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.
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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.
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This was my first use of the Instapot and I really was careful to do everything right, but it never cooked. The BURN message came up all three times I tried. I called them and they said I probably didn’t have enough liquid so I added a little more. Nope. I’m not going to give us, but I am discouraged.
Well, I just opened it up again and it seems that even though the burn message kept coming on it did cook it and it’s good.
Whew. I’m so glad!
This is the first time I tried the IP. Your recipe sounded great and I loved that it wouldn’t take long either. I had a problem though, I thought cooking time was 10 minutes. I must’ve done something wrong because I set it manual for 10 minutes but an hour and half later I had to finally turn it off. The bottom was starting to burn. Not sure why it took so long. What am I doing wrong? It WAS very tasty though!
Hi Robin! Thanks for trying this recipe! This is a favorite of mine because it’s so quick!
I’m not entirely sure what went wrong for you though. Did you stir in the rice at all?
Does the rice have to be cooked first or can I just dump in it dry?
You can add it in dry.
How much liquid should i use for an 8 QT instant pot? And i wont be adding the rice, i only have the parboiled kind.
Can this be made with dry beans?
Unfortunately, the cooking time here is not sufficient enough to cook through the dry beans.
This was delicious! Thanks!
Thank you Michelle!
How much time do I add if I want to double the recipe ?
My pot never came to pressure. Always would get the burn message even after adding more liquid After 5th attempt, I took it out and have it in the oven now to finish cooking. Hopefully rice and chicken cook through nicely. Smells good.
I think next time I will mix taco seasoning and broth so taco seasoning dissolves, then add the chicken and follow remaining recipe as follows. I had put in the chicken, then taco seasoning then broth. Thinking taco seasoning needs to be dissolved in the broth before adding to the pot otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pot and burn message will appear.
Will try another day hopefully with better results
This was delicious! It was nice that it was a whole meal in one pot too. Thanks, Chungah!
So happy to hear that Andrea! Thank you.
I have a 3 quart instant pot (just two of us in the house). Would I just halve this recipie?
Yes! 🙂 But please be mindful of the change in cooking time.
I doubled the recipe, cut the rice and broth a bit. Worked perfectly. My instantpot can be a bit tricky. Will definitely make again. Thanks. Next time I may add cut sweet potatoes.
Great improvising Turney. Yes, it can be a little tricky sometimes, but way to stick with it and figure it out!!
I just got a 6 qt as a gift and I wanted to try this recipe first. Unfortunately, this recipe would not be enough for my family of 5. Can I double it in a 6qt and if I can, do I also double the cook time? TIA
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Can you add bell peppers and onions to this? Also. I have Jasmine rice. Would that still work?
Yes, Elizabeth, you can substitute or add ingredients as you wish. However, the cooking times may vary when changing ingredients, so please use your best judgement adjusting the recipe. Have fun!
Loved this recipe! For once it’s nice to find one that I didn’t need to fiddle with and it came out perfect. I couldn’t believe how tender the chicken was and we really don’t like breast meat so that was a pleasant surprise. This is a keeper! Thanks Chungah.
That’s so great to hear!
I made this tonight and it turned out great! I followed the recipe as written but substituted brown rice instead of white. For those wondering, I cooked for 24 minutes in my Instant Pot with the brown rice and it turned out perfect. Thanks for the great recipe!
So great to hear, Ryan! Thanks for your feedback!
I have made this twice now, exactly as recipe states, and it’s has turned out PERFECTLY each time!! It is so good! And I cannot state enough how much I love just dumping it all in, and turning it on. Would love to see more “dump” recipes for the instant pot on here, as I’m a full time working mom of a 2 year old. Cooking dinner is the hardest part of my day, and this recipe made it so much easier! Thanks! All of your recipes are wonderful. Can’t wait to try more!
Thank you Sara for your honest feedback! We’ll be working on those recipes for you!
If I do not want to add the rice should I still use the additional 3/4 cup of chicken broth?
Hi Nicole! Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
I made this earlier this week. It was the second time I’ve made it and the whole family loves this recipe. Looking forward to more Instant Pot recipes 😀
Awesome! So happy to hear it. There will be more to come! 🙂
My husband and I LOVED this recipe. I read the previous comments and was concerned about the possibility of getting a burn message, but I followed the recipe as written and didn’t have any problem. The only change I made was using instant brown rice instead of long grain white rice, and it came out great. Thanks for a great recipe!
You are so welcome, Kayla! Thanks for sharing 🙂
I have a 6 quart Duo Plus Instant Pot. I followed the recipe exactly as written and it came out perfectly. I think it would have been too soupy if I would have added more liquid.
For my teenagers I served it with fried flour tortilla bowls I bought at the bakery with shredded lettuce on the bottom and the chicken on top. For the adults I served it alone. I will be making this again. It was easy and quick.
I followed this recipe exactly and used my Instant Pot, and it burned to the bottom of the pot. I kept getting the BURN warning, so I eventually had to just turn it off and the chicken wasn’t done, and I had a black crust in the bottom of the pot.
Same thing happened to me. Such a bummer 🙁 I even tried adding like 1 extra cup of broth but I still kept getting the BURN message and then it turned out like burrito soup. Sad.
The trick is to not stir in the rice, as mentioned in step 3. Simply add on top of the ingredients already in the pot and add the broth. If you stir and mix the rice into the other ingredients, it will burn. So sorry it didn’t turn out for you the first time around!