These burrito bowls cook under pressure for only ten minutes. The result is a one-bowl meal that’s loaded with flavor!
The Chicken
One of my favorite things about using an electric pressure cooker is that it gives me the ability to make a “one bowl” meal in minutes. Take these burrito bowls. Combine chicken, black beans, rice, and salsa with some sautéed onions and garlic, and, after ten minutes under pressure, you’ve got yourself a tasty meal.
So little work! So much reward!
When using a pressure cooker, I often use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of boneless chicken breasts. The meat always cooks up moist and flavorful. Where, in my experience, the chicken breasts sometimes come out rubbery.
To make life easier, buy a package of boneless, skinless thighs. They’re sometimes labeled, “Thigh Filets”. Then cut the chicken into bite-size pieces, about one to two inches each. (update: see note below about chicken breasts)
The Black Beans
Next up: Black Beans. In my opinion, black beans are the BEST beans. I love ’em so.very.much. Use low sodium or no salt added black beans. If you don’t like black beans, replace them with pinto beans.
The Rice
For these bowls, I like plain, ‘ol long grain white rice. You could use any white rice that you have in the house. Just don’t replace the white rice with brown rice. The cooking time for brown rice, even in a pressure cooker, is vastly different.
The Chili Powder
Do you love chili powder? I LOVE chili powder! Since it’s a spice blend (usually containing dried chili powder, cumin, garlic), the flavor varies from brand to brand. I use Penzey’s Regular Chili Powder. It doesn’t add much heat but it adds a nice kick of flavor.
If you want to add some heat, use Penzey’s medium or hot chili powder.
The Salsa
Confession time: There are two types of salsa in my kitchen: cooking salsa and all the other salsas.
The collection of salsa that I use for chips and as a topping on foods salsa is REALLY spicy and flavorful. It would take over a dish in 0.02 seconds flat. So I tend not to cook with it.
For cooking, I want something that adds flavor but doesn’t overpower the dish.
Enter: Chi-Chi’s Medium Thick and Chunky salsa. Yes. I said Chi-Chi’s. No, that’s not a typo.
This salsa works really well in dishes like this one. It’s a simple blend of tomatoes, peppers, onions, and garlic. That’s it. And that’s all I want from it.
If you have another salsa that you love and enjoy cooking with, use it! (And then let us know in the comments what you used. The salsa affects the flavor. If you find something amazing, share the love!)
The Chicken Stock
Two cups or one can of chicken stock helps build and maintain the pressure needed for the pressure cooker to seal. Don’t skip this ingredient.
To keep the amount of salt in check, I always use a low sodium or unsalted chicken broth. Two really good ones are Trader Joe’s and Kitchen Basics Unsalted Chicken Stock
Topping it: Cilantro and Cheddar Cheese
As soon as you open the lid of the pressure cooker, this dinner is ready to eat. You don’t need to top it with anything. But what fun would that be?
A sprinkle of Cheddar cheese and, if you don’t hate it, cilantro finishes the burrito bowls nicely. If I have some sour cream hanging out in my fridge, a dollop always seems to find it’s way into my bowl. And my husband always adds some pickled jalapeños and a spoonful of hot salsa to his bowl. So dress it up–or not–as much as you’d like.
Lunches or Leftovers
Consider making a batch of these burrito bowls and dividing it into four or five containers for a week’s worth of easy lunches. To heat, add about a half teaspoon of water. Cover with a microwave cover/steamer and heat for a minute or so. (Reheat time varies based on your microwave.)
If you have a small portion leftover and want to get another meal out of it, cook up an egg, and plunk it onto the hot rice. This makes such a delicious dinner!
UPDATE: Chicken Breasts
Lots of folks have wondered if chicken breasts can be used in this recipe. Absolutely! Simply swap the chicken thighs for boneless breasts. You don’t need to adjust the cooking time.
Pressure Cooker Chicken, Black Bean, and Rice Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1 clove garlic minced or put through a garlic press
- 1 teaspoon chili powder (I used Penzey's Regular Chili Powder)
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed (preferably low or no salt added)
- 1 cup long grain white rice uncooked
- 1 cup salsa (I used Chi-Chi's Thick and Chunky Medium Salsa)
- 2 cups OR 1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth (preferably low or no sodium)
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro for serving, optional
- 1/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese for serving, optional
Instructions
-
Set electric pressure cooker to the saute setting. Heat olive oil until it shimmers but doesn't smoke. Add the onion and cook until soft, about two minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional minute. Add chili powder and salt. Stir to combine. Add the chicken, black beans, rice, and salsa. Stir. Pour chicken broth over the mixture.
