Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls

84 thoughts on “Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls”

1. My 2nd recipe to make in my new Instant Pot. It was so good! My son loved it and my super picky daughter managed to eat all of her serving (I think she didn’t like the black beans). I did 2 cups of rice and it was perfect. I’ll be making this regularly!

2. Hello,
   I followed instructions but parts of the chicken were raw 🙁
   What could have gone wrong?

   • It could be that your chicken pieces were too big. If that was the cause, cutting them into smaller pieces before cooking next time might help.

3. Hi again.

   I was hesitant about eating the chicken but ate some of the rice and beans. I might try again but probably not all together and probably would add more to the cook time or try the poultry setting.

   Thanks for the quick replies!

4. Looking forward to trying this recipe tonight but am nervous about doing it all in one pot (though that’s part of what makes owning the InstantPot so exciting–the one pot meals). I plan to reduce the rice and liquids appropriately (based on your suggestions and comments). I am most worried about the rice not cooking properly (being overdone or mush). Also, I have noticed some similar recipes utilize the poultry setting versus the Pressure Cooker option. What are your thoughts on that?

   Wish me luck!

   • I hope it goes well for you! This is one of our favorites! Most people don’t have trouble, but if you read through the comments you’ll see some people have had issues with under or overcooked rice. I’ve tried to accommodate some of their suggestions and feedback into the post so if you follow the directions you should have a great result. Regarding the poultry setting, I’ve never used it for this recipe so can’t attest to what effect it will have on the dish. The poultry setting is supposed to be a high pressured cook though so should yield similar results (you’ll have to adjust the time though since the poultry setting defaults to 15 minutes). Good luck!

     • Hi Corinne,

       I will probably just follow the recipe as you’ve outlined. I am looking forward to the one pot meal!
       I am using Jasmine rice so I think it should work out well! I’ll let you know how the dish turns out.

       Thanks!

       • So, the problem I had is that i followed your directions fully and when I pulled the chicken out, one of the breasts wasn’t fully cooked. I am sad and a bit confused. ?

         • Update: I put the chicken back in the Instant Pot for 5 minutes on the poultry setting… I think the chicken is cooked through now. I’m not sure I’d try this recipe again since raw chicken as a result kinda deters me from doing so. Bummer.

         • I completely understand since I usually tend to overcook chicken and pork out of fear of undercooking them! I’m glad your meal wasn’t ruined and understand your hesitation in trying it again. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the chicken piece that was undercooked was larger than the others. I’m going to ask in the Instant Pot Community if maybe the poultry setting would be more effective. Also going to try it myself. My fear is that the rice will overcook so I want to be sure before I add any notes or make changes to the recipe. Thanks for your feedback.

         • Amber, that is really disappointing, especially since I know you were looking forward to a one-pot meal you could enjoy. It’s strange that only one of the breasts didn’t cook through. Was it larger than the others? Not putting the blame on you AT ALL, just seeking clarification so I can add notes to the recipe to help others.

5. Hi!

   I just made this and found that 3 cups of liquid for 2 cups of rice and the initial cup of liquid wasn’t enough and burned TWICE in the instapot. We also threw it into the slow cooker and added a little more liquid and it burned in there.

   The recipe was great overall, however when we do this again, we will do the chicken and rice and beans separately so that the pan doesn’t scorch starches that may fall between chickens.

6. Nive recipe thanks for sharing

7. If I’m making this with pre-cooked shredded chicken, how would I change the recipe? Any change to the cooking time as well?

   • I would add it at the end after you’ve cooked everything else. Otherwise, the chicken will dry out. Keep the cooking time the same so the rice will be fully cooked. It will come to pressure faster since the chicken won’t be in the pot then.

8. Do you rinse the rice first? Making this tonight for dinner.

   • Hi David, I do not rinse my rice first but others have recommended it. Mine turns out fine without the added step so I’ve never bothered to add it.

