Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl is a scrumptious homemade version of a Chipotle chicken burrito bowl. It’s a dump-start 30 minute Mexican bowl with chicken, rice, beans, corn, and your choice of fresh toppings. Another great one for the Instant Pot collection!
Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl is the recipe that lets you throw dinner in a pot, press a button, and go do stuff. This ain’t no "freezer food night" either. It’s a nutritious Mexican burrito bowl (or filling for tacos, enchiladas, etc). Enjoy it straight from the pot, or go crazy with toppings! Pile on the lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, lime, and jalapeño, to name a few. You can prep toppings while the cooker does the cooking!
Chicken burrito bowl recipe ingredients
* see recipe card below for FULL PRINTABLE recipe
- cooked black beans (or pintos)
- corn
- salsa (or picante sauce)
- chicken broth
- taco seasoning
- black pepper
- basmati rice (or any white rice)
- boneless, skinless chicken breast (completely thawed, if using frozen)
- cilantro and lime (optional toppings)
Mexican burrito bowl toppings
This recipe is naturally low in saturated fat and the sky is the limit for toppings. You get to pick the plant or dairy fat of your choice. Adding plenty of produce will add loads of color, fiber, and texture, to this chicken burrito bowl.
- lettuce
- tomato
- cucumber
- carrots
- onions
- cilantro
- fresh lime
- salsa or pico de gallo
- Jalapeno or Serrano peppers (fresh or pickled)
- avocado
- Avocado Ranch Dressing
- cheese (I used Cotija for these photos)
- sour cream
How to make chicken burrito bowls in the Instant Pot
* see recipe card below for FULL PRINTABLE recipe
- Place burrito filling ingredients in the Instant Pot and stir to combine.
- Add the trivet and place chicken breast on top of it (sprinkled with taco seasoning). Note: Chicken breast must be completely thawed to cook properly with this recipe.
- Close, seal, and pressure cook for 5 minutes on high pressure.
- While the filling cooks, prep burrito bowl toppings.
- When cooker is complete, allow a 10-minute natural pressure release.
- Remove chicken breast, confirm 165° internal temperature, and rest.
- Shred the chicken breast and stir it back into the filling in the Instant Pot.
- Serve the chicken bowl warm, customized with fresh ingredients.
Grab more Instant Pot recipes
Instant Pot burrito bowl recipe FAQ
Can I use boneless chicken thighs in place of chicken breast?
You certainly can! Just sub an equal amount of thighs for the breast. No need to adjust the time on the Instant Pot.
Can I cut the chicken breast into bite sized pieces before I pressure cook it?
You can, but if you cut the chicken breast into pieces, you risk contaminating your workspace and dishes with raw chicken which = more work for you. Also (pro tip), I've found in my experimentation that chicken breast is less likely to overcook (and dry out) if it’s pressure-cooked whole and shredded afterward. Look how easy it is...and always juicy!
Do I need a trivet to cook the chicken breast?
The trivet isn't required, but when pressure cooking chicken breast whole with starchy ingredients like rice, it allows things to move freely under it and promotes consistent cooking. I also think of it as "burn notice" prevention.
If you don't have a trivet, you can always dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces and cook it with everything else. This does tend to dry the chicken out, so it's not as optimal as cooking the chicken breast whole which keeps the juices in tact.
Can I use brown rice for this burrito bowl recipe?
I don't recommend using brown rice for this particular instant pot recipe. Brown rice requires significantly longer cooking time than white rice and chicken breast. Both will overcook to compensate for the brown rice getting cooked through.
If you require brown rice, you could omit the white rice from this recipe and simply add cooked brown rice to your burrito bowl afterwards. In fact, you can make my Cilantro Lime Rice with brown rice and add that to the bowl 🙌🏼
Can I make chicken burrito bowls in advance?
Yes! In fact, burrito bowls are perfect to meal prep into lunches or dinners. To make a chicken bowl in advance, pressure cook the filling ingredients and chop produce (except avocado).
When meal prepping for the week, I store burrito bowl ingredients separately. When prepping lunch for the next day, I put everything into an airtight meal prep container overnight as you see pictured here. You'll definitely want to add a splash of broth or water when reheating the filling.
How to use chicken burrito bowl filling
As the name implies, you can use the filling for chicken burrito bowls and load up the fresh ingredients, just like they do at Chipotle. You can also use the filling for tacos, enchiladas, and nachos. We love this filling in crispy taco shells with a little cheddar cheese, sour cream, lettuce, and tomato. It's heavenly!
Grab more Instant Pot recipes
Recommended Tools
- 6 qt Instant Pot
- trivet (optional)
- tongs
- meat thermometer
- chef knife and cutting board
More Instant Pot Recipes
- Taco Pasta for Instant Pot or Stove
- Instant Pot Mac and Cheese with Kielbasa
- Lasagna Soup for Instant Pot or Stove
- Instant Pot Tuna Casserole
- Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo
Delicious and Easy Mexican Dinner Recipes
Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 14.5 oz can Black Beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup Corn frozen, canned, or fresh
- 1 cup Picante Sauce or salsa
- 1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
- 2 Tbsp Taco Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 cup White Basmati or Long Grain Rice rinsed
- 1 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast about 3/4 lb (completely thawed)
RECIPE VIDEO
Recipe Instructions
- To the Instant Pot, add BLACK BEANS, CORN, SALSA, CHICKEN BROTH, TACO SEASONING, BLACK PEPPER, and RICE. Stir to combine.
