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Instant Pot Burrito Bowls are one of my favorite meal prep recipes to make, and this recipe could not be any easier! Use frozen chicken breasts, dry black beans, and uncooked rice for a budget-friendly, pressure cooked meal the whole family will enjoy.
I love a good chicken burrito bowl. Burrito bowls combine all the deliciousness of a burrito but in a convenient, customizable bowl that’s perfect for busy weeknights.
If you like to sound of this easy Instant Pot dinner, you’ll love this Instant Pot Pork Tenderloin, Philly Cheese Steak Pasta, or this recipe for Healthy Chicken and Rice.
Why I Love These Burrito Bowls
This Instant Pot Chicken Burrito Bowl recipe is excellent for the nights that I forget to thaw my chicken or soak my black beans. It’s such an easy recipe and can be customized to the whole family’s taste preference.
Enjoy!
– Becca
Ingredients in Chicken Burrito Bowls
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Frozen Chicken Breast: Chicken breast is a versatile source of protein that works great for this recipe. I use frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts for these burrito bowls.
- Brown Rice: This recipe won’t work with other kinds of rice – it specifically works with dry brown rice because of the longer cooking time.
- Black Beans: Because of their fiber content, black beans help to keep a healthy digestive tract. This recipe uses dry black beans.
- Chicken Broth: I love using homemade chicken broth. If using store bought chicken broth, be sure and get the low sodium chicken broth kind. You can always add salt after cooking is complete, if needed.
How to Make Chicken Burrito Bowls
Step 1: Place frozen chicken breasts (not stacked), uncooked rice, dry black beans, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, onion powder, chili powder, and chicken broth into the Instant Pot.
Close and lock the lid and turn the valve to sealing. Select Pressure Cook and set the cooking time for 25 minutes.
Step 2: When the cooking time is complete, quick release the pressure and remove the lid. For softer beans, let the pressure release naturally.
Remove the chicken from the pot and shred. You can use two forks to shred it by hand, or you can shred using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
Step 3: Add the shredded chicken back to the Instant Pot and stir well to mix evenly.
Step 4: Serve your finished burrito bowls warm and top with your favorite burrito additions such as: lettuce, sharp cheddar cheese, avocado, sour cream, fresh cilantro, or salsa.
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Recipe Tips
- This recipe uses frozen chicken breasts, dry brown rice, and dry black beans since they all have similar cooking times. I’ve tested it with canned beans and white rice before, and it just didn’t turn out the same—the textures were off and the timing was tricky.
- If you want softer beans, let the Instant Pot release pressure naturally after cooking instead of using the quick release.
- If you see a the infamous instant pot error codes burn notice on your Instant Pot, release the pressure, add more chicken broth, and make sure to separate your chicken breasts.
Chicken Burrito Bowl FAQs
These burrito bowls are considered healthy thanks to the lean, high-protein chicken, fiber-rich black beans, and nutritious brown rice. Of course, the overall healthfulness also depends on your portion size and the toppings you choose.
For a different taste to this recipe, use the seasonings from this Cilantro Lime Chicken Marinade recipe:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red peppers
1 tsp cayenne pepper
juice from one lime
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
Yes! Using frozen chicken in the Instant Pot is one of my favorite ways to cut down on actual time spent cooking and the amount of dishes used in my kitchen.
Healthy Eating Plans
21 Day Fix Containers
- For the entire recipe, minus toppings: 6 Red Containers, 6 Yellow Containers, and 2 Green Containers. I give you these counts so you can easily recalculate the containers if you change anything.
- For each serving: 1 Red Container, 1 Yellow Container, and 1/3 Green Container. Make sure to count any additional toppings you add.
Weight Watchers Points
3 2025 Plan Points
2B Mindset
This is a great lunch when you add 50% vegetables to your plate. This could be in the form of toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, or steamed vegetables.
If you tried this recipe for Instant Pot Burrito Bowl or any other recipe on my site please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
Instant Pot Burrito Bowl
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Equipment
- Instant Pot 6 qt
- Sealing Rings
Ingredients
- 1½ lbs chicken breast frozen
- ½ cups brown rice uncooked
- ½ cups black beans dry (not soaked)
- 15 oz diced tomatoes low sodium and no sugar added
- 2 tbsp garlic minced
- 2 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1½ cups chicken broth low sodium
Optional toppings for Burrito Bowls: Romaine lettuce, Cheddar cheese and Avocado, Salsa or pico de gallo.