-
Lock the lid in place. Set a 10-minute cook time on high pressure.
-
Once the cook time completes, quickly release the pressure.
-
Open the lid away from your face. Stir with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula.
-
Serve with chopped cilantro and grated cheddar.
Lynda S says
That looks sooo good!
Elizabeth says
Thanks so much!
Adrienne says
I’m not a fan of dark meat 🙁 I really want to
Use chicken breast for this recipe but now I’m terrified it will be rubbery!!
Elizabeth says
Oh, don’t be terrified! It’ll be fine! Lots of folks make the recipe with chicken breasts and it comes out great. 🙂 If that’s your preferred chicken cut, use it. And enjoy!
Gina says
I don’t think it will be rubbery in the pressure cooker, it’ll be great!!!
Joan says
Don’ use the breasts…. use the thighs. It will be great.
Victoria says
I did and it was fantastic!!!!
IMPORTANT: Cook only 7 minutes. Then I think I did natural release 3 minutes or so then quick release. It was fabulous.
**I also added some cumin and a small can of drained corn to the recipe as well which I loved.
Jean Brelsford says
I used boneless chicken brews and it came out great!
Jean Brelsford says
Breasts*
Kathleen says
Place everything straight in the pot? Not in the rack?
Elizabeth says
Yes. Right in the pot; not on the rack.
Vinnie Haney says
don’t you brown the chicken 1st ???????
Elizabeth says
Nope!
April says
So I have a 8 quart instant pot. If I wanted to double or even triple this recipe, how much would I have to increase the cook time? Or would I?
I made it tonight just as the recipe reads and it was great. I’d like to make it for a larger crowd.
Elizabeth says
Many folks have doubled the recipe without increasing the cooking time. I think you’d be fine!
Christina says
Did you ever double it? How did it turn out? I’d like to double as well but curious if you really double all ingredients.
Sara says
I just doubled it – some of the rice didn’t cook properly, so it has some crunchy spots but otherwise came out great!
Shelley says
Did you double the recipe in a 6 quart? Was it too full or ok?
Judy says
Shelley – were you able to double in a 6qt?
Carol says
Sure would like to know how to make this with a wild rice blend since that’s what I always have in my pantry. Ideas???
Thx for the fun recipe!!!
Elizabeth says
Wild rice doesn’t replace 1:1 with white rice. I’m sorry but I don’t have an easy swap for that one.
Ana says
Not sure how to comment individually but I made with Jack’s Special salsa Mild and it came out amazing!!!!
Elizabeth says
Glad you liked it!
Sally @ Real Mom Nutrition says
10 minutes! Pressure cookers sound amazing–haven’t bit the bullet and purchased one yet, but people who have them seem to love them.
Elizabeth says
I resisted getting one forEVER. It was love at first use and now I started a second site because of it! 🙂
Angie says
10 minutes is the actually coming time after the pot has pressurized. So it’s more like 20 minutes total. However, I love the fact that you set it and walk away. Bonus, you only wash 1 pot 🙂
Angie says
*cooking
Sarah says
Yes, agreed. But – I set it and then proceeded to clear everything up and load the dishwasher while I waited for it to finish!
Joan says
Buy it!!!
Lisa says
I bought an off brand and I don’t care for mine. If you get a pressure cooker make sure its Insta pot or nuwave instant pot. That’s a better brand. Good luck.
Fred says
I bought a good, old-fashioned Presto 8qt (p.n. 01370) stainless steel pressure cooker that sits on a burner. It costs much less, heats faster (due to the stove’s higher wattage element), achieves a higher pressure (somewhat shorter cooking times), is easy to clean, and it has no electronics to fail.
I already had a slow cooker (Crock Pot), so I didn’t need something that duplicated that capability. Others who have neither a pressure cooker nor a slow cooker might find that a combo device like the Instant Pot better suits their needs.
Diane Williams says
I love meals like this one. I haven’t used a pressure cooker for making meals. I used to can in one though. Somehow I think they are not exactly the same thing. Time to get investigating so I can make delicious recipes like this one in 10 minutes! That just sounds great.
