Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls

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These Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls are so delicious! They take a total of about thirty minutes to get on the table, and most of that is hands-off time. They’re full of flavor, and you can go ahead and scratch tortillas off your shopping list. Top’m off with some lettuce, cheese, chopped tomatoes and/or guacamole, and you’ve got yourself a home-run dinner tonight!

These Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls were one of the first recipes that made me understand the Instant Pot hype. I held off for a long time because, honestly, I’m a little stubborn about kitchen gadgets. I’ll always love good old-fashioned cooking with a pot, pan, and a little patience, but I have to admit: the Instant Pot is pretty wonderful when you need dinner to be more hands off.

Now, let me be clear. These burrito bowls are not exactly the same as my Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls, and they’re not meant to be. Those have separate layers of flavor from the cilantro lime rice, chipotle chicken, and beans. These Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls are more of an all-in-one, weeknight-friendly version. Still full of flavor, still super satisfying, just a whole lot easier on the dishes.

And listen, less dishes will always be a selling point for me.

This recipe has become one of those easy dinner lifesavers I come back to again and again. Everything cooks together in one pot, the chicken turns out tender, and you can pile on all your favorite toppings like lettuce, salsa, cheese, avocado, sour cream, or whatever else sounds good.

If build-your-own chicken bowls are your thing, you’ll also love my Chicken Fajita Bowl recipe with peppers, onions, black beans, rice, and lime crema.

Let’s get into the kitchen!

First, you’re gonna chop up a yellow onion and four cloves of garlic. Nothing you haven’t seen before, so I won’t add a photo. But some of you haven’t seen these little cans of Chipotle peppers in Adobo sauce, so here it is! You’ll need to chop up one of the peppers. Yer also gonna need one tablespoon of the sauce from the can. These peppers are sooo good, and the sauce that they’re in has a TON of flavor. I always keep a can or two of these babies in the pantry. You can easily find them at any grocery store in the Hispanic/International foods section. As far as brands go, there are a lot of different ones. I’ve tried most of’m, and they’re all pretty much the same thing. (*These do have a bit of a kick! So if you’re unsure of the spice level, slice open the pepper and scoop those seeds out before chopping it up.)

Tip: You will have some peppers and sauce left over. Just freeze’m right up in a small container or ziplock bag, and they’re good for up to 3 months!

Grab a couple pounds of fresh chicken breast, and cut it up into small pieces. Sprinkle it with kosher salt and pepper. *Just to be perfectly clear – this step calls for Kosher Salt, not regular table salt. If you only have table salt, it should work, but make sure you use approximately half the amount.

Turn on your Instant Pot, and set it to Sauté. Then add two teaspoons of olive oil, and the diced onions, garlic, and chipotle peppers.

Cook for a few minutes, until the onions are softened.

When the onions are softened, sprinkle in 2 teaspoons of cumin, 2 teaspoons of chili powder, and 1 teaspoon of oregano. Also, add in the tablespoon of the adobo sauce that’s in the can of chipotle peppers. Stir it all around, and let it cook for a couple of minutes.

After a couple’a minutes, pour in 1/2 cup’a chicken broth to deglaze the pot. (Deglazing is a fancy word for just getting all the lil’ bits that are stuck on the pan… unstuck.)

Throw in those chunks of diced chicken!

add in your can of drained black beans, 1 cup frozen corn, and 1-1/2 cup of salsaaaaa. Try to use a brand of salsa that you and your family enjoy, because everything in the pot is gonna take on a lot of that flavor!

Sprinkle long grain white rice on top, okay? Not minute/instant rice, the original, old-school kinda rice. Do not mix it in. I repeat- do not mix! The first two times I tested this recipe, I shoved the wooden spoon down in, and mixed it all together. And… Don’t.

Pour the remaining 1-1/4 cup’a chicken broth over the rice. If there are some little islands of rice sticking up above the broth, well, just gently press it down beneath the surface. Don’t mix it!

Use the manual setting, set to Pressure Cook HIGH for 10 minutes. Close and lock the lid. When the cooking time is complete, do a quick-release of pressure.

(NOTE: If you’re new to the Instant Pot, this Quick Release step can be a little intimidating. And I won’t lie – it can even be a little dangerous. After all, we’re releasing pressurized steam that’s heated to around 200 degrees F. I PROMISE that once you’ve done this a couple times, you’ll know exactly what to expect, and there’s nothing to it. But if it’s done in a very wrong way, there’s a very real possibility of getting serious burns. So I recommend you thoroughly read or review the official Instant Pot instructions for this quick release step. And it probably wouldn’t hurt to watch a couple YouTube videos of reputable cooks demonstrating how it’s done, properly and safely. Don’t be scared off by this step, because MANY Instant Pot recipes require a quick release. But in the kitchen, whether you’re cutting with a super-sharp knife, or using a food processor, or pouring boiling water through a strainer, the same applies for this Quick Release step: DON’T RUSH, and SAFETY FIRST!)

Nice. I know it ain’t too purdy, but your kitchen is gonna smell insanely good.

There we go! That’s a little more somethin’ to look at. The key to burrito bowls is toppings, because it wouldn’t taste burrito-y without’m. Add some fresh crunchy lettuce, a little cheese, tomato/pico de gallo, maybe even some avocado if you’re gettin’ crazy. Throw your perfect mix of goodies into the bowl, and you seriously have yourself a pretty dang good dinner, that you barely had to do anything for… which is amazing in itself! Gotta love that Instant Pot.

The best bite: a lil bit of it all… OH YEAH.

I hope you love these Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowls so very much!

If you happen to need an Instant Pot, click here for the same one I have!

If you make this recipe, I would love you to let me know how they went! Here in the comment section, or over on my Instagram or Facebook!

With love, from my kitchen to yours,

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