9. What tweaks would I need when not cooking with a pressure cooker?

   • Hi Jessica, I have instructions for making it in a slow cooker on the next page –>> https://wondermomwannabe.com/chicken-taco-bowls/.

10. Hi, while I loved the flavor of this dish. My rice came out like mush and paste. Did I over cook it? I used 2 cups broth and 2 cups jasmine rice.
    I did cook for 15 minutes because I had 4 big pieces of chicken and I was afraid they wouldn’t cook. Then I didn’t here it finish and sat on natural pressure release for 11 mins. The rice didn’t even look like rice..lol it just was a pile of mush ?

    • The rice was definitely overcooked. 🙁 If you try the recipe again and have larger pieces of chicken again, cut them into smaller pieces so they’ll cook all the way through without overcooking the rice. Sorry you ended up with mushy rice!

      • Thanks… great advice. Not sure why I have trouble all the time with rice. It seems like such a simple thing to make..lol

        • Rice is tricky when you’re making it with other things, especially meat that you don’t want to risk undercooking. It takes some practice (and on my side, perhaps some more specific directions about size of the pieces of chicken in this recipe).

11. Loved it. great taste, got my picky kids approval also. read some of the comments first so I added a small amount of the broth in before i added the chicken, i used store brand long grain white rice, and it came out perfect. will be making this one soon again!!

    • Thanks for the feedback! I’m glad you liked it!

12. I loved this!!! However, it makes a lot of food. Can I freeze some of the leftovers?

    • LOL – Yes, it’s a lot of food – I blame my teenage boys for throwing off my perception of normal portions. You absolutely can freeze them but pack them in single servings if you won’t eat the leftovers all at once. You can reheat it in the microwave, oven or stove. I wouldn’t do it in the IP since the rice might get too mushy.

13. I dont have the instant cooker, could this be made as easily on the stove?

    • I haven’t adapted it for the stove, but I have made it in a slow cooker. Instructions for that are on page 2 of this recipe if you want to try it.

14. If I’m making without rice do I use less liquid?

    • Yes, just use 1/2 cup of liquid

15. This recipe sounds delicious!! One question…what if I have left over chicken from chicken noodle soup? How does that change my recipe? Sorry, I just bought my insta pot 🙂

    • Hi Stephanie, never apologize for asking questions! We all have to learn somehow! If you’re using leftover chicken that’s already cooked, add it to the pot AFTER everything else has cooked. Stir it in really well to distribute the heat. This will actually help cool the rice a little too which is usually really hot right out of the IP.

16. Hi! Making this recipe with frozen chicken breasts, I saw your remarks about cooking the rice separately and reducing the liquid to 1/2 cup. I was thinking 1 cup was the minimum for the Instant Pot?

    • Frozen breasts will release liquid and the salsa also contributes liquid. You can certainly use one cup of broth if you are worried, but I think you’ll find the results too runny.

      • That makes sense! Thank you! :))

17. Hi! I’m planning on making this for dinner tonight. Yum! Have you ever made this with brown rice? If so does the time need to be increased?

    • Since brown rice takes much longer to cook, I prepare it separate. Otherwise your chicken will come out really overcooked.

18. Hi! This smells so good while cooking! I made it this evening to have for meals tomorrow. My rice was not completely cooked – I used the 3 cups of rice / 2 cups of broth as per the recipe. Do you have a suggestion on how to finish the cooking of the rice?

    • Hi Heidi, it should be 3 cups of broth for 3 cups of rice. Salvaging undercooked rice is a little difficult in this dish since it’s all mixed together, but there is a way. You’ll need to spoon out the rice, put it in a pot on stovetop with 1/4 cup of water and cook on low for 5 minutes.

19. Is the rice and water/broth measured with the rice cup that comes with the Instant Pot or are you using dry measure cup for rice and liquid measure cup for the water/broth?

    • Dry measuring cup for the rice, liquid measuring cup for the water/broth. NOT the cup that comes with the pot.