Elizabeth says
If you’ve pressure canned, you can totally pressure cook. 🙂 I think a pressure canner is harder to use. As you can guess, I’m totally in love with my pressure cooker.
Debbie says
Some people are disappointed when they realize that 10 minutes is not really ten minutes. I adore my Instant Pot (I have two) and use it every week. That said, the IP/pressure cooker needs time to come to full pressure and then the 10 minutes start. I made that mistake and now add at least 20 minutes to the front end and 10 – 15 minutes to the back end if a natural pressure release is called for in the recipe.
Elizabeth says
Debbie
Yes! You are totally correct. After 30 minutes, however, Diane’s pot should have been done. It sounds like something went wrong with the heating or sealing.
Connie says
It does take time to pressurize but I use that time cleaning or doing other things because there is no need to babysit the pot. I love my pressure cooker
Dottie says
That’s exactly what I do too!! Love the time to be able to clean up 🙂
Julie says
Stupid question, but how do you know when it pressurized?
Elizabeth says
It depends on your pressure cooker. It’s usually when the pressure valve lifts into place and steam stops coming from the machine. Here’s how to know if you’re using an Instant Pot. https://cookfasteatwell.com/instant-pot-setup/
Tammie says
A easy way to tell is numbers pop up on your screen, not just ON. It may be a minute after the pressure valve has popped up. Then it counts down minutes until time chosen has completed.
Megan @ MegUnprocessed says
Such a flavorful recipe!
Elizabeth says
It’s one of my favorites! 🙂
Lane & Holly @ With Two Spoons says
This is such an awesome site! I am a member of a professional group of 60,000+ members, and we are IP addicted-I shared your site there! Excited to see what is coming next!
Elizabeth says
Oh! Thank you SO MUCH! That means a lot to me! ❤️
Michele says
10 minutes? Now I have to get a pressure cooker! Seriously? I would love 10 minute meals! Are many meals with a pressure cooker under 30 minutes?
Elizabeth says
Hi Michele!
Yes! Many MANY meals cook in 10 minutes or under in a pressure cooker. The thing to remember is that it takes a bit for a pressure cooker to build pressure. So, 10 Minutes “at pressure” might take 15- 20 minutes total. I hope this helps!
Nellie says
I still have never tried using a pressure cooker, but now I feel like I need to get one!
Nellie says
I still haven’t tried using a pressure cooker but now I really want one!
Elizabeth says
I think you’d love one!
Ashley says
This recipe was amazingly easy to follow and prepare! It made enough to have dinner that night and lunches for myself all week. This dish is full of delicious flavor and even the picky boyfriend (who hates rice might I add) loved it! I’ll be adding this to my weekly meal prep.
Elizabeth says
Woo-HOO! Glad you–and the rice-hating boyfriend– liked it!
Maile says
Do you add uncooked rice or cooked rice?
Elizabeth says
Uncooked rice. 🙂
Shane says
What if I have Frozen chicken to work with, do I still cook it the same time?
Elizabeth says
Shane,
You’d have to increase the cooking time by about three minutes. Also, frozen chicken will take a little longer to come to pressure.
Enjoy!
Julie Berry says
Can this recipe be doubled in the pressure cooker?
Elizabeth says
Depending on the size of your pressure cooker, it should work!
lana says
Is there any way to convert this recipe and use brown rice instead?
Elizabeth says
No. I’m sorry. As mentioned in the piece, brown rice won’t work for this one.
William says
How about cooking the brown rice separately, reducing the chicken stock and serving over the rice? The recipe does work as is but we thought it lacked flavor and perhaps leaving the rice out would keep the flavor from being diluted by rice and stock.
Elizabeth says
Hi William. This recipe doesn’t call for brown rice. If you used it, I’m sure it would have affected the flavor. If you used white rice and found it lacking, I’d suggest using a different brand of salsa since that brings most of the flavor to the dish.
I hope this helps!
Kozzette Bennett says
Just to throw this out in case anyone is interested in making this with brown rice. I followed the recipe, but used 1 cup uncooked brown rice and 1 1/4 cup chicken stock. I cooked this for 20 minutes (brown rice takes longer to cook) and it was absolutely perfect! This will be my new go to recipe for food prep!
