Instant Pot Santa Fe Chicken Burrito Bowls are a quick dinner recipe thanks to the Instant Pot. A dump and go recipe with chunks of chicken, tomatoes, corn, black beans, cilantro, and some spices. Serve over rice and top with all your favorite toppings.
If you love burrito bowls then be sure and try my turkey taco burrito bowls and these chicken taco burrito bowls.
Santa Fe Chicken Burrito Bowls Recipe
I love easy dinner recipes that require little prep work and are dump & go. Which is also why I love my Instant Pot. After a few minutes of prep work it does all the work for you.
Burrito bowls are a great dinner recipe because everyone can make their own. I like to put out bowls of different toppings like shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, and any other toppings you want.
Everyone can make their own how they like. Start with rice, top with some Santa Fe chicken mixture, and then all the toppings.
What You'll Need
This recipe has an easy ingredient list with some canned items, fresh chicken, and dried seasonings.
- Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts - The only prep work this recipe needs is to cut each chicken breast into smaller pieces. This will help them cook in the time listed so they'll be fall apart tender and shred easily.
- Diced Tomatoes w/ Green Chilies - I love the addition of diced tomatoes + green chilies in this recipe. A little spice that pairs well with the burrito bowls.
- Black Beans
- Chicken Broth - For the best flavor use full-salt, regular chicken broth.
- Frozen Corn
- Cilantro - Adds so much flavor. Chop the cilantro up small.
- Green Onions - Thinly sliced green onions.
- Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Cumin, Salt
How to Make Instant Pot Santa Fe Chicken Burrito Bowls
With just a few minutes of prep work this recipe is quick and easy to make.
Preparation : Cut each chicken breast into smaller chunks. About 2-3 chunks per chicken breast. Chop up some cilantro and sliced green onions.
Dump & Go : Dump the diced tomatoes, black beans, frozen corn and can of chicken broth into the insert of the Instant Pot. Add the dried seasonings.
Chicken : Sprinkle salt over each chicken piece and lay the chicken breast on top of the mixture inside the Instant Pot.
Cook : Cover with the lid, set the valve to the sealing position, and cook for 25 minutes. When the cook time is done, take the chicken out and shred with two forks, and return back into the Instant Pot.
Eat : Use a slotted spoon and serve some Santa Fe chicken mixture over a bed of rice and top with all your favorites.
Tips For Success
Here are a few of my helpful tips that will hopefully make this recipe easy to make in your own kitchen.
- Sealing Valve - As with any Instant Pot recipe be sure that the valve is set to the sealing position before cooking.
- Cook Time - The Instant Pot will take about 5-10 minutes to come to pressure before the 25 minute cook time starts. Be sure that you have planned for that time if you are in a hurry.
- Cut The Chicken - It is an extra step but you want the chicken in smaller chunks so that they will cook in the given cook time and they'll shred easily.
- Chicken Broth - For best flavor use regular, full salt chicken broth in this recipe.
Substitutions & Variation Ideas
There are several ways to make this recipe your own and change it to your preference.
- Beans : If you don't love black beans or just want to switch it up, use any canned bean you want in this recipe.
- Make It Spicy! : This recipe is so easy to make as spicy as you want. Add some chili powder or cayenne red pepper in with the other dried seasonings. Use a can of Rotel instead of the diced tomatoes. Add a can of diced green chilies or a can of jalapeños.
- Low Calorie : Serve over some cauliflower rice instead of rice. Don't add sour cream on top or use light sour cream. You can also serve it over a bed of greens for a taco salad type dinner.
- Lower Sodium : To reduce the sodium use the 25% reduced sodium chicken broth.
Serving Suggestions
There are so many ways to use this Santa Fe chicken and to serve it!
- Burrito Bowls : Start with rice, I suggest my cilantro lime rice or easy Mexican rice, and top it with a scoop of chicken and then all the toppings you want.
- Toppings : Shredded cheese, salsa verde guacamole, sour cream, avocado, shredded lettuce, lime wedges, jalapeño slices, olives, and really anything else you want.
