Instant Pot 20 Minute Chicken Burrito Bowls
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
Comes together in less than 10 min prep! The chicken is so tender and the flavors are so good.
Featured Comment
This is a burrito bowl recipe I keep coming back to again and again. And this was the first Instant Pot (IP) recipe I have ever tested that converted me to the pressure cooker fan club. With one pot, tender, juicy chicken and perfectly cooked rice with the easiest clean up in the history of the world, I was completely hooked with the IP magic.
reasons to make instant pot 20 minute chicken burrito bowls
- All-in-one Instant Pot dinner. With the help of the Instant Pot, this is the best kind of dump-and-go dinner recipe. There’s minimal prep time here – no sautéing, no nothing. Throw everything right into the pressure cooker, set your time, and walk away. Dinner will be on the table in lightning fast speed, 20 minutes to be exact.
- Family-friendly. Burrito bowls are a guaranteed hit with the entire family, adding in as little or as many toppings as desired, a little bit of something for everyone to enjoy.
- Great for meal prep. This keeps for 2-3 days, ideal for making these ahead of time for meal prep and reheating as needed.
- Flexible, forgiving recipe. Most of the ingredients can easily be swapped out or omitted as needed. Don’t have black beans? Use pinto or kidney beans. Don’t have canned corn? Skip it or use frozen corn kernels. Want to use thighs over breasts? Give it a quick swap.
tips and tricks for success
- Use chicken breast or thighs. Both will work beautifully here – breast will be leaner whereas thighs will have more fat, yielding more tender chicken than the former. Not a fan of chicken? Ground beef is also a great swap!
- White rice is ideal. Long-grain white rice such as jasmine or basmati rice is best. Brown rice will take too long to cook here.
- Make it spicy. Add in 1 diced jalapeno for a kick of heat!
- Add your favorite toppings. Diced avocado, shredded Mexican blend cheese, cilantro, a squeeze of fresh lime juice, crispy tortilla strips or crushed tortilla chips when you’re in a pinch are all great options.
- Reheat with a splash of chicken stock. When reheating, add a splash of chicken broth or water.
pro tip
Do not stir in the rice.
Adding in the rice at the very end without stirring will prevent the rice to sink to the bottom of the Instant Pot (this is what signals the dreaded burn notice). Layer and sprinkle the rice on top, patting down slightly to submerge. Do not stir. This will lead to burrito-goodness-flavored tender, fluffy rice.
what to serve with chicken burrito bowls
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot 20 Minute Chicken Burrito Bowls: Frequently Asked Questions
Black beans, pinto beans or kidney beans are all great here.
Absolutely! To make this a dairy-free chicken burrito bowl, skip the cheese.
Yes! Skip the chicken, add an additional can of beans and use vegetable broth instead.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Instant Pot 20 Minute Chicken Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks
- 1 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (1.25-ounce) package taco seasoning
- 1 (15-ounce) can corn kernels, drained
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup salsa, homemade or store-bought
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Equipment
Instructions
- Add chicken, chicken broth and taco seasoning to a 6-qt Instant Pot® and gently toss to combine.
- Stir in corn, black beans, salsa and green chiles. Without stirring, add rice.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 10 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions. Stir in cheese until melted, about 1 minute.
- Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro, if desired.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Added the rice without stirring, per recipe. Didn’t get cooked. Dirth of fluid or misunderstood recipe? Added water, stirred, restarted & got the dreaded BURN error. Emptied pot and scraped out, then restarted for 3 min. okay now, but the tortillas my wife was frying are now tough. Sigh.
So delicious and so easy!!
Damn delicious! I have an 8qt instant pot. I used a can of chicken broth almost 2 cups. I used Kroger’s private selection restaurant style salsa. There was about 1/4 cup left in container so I added that too. Everything else the exact as recipe. Same cook time and it was wonderful! Sprinkled the rice on top evenly and it’s cooked perfect.
This was so quick and easy and so delicious. I will definitely add it to my favorites list.
One question, can leftovers be frozen? We are a family of two, but this is plenty for a family. If not frozen and if I halved the recipe, what cook time would I use?
Thank you for this recipe!
