Name: Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Burrito Bowl
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (6 ounces each); 1 green bell pepper (thinly sliced); 1/2 cup water; 1 tablespoon vegetable oil; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 roma tomato (diced); 1 scallion (thinly sliced); 1/2 cup guacamole; 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese; 1/3 cup corn (if frozen, microwave to thaw); 4 tablespoons mayonnaise; 1 tablespoon lime juice; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1/4 teaspoon cayenne; 1/4 teaspoon salt

A delicious, low carb burrito bowl using shredded chicken made in the Instant Pot. Includes Mexican-inspired toppings and dressing.

Like A Chipotle Burrito Bowl

In the past decade, I’ve always lived within walking distance of a Chipotle grill despite my multiple relocations, and it remains one of my favorite fast food joints. I’m a creature of habit and always order the same thing: a burrito bowl with grilled chicken, fajita vegetables, salsa, shredded cheese, and guacamole.

You can call this shredded chicken burrito bowl a copycat of my usual Chipotle order, with many of my favorite fixings. The main differences? First, the chicken is cooked in a pressure cooker until tender enough to easily shred, instead of being grilled. Second, I choose particular fillings and limit their quantity to keep this burrito bowl as low carb and keto friendly as possible. Lastly, my version has an amazing spicy mayo dressing that you will love.

Pressure cooking the chicken, and its uses

Use boneless and skinless chicken breasts, not thighs, and they should be either fresh or thawed if frozen. To defrost, move the frozen chicken breasts to the refrigerator the night before.

I’ve experimented with different pressure cooking times for the chicken. I’ve found that 20 minutes is optimal. Yes, you can cook a chicken breast in half that time, but it won’t be easily shreddable, which is key.

After cooking, you can use the shredded meat for anything you’d like! If you don’t want to use it for a burrito bowl, you can use it for actual burritos, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, sandwiches, salads, stews, soups, and so forth. The ideas are endless.

If you’re meal prepping and making a large amount of shredded chicken, you can freeze the leftovers.

Ingredient Substitutions

The toppings listed in the recipe are more of a guideline. You can use anything you want, such as beans and rice for people who aren’t low carb, or top with cilantro and sour cream. Or maybe you want to add your favorite salsa, like this 5 ingredient Mexican salsa or salsa verde.

The spicy mayo dressing is actually inspired by one of my artichoke dipping sauces, and I highly recommend you try it. One substitution you can make is to use chipotles in adobo instead of cayenne, but you’ll have to add an extra step of pureeing everything in a blender to get a smooth dressing.

Cooking and Time-Saving Tips

When adding the bell peppers to the hot pot and searing them, I recommend using an oven mitt to protect your hands and arms. There’s going to be a bit of splatter, so you’ll want to protect yourself by keeping your face and other exposed skin away from the pressure cooker.
This is one of those recipes that you can easily make ahead of time. After all of the ingredients are cooked, prepped, and divided into bowls (including the dressing), cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Optionally, take the bowls out of the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving to let them warm up slightly. No need to heat.
Just before eating, I highly recommend mixing all the ingredients and dressing together. So good! It would also pair well with bacon wrapped jalapeño peppers as an appetizer.

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