These 20-Minute Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls are a healthy, easy and flavourful dinner idea made with simple ingredients!
Move over, Chipotle! I love making these burrito bowls in the Instant Pot – they’re easier than you think.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Quick and easy meal: Everything comes together in 20 minutes, and is made in just one pot.
- Customizable: Add on your favourite toppings or swap out the ingredients for different diets.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – or another neutral cooking oil like avocado or canola oil.
- Chicken breasts – ground beef or turkey will work, but you’ll need to brown it first.
- Taco seasoning – make your own taco seasoning.
- Yellow onion – white or red onion would also be good here.
- Garlic – use freshly minced or jarred minced garlic.
- Red and green pepper – you could also use yellow or orange bell peppers.
- Fresh salsa – jarred salsa or canned crushed tomatoes would work.
- Black beans – use brown or green lentils, chickpeas or kidney beans instead.
- Frozen corn – or any frozen vegetable blend of your choice.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth is the best substitute here.
- White rice – you can use jasmine rice instead.
How to make burrito bowls
Step 1: Add everything to the Instant Pot.
Add all the ingredients and gently stir the rice into the liquid.
Step 2: Cook on high pressure.
Cook on high pressure, then do a quick pressure release.
Step 3: Add the cilantro.
Drop in the cilantro and give the mixture a good stir.
Step 4: Add your toppings.
Serve with any toppings of your choice.
Recipe variations
- Make it vegetarian: Use vegetable broth, skip the chicken and add more black beans or kidney beans.
- Try ground beef or turkey: Brown the ground meat on the sauté function, then drain any excess fat and add in the remaining ingredients.
- Add some spice: Stir in some de-seeded jalapeños for a bit of a kick.
- Top with more flavour: Try my super easy 4-ingredient guacamole.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use brown rice instead of white rice?
Since brown rice requires a longer cooking time, you might end up overcooking the chicken. It’s best to use long-grain white rice like jasmine or basmati.
Are these chicken burritos healthy?
Definitely. This recipe includes lean protein and whole ingredients. It’s high in fibre and doesn’t have any processed foods! Your body will thank you for this one.
Can I make these burrito bowls in the slow cooker?
Yes! Spray the slow cooker with cooking spray, dump everything in the crockpot and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours, stirring once or twice throughout the cooking time.
What to serve with this dish
- Toppings: Salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream, refried beans and lettuce would all be delicious.
- Sides: Serve with tortilla chips and cowboy caviar, or salsa and guac.
- Burritos: Wrap the filling up in a tortilla and serve it as a burrito!
How to store and reheat
Make-ahead: Prep all ingredients in the Instant Pot, cover, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before cooking.
Store: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheat: Microwave for 1-2 minutes, stirring halfway, or warm on the stovetop over medium heat with a splash of broth.
Freeze & reheat from frozen: Freeze in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
More easy Instant Pot recipes
Meal prep tools
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus is the version I use in this recipe.
- Grab some glass meal prep bowls if you plan on packing this dish up for leftovers.
- These aluminum foil containers are perfect for re-heating straight from the freezer to oven.
- And of course I get all my free range chicken breasts from Butcher Box!
Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb chicken breasts diced into 1-inch cubes
- 1 tbsp taco seasoning
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 each red and green pepper diced
- 2 cups fresh salsa (I used the fresh kind, Garden Fresh Gourmet, found in the refrigerated section of the grocery store but you can use jarred)
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 cups frozen corn
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 cup white rice
Optional toppings
- Cilantro
- Sour cream
- Cheese
- Jalapenos
Instructions
- Dump all ingredients in the order in which they are listed (except for toppings) in Instant Pot. Ensure you add rice on top of everything else and gently stir it in to the liquids on the very top. Do NOT stir the entire mixture way down to the bottom, you just want to ensure the rice is covered by liquid. If you stir the entire mixture, you may get the burn message.
- Set to manual and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to pre-heat and then the 4 minutes to cook.
- When complete, press cancel and do a quick release of the steam, waiting until the pressure gauge drops back down and the lid is safe to open.
- Remove lid, stir contents well and divide among 6 bowls. Top with any toppings of choice then serve and enjoy!
