Instant Pot 20 Minute Chicken Burrito Bowls
by Chungah
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These chicken burrito bowls comes together so quickly and easily in the Instant Pot! No fuss, no babysitting! And the chicken is so tender.
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 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 Instant Pot magic.
Why you’ll love these chicken burrito bowls
- All-in-one dinner. With the help of the 6-qt Instant Pot®, this is the best kind of dump-and-go dinner recipe. Also, there’s minimal prep 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 – there’s just 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.
How to make chicken burrito bowls in the Instant Pot
- Combine all ingredients. Stir in the diced chicken breasts, chicken broth, and taco seasoning in a 6-qt Instant Pot®. Add the corn, black beans, salsa, and green chiles, stirring to combine.
- Add the rice. Without stirring, sprinkle the rice on top in an even layer, pressing the rice gently so it is slightly submerged into the liquid.
- Cook on high heat. Close the lid and pressure cook for 10 minutes, quick releasing and carefully opening the lid.
- Add the cheese. Stir in the cheese until melted.
- Serve. Serve warm, garnished with cilantro.
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! Skip the cheese to make this a dairy-free chicken burrito bowl.
Yes! Skip the chicken, add an additional can of beans and use vegetable broth instead.
This typically means that some of the ingredients such as the rice or thick salsa has settled to the bottom of the pot, causing the Instant Pot to overheat. To prevent the burn notice for next time, always add the rice on top, gently patting it down.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Instant Pot 20 Minute Chicken Burrito Bowls
Video
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
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.
Equipment
Notes
- 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!
- Cut into uniform pieces. Cut the chicken breasts or thighs into even and equal 1-inch pieces to ensure even cooking throughout.
- Avoid using brown rice. Long-grain white rice such as jasmine or basmati rice is best. Brown rice will take too long to cook here.
- Never mix the rice. Sprinkle the rice on top in an even layer, patting it down slightly to absorb some of the liquid. Stirring in the rice will cause it to sink to the bottom, triggering the burn notice.
- Make it spicy. Add in 1 diced jalapeño for a kick of heat. For maximum heat, keep the inner white membranes and the seeds intact.
- 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, adding just before serving.
- Reheat with a splash of chicken stock. When reheating, add a splash of chicken broth or water.
Did you make this recipe?
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Has anyone halved this recipe to go in a 3 QT Instant Pot? How would I go about doing that? I’m hunting recipes to add to my repertoire as a beginning cook in a tiny apartment and this looks like a great one.
After reading all the comments about the rice not cooking properly or getting a burn error, I made the rice separately and stirred it in with the cheese after I did the quick release. I also served it with avocado on top. After one bite my husband said “you can make this again”. Thanks for an easy and delicious meal.
I’ve done this recipe 20+ times. I make sure that I put the rice on top and then push down slightly until the rice gets slightly submerged. That is the trick. I use medium grain rice.
I often leave out the chicken. The rice is the star here.
Has anyone tried doubling the recipe? If so, how much longer do you cook it?
Recipe is fantastic but my rice is never cooked enough after the recommended time. I’ve done the recipe enough times that I know once it’s done, I’ll open the lid, mix everything together and then leave it closed for another 45 to an hour. Then 95% of the rice is cooked properly and the 5% of crunchy rice is actually pretty nice!
Can I use frozen chicken? If so, does it change the time? Thanks!
I use frozen chicken all the time. A frozen breast takes roughly 12 min to cook so depending on what rice you use, that might be too long. I use brown jasmine rice which has a longer cook time and it works out well with the frozen chicken with a 15 min cook time and 10 min natural release.
I’ve made this so many times and I can’t believe I’ve never left a review! It is the most versatile, simple family dinner. My toddlers love it, my husband loves it and there’s always enough for lunch the next day. Don’t be afraid to modify it to fit what you have in your pantry because I’ve never had it not come out delicious and I rarely have everything I need love this recipe!
I’ve tried this recipe 5 times and had crunchy rice each time. I thought I did something wrong the first time so I made it again and had the same problem. Then I tried adding more broth (third attempt), more time (fourth attempt)and tried waiting once it finished cooking (lapsed time 10 minutes) (fifth attempt). Nothing solved the crunchy rice problem.
