Pressure Cooker Chicken Taco Bowls

Pressure cooker chicken taco bowls with fresh or frozen chicken in the Instant Pot is the best 15 minute dinner! A one pot meal with corn, black beans and rice in your Instant Pot or Ninja Foodi. You’ll be surprised at how easy they are to make.

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).

Ninja Foodi Chicken Taco Bowls

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.

This is one of many Ninja Foodi chicken recipes 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 Instant Pot 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?

What are taco bowls made of?

That’s the beauty of it all, it is up to you! Add chicken or ground beef if you like or make vegetarian tacos with just beans and rice. Cooked together all in one pot you can layer everything or mix together. Topped with cheese and sour cream, they are like deconstructed tacos with rice instead of shells.

Can you make this with ground beef?

Wondering what to cook with ground beef? 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.

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.

What is the best cut of chicken to use?

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 instead of breasts to make chicken taco bowls?

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.

Do you have to use white rice?

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.

Favorite Add-ins

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.

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.

Keep in mind that if you use frozen there will be more liquid in the pot at the end. I wouldn’t adjust timing though.

It is totally up to you how you do your bbq Instant Pot shredded chicken. You can use forks and shred right in the pot, but I feel like I can get it into smaller pieces if I take them out.

What’s the difference between a burrito bowl and a taco bowl?

Not much, maybe the addition of refried beans if you wanted that. This serves the 5 of us well. If you had more people you could easily add another breast to the mix and it would be fine. I wouldn’t adjust the cooking times for that addition or if you used 2-3 small frozen chicken breasts. 

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 pressure cooker kids recipes to boot!

Once done you can add other things on top, or add some in the pot itself if you want to add more into the mix to heat together. Other add in options for pressure cooker chicken taco bowls:

Other Instant Pot chicken recipes you’ll love

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 Instant Pot Apricot chicken made it a bit sweet and simple.

With prep and cook time you too can try this easy under 30 minute dinner that is sure to please everyone in your house! Yes, even the kids. 😉

How do you eat a taco bowl?

Um, that is up to you once you load it up with lots of toppings! Scoop it into a bowl and add guacamole, sour cream, olives, all the things on top and dig in. Use chips instead of a fork some nights, that is always more fun.

Meaning everyone likes different things on their tacos right?? So while I’m loading up the avocado and sour cream, my daughter can load up on cheese and leave off everything else.