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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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?
I made this last night, following the instructions exactly except that I didn’t have salsa (I thought I did until it was time to use it, lol) so I used canned garlic tomatoes, instead.
Tossed a dollop of sour cream on top, and BAM!
This recipe was super easy to make (I love dump dishes for the IP), and it turned out so amazingly good. This will be added to our regular rotation now!
As tasty and easy as advertised. I accidentally added more salsa than was called for, but it turned out great anyway.
I did not get a burn notice, but for those who did: based on the article below, the two most likely solutions for this recipe are:
1. Add more liquid, like salsa or chicken broth.
2. Make sure you DON’T stir in the rice.
https://kristineskitchenblog.com/instant-pot-burn/
I stirred in the rice then noticed the directions say not to! Does anyone how not stirring in the rice cooks differently? Hope it turns out ok.
I got the burn notice and restarted the ip three times. The chicken was done but the rice was not cooked. The taste is very good. Just need to know how to cook it correctly so the rice cooks. Suggestions?
I can never go wrong with a DD recipe ! Absolutely LOVED this! Read the reviews below for some tips as I’m still new to my instant pot..made the following subs in my 8qt..2cups chicken broth and a 1/4 cup extra salsa to sub for the chilies, pressure cooked for 10 mins. Added fresh avo and cilantro at the end when serving. CANNOT get over how delicious this is..just tasted it but couldn’t resist coming on to rave about it!! Never got any burn notices*
LOVE this meal!! It’s so easy, on the healthier side, super delicious and we get 3 dinners out of it (family of only 2). Both times I’ve made it though, I get the “food burn” warning so I have to stop it, open it, and then reset it. Has this happened to anyone else? I’m new to the instant pot so not entirely sure what I’m doing . I checked the bottoms and and nothing was stuck inside or out so not sure why it has happened both times? Suggestions?
Rice hard 🙁 had to give it another 5min
I made this last night and had the same issue. I added more chicken broth.
I have made this several times and it has come out great every time. I also like to add some chopped avocado on top when I serve it..
I’ve made it about 3-4 times and only once did it turn out the way it should. Got the food burn message the other times! What can I do so this doesn’t happen? Followed the recipe exactly. Thank you!
Great for a weeknight meal.
I got a Burn Food notification which messed up the cooking time, leaving me with uncooked rice but overcooked chicken. Not sure what went wrong as I followed the recipe exactly. Suggestions?
It still tasted amazing but not servable with the undercooked rice.
This recipe is perfect when we have plans that run late and I need a quick and easy dinner. This is literally the only recipe I’ve ever made where my actual prep time matches the prep time listed in the recipe. I usually use thighs because I like them more, and I just cut them with scissors right into the IP. Love this kind of simple recipe!
This was AMAZING.
I made this in the Instant Pot Ultra in 3 quart size. I halved the ingredients and used boneless skinless chicken thighs. I found that putting in enough chicken thighs to cover the bottom in one layer (in this case, 4 for me) was just right. I cooked for the same amount of time. I did 3/4 cup rice (I used the small cup that came with my IP).
As a result, it made about 5 servings for me with my small IP. Really perfect for meal prep Sundays when you just want to dump everything in a pot and press a button. It was done in about 20 including warm up and rapid release.
Made this recipe for the first time tonight and it turned out amazing! My 6 and 9 year old boys gobbled it up! I didn’t have diced chilis so I just added the equivalent in extra salsa. This will be in our regular rotation for sure!!
Made this but substituted black beans for dark red kidney beans. Great meal. Very filling
Amazing! I doubled this recipe, and added 3 cups of broth. I let it cook for 20 minutes and it came out perfect!