Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls

I’m all about easy one pot meals. That is why I love these easy chicken taco bowls! You can make spicy if you like or adjust to mild and they make great leftovers for lunch too. Just one of many favorite Instant Pot recipes we make all the time.

You see my daughter works at Chipotle and we LOVE eating there. This is sort of a copycat chicken bowl they offer there. Now I can make it at home anytime I want! The meat gets fork tender and shreds easily after almost no time at all. Time saver when you want to make a homemade meal but are tired (aren’t we all).

Only have the other multi cooker with two functions? You can make this in your Ninja Foodi too using the lid that is not attached. You can even add an extra layer of cheese to the top when done if you wanted to and melt with the other lid.

We’ve made time and time again because it’s always a hit. Healthy and personalized once you serve it too. Tortilla chips are a must for my kiddos. But first it starts with chicken right? Breasts or thighs, you choose. A few things I love about these taco bowls are that you can customize each one.

Ok so tacos are fun but kinda’ a lot of work to keep them all together, the shells not to break, and we are all cooked together is just so much easier when you are busy with kids right?

Ingredient Notes

The beauty of it all is that it is all up to you! For meat we used chicken breasts, corn, a can of black beans, some white rice, salsa and taco seasonings are the basics. Most of the time they are topped with cheese and sour cream and are like deconstructed tacos with rice instead of shells.

Can you make this with ground beef?

Wondering what the best ground beef recipes are? Just swap that in instead and you can make this same meal with a whole different protein and flavor profile. It is easy to change it up that way.

Ingredient Notes

As far as the poultry goes, just ensure that they are boneless and skinless breasts or thighs, a lot less work that way. Also break them apart from one another before putting them into your pot so they cook evenly.

Can you use chicken thighs?

Of course, I typically choose what is on sale at the time or what is in my fridge, or freezer. I really don’t like using bone-in either way just because it is a lot more work once the meat is ready. Fishing the bones out and not missing one just isn’t worth it even though they are slightly cheaper.

For the cook time listed below, yes it is calculated with long grain white rice. In the case of brown it would take twice as long which would make the meat dried out in my opinion so I don’t recommend that switch. You will need to Chicken broth or stock for the necessary liquid to cook the 2 cups Instant Pot white rice to fluffy.

Canned corn (should be drained) we like to add for texture and a Mexican flavor to the dish. I also like to include a can of black beans (drained and rinsed) into the mix. You will want some salsa to make everything coated to add flavor with some taco seasoning too. You can buy a package or homemade there’s a recipe for taco seasoning here.

Chicken Taco Bowls with Frozen Chicken

You can do this too! Just skip the sauteeing step if you’re using frozen chicken. Instead, add into pot with 1 cup broth and high pressure cook for 12 minutes with a 5 minute natural release. Shred and then continue to step 2. Remember to always deglaze your pot after cooking meat. This means you’re scraping the bits of cooked on meat off the bottom so it doesn’t show a false burn notice while it’s cooking.

You can and a pinch or two of salt and pepper to taste is good. If I am using pressure cooker fried chicken leftovers there wouldn’t be any seasonings necessary.

How Long to Cook Taco Bowls in Instant Pot

You basically are going to make ninja foodi shredded chicken first which takes 12 minutes with small/medium breasts. Except that this time you will cook the rice and beans together all at the same time, but the cook time for that change doesn’t change!!

Other Instant Pot Chicken Recipes You’ll Love

If you have pickier eaters who may not care for some of the ingredients just take out a cup of the chicken when you’re shredding it and serve it “plain” that way. My youngest used to prefer this, which is essentially just Instant Pot salsa chicken, with 1/4 cup of cheese on top.

Now that I’ve made this a few times she eats it as is with lots of toppings! Just keep serving it to them with one bite required and you might be surprised one day when they actually like it. A true instant Pot kids recipes to boot!

Diced onion I will also add into our Instant Pot orange chicken ingredients sometimes. You can add a bell pepper diced or a can of chiles is nice in this or our Instant Pot crack chicken casserole, a total winner! Some like some diced pineapple too, fruit inside our apricot chicken made it a bit sweet and simple.