Instant Pot Vegan Burrito Bowls

By Alexandra Caspero on December 28, 2018

Instant Pot Burrito Bowls! Did you get an Instant Pot for the holidays!? I feel like years ago, everyone was asking for a fancy blender and this year, it’s all about the pressure cooker.

PS- every time I think of fancy appliances, I always think of this SNL skit. 😂

Anyways- we’ve had an Instant Pot for a few years now and it’s a workhorse in my kitchen. Mostly for making beans from scratch, proofing bread in just a few hours, making yogurt and as a rice cooker.

Close up of the Vegan Burrito Bowls

I don’t make that many weeknight dinners with it because I keep it in my basement and hate lugging it up too often, but for casserole meals like this- it’s fantastic.

Instant Pot Vegan Burrito Bowls

The beauty of a Instant Pot is that you can saute and cook at the same time; this means that this dish comes together without dirtying anything else. Saute the peppers and onions for just a few minutes, bloom the spices, then add in the rest of the ingredients.

Bring to pressure, then cook for 7 minutes. I’m using white rice because I like the flavor so much better than brown rice, but you’ll need to cook the mixture for an extra 10 minutes.

Release by flipping the valve to open and let come down, which will take just another minute or two. That’s it! I cut the lettuce, tomatoes and avocado while the mixture is cooking so everything is done together.

So easy right? Man, these burrito bowls are incredibly delicious. We love them as bowls and tucking the leftover mixture into tortillas for burritos.

Instant Pot Mexican Rice

I don’t find that I need a dressing with this recipe, just a squirt of lime juice and maybe an extra scoop of salsa. However, you could easily add a drizzle of ranch, lime vinaigrette, or whatever dressing you like. BL oddly likes Thousand Island with his burrito bowl salads, which I just find so weird. Do what you like!

If you’re looking for other delicious Instant Pot recipes, try my quinoa enchiladas, lentil-walnut tacos, lentil soup, baked beans, hummus and more!

Instant Pot Vegan Burrito Bowls garnished with fresh avocado and herbs

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Vegan instant pot burrito bowls

Instant Pot Vegan Burrito Bowls

  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 large servings 1x
  • Category: vegetarian, vegan, instant pot, heathy
  • Method: instant pot, pressure cooker
  • Cuisine: vegan, mexican inspired, gluten-free

Description

Instant Pot Burrito Bowls! These vegan bowls are perfect for busy weeknights. Super flavorful Mexican rice with avocados, lettuce, tomatoes and more!


  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 large servings 1x
  • Category: vegetarian, vegan, instant pot, heathy
  • Method: instant pot, pressure cooker
  • Cuisine: vegan, mexican inspired, gluten-free
  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 large servings 1x
  • Category: vegetarian, vegan, instant pot, heathy
  • Method: instant pot, pressure cooker
  • Cuisine: vegan, mexican inspired, gluten-free
Scale

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 yellow onion, diced
  • 2 red bell peppers, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 (15 ounce) can corn kernels, drained and rinsed
  • 1 cup + 2 tablespoons vegetable broth
  • 1 cup white rice (brown rice will need more cooking time)
  • 1 cup salsa

Burrito Bowl: 

  • Shredded lettuce
  • Chopped tomatoes
  • Avocado
  • Other toppings, as desired

Instructions

  1. Turn on the Instant Pot and hit Saute. Add the oil and once warm, add the onion and bell pepper and cook until onion and peppers are just tender, about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Stir in the garlic and ground seasonings. Stir for just 30 seconds, until fragrant.
  3. Turn the Instant Pot off, and add the rest of the ingredients: beans, corn, vegetable broth, and rice. Stir together. Add the salsa on top, but don’t stir in.
  4. Cover and turn the vent to sealing. Hit manual pressure to 7 minutes.
  5. When cooking time is complete, do a quick release of the pressure (turn the vent to open, be careful- I use a kitchen towel to press it and then back away for the steam to release!) Remove the lid and stir together.
  6. Make the burrito bowls! Divide the salad ingredients among 4 bowls and top with the rice mixture. I like a little lime juice on these bowls, but extra salsa, extra dressing or no dressing works!

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Meet Alex Caspero

Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Plant-Based Chef and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.

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    1. Heather
      January 1, 2023 AT 12:15 am

      I make this probably once a week and every variation I have made turns out great. I’ve modified it plenty of times to suit what I have in the house. I’ve tried brown rice and I have tried quinoa and I have made it ommiting the bell peppers and I have made it using premixed spice blends. Pretty sure it’s impossible to screw this up and it’s always quick and easy and tasty.

