Chicken Burrito Recipe (Instant Pot or Stovetop) - iFoodReal.com (2024)

Chicken Burrito Recipe for busy people! Meal prep 17 chicken burritos in an hour on the stove or in Instant Pot and freeze for later. Or turn it into shredded chicken burrito bowl.

If you love burritos but don’t feel like rolling, make this chicken burrito skillet or Mexican chicken and rice.

We are huge fans of chicken quesadillas and chicken tostadas but the problem is they are not the best for meal prep.

This recipe yields 17 large chicken burritos. We freeze them for healthy lunches to reduce deli meat consumption, and for easy healthy dinners. We pack them on the road. My kids are obsessed with this healthy chicken burrito recipe.

And so are their and our friends who tried them. Better than Chipotle’s!

Ingredients for Chicken Burrito Recipe

To make this chicken burrito recipe you will need just a handful of simple ingredients.

• Brown rice: Unfortunately, white rice requires different cooking time and amount of liquid than cooked brown rice in Instant Pot. But if you are making chicken burritos on a stovetop, you can use white rice. Use the ratio of liquid indicated on the package.
• Black beans: For Instant Pot version, only dried beans you can use are black beans, black eyed peas, small navy beans or pinto beans. When I make black beans in Instant Pot, they take 12 minutes. All other beans cook much longer.
• Chicken breasts: I use fresh or frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts. If you have cooked Instant Pot shredded chicken breast, add it to the mixture after.
• Salsa: Use salsa with a spice level you like. To add more healthy fats use salsa guacamole.
• Corn: Frozen or canned corn works.
• Cheese:Use any soft cheese that you can shred. It melts better and is healthier without extra preservatives found in store-bought shredded cheese. This time I added a bit of smoked gouda. It was the bomb dot com!
• Chicken burrito seasoning: Low sodium taco seasoning, cumin, garlic powder and salt.
• Chicken broth: You can use homemade chicken broth or Instant Pot chicken broth, bouillon cube diluted with water or chicken broth from a carton.
• Veggies: Cilantro, green onion and cabbage instead of lettuce if making chicken burritos for meal prep.For enjoying chicken burrito recipe right away, you can add any veggies.
• Tortillas: I used 10 inch wide whole wheat tortillas. For best experience, you have to use pliable and soft large flour tortillas. Do not use corn tortillas. Some gluten free tortillas are soft too.

How to Make Chicken Burritos on the Stove

Here is a quick overview how to make chicken burritos recipe on the stove.

• Cook rice and chicken:Cook rice with chicken and spices in the pot on the stovetop first. Add canned black beans that have been drained and rinsed.
• Chop herbs and veggies.
• Add canned beans:In a large bowl, shred chicken breasts. Add 2 x 15 ounces cans of rinsed and drained low sodium black beans, shredded chicken and remaining ingredients. Mix.

How to Make Chicken Burritos in Instant Pot

Your Instant Pot is meant for making a huge Instant Pot chicken burritos batch. Just like with Instant Pot rice and beans, you do not have to soak the beans and can cook rice, black beans and chicken at same time.

• Cook the filling:Add all ingredients including dried black beans (no soaking) to the pressure cooker and cook for 20 minutes on high pressure. Do Quick Release.
• Chop herbs and veggies:While rice is cooking, chop cilantro, cabbage, green onion and shred cheese. Get salsa and corn ready. Tear 17 foil sheets.
• Mix:Shred chicken and combine all ingredients in Instant Pot.

How to Wrap Chicken Burritos

Here are a few tips when it comes to wrapping this chicken burrito recipe.

• Set up wrapping station with 17 torn foil sheets, tortillas, chicken burrito filling, toppings and cheese.
• Place tortilla on top of foil. Add 3/4 cup of chicken mixture below the center and close to the edge near you. Top with a bit of shredded cabbage and cheese.
• Fold up the bottom to almost cover the chicken burrito filling. Then fold up edges.
• Roll up tightly. Roll again in foil.

Tips for Best Results

Here are my top tips for the best chicken burritos in the world!

• Veggies variations: Do not use high water content vegetables like tomato, avocado and lettuce. They do not freeze well and make chicken burritos soggy. Pan fry ingredients like bell pepper, onion and zucchini before adding to a filling.
• Cutting recipe in half for Instant Pot: Sure, you can do so but keep same cooking time.
• Types of rice you can use: For stovetop chicken burritos you can use any rice which package indicates cook time of 30 minutes and more. To my knowledge it would be red rice, black rice, purple rice and yellow rice. Wild rice might have to be soaked however wild rice blend will work.
• Using white rice: I have not tested it but I think this chicken burrito recipe will work with white rice. Just follow the recipe and cook everything in a pot for at least 15 minutes and go from there.
• Chicken thighs: You can also use boneless skinless chicken thighs. Cook time remains the same, just your chicken burritos will be more flavorful and fatty.

How to Store, Freeze and Reheat Chicken Burritos

Here are my top tips how to freeze and reheat this chicken burrito recipe. It is perfect for meal prep!

• If frozen, always thaw chicken burritos overnight in the fridge.
• Bake at 450 degrees F for 20-25 minutes. It takes a while for baked chicken burritos to get warmed through and cheese to melt. I was surprised as well.
• That’s why I like to broil chicken burritos for 10-15 minutes.
• You can also warm up burritos in a microwave without tin foil. Keep your eye on it as ovens vary. I would start with 2 minutes.

Check out my full list of 20freezer meals. I’m obsessed!

FAQs

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