Chicken Burrito Bowl (Instant Pot)

Skip the takeout and make this Chicken Burrito Bowl at home for a fraction of the cost. It is loaded with chicken and all your favorite burrito fillings, and it’s way better than takeout. 

Suitable for gluten free diets. Post includes Weight Watchers points.

Chicken Burrito Bowl

This Chicken burrito bowl made in the Instant Pot is filling, full of flavor, and so easy to make. The chicken is perfectly seasoned with a mix of spices that will give you that smoky, Mexican flavor that tastes so good.

Burrito bowls are easily customizable using leftovers, so it’s the kind of meal that will please everyone in your family. Just scoop rice and chicken into a bowl and let everyone add their favorite toppings.

And you can mix and match the toppings based on what’s already available in your pantry, making this a budget-friendly meal. Serving it over rice means you can stretch it further and feed more people. You can also have some for lunch and dinner later in the week.

And it is just as easy as this Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta and Easy Grilled Fajita Chicken in Foil Packets served with Melon Agua Fresca..

Why Make This Recipe

• Super Easy – This chicken is juicy and flavorful, and cooks for only a few minutes in the Instant Pot.  
• Customizable – Start with rice and chicken, and let everyone add their toppings for a customized chicken burrito bowl.
• Budget-friendly – Select toppings from what you have on hand in your pantry or use leftover toppings from taco night or other meals.  

What’s Needed

With a few simple pantry ingredients, you can have a tasty, kid-approved chicken dinner.

• Chicken breast – I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
• Chicken stock – use store-bought or homemade chicken stock. You can use vegetable stock instead.
• Seasoning – this calls for cumin, paprika, oregano, chili powder, garlic powder, and salt. Feel free to vary the amount you use to your taste. For ease, you could use a spice blend like taco seasoning. Alternatively, use basil, thyme, and rosemary and serve the chicken over pasta. 
• Veggies – bell peppers and onion. Make sure to cut the peppers and onion bigger than you normally would so they hold their shape.
• Liquid – olive oil for frying, and citrus for extra flavor.
• Bowl ingredients – This is great for using up leftovers. Use any or all of these: rice, black beans, pinto beans, black eyed beans or refried beans, avocado or guacamole, fresh tomato or salsa, sweet corn kernels, chopped cilantro (coriander), and sour cream.

How To Make This

Get all your ingredients out and let’s have dinner on the table soon. Get the full ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.

1. Combine olive oil and spices in a bowl. Add in the chicken and toss to combine.
2. Using the sauté function on the Instant Pot, brown the chicken on both sides before adding lime juice and water. Then scrape the bottom of the insert to remove any stuck-on bits. 
3. Chop the onions and pepper and add them on top of the chicken.
4. Cover and seal the Instant Pot and cook at high pressure for 5 minutes. Once done, allow for a natural pressure release of 8 minutes, then perform a quick pressure release to remove any remaining steam. 
5. Open the lid and shred the chicken using two forks. Transfer the chicken, onions, and peppers onto a baking sheet and broil for 4-5 minutes.
6. Assemble the chicken burrito rice bowl, serve, and enjoy. 

Note: The cooking instructions do not account for the time it takes for the Instant Pot to come up to pressure. 

Bintu’s Tips And Variations

• For even more flavor, allow the chicken to marinate in the olive oil and seasoning mixture for 30 minutes or overnight before cooking. 
• Scrape the bottom of the insert well when you add the water. This will prevent getting the BURN error on the IP. 
• Rice is a frugal way to add bulk to a meal. You can easily stretch two chicken breasts to feed 4-6 people or two people with leftovers by adding plenty of rice. 
• Cook once, eat twice! Double the recipe and use the leftovers to make tacos or enchiladas.
• Toss all of the leftovers into a stockpot and add water or chicken broth to cover. Simmer until warm and stir in some shredded cheese. Serve in bowls sprinkled with broken tortilla chips for a bit of crunch. 
• Spoon leftovers over a bed of tortilla chips and sprinkle with shredded cheese—Bake in a 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C oven until the cheese melts. 

Storage

This chicken burrito bowl recipe is a great prep-ahead recipe.

• Prep Ahead – Make the chicken ahead of time and reheat when ready to make the burrito bowls. You can prep the chicken early in the week and use it in meals all week long.
• Refrigerate – Store cooked chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 
• Freeze – Cooked chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. 
• Reheat – Heat on medium power (50–70%) for 30 seconds at a time, stirring or flipping between intervals.

Weight Watchers Points

There are 2 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.

More Recipes You Might Like

• Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Pasta.
• Grilled Fajita Chicken in Foil Packets.
• Dump And Start Instant Pot Chicken Spaghetti.
• Dump And Start Instant Pot Chicken Stew.
• Check out the full list of Instant Pot Recipes.
• Melon Agua Fresca.

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Get The Chicken Burrito Bowl Recipe:

Chicken Burrito Bowl (Instant Pot)

Grab your burrito ingredients for a quick, healthy, and budget friendly meal.

5 from 6 votes

Print Pin Rate Save RecipeSaved!

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 193kcal

Author: Bintu Hardy | Budget Delicious

Equipment

Instant Pot 8QT

Instant Pot Accessories

Cups And Spoons

Ingredients

For the Burrito Chicken

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1-2 teaspoons chili powder to taste
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts
• ⅔ cup (160ml) chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 sweet onion peeled and sliced
• 2 bell pepper deseeded and sliced

Bowl ingredients

• Rice
• Black or Refried Beans
• Avocado or Guacamole
• Fresh Tomatoes or Salsa
• Sweet Corn Kernels
• Chopped Cilantro coriander
• Sour Cream

Instructions

• In a small bowl mix together the ground cumin, ground paprika, dried oregano, chili powder and garlic powder and coat both sides of the chicken breast
• Select the sauté setting of the Instant Pot, add oil into the instant pot insert and when hot brown the chicken on both sides (about 2 minutes on either side).
• Then add in the water and lime juice and deglaze the pot.
• Add the onion, bell peppers and garlic on top of the chicken.
• Cover your Instant Pot and set the valve to the sealing position, select pressure cook or manual (based upon the model of your IP model), set to high pressure for 5 minutes.
• Let the steam release naturally for about 8 minutes (10 minutes for if the chicken breasts are thick) then quickly release the remaining pressure.
• Remove the chicken from the Instant pot and shred it.
• Transfer shredded chicken and peppers to a baking sheet and broil on High for 4-5 minutes.
• Assemble your bowls with rice, beans, tomatoes, sweet corn, avocado, sour cream, cilantro and shredded chicken.

Notes

• For even more flavor, allow the chicken to marinate in the olive oil and seasoning mixture for 30 minutes or overnight before cooking. 
• Scrape the bottom of the insert well when you add the water. This will prevent getting the BURN error on the IP. 
• Rice is a frugal way to add bulk to a meal. You can easily stretch two chicken breasts to feed 4-6 people or two people with leftovers by adding plenty of rice. 
• Cook once, eat twice! Double the recipe and use the leftovers to make tacos or enchiladas.
• Toss all of the leftovers into a stockpot and add water or chicken broth to cover. Simmer until warm and stir in some shredded cheese. Serve in bowls sprinkled with broken tortilla chips for a bit of crunch. 
• Spoon leftovers over a bed of tortilla chips and sprinkle with shredded cheese—Bake in a 350 degrees F / 180 degrees C oven until the cheese melts. 
• There are 2 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
• Storage – Store cooked chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. 

Nutrition

Calories: 193kcal | Carbohydrates: 13g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 37mg | Sodium: 143mg | Potassium: 531mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 2298IU | Vitamin C: 81mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 2mg