    2. Julie
      May 5, 2022 AT 4:28 pm

      Made this tonight! I have to say this is one of the best, easiest and least expensive meals I have ever made! I was not going to buy your cookbook (I’m oil free but usually sub water for sautéing BUT I have to buy. Absolutely perfect meal. I even used freezer onions and peppers instead of chopping because I was so lazy tonight. And made some cashew sour cream as I didn’t have an avocado. Thank you for this- it is going in my regular rotation – once a week.

    3. Melanie Price
      November 10, 2021 AT 7:46 am

      2nd recipe for me to make in my new instant pot. Delicious and one that my husband loved too. Thanks for the share. ♡ FyI crazy that I didn’t have any veggie broth on hand when I made this, so I used recipe amount of water with 1 tbl coconut aminos for suggested sub & that worked great too.

      1. Alex
        November 10, 2021 AT 10:21 am

        Thanks, Melanie!

    4. Taylor
      April 9, 2021 AT 7:03 pm

      Family loved it even though we didn’t have any onions and just one can of beans and corn. (doubled the recipe) I also added 1/2 cup extra liquid because of the other comments. No burning here! My whole family isn’t vegan so we had some steak on the side too. Will be making again!!

    5. Mary
      March 1, 2021 AT 10:26 am

      This is a delicious dish, but I have one comment concerning cooking with brown rice. I used long grain brown rice and it took 24 minutes to cook. I also left out the salsa until the dish was cooked. I increased my brown rice to 2 cups and increased vegetable broth to 1-/2 cups and 2 tablespoons. BTW, I use better than bouillon vegetable paste and mix with the amount above and it gives the dish a wonderful flavor. I mix 1 tsp. To ever 8 ounces, so to 1-1/2 cups and 2 T of eater, I add 1-1/2 tsp. Of the paste. I also heat up the water so the paste gets mixed in well.

    6. Vaishali
      February 19, 2020 AT 1:34 am

      Hi, I love this recipe and so does my chipotle loving daughter. I wanted to know if I substitute rice with quinoa would the timings be different?

      1. Alex
        February 19, 2020 AT 8:25 am

        Yes! Cook quinoa for just 1 minute and then use natural release for 10 minutes. That’s typically how I cook quinoa anyways and it should work– though I haven’t tried it yet in this recipe.

    7. Deanna
      January 13, 2020 AT 2:54 pm

      This has become one of my go to recipies!!! We love it!!

    8. Marie
      August 27, 2019 AT 9:17 pm

      Delicious!! I loved this recipe! Thank you.

    9. Lj
      June 21, 2019 AT 10:01 am

      Can I freeze leftovers?

      1. Alex
        June 24, 2019 AT 9:14 am

        I don’t see why not! The bean and rice mixture should hold up well in the freezer.

    10. Belinda
      March 17, 2019 AT 1:00 pm

      Tastes so good! Unfortunately, it keeps burning in my InstantPot I’ve tried twice now, the second time doubling the veggie broth. Thoughts on why this is happening? I’m fairly new to the InstantPot world.

      1. Judy Cameron
        October 6, 2019 AT 8:16 pm

        I had the same result with the burn message.. Great tasting dish but I wonder if there should be more liquid. I did not mix the salsa in with the other ingredients. Really want to solve this so I can make it again.

        1. Alex
          October 8, 2019 AT 11:44 am

          Ah, the dreaded burn message! My IP is fairly old, and I have made this recipe multiple times and never received a burn message. I’ve heard from other bloggers/readers that newer models tend to show the burn message more frequently. If you’ve already removed the salsa, then I’d recommend adding more liquid (try 1/2 cup more next time) and see if that solves it.
          The Kitchn has a good overview of the burn message and ways to troubleshoot it, they also note that different models show this more frequently which is why it’s been so difficult to provide a universal response: https://instantpoteats.com/instant-pot-burn-message-what-causes-it-how-to-fix-it/

      2. AShley Mendoza
        March 25, 2019 AT 6:33 am

        I tried this recipe yesterday and it burned in my IP too. Was I supposed to cook it in low pressure?

        1. Alex
          March 25, 2019 AT 11:57 am

          no, I cook mine on high pressure. However- is your IP a new one? For whatever reason, there’s been a discussion that the new models are more likely to burn. If not, it’s mostly a result of the tomato sauce touching the bottom of the pan- which it shouldn’t. Did you stir the ingredients together or have the salsa lay right on top before bringing it to pressure?

      3. Alex
        March 17, 2019 AT 1:41 pm

        Hi Belinda! Oh no? I don’t have this happen with this recipe, so not sure why– try removing the salsa next time. It’s likely the tomato products that are burning. Then, add in the salsa as soon as you remove the cover to warm through.

        1. Belinda
          March 17, 2019 AT 1:53 pm

          Will do, thanks!