Elizabeth says
So glad you enjoyed it–I need to try it with brown rice.
Debbie says
I used brown rice I had already prepared earlier in my PC. I just warmed it up in the microwave and mixed it in.
Elizabeth says
Great idea!
Megan says
Did you need to reduce the amount of chicken broth?
Tammie says
I think you might could precook brown rice 5 minutes and dump the rest in. I use brown rice often and usually just cook everything 5-7 minutes longer. It’s seldom that I overcook much, but veggies need to be chunky.
Kristen says
I didn’t thaw my chicken, totally forgot! Ok to throw it in frozen and not cut up?
Elizabeth says
Yes! That’s fine. However, you will need to increase your cooking time. I’d start with 15 minutes. My only worry is that the rice might be mushy after 15 minutes. You could try adding all the ingredients except the rice. Cook for five minutes, quick release pressure, add the rice, and then cook for 10 minutes under pressure.
Nancy travers says
It will also take longer to come to pressure…
Elizabeth says
Yes. Frozen foods take longer to reach pressure than thawed. However, that will not affect the actual cook time.
Amanda says
I have a stovetop pressure cooker. Is the cooking time the same? Thanks!
Elizabeth says
Stovetop pressure cookers work at a higher PSI than electric. I’d reduce the cook time by two minutes or so. Enjoy!
Katie says
Oh my. This was awesome! Crowd pleaser. Made exactly as written. Used boneless skinless thighs as suggested and the meat was tender and moist.
Elizabeth says
I love boneless, skinless thighs in the Instant Pot. Glad you liked them!
Bella says
I am new to Instant Pot. I used manual setting at high pressure for 10 minutes since a setting wasn’t specified but this was definitely not right. Rice and chicken not cooked at all. So I set IP again and used Bean/Chili button for 10 minutes and rice seemed mushy but chicken was cooked this time. Just curious if you know about IP, is the Bean/Chili the right setting for future? Still 10 min? Thanks. It was very yummy either way! 🙂
Elizabeth says
Hi Bella,
The recipe indicates high pressure. If the rice and chicken weren’t cooked after ten minutes, I’m guessing that the pot didn’t reach full pressure. Did the pressure valve lift into place and did the countdown begin?
Diane says
I’m also new at this and very confused. Its set on manual but after 30 minutes I can’t tell if the pot is even heating up. Any hints?
Elizabeth says
Hi Diane,
It should not take 30 minutes to come to pressure. Was the valve in the sealing position?
This post walks you through how to setup the machine. https://cookfasteatwell.com/instant-pot-setup/
I hope it helps!
Robin says
I made this for dinner tonight. Soooooo yummy! I only had bone-in thighs, they worked great as well. I just shredded the meat after cooking and tossed it back in the pot. Thanks for sharing!
Elizabeth says
Glad you liked it!
Angie says
With my Power Pressure Cooker XL. Do I use the meat setting or the rice setting?
Elizabeth says
@Angie I haven’t cooked with a Power Pressure Cooker XL but I have done some research on the cooker. They don’t seem to have a manual setting. I think you want the “soup” setting, which has a 10 minute cook time. The meat setting has a 15 minute cook time, I think this would be too long, and the rice setting only cooks for 6 minutes, which might be too short.
Also, note that the Power Pressure Cooker doesn’t have a saute function. So you won’t be able to cook the onions and garlic in the pot.
If you use this to make the burrito bowls, let me know how it goes!
Dawn says
While the PPC XL doesn’t have an actual sauté setting, when you press the rice or say meat button with the lid off while the light is circling, this is where you would add your oil wait a few minutes then sauté! Once that’s done you can follow the rest of directions put on lid and then it will build pressure and start time time countdown. I just got one and read about this. I cooked 2 meals today that I wanted to sauté first, worked perfectly! Just FYI ?
Dawn says
Annnnd I can’t wait to try this recipe, thanks for posting!
Elizabeth says
Awesome! Thanks for letting me know. I appreciate it!