- Place a 3” trivet in the Instant Pot and lay CHICKEN BREAST on the trivet. Sprinkle more taco seasoning on chicken breast for color, if desired. *see recipe footnote about trivet
- Close the lid, turn pressure release valve to “sealing", and pressure cook on HIGH for 5 minutes. (this takes 20 minutes in real time)
- When cook cycle completes, allow a 10 minute natural pressure release (NPR) and DO NOT skip this step. The rice and chicken are still cooking.
- Carefully turn pressure valve to "venting" to release any remaining steam.
- Open the lid and transfer CHICKEN to a plate with tongs. Insert a meat thermometer in the breast center to confirm minimum 165°F. Cover chicken and allow to rest a few minutes. *see recipe footnote about temperature
- Shred the chicken and stir it back into the burrito bowl filling. Press "Cancel" to turn off "keep warm" mode to prevent overcooking the rice.Note: this dish is intentionally low in saturated fat so you may need to add splashes of liquid to adjust the consistency once it has cooked.
Build the chicken burrito bowl
- Scoop desired amount of filling into bowls with your choice of toppings.
Storage and reheat instructions
- Store chicken bowl filling separate from produce in an airtight container up to five days in the refrigerator.
- To reheat, add a splash of liquid to moisten filling ingredients and reheat via stove or microwave, stirring as needed.
RECIPE NOTES
Nutrition
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Love this recipe! If I wanted to attempt to double it, what do you suggest for cooking time? Thanks!
Hi Stephanie, no time adjustment is necessary (one the magical things about the Instant Pot) I'm glad you're enjoying the recipe 🥰 It's one of my favs, for sure! Thanks so much for the review 🙂
Can you make this with brown rice? Looks deelish!!! Thanks!
Hi Kim, I don't recommend making this with brown rice because the chicken will overcook in the time it takes to cook the rice. However, you could add cooked brown rice to the pot once everything is pressure cooked. Hope that works for you 🙂
Perfect for beginners and non-cooks. Dump everything in, chop some produce, and boom dinner! The chicken breast is always perfectly cooked too. Love this burrito bowl!
If I wanted to make this without the rice, would I lower the amount of liquid? Would cooking time be the same? It looks so delicious, just want to control the amount of rice per serving.
Hi Stacey, yep, I'd probably reduce the broth by half, but follow the same recipe for everything else, including instructions. Hope you love it! Let me know if I can help again anytime 🙂
I love that this cooks in the Instant Pot! It makes it so easy for weeknights, and I love how customizable it is with toppings to keep things interesting. Great recipe!
Thanks Amanda! So glad to hear you're enjoying this recipe 🤩
Looks so good! I have some friends that would go crazy for this!
Hehe, thanks Katie! Appreciate any shares with friends 🤩
This is my kind of meal! My whole family loves burrito bowls and I love that you can prepare this in the instant pot, it makes for a simple weeknight recipe... I'll be making on repeat now that remote learning is back at our house!
Awesome, Emily...so glad you can enjoy this one! 🤩 Enjoy and best of luck getting back into the school year 💚
Bowls are one of our favorite types of dinners and a one-pot bowl that cooks itself is even better! It's so easy to prep all the toppings while the cooker does its work, perfect for weeknight meals.
Thanks, Annemarie...YES! Glad you can enjoy burrito bowls as much as we do 🤩 Love the IP even more for this!
I love that this can all be made in the Instant Pot! Awesome recipe.
Thank you! Yes, the Instant Pot rocks this meal 🤩
Next time I'm skipping the lines at Chipotle and making these delicious looks burrito bowls at home!
Right on, Jessica...you will love them! Thanks 🤩
What is that clear collar you are using around the outside edge of the instant pot insert? It’s not mentioned in your tools list. I haven’t made this yet but cooking the chicken breast above the rice mixture looks like a great technique. Thanks!
Hi Patt, there's no extra tools used here...it's just how the 6qt IP Duo looks from overhead. Enjoy the recipe 🤩
Always delicious and couldn't be easier to throw everything in the pot and chop a few toppings while it cooks. Chicken breast is always tender with this method. Another winner KG!
Awesome, Jeff! I'm glad you like this one as much as I do! 🙂
Just got an instant pot so this is the perfect recipe !! Can’t wait to try this out I love mexican food!
Awesome, Farah! Glad you can enjoy it 🤩
I love a burrito bowl and this looks super delicious! Love that it takes just a short time to put together too!
Thanks Bintu! Yep 30 minutes and this burrito bowl is on the table 🤩
Instant Pot - yes. Burrito Bowl - yes. Easy and good - YES!
Hehe, I'm a whole bunch of YES on this one too! Thanks, Sue 🙂