- Other Uses : You can make this recipe as is and use it for a number of things or use the leftovers in different ways. Here are some ideas of what I do; enchiladas, nachos, quesadillas, filling for tacos or burritos, serve on top of green lettuce for a salad type dish.
How To Store Leftovers
Leftovers store well, in a covered container, in the fridge for 3-4 days. I like to store the leftovers in some of the liquid from the Instant pot to help keep it moist when it's reheated.
A tip with the leftovers is to put it on top of a salad or use it inside tacos, enchiladas, burritos, or make quesadillas with them.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
Yes this recipe can be frozen. There are two ways to do this.
You can cook it according to recipe instructions and then freeze it inside a freeze safe container or Ziploc bag. Thaw it in the fridge, on the stove top, or inside the slow cooker. When reheating you may need to add additional chicken broth.
You can also freeze the Santa Fe chicken mixture raw or uncooked. Add all the ingredients, except for the chicken broth, into a freezer safe container or Ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat add it into the Instant pot with the can of chicken broth and cook. You will need to add a few minutes to the cook time if cooking from frozen.
Supplies Needed For This Recipe
Here are a few of the supplies and kitchen tools that will help make this recipe for Instant Pot Santa Fe chicken burrito bowls a success. These are an affiliate link, meaning that if you purchase, I will make a very small percentage from the sale. As always, I appreciate the support for the free recipes I post ? I only will recommend things that I personally own and love! Promise.
Instant Pot : You need a 6 QT or larger for most Instant Pot recipes. I own this one and love it. Some have the 'manual' button while others have a 'pressure cooker' button. The work the same way when manually setting your own cook time.
Slotted Serving Spoon : I love the OXO brand of kitchen utensils. There will lots of liquid in the Instant Pot, but that's good cause it keeps the chicken moist, use a slotted spoon to serve it.
Cutting Boards : I love a good cutting board and these ones do it. They actually grip to the counter top so there is no more sliding around while you're trying to chop.
Instant Pot Santa Fe Chicken Burrito Bowls
Ingredients
Santa Fe Chicken
- 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or less to taste
- 1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies drained
- 1 can (15 oz) black beans drained & rinsed
- 1 can (14.5 oz) chicken broth
- 1½ cups frozen corn
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- ¼ cup chopped green onions
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
Burrito Bowls
- Shredded lettuce, avocado, sour cream, lime wedges, shredded cheese, jalapeños, guacamole
- rice
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast into 3 smaller chunks and sprinkle each side with some salt. Set aside on a plate.
- Spray the insert of the Instant Pot with cooking spray. Dump the diced tomatoes, black beans, chicken broth, frozen corn, cilantro, green onions, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. Stir together until combined.
- Add the chicken pieces into the Instant Pot and make sure they are covered slightly with some of the mixture.
- Cover with the lid and make sure the valve is set to the 'sealing' position. Press the 'manual' button or 'pressure cooker' button and adjust the cook time to 25 minutes.
- When done, release the steam valve. Take the chicken out and shred it with two forks. Return it to the Instant Pot. It will be "soupy" but that is ok. Thats what gets the chicken so moist and tender. When serving, use tongs or a slotted spoon so you don't add the liquid to the burrito bowls.
- Serve santa fe chicken filling in burrito bowls with rice as the base and top with all your favorite toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Please don’t label this an Instant Pot recipe, no matter how good it is for SEO. You did not test this recipe in an Instant Pot. You tested it in a knock-off.
Thanks for your opinion. I happen to love the knock off more than the name brand Instant Pot. For your information, it was not for SEO purposes, it's because people know Instant Pot. It's kind of like the slow cooker vs crock pot debate. It's the same thing but one is a name brand.
Just wow ? some people SMH ?♀️
Thank you so much for the recipe, it's in my instapot right now! Smells delicious, can't wait to eat!!!