20. Hello!! This was amazing. My husband and I loved this! Is there any nutritional facts for this..?

    • Hi Kaley! I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it! I hadn’t worked up nutritional facts for it before but I can probably figure that out. I may not get to it tonight, but I will try to get that done tomorrow morning.

      • Okay! Thank you so much!!

        • Hi Kaley, I updated the recipe card (on the next page) with the nutrition info. I based the calculations on preparing the recipe as written, one packet of taco seasoning, using water instead of broth, and with a small handful (about 1/8 cup) of cheese on each serving. No sour cream.

21. Have you every doubled this recipe? I was thinking of doubling it. Wondering if it will fit in my 8 quart?

    • I’ve doubled the recipe before but had to cook the rice separate. Doubling the entire recipe will not fit in an 8 quart (that’s what I have).

22. I ran accoss this recipe when looking for some way different to cook chicken breasts. I looked in the pantry and didn’t find taco seasoning or salsa. Then I saw I has enchilada seasoning and red enchilada sauce.I tried you recipe, but used a packet of enchilada seasoning and a can of red enchilada sauce, Oh my gosh, cooked it as per your recipe and it came out very tasty. I did reduce the rice and chicken broth as suggested. Thanks so much for sharing.

    • What a smart idea! Thank you so much for sharing your variation. I always have enchilada sauce on hand since Chicken Enchilada Casserole is another of our favorite dishes. Completely different flavor than taco seasoning but one that blends very well with all the other flavors and ingredients in this recipe.

23. This chicken taco bowl was amazing! That I you so much for sharing.

    • I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for letting me know!

24. I made this tweaked with what I had. Did I miss something I don’t see how much to use of any of the ingredients except the water. So I guessed and did it in my power cooker for 15 min and it turned out great. Used Rotella tomatoes with Habanaro peppers and use liquid fajita seasoning and spice black beans. Also added extra cumin finished the dish with cilantro, squeeze of lime, green onion, sour cream and cheese

    Thank you for Posting

    • Hi Dohna, I’m so sorry. Yes, there’s a note at the top of the post (so you don’t have to scroll) plus a button at the bottom of the post to bring you to the recipe with the measurements and directions. You can see it here – https://wondermomwannabe.com/chicken-taco-bowls/. Love your tips for how you finished the recipe! Thanks for sharing them.

25. Hello,
    Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made it tonight and it was delicious. For previous posters, thank you for sharing your comments about using white rice. I used Uncle Ben’s white rice but modified the cook time a little and everything worked out well. I used 4 chicken breasts (one was very large and 3 medium sized). I used 2 cups of Uncle Ben’s white rice with 3 cups of chicken broth. I used an Instant Pot and cooked on high-pressure for 12 minutes, then waited an additional 6 minutes before performing the quick release. I think this extra time under pressure allowed the white rice to cook and the result was much better than other have experienced. Thank you again for sharing.

    • Thanks for sharing your changes and results! I’m glad you liked the recipe and I’m grateful for the adaptation notes.

26. Can i use frozen chicken breast? If so, how long to cook?

    • Hi Denise, you can use frozen chicken breasts. Unfortunately, the rice might get mushy with the extra cooking time so I recommend cooking the rice separately. So, reduce the broth/water to 1/2 cup, cook for the same amount of time but do a natural release for 3 minutes.

27. I would like to make this using quinoa and do not own an instant pot. I will either use my crock pot or bake it. I made a similar dish last week using chicken, rice, broccoli, & cheese. It consisted of a homemade cream of chicken made on the stove top, then placed in a casserole dish and baked. Any idea how much quinoa I should try using with your recipe?

    • Quinoa is a great substitution since you’ll cut the carbs and increase your fiber and protein! A lot of people have found that the original recipe makes more rice than they prefer so although I’d normally tell you to do a 1:1 substitution, most readers prefer half as much rice in this dish. So, I would reduce the quinoa to 1 1/2 cups. The liquid is going to be the trickiest conversion since a slow cooker creates moisture whereas a pressure cooker requires extra liquid but quinoa needs more liquid than rice to cook. I’m going to guess that 2 cups of liquid should do the trick since the salsa will add some moisture too. If you bake it, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup more liquid. I wish I was giving you this advice based on experience, but I haven’t made it yet with quinoa so these are just my best guesses.