To be clear, not all of the rice is crunchy. And adding more water and lapsed time seemed to result in less crunchy. But it’s still a problem. And I’m not a new instant pot user. I’ve been using my instant pot multiple times a week for over 6 years. I rarely have a recipe fail because I have a good sense of what will work and what won’t. This one baffles me.
Absolutely love this dish! It is a “fan favorite” and a go to recipe for our family. I make sure I have the canned ingredients on hand. In a pinch, I substituted frozen corn and it worked well. I wonder if the nutritional values of the recipe are available. Also, has anyone tried substituting brown rice or quinoa??
How do you change this recipe to make it on the stove top? No pressure cooker over here. Looks so good! Thanks!
If you have a Dutch oven you can. Brown your chicken in it first. Then put the rest of the ingredients in, bring to a good boil, without the lid, transfer it to a hot oven for 30 to 45 min. Lid on.
I have not made this exact recipe this way but have done one very similar like this.
This is a family favorite! We always fight for the leftovers!
We absolutely love this dish! So delicious, budget friendly, and super easy to throw together. It transports very well also for work lunches. We like to serve ours with sides of sour cream, lettuce and chips. Thank you for such a wonderful recipe!
Absolutely delicious and super easy!
I rarely contact the recipe-writer but since you know your IP, what do you think would need to change by using cauliflower rice instead of regular rice? I can certainly cook them separately, and if I don’t hear from you I will. I am just curious how leaving out the rice or replacing with cauliflower rice would change any timing. TIA!
This is my go to recipe when I am short on time and need to stick to my macros.
I swap out the rice for brown rice and us half the cheese. I doubled up the recipe this week but have two extra servings that I won’t be able to eat in time before it goes bad. Has anyone tried freezing it? I’ve never frozen cooked rice before so please give any suggestions. Otherwise I’ll just toss it but will feel sad to do so 🙁
You can freeze cooked rice so freezing should be fine. Happy 2023!
Do you cook the brown rice the same amount of time?
I cook it the same amount of time but push the rice down to make sure it’s all covered by liquid before cooking.
We did it but with regular rice and added a drained can of diced tomatoes and our own seasonings. It was good with chicken but then we did it with a pou d ground beef and it was even better. We used thr sauté setting to brown it enough where it would stay separated. 2/3rds or so done. Then did the recipe as follows again with our preferred seasoning and added tomatoes. I added crushed tortilla chips to my second bowl and that was great too.
This is the third or fourth time I have made this for my young adult sons. They polished all of this off. Not one grain of rice is left. Not one. I’ve used the recipe with all the ingredients but tonight I was a bit stuck for time and when I looked around the house I had almost everything with a few exceptions and ti was still a wild hit. I had to used pickled banana peppers instead of the green chilies. I didn’t have cilantro. I didn’t use the cheese (dairy allergies). No one cared or noticed. They loved it. This is going in our regular rotation.
Made this for dinner, didn’t have chillies or a full cup of corn but it was fabulous! As other reviwers suggested, ensure you push your rice under the liquid!
I made this tonight on the stove top and it worked great and no more time consuming. I also used mw uncle bens long grain white rice otherwise followed the ingredient list. Very good! And will work in a tortilla as a burrito, enchilada, or taco. I’ve had an instant pot for a few years and don’t like it. To many steps and instructions!
I made this exactly as the recipe said and it was delicious! After reading comments, I gently pressed the rice until just submerged in the liquid and it turned out perfect! Thank you for a quick, easy and delicious meal!
*Do not stir in rice – but make sure it is submerged by poking it into fluid, if you stir it in it can settle and create burn notice. I keep frozen chicken tenders on hand and throw them in and add 5 minutes. Also use frozen corn and after pressure is gone, I stir them in and wait a few minutes for them to heat through. I serve with shredded cheese and tortilla strips (like for salad) and sour cream. Always perfect! thanks!
Delicious! And so easy! I was out of uncooked white rice to add in, so cooked it without. I had a microwave pack of white rice, so when it was time to stir in the cheese, I stirred in that cooked rice and it worked fine. Thanks for such an easy and good recipe.
I want to make this tonight. Has anyone doubled the recipe? Any needed advice?
I’m doing that tonight and I was wondering the same. Did you make it and if so, how much did the cooking time change?
No need to adjust the time.