Instant Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice

Our easy Ninja Foodi pressure cooker or Instant Pot Mexican chicken and rice recipe is packed with flavor. With black beans, rice, corn and protein, it is a killer one pot meal.

So what do you think of when you hear that last word? Throw what you have in your pantry and meat that has to be used up, mix and warm it together right? This is one of those. It is very forgiving too. You can use chicken thighs if that is what you have on hand or breasts works too. Don’t like corn? Leave that out.

As far as beans goes I use black because that would be the most traditional but white or kidney works if that is what you have on hand that day.

Mexican Chicken and Rice Casserole Ingredients

1. Diced boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs would work too
2. Uncooked long grain white rice – I do not use brown rice for this as it would cook much longer and the other ingredients would overcook a bit.
   • Jasmine rice in Instant Pot uses slightly different timing.
3. Chicken broth
4. Can of Rotel
5. Drained can of corn kernels
6. Black beans drained too
7. A bit of olive oil to saute your meat

Can you make this with frozen chicken?

I have shared tips on how to cook frozen chicken in Instant Pot here. You would need to follow those instructions first, dice and then drain the liquid in that pot. From there you could start with the instructions below skipping the saute step since it would be pre-cooked.

Can you use rotisserie chicken?

You could. The same thing as above would apply since the meat is already cooked. You would need to use the same cook time after the sauteing step which you would skip so that the grains would become tender. A great choice if you have leftovers to use up!

Tips

Cheese is a must for us but if you needed it to be dairy free you could omit that entirely. We use a lot, some stirred in and more served on the top when done.

It is kinda like a loaded pressure cooker casserole of sorts. The biggest tip to remember when adding pasta or rice is to NOT stir it in. You do not want either of these laying on the bottom or else the burn message may flash on your screen. If so the pot will turn off and you may not be able to rectify the issue since it’s all stirred together already.

As far as the liquid goes you could use either broth or water. I will say that the first offers the entire dish a lot more flavor than the other though. I mean if I have some vegetable broth in the fridge that needs to be used up I’ll use that and the rest will be chicken stock.

How do you make chicken and rice from scratch?

We will show you how right here. Using a pressure cooker means you only dirty one pot and the cook time with time to reach pressure is close to 20 minutes flat. It’s a great way to cook a low fat meal. This Spanish style one has some spice, or go Asian and make Instant Pot teriyaki chicken and rice.

Is chicken breast and rice healthy?

If left plain with just some seasonings and no sauce then yes. Unless you are focusing on a low carb or keto diet which would say no to the rice portion it is quite healthy as is made separately or together.

Can you cook rice and meat at the same time in Instant Pot?

Yes! We have done this with many other Instant Pot casseroles. Using different types of meat such as sausage and beef too it is a great way to make a homemade meal quickly.

Just wait until the very end to add your starch. Like I stated below you need to just sprinkle it on top and use your spoon to gently submerge it into the liquid below. Then the Ninja Foodi rice will get tender but not burn.

How to Make Instant Pot Mexican Chicken with Black Beans and Corn

1. Turn pot to saute and add olive oil. Add cubed chicken, diced onion and garlic if you wish, salt, garlic powder, paprika and some red pepper flakes.
2. Cook until meat is no longer pink on the outside and then turn your pot off.
3. Pour in your can of rotel without draining it (you want the liquid too), drained black beans and drained can of kernel corn to the bottom of the pot. Add your chicken broth. Stir all of this together.
4. Sprinkle uncooked white rice on to the top and gently use back of spoon to submerge into the liquid, do not stir together.
5. Put lid on, close steam valve and set to high pressure for 9 minutes. Allow for a 2 minute natural release when done. Then quick release rest of steam.
6. Lift your lid, fluff rice mixture with a fork and sprinkle 1 cup of your cheese on top. Now gently mix that in and set top on again just for 3 minutes so that melts.

Lift top off, serve with additional cheese, sour cream, chili powder, diced tomatoes, green onions, avocado slices on top. I mean I am sure you have other ideas for toppings as well….

This is what it looks like when we’re ready to chow down!! You can make it in any brand pressure cooker you may own. I have a Crockpot Express, Mealthy, Foodi and IP.

How to make top of casserole crispy

If you do have a Foodi you could even go a step further and melt another layer of cheese on the top like our Ninja Foodi spaghetti recipe. That way it gets a bit crispy and brown and OH MY, need I say more.

You could do the same if you poured this into an oven safe dish too in the oven. Layer more cheese on the top and under your boiler just for a few minutes. If you don’t want to do either it still tastes amazing y’all.

Other easy pressure cooker Mexican recipes you’ll love

• Looking for other ideas beyond this one but with the same Spanish flare? We have a bunch like our Instant Pot chicken taco bowls and more….
• A great under 30 minute meal is this pressure cooker Mexican pizza that is fun to layer up.
• Try our slow cooker chicken enchilada soup some night.
• Instant Pot taco pasta uses ground beef, is creamy and delicious with the bold flavors of taco seasoning in it. You can print recipe below or just come back time and time again to get the instructions. We love “seeing you” of course. 😉