ginger.
The combo of flavors and colors is a great way to entice kids to try something that might be new or something they have previously rejected like butternut squash.
For more tips on introducing kids to new foods see my guide to raising world food explorers.
Ingredients you need:
- Chicken thighs
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Diced tomatoes
- Butternut squash
- Long grain white rice
- Chicken stock
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Lime juice
- Cilantro
- Mint
Substitutions you can make
What can I use instead of chicken thighs?
You can substitute 1.5 lbs of duck breasts instead of the chicken thighs. Duck breasts are similar to chicken thighs since both are dark meats. If you’ve never had duck breasts before this is a fun recipe to try them out in.
What can I use instead of butternut squash?
Instead of using butternut squash you could use carrots or fresh pumpkin, when available.
How to make Instant Pot Peruvian Chicken and rice
- Chop chicken thighs into 1 inch cubes.
- Make sure the inner pot is in your pressure cooker and set the saute setting on medium heat.
- Add olive oil to inner pot and saute onions and garlic for 4-5 minutes until onion is soft. Then, add the ginger and cook for 1-2 additional minutes.
- Next, add the chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes until outside beings to brown.
- Cancel saute setting.
- Add the diced tomatoes, squash, rice, chicken stock, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Stir to mix.
- Set pressure cooker to manual setting on high pressure for 11 minutes. Make sure valve is set to sealing.
- Once cooking is finished, switch valve to venting and wait for the pressure cooker to complete release pressure. Remove lid.
- Stir in chopped cilantro and mint before serving.
Tips and tricks
How to peel fresh ginger?
The easiest way to peel ginger is to use a spoon. Flip the spoon upside down and use it to scrape away the skin.
If you find yourself with leftover ginger, you can keep ginger in the freezer in a freezer Ziploc bag. Whenever you need ginger, peel as you would normally and grate whenever you need it.
Tips for cutting butternut squash
Cutting butternut squash can be a big pain! Here are a couple tricks I use to make it a little easier:
- Cut the butternut squash in half right above where the bottom gets bigger and then cut those halves into smaller sections to work with.
- Use a vegetable peeler to cut off the skin. This will be much easier when you have cut it into smaller sections.
- Save time chopping butternut squash and buy pre-cut from the produce section. This will save you a LOT of prep time.
How can kids help?
Kids can be very out off by fresh herbs. One way you can help them be more excited about fresh herbs is to allow them to cut them!
Kid’s sized safety scissors are very handy for cutting up fresh herbs and it gives them a chance to practice those fine motor skills.
See more tips for cooking with kids
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Other recipes you may like:
Instant Pot Peruvian Chicken and Rice
Instant Pot Peruvian Chicken and Rice
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger grated
- 15 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups butternut squash chopped
- 1 ½ cups long grain white rice
- 2 3/4 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
- ¼ cup fresh mint chopped
Instructions
- Chop chicken thighs into 1 inch cubes.
- Make sure the inner pot is in your pressure cooker and set the saute setting on medium heat.
- Add olive oil to inner pot and saute onions and garlic for 4-5 minutes until onion is soft. Add ginger and cook for 1-2 additional minutes.
- Add chicken and cook for 2-3 minutes until outside beings to brown.
- Cancel saute setting.
- Add the diced tomatoes, squash, rice, chicken stock, salt, pepper, and lime juice. Stir to mix.
- Set pressure cooker to manual setting on high pressure for 11 minutes. Make sure valve is set to sealing.
- Once cooking is finished, switch valve to venting and wait for the pressure cooker to complete release pressure. Remove lid.
- Stir in chopped cilantro and mint before serving.
I love that chicken thighs are in this dish. They add so much flavor to dinner.
What a great recipe! There is so much flavor – it’s a keeper for sure!
I loved the addition of lime! And such a perfect dinner in the Instant Pot that everyone loved!
This recipe was a huge hit with my family! I loved how easy it was to put together in my Instant Pot. Perfect for a night where would have normally grabbed take out for dinner!
Wow, this is the best recipe ever! So good and delicious!