Freezing sounds like an amazing idea but unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself. Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
It freezes great. I’ve been making this with beef for years and I make a huge amount so I can freeze for easy leftover dinners. So I can’t imagine switching chicken for beef would alter the ‘freezability’ of it.
Cheers
Do you double the recipe? If so, how does it alter the cooking times?
I would like to know this as well. Can the recipe be doubled?
It was delicious! For people asking about doubling… I doubled the recipe, increased the broth to 3 cups, used brown rice and set the instant pot for 22 minutes and it worked out great!
I’ve made this several times and just love it! I moved to a higher altitude and am finding I have to make serious adjustments for Instant Pot recipes. For me this one needs more liquid and 18 minutes. I squeezed some lime on top this time…YUM!
You have another winner. I followed the recipe with no changes and it was a hit! Definitely a saver. I have a suggestion for the reviewers who have a burn notice. I use a 8qt IP and used to get them more often than I felt was reasonable. I’m cooking at a higher altitude than most, and with the larger pot, I have begun adding at least 1/2 more liquid than the recipe calls for. I don’t know which makes the most difference, but since I started adding more liquid, I have had zero burn notice.
Hmm, I’ve made this multiple times and it’s always turned out perfectly for me. Even made it in my mother-in-law’s Instant Pot and it worked great. One tip – after adding rice I dot it with a bit more chicken broth, but not more than 1/2 a cup. Try again! This is an easy, quick, delicious dinner.
How long for a double batch?
Hi, I do double batches every time.
I cook it on high for 13 minutes, and leave it on warm for a few minutes.
I tried it several times! I’ve made this as a double batch and was a little worried about doubling the liquid (twice the chicken broth seemed like a lot). Happy to report that the recipe doubles beautifully, with no adjustments. Just double the ingredients, and keep the cooking time the same. Ridiculously easy and equally delicious!
Love to try this fory very first try I’m my instant
I have successfully made this recipe several times. It is now a family favorite. I don’t know if this is what makes the difference for me but I use medium grain rice instead of long grain and have never had it be undercooked. Hope that helps.
did as it said – i have an 8 qt so i added about 25% more liquid..received the burn notice twice. I checked after the 2nd burn and all was cooked so we ate it. It is very tasty but cannot figure out why the burn notice
Made this for dinner tonight cause i was in a hurry and omg it was so freaking delicious! Everyone loved it. So easy, quick and yummy! Thanks!
Loved it! Followed the directions exactly and no burn notice at all. Make sure you’re using long grain rice for it to cook properly. I added sour cream and some hot sauce at the end and boom! As good a burrito bowl as I’ve ever had. Five stars!
Cheap to make, easy, & good. I was heartbroken rummaging through my pantry finding out I’m our of my corn thins I planned to eat with this but it was still good topped with cheese and sour cream. Next time I will plan better and have it with corn thins & sliced avocado. This is a great recipe for busy people & parents that want to throw together something fast for dinner.
It was great
Really enjoyed this recipe. Made it twice now with no issues!
Do you think if I make this as a base for actually burritos, and leave out the cheese so people can add it as a topping, it will feed 6-8 people. Thoughts?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
I go to Trader Joe’s and get all the components- rice to chicken to beans. And it comes out super cheap! My advice would be to buy corn salsa (adds more sweet flavor), use less spicy taco mix, and buy Trader Joe’s brand pico de gallo. Additionally, reserve half the pico to add after the instant pot, buy a salad mix for some lettuce crunch, and voila, it’s like Chipotle! Man, it turns out better each time I tweak it! Super quick too.
Just made this using chicken thighs and it’s AMAZING!!!
So damn delicious. I added some sauteed onion and then a can of pinto beans too. My chicken was a bit more too so with the added ingredients, it took an additional 5 minutes of cook time (which I didn’t find out until after the 10 minutes was up) so keep that in mind.
We all went back for seconds so make this if you want something quick and easy for dinner.
I’m new to IP and still skeptical. This was easy, tasty and successful! I substituted sweet potatoes for corn, and cooked chicken from freezer, because it was what I had on hand, and set for 12 minutes. The rice on top did not cook at all. Next time I will push it down, as noted in another comment, and add avocados as a topping option! Thanks for sharing!