Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl

Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls are loaded with chicken, rice, beans, corn, and vegetables. Load the cooker, prep fresh toppings, and eat smart on weeknights with minimal effort.

Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl makes it nearly effortless to create a scrumptious and nutritious filling for bowls, tacos, and enchiladas. This one pot burrito bowl recipe lets you load the cooker and do other things, just like Chicken Pasta Alfredo and Tuna Noodle Casserole. We like to spend the time prepping the fresh, healthy toppings while the cooker is busy doing all the work.

If you love easy Instant Pot dinners, make my crazy popular Taco Pasta or Lasagna Soup and WIN family dinners!

Key ingredients

Ingredient amounts are included in the printable recipe below.

• cooked beans - use canned beans or Instant Pot black beans. You can omit and substitute them with other ingredients too.
• corn - frozen, fresh, or canned
• salsa picante - some readers love to use rotel instead!
• chicken broth - or vegetable broth
• taco seasoning - use this 5 minute homemade taco seasoning, or the packaged kind if you have some on hand.
• uncooked basmati rice - or any long grain white rice
• boneless, skinless chicken breast - must be completely thawed for this recipe
• cilantro, lime, and Cotija cheese - recommended toppings for authentic Mexican flavor

How to make chicken burrito bowls in the Instant Pot

Get the full printable recipe card below.

1. To the Instant Pot, stir together BEANS, CORN, TACO SEASONING, PEPPER, and CHICKEN BROTH. Add (well-rinsed) RICE and PICANTE and push the rice under the liquid with a utensil.
2. Place chicken (and more taco seasoning, if desired) on top of ingredients. Note: If using frozen chicken breast, it must be completely thawed to cook properly with this recipe.
3. Pressure cook for 5 minutes on high pressure followed by a 10-minute natural pressure release (NPR). Open lid and confirm chicken is 165°F internal temperature. Transfer chicken out, cover with foil, and rest a few minutes.
4. Shred the chicken breast.
5. Stir it back into the filling in the Instant Pot.
6. Serve the chicken bowl warm, customized with fresh ingredients.

How to use burrito bowl filling

You can use this filling as chicken burrito bowls piled up with fresh ingredients like you see in my photos. Or, you can use the filling for tacos, enchiladas, nachos, totchos, taco pizza, or substitute it for taco meat in this taco bowl recipe.

Customizable toppings

This recipe is naturally low in saturated fat and the sky's the limit for toppings. Adding plenty of produce will add loads of color, texture, and nutrition to this chicken burrito bowl.

• lettuce and tomato
• cucumber, carrots, onions
• cilantro and lime
• salsa or pico de gallo
• Jalapeno or Serrano peppers (fresh or pickled)
• sliced avocado or Avocado Ranch Dressing
• cheese (I used Cotija but any cheese will work)
• sour cream

Ingredient substitutions

• boneless chicken thighs - You can use thighs in place of chicken breast in this recipe using the same pressure cook time.
• bone-in chicken thighs or breast - I don't recommend bone-in chicken for this recipe because they require too much cook time, causing the rice to overcook.
• frozen chicken breast - I don't recommend these because the time it takes to properly pressure cook the chicken breast will overcook the rice in this recipe. However, you can use frozen chicken tenders without thawing before pressure cooking. It's wonderful how well this works!
• brown rice is not recommended (unless you add it at the end)- Since the rice and chicken breasts are pressure cooked together, brown rice isn't recommended because the required cook time will overcook the chicken.
• beef or lamb - If you want to switch it up and use beef or lamb instead of chicken, check out this copycat Chipotle Barbacoa Recipe.

How to meal prep chicken burrito bowls

We always take a meal prep approach to these burrito bowls for lunches or dinners. To make a chicken bowl in advance, pressure cook the filling ingredients and chop produce (chop avocado upon serving). Store ingredients separately; i.e, burrito bowl filling in a airtight storage container and produce in another container. When prepping lunch for the next day, I heat the burrito bowl filling and then pile on the ingredients. You'll definitely want to add a splash of broth or water when reheating the filling.

Mexican recipes we love

• Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Homemade Blender Salsa with Canned Tomatoes
• Best Taco Meat Recipe
• Cilantro Lime Rice
• Jalapeno Popper Dip
• Homemade Pico De Gallo
• Totchos [Tater Tot Nachos]

Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl

Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls are loaded with chicken, rice, beans, corn, and vegetables. Load the cooker, prep fresh toppings, and eat smart on weeknights with minimal effort.