Juli says
Thanks so much for this delicious recipe. I received our IP for Christmas and this was the very FIRST thing I made! We had it for dinner this evening; I made it exactly as written, and it turned out perfect! I served it with the cilantro and cheese with a salad as a side dish. I have to admit, I was keeping fingers crossed; even after reading your pressure cooking instructions I felt like I was winging it. The manual that comes with the IP is SO poorly written! I must have learned more than I thought from your IP lesson, because everything worked flawlessly. I have a kitchen full of gadgets and appliances, but I can see my IP taking the place of so many (e.g. slow cooker). Please share more of your delicious recipes for the IP, and thank you for helping those of us who are “instruction challenged.”
Caren says
I also made this as my first IP dinner, wow it is sooooo good!! I added some frozen corn and really liked it. I was hoping for some leftovers for lunch this week but nope, it’s all gone!!
Elizabeth says
Ha! I love/hate it when there are no leftovers. It’s great because it meant the family loved the dish. And I hate it because…no leftovers! ?
HE says
This sounds delicious! I just got my IP yesterday and want to make it today. Could I use boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs?
Elizabeth says
Chicken breasts tend to get really rubbery when cooked under pressure. If you give it a try just be aware that the texture and flavor might be a little off.
Enjoy!
Emilie says
How long would you recommend doing this for with boneless skinless chicken breasts? Thanks! 🙂
Elizabeth says
Same cooking time for chicken breasts! Enjoy!
Marina says
Thanks for this recipe. I only had 4 chicken thighs ,not 1.5 lbs, and 1/2 of 15-oz can of black beans. So during saute’ I added a stalk of chopped celery and a chopped medium carrot along with large chunks of 1 large roma tomato. I used the rice and liquid measurements as given and it turned out great, just more rice and veggies than chicken.
Elizabeth says
Love how you adapted the recipe! Sounds great!
Angie says
Will this work with yellow rice?
Mary says
How can I adapt these “electric pressure cooker” and “Instant Pot” recipes for my traditional six-quart pressure cooker (which involves putting water in the bottom of the cooker and bringing the pressure up to a point at which the regulator on top jiggles)?
I really would appreciate assistance here because these recipes sound really good.
Elizabeth says
Mary,
Reduce the cooking time by 10 to 15%. I’ve found that for recipes under 30 minutes, I don’t adjust at all. Hope this helps!
Brooke says
FYI – just read an American Test Kitchen report that found Chi-Chi’s salsa to be the top grocery store salsa brand.
Elizabeth says
No way! It’s not a fancy-pants salsa but I think it does a really good job in recipes. For chips, I’m LOVING Fontera chipotle salsa. It has a kick!
C says
Which Trader Joe’s salsa would work with this recipe? Can’t wait to try it!
Elizabeth says
Absolutely! Changing the salsa changes the flavor. So if you like the salsa, it will work. One reader told me that she tried it with a thin salsa verde. She said it made the dish a little too wet for her liking but other than that it was fine. Enjoy!
Jo says
Has anyone froze this meal and reheated in the microwave? Just wondering if that would affect the rice? (Make it mushy). Looking for some meals to freeze. (Single here and it’s nice to freeze/reheat leftovers)
Elizabeth says
It should freeze very well. I’d chill it overnight in the fridge before freezing. This way, you know it’s cool and no steam will get trapped when you freeze it.
Jo says
Thank you! I appreciate your input!
Jessica says
Any suggestions on how to modify it without the rice? It looks so yummy! I know my 2 year old will love it. He loves black beans!
Elizabeth says
Oh! Good question. I’m actually working on a riceless version. I’d try it with just the chicken, beans, and salsa. And maybe a 1/2 cup stock (so that the IP can reach pressure). If you get my newsletter, I’ll send out a recipe for the version without rice soon.
Tiffany Schlag says
Could I replace the salsa with Hot Rotel?
Elizabeth says
Hi Tiffany!
The only time I’ve used Rotel is for the velveeta cheese dip. So I can’t remember 100% what it tasted like. If it’s salsa-like in taste and consistency, it should be fine! Let me know how it goes.
Hilary says
I stirred the ingredients like you said to and now the rice keeps stocking to the bottom and burning. What did you do to prevent that? It won’t pressurize with anything being burned to the bottom.
Elizabeth says
I’m sorry it burned on you. You add the chicken, black beans, rice, and salsa and then the chicken stock. So the rice isn’t in there for more than a few seconds before you add the broth. It shouldn’t burn on you.
Perhaps turn off the saute setting first? That might help!
Rebecca says
Yes try turning off sauté after done with the onion n garlic. That should help!
