How to make the best healthy Instant Pot chicken burrito bowls at home – This simple, quick, and easy recipe in the Instapot uses shredded chicken with rice, beans, salsa, cilantro, avocado, and cheddar cheese. Easy meal prep for one pot taco bowls too. Low carb option.
Can I just tell you how much I love avocados? I think they are one of the finest foods on the planet, along with asparagus, beets, feta, and sharp cheddar cheese.
I look for reasons to buy avocados. They have a lot of calories, it’s true, but they’re made of a lot of healthy fats and so having a half of one every day or every couple of days is quite good for you.
The problem I have with avocados is that my local grocery store only sells them when they’re hard as marbles. Then I have to bring them home and wait a few days to a week before they’re soft enough to be edible. That is annoying. I want to come home from the grocery store, cut open the avocado, and eat it. I don’t want to wait a week.
But anyway, this post is not about avocados; it’s about chicken burrito bowls. I made up this recipe for the bowls because I had some really nice avocados that I wanted to use up and I was hungry for a Neato Burrito bowl. (Neato Burrito is a local restaurant here in the Harrisburg, PA area, and they are amazing, and if you ever get the chance to eat there, you will never again be satisfied with Chipotle. Just saying.) We made at home Neato Burrito burritos once, and those are still amazing, but we didn’t have any feta, and they just aren’t the same without the feta.
So we whipped up some chicken in the Instant Pot, cooking it with salsa, beans, corn, and rice, and Joe and I had burrito bowls made with the chicken and bean mixture, avocado, cheese, cilantro (grown by me), and Greek yogurt. Joe put extra tomatoes on his because he likes raw tomatoes, but I hate raw tomatoes and didn’t.
Our kids are super picky, and they wouldn’t eat the burrito bowls. Instead, Joe put some of the shredded chicken from the bowls into hard taco shells, topped it with shredded cheddar cheese, and the kids were as happy as cats in the sunshine. We ate a family meal at home and saved $50 (what we would have spent at Neato Burrito, if it had not been the time of the quarantine, and they had not been closed).
This is such a quick, easy, and simple recipe that it has earned a place in our regular meal rotation. It’s rare that we find something that Joe and I enjoy and the kids will also readily eat. Plus this is ready in under 20 minutes which makes it an amazing after a long day of working dinner.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls
- Add the ingredients to the Instant Pot. Add the chicken broth to the Instant Pot. Place the chicken in the broth and sprinkle with taco seasoning, using 1 packet for a mild flavor and 2 packets for more spice.
Top with beans, corn, and salsa. Add rice to the pot, if using.
- Cook the chicken and beans. Cook on manual pressure for 12 minutes then use quick release to release the pressure.
- Shred the chicken. Remove the chicken only from the Instant Pot and shred with two forks.
- Assemble the taco bowls and serve. To serve, top the shredded chicken with the rice and beans mixture from the Instant Pot, shredded cheddar or Mexican blend cheese, diced tomatoes, and sliced avocado. Add a dollop of Greek yogurt or sour cream in the center.
A few notes:
- For a lower carb or bariatric meal, cook the rice separately or leave it out altogether. If cooking separately, prepare it with 1/2 cup salsa and 2 1/2 cups chicken broth instead of water. This will give it a nice flavor, as if it were cooked with the chicken in the Instant Pot.
- This recipe is equally good in taco shells or wrapped up in tortillas. My kids love it both ways.
- You can use my homemade taco seasoning in place of packets. Each commercial packet equals approximately 2 tablespoons of seasoning.
Check out these other amazing Instant Pot recipes while you’re here:
- Easy Shredded Beef Tacos in the Instant Pot
- Mongolian Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Coconut Chicken Curry in the Instant Pot
- The Best Instant Pot Sloppy Joes Recipe
- Very Best Pot Roast Ever (Instant Pot Recipe)
- Sweet Balsamic Pork Roast in the Instant Pot
Get this and 9 other amazing Instant Pot recipes in my free cookbook, Instant Pot Made Easy! Click the button below to download. If for some reason, the button doesn’t work for you, leave a comment below, and I’ll email it to you.
Chicken Burrito Bowls in the Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1-2 packets taco seasoning Use 1 for a mild flavor and 2 for a spicier flavor.
- 15 ounces black beans
- 12 ounces corn I think frozen corn tastes best, but use whatever you like.
- 15 ounces salsa
- 3 cups jasmine rice Leave this out for a low carb meal. Cooking instructions below for making it separately.
- 3 cups chicken broth Use only 1 cup if you are not adding rice.
- Cheddar cheese shredded
- fresh cilatnro snipped
- Greek yogurt or sour cream
- avocado sliced
- tomato diced
Instructions
- Add chicken broth to the pot. Place chicken in the broth and sprinkle with taco seasoning, using 1 packet for a mild flavor and 2 packets for more spice. Top with beans, corn, and salsa. Add rice to the pot, if using.
- Cook on manual pressure for 12 minutes then use quick release to release the pressure.
- Remove the chicken only from the pot and shred.
- To serve, top the shredded chicken with corn and beans mixture, cheese, cilantro, tomatoes, avocado, and sour cream.
Notes
© 2020, Tara Ziegmont. All rights reserved.
Sarah says
How long would you cook this if the chicken was frozen? Or would you suggest thawing the chicken first.
Tara Ziegmont says
Joe said he cooks it in the Instant Pot for 20 to 30 minutes when the chicken is frozen.
Jenny Earnest says
Your cooking time says 20 mins., but you say to remove the chicken at 12 minutes. Do the rice and beans need longer to cook?
Tara Ziegmont says
No, it’s only 12 minutes in the Instant Pot for the whole thing. I said 20 minutes because it will take a bit to shred the chicken and get ready to serve the meal.