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!
This is so damn good!
I always pour in the stock first (I usually add another half a cup), then put a silicone sling in the bottom of the Instant Pot. I layer the chicken and other ingredients on the sling, and pat/poke the rice into the salsa with the edge of a wooden spoon so it’s covered.
No Burn alert, and perfect every time.
Once cooked, I pull out the sling, give everything a good stir, re-cover and leave another 5 minutes.
I find it makes closer to 6 to 7 servings – great for work-from-home lunches and quick meals.
My chicken came out dry, and the rice didn’t fully cook on the top. ♀️ Flavors were good though. We scraped the rice off and still ate the good parts.
Tasted great, but do not put chicken onnthe bottom, I recieved the dreaded burn warning.
Recipe says “without stirring, put in rice” That is poorly worded….you have to stir in rice or rice doesn’t cook.
I have an 8 qt. Instant Pot so I increased the broth by 1/2 cup. Used 15 oz frozen corn that I had defrosted. All other ingredients remained the same. Came out perfectly. Family loved it. Will make again for sure.
Only the 2nd time using the Instant Pot
Are you supposed to precook the rice?? I did mine for 15 minutes and it’s still hard.
Loved it! I doubled the chicken (left breasts whole) and doubled rice and water. Cooked 10 min and let presure release naturally. I’m not sure how long it was when I opened it but think at least 10 more minutes. All liquids absorbed and chicken was cooked and tender. Added a little salt and sour cream to garnish. Delicious!
This was so good and so easy to make. It’s a keeper and everyone in the family loves it.
Does anyone have any nutritional facts on this dish? Specifically the calories?
Roughly 580 calories per serving based on her serving sizes listed in the recipe! MyFitnessPal has an option to input ingredients from a recipe to figure it all out for you. 62g of Carbs 44g of Protein 14g of Fat
If I double the recipe do I have to double the cook time?
Delicious and so quick and easy! Four thumbs up at my house and we’ve added it to the rotation. To avoid the “burn” notice I will not stir the salsa with the other ingredients. Instead add it gently on top with the rice. Or use a thinner salsa. Thick tomato sauce & salsa always seem to bring the dreaded “burn” notice.
This was our first meal in the instant pot we recently acquired. We are fairly discrminating on meals – this was delicious. I did press the rice into the liquid, but otherwise followed the recipe. So very, very easy. I am trying to watch my carbs so I may exclude the rice next time.
Let me just say this: Wow!! My picky mother who does not like mexican food, loved it. So easy, fast, and the chicken was perfect. Rice was not hard and didn’t get a burn warning. Will make this again!
Absolutely phenomenal. I wish this would have been the first recipie I tried in the pot because the one I tried last night was a nightmare because it also asked for rice and burnt to the bottom of the pan, gave me burn warnings and wouldn’t let me continue cooking. Because of the experience I knew when it came to the rice in this recipe, that I should add extra liquid. So I did an extra cup of chicken broth and half cup extra rice. And it turned out amazing. Flavor was awesome and the whole family loved it.
Made this following directions exactly. Only thing omitted was the cilantro. We used long grain brown rice and did not stir it in the mixture. I used chicken stock instead of broth. This turned out perfectly. We will definitely make again
The rice never cooked…I had to stir it and restart the instant pot.
My rice didn’t cook either and there was a lot of liquid left. Not sure how to cook it again?
For some when the timer went off there was no pressure to release?
Need help 🙁
After pressure is fully released, I stir everything, add the cheese, stir again, cover the pot and let it sit for about 20 minutes. The rice absorbs the juice.
On the burn notice, I do get it sometimes. I’ve put the chicken on a trivet, put the taco seasoning last, and didn’t move the pot after I’ve put everything in. If all else fails, I transfer to a different pot and finish cooking it on the stove top.
I have made this often – one of our favorite dishes, we actually use brown rice (healthier option) and because it cooks differently than white rice we add a little more chicken broth and mix the rice into the solution. We also let the steam release on it’s own for 10 minutes.
But we make it a once ever other week and get 2 meals out each potful.
Love this recipe! Trying to figure out the nutrition info. Does anyone know the serving size of this?
This was great and easy. I wanted more rice so I put in 1.5 cups and added one cup of water. I also used a can of Rotel tomatoes and green chilis as I didn’t have green chilis alone. I didn’t get the burn notice, probably because of the increased liquid. I roasted green pepper halves and then stuffed them with the chicken and rice mixture. Tasted wonderful!
I’ve made this a few times and it tastes great but i have gotten the burn notification every time but 1. Im gonna make ir tonight and try not stirring the salsa to see if that helps!
The rice has to be in the liquid
Thank you for your recipe! I made this in an 8-qt instant pot … the only adjustments I made were 1) that I used 2 C. of chicken broth instead of 1 C and 2) I used frozen corn (not a fan of canned corn). It turned out great! I served it with extra cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and broken tortilla chips – a great family dish. I am going to try freezing the left overs and see how it turns out – my guess is that it work out well. I will definitely make this again. 🙂
Michelle – how did the freezing go?