Fernando says
I also had an issue with it burning today. I added all the ingredients after the saute was done, then stirred them, turned off the saute setting, waited about 10 seconds, set it to manual/high pressure, put the lid on, and secured it. I got the BURN message right as the display showed “10” to begin cooking. I had a huge mess of burned rice at the bottom 🙁
I have the 6 quart model so maybe I need more liquid. Next time I’ll try it with 3 cups of stock and 1.5 cups of rice.
Elizabeth says
Sorry to hear about this! Was your saute setting on regular or high?
Grace says
Can you use frozen chicken with this recipe?
Elizabeth says
Grace–
Yes! When you do this, increase the cooking time by two minutes. Some folks also reduce the broth by about a 1/2 cup. This really depends on your chicken.
Enjoy!
Cindy says
Yummo!!! Made this for lunch today and loved it. Thru in some left over corn and a little hot sauce. If you use frozen chicken (which I did) just cut back about a half a cup on the broth.
Elizabeth says
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know!
Janelle says
Your recipe calls for canned beans, however, will it work with dry beans? Would the beans need to be spake ahead of time? Thank you.
Elizabeth says
Janelle–
I wouldn’t make this with dried beans as the beans require different cooking time and more liquid. If you want to use dried beans, perhaps make them ahead and then use?
Janelle says
I meant soaked, not spake.
Rebecca says
Made this tonight. Works out perfect. Lots of flavor. I add extra garlic and used Newman own salsa. I also top with dollop of sour cream. Weight watchers this recipe is 10pts/serv.
Rebecca says
Oh I also added corn. Yummy.
Elizabeth says
Yummmm! I love the additions!
Kathy says
If I choose not to use salsa, should I adjust the amount of chicken stock? Thank you!
Elizabeth says
Kathy–
That’s a great question. I don’t know how this would work without the salsa. Yes, you could increase the broth by a 1/2 cup or so but I’m worried about the flavor. Much of the flavor for this dish comes from the salsa. Without it, I’m not 100% sure how it would taste. I’d increase the chili powder if you want to omit the seasoning.
If you want a meal that’s tomato-free–and as easy as this one–try my curry chicken.
I hope this helped!
Shona says
Hi, I am new to instant pot and made this. Loved it with the exception of my rice was extremely mushy m. Does the type of rice matter, I used basmati…I also increased cooking time to 15 because I was making a larger batch so I could freeze some of it..,thanks!
Elizabeth says
I think the increased cooking time might have made for mushy rice. The size of the batch shouldn’t affect the cooking time in a pressure cooker. 15 minutes for rice and chicken is a bit long.
Hope this helps! 🙂
Holly says
Is it 1 standard cup of uncooked rice, or is it 1 cup using the rice measuring cup that comes with the pressure cooker?
Elizabeth says
1 standard cup of rice. 🙂
Jennifer Eates says
I made this tonight and it was delicious! Adding some sour cream as topping. Yum!
Jenn C says
I needed to get something quick done for Taco Tuesday & this recipe was a hit even with my picky kids. We used 1lb diced chicken breast that we rubbed with taco seasoning then I sauteed with the onions & garlic. We used minute rice, Pace salsa & I cut the broth down to 1/2 c. & Cooked for 8min with a quick release. Delicious! This is definitely going into our Taco Tuesday rotation. Thank you for the wonderful recipe.
Elizabeth says
So glad it worked! Enjoy on Taco Tuesdays! 🙂
Tawnia says
I have bone in thighs. Do you have advice if this recipe would work with the bone in option? I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ll buy boneless if necessary, but would like to use whats on hand. 🙂
Elizabeth says
Tawnia–
Yes! I think bone-in thighs would work great! I’d cook it for 12 minutes and then do a natural release. Remove the chicken thighs from the pot. Cut the meal from the bone and serve. If you feel like it, I’d pull off the skin before cooking so the rice doesn’t get greasy.
Enjoy!
Cyn says
What is a Natural Release? Fairly new to cooking with an electric pressure cooker / Mine is not an IP – does that make a difference in time?
Elizabeth says
It should not make a difference in time. Natural release is when you let the pot release pressure on its own after the cooking has completed. You don’t turn a valve to quickly release the steam. A full natural release can take up to 20 minutes.
