Instant Pot 20 Minute Chicken Burrito Bowls
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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
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I too had the problem of having a lot of dry, uncooked rice on top after the 10 minutes were up. I did about 1.5 times the entire recipe. The flavour of everything that cooked was great, but I think from the comments it’s evident that something needs to be done to ensure that the rice gets properly cooked.
Thanks for all the instant pot recipes — it is great to have them!
Can you double this recipe? How long should it cook in instapot then?
Followed this recip to the T and lol I got was burned food. UGH
Got the dreaded burn message from this. Followed recipe exactly. Had to cook on stovetop.
I’ve made this recipe at least 4 times in the past without any problems however tonight i got the burn error repeatedly. I noticed that the instructions have changed as before you mixed 1/4 cup chicken broth with the chicken and taco seasoning before adding other ingredients. I believe you lastly added the rice then the remaining chicken broth, unsure of quantity. And now you add all the chicken broth initally then rice on top at the end. Am I imagining things or did the directions really change? Ugh, thought it was a for sure easy dinner night instead of a disaster.
Yes, the directions have been changed (with even further extensive recipe testing) but I have actually never received a burn message using either methods: with 1/4 cup broth initially being added or with the entire 1 cup broth being added all at once.
Thanks for your response! I’ve made this again because it tastes awesome and realized I used packaged taco seasoning that contained cornstarch versus my diy mix that has no thickening agent. (Different brands are probably different) I think when I got the burn error it was because the chicken broth began to thicken decreasing the amount of liquid present causing the other ingredients to rest on the bottom. If i use the same prepackaged seasoning again I will add extra broth. Maybe this will help some others…
Hi Chungah!
The flavors of this recipe are delicious but unfortunately, when using plain white rice, the 10 minute cook time was not sufficient to cook the rice through and it came out raw and uncooked. I know the recipe suggest long grain rice but do you have any experience using white rice? What do you think a good adjusted cook time would be?
Thanks!
Tom
Success & sooo good!! My first InstaPot attempt and I am very happy. Thank you very much for an easy, fast recipe. Your instruction and recipe are so appreciated!!
That’s so great! Thank you!
I am new to InstaPot cooking but I am thinking the problem a few people who said they followed the recipe exactly may be encountering differences with geographic altitude or elevation. I googled this as a theory and found two articles about pressure cooking being affected. So maybe comments of success could include one’s city and state. Just a thought. TRYING this recipe tonight—first ever. In low-altitude “Benicia, California.
Do I need to saute and brown the raw Chicken?
No, you do not.
Wish the recipe specified long grain WHITE rice! I used brown rice and ended up with undercooked, crunchy rice. The recipe is great and the flavors were still good, just a bit more chewing involved. It is also potentially unhealthy to eat undercooked recipe, so I’d recommend specifying in the ingredients list! “Long grain rice” describes either white long grain or brown long grain. Thanks!
Hi. Will it work in a 3 quart? What issues do you think we would have? I’m a rookie. Thanks
When using a 3qt or “mini” Instant Pot, the general rule of thumb is to divide the recipe in half with the same cook time. But as always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
Epic meal. My 5 and 8 year old licked their bowls (unheard of at my house.) Thanks for delish dish! -katie
Followed this recipe exactly. Rice was completely uncooked after 10 minutes. Added another 10 minutes. Still very undercooked.
I doubled this recipe. Substituted the chicken broth for a can of (coors light) beer and used instant rice. Other than that I Followed the recipe to the tee! Set it for 15 min. And let it rip! It came out killer!! Defiantly will be making this again. Thanks for the recipe.
Sounds delicious!
What’s your favorite recipe? Im kinda into this cooking thing now..
I really love our quinoa chili and slow cooker chicken and wild rice soup. My most recent favorite is the mushroom potato chowder. AND our pumpkin spice latte scones are awesome if you enjoy baking!
So… the burn error message happened to me too. I’ve made this twice now by READING the instructions- happened both times. Luckily I just left it in long enough with the burn message showing up multiple times where the pot never got to pressure but still cooked everything (and it was still delicious). After reading through these comments I realized there was a video component on the page as well showing how to prepare the dish. Here’s what I think may be happening:
In the written instructions it says to add 1/4 cup broth to the chicken and spices, mix, then add everything else on top, finished with the rest of the broth and rice. The mixture is quite thick and the last 3/4 cup of broth seems to sit on top of everything else instead of heading to the bottom of the pot.
In the video the entire cup of broth is added in the first step when mixing with the spices and chicken. Could this be the key difference that’s causing the food to burn?
I haven’t had the chance to try the video method yet, but will in the coming weeks because I love the dish and can’t imagine what it will be like properly cooked.
Thanks for the great instant pot recipes, keep em’ coming!
Hi Glenn! I’m so glad the recipe still worked out for you! I have made this at least 20 times now using both methods – 1/4 cup broth being added first, and then the entire 1 cup broth being added all at once. I don’t have issues with either method to be honest!
Just a note to folks that it is not literally 20 minutes due to the time it will take for the instant pot to come to pressure. So more like 30 minutes. Just sayin’
Making it now for the first time with a couple minor modifications. Smells very good!
Can I double this recipe for a team dinner? Do you have to increase the cooking time? Or will it just take longer to come up to pressure?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment when making substitutions and modifications.
I followed the recipe exactly. The instant pot signaled “burned” before pot came to full pressure. Will not cook this again.
I love the burrito bowls but often get a burn message on my instant pot. Please help!
Made this as my first instant pot recipe in a 3 QT duo mini second handed to me, it turned out amazing.
Used uncle ben’s long grain white rice and left out the chili’s. The bottom was a bit watery during first portions but was soaked up by the rice when going back for seconds.
I stirred the ingredients very well before topping with the rice and last portion of stock before closing the lid.