Instant Pot Easy Mexican Rice & Beans

Easy instant pot mexican rice loaded with beans, vegetables, chicken, and cheese! All done in one shot in the instant pot. It is sure to be a weeknight favorite!

Jump to:

• Why we love Instant pot Mexican rice
• Ingredients for Instant Pot Burrito Bowl
• How to make the Mexican rice bowl
• Step 2: Chicken
• Hot Tip
• Recipe Notes & Tips
• Serving Burrito Bowls
• Variations of Instant Pot Rice
• Storing & Leftovers
• Make this into a freezer meal
• More One Pot Instant Pot Meals
• Here are some Mexican Inspired dishes
• Instant Pot Mexican Rice

TASTE: Cheesy Rice, cooked to perfection with sliced chicken & the kick of your favorite store-bought salsa.
TEXTURE: Soft Rice flavored with your favorite salsa, with a crunch of veggies
EASE:  Super Easy!
APPEARANCE:
SERVE WITH: It can be served as it is or with some fixings like cheese, avocado, lemon, Chips, and sour cream
PROS: All-in-one meal made in a pot. 

Instant pot Mexican rice with chicken and rice made with store-bought salsa, black beans, chicken breast, veggies, and cheese in one shot!!

It cannot get easier than this! 

This great weeknight dinner option which can also be served as a main dish or as a perfect side dish for a larger spread! You can combine these all-in-one Mexican rice bowls with just5 minutes of work.The instant pot will do rest of the heavy lifting.

Any leftovers can make your favorite Mexican dishes like tortillas, tostadas, or quick burritos. 

If you want Spanish rice or arroz rojo recipe(also called Mexican red rice), visit my instant pot Spanish rice post.

You can also make a healthier version of this Mexican rice with quinoa instead. Here is my recipe for Instant pot mexican quinoa bowl

It's a One Pot wonder where you dump everything in the instant pot and walk away. Okay,, except for the cheese because you want that final multi-licious moment!

This is what we will do. You can also watch the video recipe to understand more details..

• Cut the Chicken & prep the veggies
• Dump it all inside the instant pot & pressure cook
• Top with cheese & serve!

If you like cheesy rice, try my Mushroom Parmesan Rice. It's another one-pot complete dish- perfect for weeknights! Plus, it's meatless, so it's great for days when you want to eat more plant-based meals.

If you are a fan of Mexican food, then this epic Shredded Salsa chicken is a must-try! It's so juicy and so so good! Another great dish to try is Instant Pot Chicken Fajitas. Just stuff them in a a warm tortilla or over white rice,, and you have an easy meal on the the table.

Why we love Instant pot Mexican rice

This Mexican chicken and rice recipe is a keeper for sure,, and here is why we have been making is again and again!

• Loaded with veggies!!
• Easily available ingredients
• Loved by EVERYONE, including the picky eaters in the family!
• It's an all-in-one meal.
• It's also a great packed lunch recipe. It tastes great,, even cold.
• The convenience of an instant pot is unparalleled

It's a great time and effort saver, especially when you have to feed your family on weeknights! View all my instant pot recipes here.

Ingredients for Instant Pot Burrito Bowl

Here is what you need. Minimal ingredients. REALLY!

White Rice

I have used all kinds of rice to make this dish. My favorite is white basmati rice.

In this dish, the rice is soft and not separate or el-dente. It's a bowl of comforting goodness.

If you want, you can use any other kind of rice too. Brown rice will take longer, and you must increase the cooking time considerably. I will explain how to make this dish using brown rice below.

Veggies

I like to LOAD this dish with veggies. This is a perfect delicious vehicle to get all those healthy vegetables in!

On days I have patience, I dice up fresh vegetables like celery, carrots, peppers, cauliflower, and zucchini.

But it works perfectly with frozen veggies too! I always have a bag of frozen peas, corn, and diced-up green beans.

So go big on vegetables! This is one dish the kids( and some picky adults) won't notice the vegetables!

Chicken

I have used sliced chicken breast to make this bowl. You can also use sliced chicken thighs.

Do remember that once the chicken is cooked, it will puff up in size. I like to slice it as thin as possible(as much as my patience allows)

In case you have cooked chicken, then that will work too! Add it after the cooking is over when mixing the cooked rice before adding the cheese. The juices from the salsa will make the chicken moist and so delicious!

Beans

I love black beans in this recipe! I use canned beans for ease. Just open the can, drain, and rinse them before you dump them in the instant pot.

You can use other kinds of beans here too. Anything from white beans, garbanzo beans to Pinto Beans will work here.

Salsa

As you can see in the picture, I have used store-bought salsa, which tends to be thicker and chunkier. Almost like tomato sauce.

If you are using homemade salsa, I suggest reducing the quantity from 1 cup to ¾ cup. 

Homemade salsas tend to be thinner. They usually don't have thickeners, so you must reduce the amount used.