Wow! Society now a days.... They have to complain about something all the time. So sensitive about everything. Get a grip, she’s just trying to help people. If you don’t like then don’t follow her blog. It’s a free world, for now. Thanks for the advice and btw, I also have several different versions too of Instapot, slow cookers, etc. ?
Wow I'm sure Roy is gun at parties....
Anyway onto things that matter, love this recipe!
What if mine doesn't have the poultry button
What kind do you have? I have both the instant pot and the crock pot express cooker (I prefer this one), and they both have the poultry button. If yours does not, set the time manually to 25 minutes. I believe it's high pressure, closed valve, for 25 minutes. I hope that helps 🙂
Can you use frozen chicken or should it be thawed? Thank you!
Frozen chicken will work, you may just have to increase the cook time by 5 minutes.
Absolutely delishous! We used chicken thighs, skin off, added some chili powder and oregano to the mix, and added olives as a topping. Prep time was more like 15 mins - chicken prep and some chopping. Also, be aware that it takes time for your pot to come up to pressure - mine took at least 10 mins before beginning the 25 mins of pressure cooking, - thus the prep and cook times for a lot of recipes are very misleading. All-in-all a great recipe I will be bookmarking to my faves!
Made this recipe tonight and it was a hit with the whole family! We've found a new favourite! (My daughter asked if we can have it again tomorrow night;-) Loving the Cilantro Lime Rice too!
Way too soupy. Just didn't feel or taste right having it so wet.
So sorry to hear this. That's why I mentioned that you serve this with a slotted spoon. You need liquid in the instant pot so of course there will be liquid once it's cooked. Thanks for your review.
Made this tonight, and it was great. I opted to cook the rice in the instant pot along with everything else. I added 1 C of brown rice, and it cooked perfectly. Also helped make the finished product less soupy. I used a mix of chicken breasts and thighs. Definitely making this again.
I just made this and it is the most delicious recipe I have made from Pinterest! I kept out the cilantro because I hate that herb but it didn't matter. It was soupy but I used a slotted spoon and it was fine. Thanks for sharing this recipe...I will make this again and again!!
I’m making this tonight but 25 minutes seems awfully long When I make chicken breasts by themself, 10 minutes is plenty of time to cook them fully and make them shredable. I’m concerned everything will be mush????
If the chicken breasts are smaller then maybe do less time. I just put the chicken breasts in the IP as is, I don't cut them smaller or anything, and I've never had it turn mushy. If you're really concerned then maybe try slightly less time and adjust from there.
I was googling the internet for a Santa Fe Chicken insta pot recipe and yours was the 5th or 6th one I read, and fortunate for us I had all your ingredients on hand, and was the lest complicated. I accidentally put the rice into the mixture at the end instead of layering in the bowl but and it was perfect! I have to quadruple your recipe to feed my large family, but you are my go-to and a hero among my teenagers!
This makes SO happy to hear! So glad you found me and that your family loved this recipe. That's good to know that adding the rice works. I've never tried it that way but it would make things easier.
This was absolutley DELICIOUS! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!!
My husband and I have made this numerous times in our instant pot as it's one of our favorite healthy dinner recipes! We always make cilantro lime rice to go with it.
Me too. I love cilantro lime rice with this chicken. So yummy and thanks for leaving your review 🙂
Thank you so much for this recipe! I have made it several times and it always comes out perfect. Many other pressure cooker recipes with chicken calls for 10 - 12 minute cook time and the chicken has a weird texture and gets stuck in my teeth. The chicken in this recipe is so tender and delicious. Pairing it with cilantro lime rice is perfection.
I've made this recipe before in a crockpot, but wanted to try it in my new instant pot. It was easy to assemble and cooking in the instant pot was a breeze. I also made the cilantro lime rice and found that it helped soak up the liquid. Everything was delicious! Thanks for sharing.
If I double it, does the time need changed? Or does it stay the same?
I think you might have to increase the time slightly but it should be around/close to the same cook time. Just make sure you are not overfilling the IP.
If it can be made in an Instant Pot then it counts as an Instant Pot recipe to me. Thank you for sharing it.