GMac says
Excellent!!! Everyone loved it! I used partially frozen chicken breasts cut into 2″ pieces. Jalapeno’s are a nice touch.
Thank you for a super tasty and easy recipe.
Elizabeth says
Glad you liked it!
Danielle Lehman says
I made this and it turned out pretty great, but the rice was mushy. I used jasmine rice and otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I did use Trader Joe’s chunky salsa, so maybe it was too runny? I have the Breville pressure cooker (not an instant pot) so I set to 12.0 PSI. Maybe the pressure was too high? Would love any ideas you have because it was SO easy and I’d love to make it again.
Elizabeth says
Danielle,
The rice comes out very soft but it shouldn’t be mushy. Perhaps it was either the jasmine rice or the salsa. If you try it again, I’d use a thick salsa.
The PSI sounds perfect!
Leah says
That happened to me as well. I used Basmati rice and thought maybe needed to switch to regular white rice. However, my salsa was a bit runnier. Do you think I could just cook a few minutes shorter? Worried the chicken wouldn’t cook or maybe just cut up a tad smaller. The salsa I used gave it a great flavor but I could sub that too. Will keep working because it was super easy and very tasty!!
Joan says
Danielle,
I make something similar to this and I usually just drain my Rotel or salsa first.
This sounds delicious, I’ll be making it soon.
Kim says
Thanks! I added a teaspoon of cumin to mine and used chicken breast. It’s really good!
Elizabeth says
Sounds great!
Stacey says
Super delicious! The whole family loved it!
Tricia says
I love this recipe but I currently have a ton of leftover chicken to use up. If I omitted the chicken how much would it have to adjust the liquid to make it work?
Elizabeth says
If you omit the chicken, the amount of liquid would remain the same.
Stephanie says
I’m wanting to make this tonight. New to the Instant Pot and new to venturing out on different kids of rices. SO, that being said, does it matter if the long grain rice is instant such as Minute Rice or if its a longer cook rice? Thanks for sharing the recipe! Excited to try it.
Elizabeth says
Not minute rice. Just traditional long grain white rice.
Stephanie says
Can this be done with ground beef?!
Elizabeth says
Oooh. Good idea. I need to try that. I’ll let you know when I have answer.
M ONSTEAD says
Made this tonight and it’s a keeper! My partner really loved it, which is great because she will be taking leftovers to work for lunch tomorrow. I’m watching my carbs and was thinking about making it w/o the rice and making cauliflower rice in a separate pan. Then I got to thinking about the broth…thinking it was mostly there for the rice. I wasn’t brave enough to omit it or at least, omit most of it, so went ahead and cooked this with the rice. I read a post where you were going to play around with how much stock to use if omitting rice and was wondering if you have had a chance to do that yet? I’d like to do be able to do this w/o rice sometimes.
I used 1 lb breasts and 1/2 lb thighs. worked just great. I buy pasture raised chicken when it’s on sale and pre-cube come of it to freeze in 1/2 lb and 1 lb portions. Makes it easy when a recipe calls for cubed chicken. Because I didn’t thaw the chicken or broth beforehand, I added 2 minutes to the cooking time and it was perfect (although the rice may have been a tad mushier than if I’d cooked it for 10 min). Living in TX…there is no Chi Chis Salsa…so I used my favorite – Pace Thick n Chunky salsa. Perhaps I can find some Chi Chis when I travel…would love to give it a whirl.
This one is going into my “go to” recipe file…especially like that we almost always have the ingredients on hand.
Judi R says
We have enjoyed this a couple of times. Today, I need to double the recipe. Will it all fit in my IP or should I make it twice? I’m cooking for a large family from school.
Elizabeth says
Doubling the recipe should be fine as long as the ingredients don’t fill more than 1/2 of the insert. Enjoy!
Brianne says
I made this for dinner this week and the meal was easy to throw together and tasted delicious! The leftovers for lunch were even better. I did run into a little snag where my Instant Pot read the OVHT (overheat) error message because food was burning and sticking to the bottom. I had to scrape the bottom well to remove the food and power through. I think this may have happened because I stirred everything before I sealed the Pot. Any thoughts or advice? When you make this dish, do you just leave the rice on top of chicken?
Elizabeth says
I haven’t had that happen. My suggestion would be to saute the ingredients for a shorter amount of time.