Instructions
- Place frozen chicken, dry brown rice, dry black beans, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, onion powder, chili powder, and chicken stock into the Instant Pot. 1½ lbs chicken breast, ½ cups brown rice, ½ cups black beans, 15 oz diced tomatoes, 2 tbsp garlic, 2 tbsp ground cumin, 1 tbsp onion powder, 2 tbsp chili powder, 1½ cups chicken broth
- Close and lock the lid and turn the valve to sealing. Select Pressure Cook and set the cook time for 25 minutes.
- When the cook time is complete, quick release the pressure and remove the lid.
- Remove your chicken from the pot and shred. You can use two forks to shred it by hand, or use a hand or stand mixer.
- Add the shredded chicken back to the pot and stir well to evenly mix. Serve warm, with your favorite burrito toppings such as: lettuce, cheddar cheese, avocado, or salsa. For meal prep, place in individual serving containers and refrigerate or freeze until ready to eat.
Notes
Nutrition
Make This Recipe?
Make sure to follow on Pinterest @bludlum and on Instagram @beccaludlum
I’m wanting to make this tomorrow. I don’t have dry beans. Can reduce the liquid some and stir in canned beans at the end?
Katie, I’ve never done it this way but if I were to use canned beans this is what I’d do!
Did you try with canned beans just wondering how much liquid is reduce to?
I have not tried this with canned beans yet!
I used white canned beans. Let it sit a bit and they do absorb the extra liquid. This recipe is fantastic, and so easy!!!
This may be a silly question, does all of this work in a regular pressure cooker? I don’t have an Instant Pot….
Not silly!! Yes, it will definitely work in a regular pressure cooker!
My kids and husband are it. I added some salt , cilantro and freshly squeezed lime and used extra rice as my can of tomatoes was too big. My chicken did not shred so I sliced it. Probably because my ratios were off. The flavours were good though and it’s rare everyone in the house enjoys it. It’s a keeper.
Ate*
I’m sorry if this has been answered before, but I’m new to all this.
What does “4R, 3Y, 1P ” mean?
Don’t be sorry! It’s for those on the 21 Day Fix, a way to count your macros – 4 servings of protein, 3 servings of grains, and 1 serving of fruit :)
Ahhh, thank you.
Fantastic recipe that requires so little time!!! The only changes I made were to double the recipe, I used dried onions instead of onion powder, and I used a bit more garlic and chili powder than called for. When I took the chicken out, it looked a little soupy but as soon as I shredded the chicken (THANK YOU for the mixer idea–genius) and put it back in, it was perfect. I was upstairs when my husband started to eat it and I heard a very loud “OHHHHHHH” all the way upstairs. I would say that’s a 5 star rating. :)
Yay!! I love hearing recipe successes, especially when you “tweak” it a little!! Thanks for reporting back!
HI! I’m making this right now and your seasonings sound like a ton! Did you mean teaspoons instead of tablespoons?
Hi Anna,
No, I wrote the recipe as I made it but you’re welcome to pare them down to your liking!
Can you freeze portions of this? I am not sure how well rice will freeze and taste later.
I’d definitely give it a shot. Rice is pretty forgiving.
My kids hate beans, can I double the rice or just leave the beans out?
Hi Robin, I’m not sure as I’ve never made the recipe that way. I’d think you have to cook it for less time without beans–not sure about the rice time. I’d try it with double rice and see how it turns out. Then you’ll know if you have to add or subtract a minute or two next time you cook it :)
Update: I’ve made the recipe without the rice, and for some reason the beans didn’t cook all the way when I did that. I have no idea what made that happen, but it makes me hesitant to leave anything out!
Thank you so much! I will just try it with the double rice. I love to tell them to pick the beans out of stuff but they just won’t eat it; like the beans have cooties or something.
Have you ever tried chickpeas ? Would they eat them ? Trying it here now
I haven’t tried them :) Let me know how it turns out!
If you wanted to use ground beef instead of chicken, would you need to brown it first or put it in raw?
Hi there, sorry I missed this comment!
To be honest, changing that would change the recipe and since I haven’t made it with beef I’m hesitant to answer. I’d ask in the Instant Pot community on Facebook – they’re so helpful and someone might know about this!
I would brown it first.
What would the time be if I wanted to double his recipe? Thank you so much!
Hi Miranda! No time difference, doubling shouldn’t be a problem with the 25 minutes!
Thank you!!! It was sooooo yummy!!!
I don’t have any brown rice on hand right now, would dry white rice work as well or would the cook time be different? Thanks! I can’t wait to try this!
White rice cooks much faster and uses less liquid to cook. I wouldn’t sub with the same cooking times.
Hi!! I just doubled this recipe and kept the time the same. Turned out perfect!
Thank you SO much for reporting back about this!!
No time increase needed. It will take longer to come to pressure but the actual cook time will be the same.
Thanks Deb!!
I doubled the recipe and used the same time. Turned out great.