You can also use Enchilada sauce or a mole instead. We use enchilada sauce to make this gorgeous Instant Pot Quinoa Bowl here. Do check it out.

How to make the Mexican rice bowl

Here is how to make the one pot meal of your dreams!

Step 1: Prep your Veggies

If you use fresh vegetables, dice them into similar sizes as the beans and the corn.

If you are using frozen, then no worries. Just dump them in the instant pot.

Rinse the beans under water to get rid of the briny water.

Step 2: Chicken

Slice the chicken. I like the chicken pieces to be thin, but you can also dice them up into 1-inch cubes.

Anything bigger will not cook your chicken enough.

Also! You can use shrimp or cooked chicken too!

Dump Chicken, veggies, beans, salsa, and cold water(or chicken stock or vegetable broth) in the inner pot. Mix it up.

Step 3: Add Rice

Add Rice on top. Give the top of the rice a slight nudge and press it below the liquid. DO NOT MIX!

This layering trick will ensure that the things at the bottom of the instant pot cook more than the ones on top, like the rice.

We do this so that the rice is not overcooked.

Step 4: Pressure Cook

Set the instant pot for "Pressure Cook" for 10 minutes on HIGH with the valve at SEALED position.

The pressure cooker will take 10-15 minutes to come to pressure, after which the timer will start.

Step 5: Quick Release and Open.

After the cooking process is finished, wait for the natural pressure release of the Instant Pot, which usually takes about 10 to 15 minutes, before carefully unlocking and opening the lid

Let the instant pot go into KEEP WARM.  Give it a gentle mix with a flat spatula.

If you are in a hurry, let the pressure release for 5 minutes, after which you can quick release it by turning the knob from sealing to venting.

Add Cheese to the fluffy rice and put the lid back. 

Wait for 2-5 minutes till the cheese melts.

​Garnish with Cilantro, lime juice and EAT!

Recipe Notes & Tips

Here are some pointers that help me make this dish!

• Here are some pointers that help me make this dish!
• DO NOT mix up the rice before pressure cooking. This will make sure the rice grains are separate and not overly soggy. This way, chicken and veggies get higher pressure.
• Cheese- Add it to the rice in the instant pot. Close the pot for a few minutes to make the cheese melty and soft. You can leave out the cheese altogether if you want.
• Double the recipe - Double the ingredients! Make sure there is enough room in the pressure cooker, though! The pressure cooking time will remain the same.
• Add more fiber to your meal by increasing the number and type of vegetables like carrots, celery, mushrooms, etc. You can also serve the rice with a heap full of lettuce.
• Spice Level - I have not added chili powder as most storebought salsas will already have chilies in it.Though if you want, you can add more seasonings like smoked chili powder and garlic powder to it.

Serving Burrito Bowls

This dish can serve as a main or as a great side dish.

We also like making our own burrito bowls with this rice.

Here is what I do, especially when serving my whole family. I add small bowls filled with toppings, and people make their bowls.

• Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt
• Shredded Lettuce
• Diced Avocado
• Onions & Jalapenos
• Cheese
• Lemon Wedges or Lime Juice
• Smoked Paprika

This way, people can choose how they want to make their bowls.

Quick Tip : when you need an extra pick me up, serve this with a dollop of guac and sour cream plus some chips. It's so good!!

Variations of Instant Pot Rice

Here are some twists to this Mexican bowl.

• Instant Pot Vegan Taco Bowls- Omit using chicken and cheese. Reduce the water by ¼ Cup.
• Meatless Burrito Bowl- Omit the chicken and reduce the water by ¼ cup.
• Dairy-Free Taco Bowls- Omit using dairy cheese. You can replace it with nutritional yeast if you want.
• Instant Pot Meat Taco Bowls- Substitute the chicken with a meat of choice.

Storing & Leftovers

Any leftover rice can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 6-7 days in an airtight container. It will mostly depend on the chicken used.

You can even freeze this! I sometimes pop the leftover in a freezer bag. I freeze it flat and then stack it up to save space in the freezer. It should last for 2-3 months in the freezer.

Also! Use any leftovers to stuff this into burritos. This is a great burrito filling! I usually make this for dinner and then pack it up as lunch the next day as burritos.

Make this into a freezer meal

This is a great meal prep recipe. You can also make this into an instant pot freezer meal.

Pop everything, except the water and cheese, into a freezer-friendly bag. So your prep is already done.

When you are ready, Remove the bag. Dump everything into the instant pot. Add 1.5 cups of water.

Pressure cook for 20 minutes. And done.

The texture will be a little different, but it's so delicious! The chicken gets all the flavors in because of the long marination.

More One Pot Instant Pot Meals

Here are some easy instant pot meals that you can make on a busy weeknight in a jiffy!

Here are some Mexican Inspired dishes

If you make this instant pot Mexican bean and chicken rice, do leave a rating and comments! I would love to hear from you!

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