Video
Comments & Reviews
Cody says
So I just made this…it turned out more like a stew than anything. I used the 6 quart instapot, but I did go a little overboard on chopping up my onion and bell peppers. Wondering if it’s more the fact that my chicken breasts were pretty much double your size? I tried to reduce the liquid via saute mode, but it’s just too much.
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Cody – chicken actually releases a lot of water during the cooking process so I’m wondering if the larger breasts were to blame here. I’m sorry to hear you had trouble with extra liquid 🙁
Jessica Kelly says
I just made this and love the flavour! It’s going to be a new staple for take-to-work lunches. I did have one issue though — the rice was still really crunchy after the cook time. Any suggestions?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Jessica – so glad you liked it! Sometimes the rice can be a bit crunchy depending on the make and model of your Instant Pot and how submerged the rice was. Sometimes you can pat down on the rice a bit without mixing it all around – you mainly want to avoid the burn message so you have to put the rice on top. Hope that helps!
Ann says
Followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of leaving out the cilantro, and made sure to put the rice on top. I kept getting the burn message. I tried to scrape the bottom of the pot without disturbing the rice on top and added about 1/4 to 1/2 cup more broth. I got the burn message again, so I scraped the bottom of the pot and put it back in for one more try. It never did come to pressure, but it had been in the pod about 50 minutes at this point, and it was hot and bubbly, so I checked if the chicken was done inside and tasted the rice, and they both seemed done. So we just ate it.
Reminds me a lot of Spanish rice with chicken and veggies in it.
Taylor Stinson says
I’m wondering if you were using the 8-quart Instant Pot as opposed to the 6-quart. There seems to be an issue with the newer models of Instant Pot getting the burn message. I’m sorry you had trouble!
dominique says
this looks awesome! I plan on meal prepping and I want to try this but instead the chicken on the side, would I still use the same measurements for the other ingredients or would you recommend that I omit some? thanks in advance
Taylor Stinson says
I would still use the same measurements and time for the rest of the ingredients yes! 🙂
Metal says
Can i use the same amounts in a Duo Mini? Thanks!
Taylor Stinson says
I would not recommend it unfortunately! I think that there would be too much food for the mini duo 🙁
Katie says
I have a brand new 8 quart Instant Pot. Has anyone tried this with an 8 quart? I am unclear whether all 6 quart recipes work as written in an 8 quart.
Taylor Stinson says
It should work Katie! Just make sure you layer everything in the order it should go in as stated in the recipe – if you stir anything or spread things out instead of just layering them in you may have issues but I don’t anticipate there being an issue with the 8 quart!
Dana says
I love the sounds of this recipe and also LOVE my instant pot but is that enough time for the chicken to cook? I’m always paranoid about undercooked chicken 😬
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Dana! It’s definitely enough time to cook – the chicken is cut up super small and the pot takes about 10-15 minutes to preheat so the chicken gets fully cooked in that time. Hope that helps 🙂
Maggie says
I do not have an instapot 😭 so how would I convert this to crockpot? It looks amazing!!!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Maggie! I wish I could help but honestly I’m not sure how to convert this. I’ve never cooked rice in the crockpot before. Sorry about this!
Jackie Leavitt says
This is a complete no from me. Followed the recipe to the letter, I ended up with uncooked rice on top of everything else , tried to make it again, ended up with burnt rice. Ended up wasting a lot of food and will not make this again
Taylor Stinson says
I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you Jackie! I’m not exactly sure what could have went wrong – maybe if you used a different type of salsa that was less liquidy, or if the rice was sitting too far above the wet ingredients this could have caused it to be crispy the first time around. Even using brown or white rice instead of jasmine can affect it. Or if you are using a different-sized Instant Pot. There are definitely a lot of variables, especially with the Instant Pot.
Caty says
I didn’t have all the ingredients, but I used rice, chicken, black beans, chicken stock, corn, salsa (didn’t have a full cup left), and only had half an onion left. I added corn to. It turned out great and everything cooked well at 4 min high pressure! Thanks for the recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
I’m SO happy to hear that Caty!!! This is definitely one of those recipes where you can make a few tweaks, as long as you have most of the ingredients! Thank you so much for sharing with me 🙂