      • I was just looking on if anyone has done this with quinoa instead of rice. I will do this in the IP, so trying to make sure I understand the conversions.
        Any tips on how to do this the best?

        • Hi Jennifer, since quinoa will cook much faster, I recommend cooking it separately. Otherwise, you’ll end up with mush.

28. Just got my Instant Pot and made this as my first meal. Made it as directed, except I reduced the rice and broth to 1 1/2 cups each. It turned out well, except my chicken was rubbery. While the chicken wasn’t pink and appeared fully cooked – I’m wondering if it was underdone?

    • Congrats on your Instant Pot! Hm, rubbery chicken is a new one. I can’t imagine it was undercooked if you followed the directions, especially since reducing the rice and broth would have made it cook faster, if anything. As much as I love my one-pot meals, due to the number of problems people have with getting consistent results with this dish, I really need to do an overhaul. I’m so sorry yours didn’t turn out perfectly. This is one of my family’s favorites and I haven’t been able to pinpoint why some people’s efforts work fine and others yield less than ideal results. Thanks for the input. It gives me more to consider as I work on a fool-proof version.

      • Altitude usually has a lot to do with cooking times. If you post your altitude with your recipes and tell people to wiki their cities altitude it might help those that are getting rubbery chicken or undercooked rice!

        I’m looking forward to trying this recipe tonight!

29. How many servings is tha recipe for?

    • The recipe serves 6.

30. I don’t have a magic pot. Can I do this on the stove top in a large pan?

    • I haven’t made it on the stove, but I think you can convert the slow cooker version to a Dutch oven and bake it. Use the instructions for the slow cooker version (it’s directly beneath the recipe) and instead of making it in a slow cooker, add all the ingredients to a Dutch oven. Bake at 325 degrees for 45 minutes. I haven’t tried it this way so I can’t vouch for it. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out!

31. 
    Indeed delicious! I found, for my family, three chicken breasts work and that the rice was far too much. If I decrease the rice do I decrease the liquid by the same amount? Do I change the time?

    • I’m glad you enjoyed the recipe! Yes, the rice and liquid should be a 1:1 ratio so if you decrease the rice, decrease the liquid in equal quantities. That being said, you need at least 1 cup of liquid to build the right amount of pressure, so make sure you don’t go below that.

32. 
    Oh wow this sounds like the most perfect chicken-taco– if only I would pop a crisp through the screen and take a piece now!

33. Hi! I made this tonight & the rice wasn’t done?

    • Oh no! I wonder why not. I’ve made this a few times and the rice is always perfect, once a little too done. Did you use Jasmine rice and did you add it last (well, before the liquid but after everything else)? Not blaming you for the undercooked rice, just trying to figure out what might have affected it.

      • I didn’t have jasmine rice so I used regular rice! Could that have been the problem?

        • Maybe, I usually use jasmine rice. The one time the rice came out overdone I had substituted some “yellow” rice I’d found in the Latin food aisle (I think it’s just some variety of white rice with saffron added) so I do know the type of rice does make a difference. Unfortunately, I’m not a rice expert so I’ll have to do some experimenting to tweak the recipe for different rice types. I’m so sorry yours didn’t turn out!

          • Did you try other rice? I always use brown rice.

          • When I make this with brown rice, I cook the rice separately. Otherwise the chicken over cooks since brown rice takes longer to cook.

34. 
    That was easy. I am going to give it a try tonight.

    • Great! I hope you like the recipe! Come back and let me know what you think.

      • I have a question about this recipe. Can I use frozen chicken breasts?

        • Absolutely!

35. I’m obsessed my Instant Pot… it makes meals SO MUCH EASIER. Especially at dinner time. I love that this recipe is a one pot meal… even easier!

    • Me too! In my house we call it “awesome pot.”

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