4.95 from 19 votes

Print Pin

Prep: 5 minutes

Pressure Cook time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 6 1-cup servings

Author: Traci The Kitchen Girl

Equipment

• ▢
  6 quart Instant Pot
• ▢
  tongs
• ▢
  stirring utensil
• ▢
  instant-read thermometer
• ▢
  chef's knife
• ▢
  cutting board
• ▢
  airtight food storage container(s)

INGREDIENTS

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 (15 ounce can) Black Beans, drained and rinsed
• ▢ 1 cup Corn, frozen, canned, or fresh
• ▢ 2 tablespoons Taco Seasoning, or a 1 ounce packet * see footnote
• ▢ ½ teaspoon Black Pepper
• ▢ 1 ½ cups Chicken Broth, or preferred cooking liquid
• ▢ 1 cup Uncooked Long Grain White Rice, rinsed until water runs clear
• ▢ 1 cup Picante Sauce or Chunky Salsa
• ▢ 1-2 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
• ▢ Sea Salt, to taste

Instructions

 

• To the Instant Pot, add BLACK BEANS, CORN, TACO SEASONING, BLACK PEPPER and CHICKEN BROTH. Stir to combine.
• Add (well-rinsed) RICE and PICANTE SAUCE. Don't stir. Use a utensil to gently spread the rice out and push it just under the liquid.
• Lay CHICKEN BREAST(S) on top of the ingredients in the Instant Pot. Sprinkle more taco seasoning on the chicken, if desired.
• Close the lid, turn pressure release valve to “sealing", and pressure cook on HIGH for 5 minutes (this cycle takes 20 minutes in real time).
• When cook cycle completes, allow a 10-minute natural pressure release (NPR). DO NOT skip this step because the rice and chicken are still cooking.
• Carefully turn pressure valve to "Venting" position to release any remaining steam.
• Press "Cancel", open the lid, and insert an instant-read thermometer in the chicken center to confirm minimum 165°F. Transfer chicken out, cover, and rest a few minutes. *see recipe footnote about internal temperature
• Shred the chicken and stir it back into the burrito bowl filling. Add SALT to taste.

  Tip: Since rice absorbs moisture even after cooking, add a few splashes of broth/liquid to loosen up the filling as needed.

How to serve chicken burrito bowls

• Serve burrito bowl filling in bowls with your choice of toppings. I'm using lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrots, red onion, cilantro, jalapenos, lime, and Cotija cheese.

Storage and reheat instructions

• Store the filling separate from toppings in an airtight container up to five days in the refrigerator.
• To reheat burrito bowl filling, add a splash of liquid to loosen it up and reheat via stove or microwave, stirring as needed.

RECIPE VIDEO

Tried this recipe? I'd love your review!Visit the comments below and tell me how it went.

Traci's Recipe Notes

Check out the ingredient substitutions in the blog post above!

Taco seasoning – Just like my Taco Pasta recipe, reader feedback says that 1 packet taco seasoning (about 2 Tbsp) makes it kid-friendly and 2 packets (about ¼ cup) makes grown-ups happy. You get to pick.

Can I use two boneless chicken breasts without doubling the other ingredients? Yes! Simply add the second chicken breast and leave the other ingredients and instructions as they are. Just make sure to confirm 165°F for both chicken breasts when they're done cooking.

What if my chicken breast doesn't reach 165° on the meat thermometer after cooking? This is very uncommon with this recipe, but if it happens, lay the chicken breast back on top of the ingredients and pressure cook for one minute. Then quick release to depressurize and test the chicken to confirm it has reached 165°F.

What if I get a burn notice?

We've tested this recipe many times and have never had the notice. But, I'll be honest ... rice/pasta dinners can be one of the worst offenders of it. If it ever happens with any recipe, don't panic! The IP user manual even says it's 100% natural and often means you likely don't need to do anything...really! It's a safety feature signaling to you that the pot has temporarily shut the heat off  because it reached too high temperature and will sort itself out.

If you ever get a burn notice with ANY recipe, don't throw in the towel. First, consider these questions...

• Am I using a different brand/model/size pressure cooker?
• Did I stray from the recipe ingredients or directions (even accidentally)?
• Was my sealing ring properly seated?
• Was my pressure valve fully in the “Sealing” position?
• Is my float valve functioning properly?
• Do I live in a higher altitude?

It only takes one of these offenders to trigger the notice.

NUTRITION

Serving: 1cup | Calories: 176kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 12mg | Sodium: 616mg | Potassium: 334mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 366IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition data provided as courtesy estimates using unbranded ingredients from a nutrition database. Please consult preferred resource for precise data.

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