Make all the fixin’s for a burrito in the pressure cooker in one pot – the beans, the chicken and the rice. Serve it in a bowl or wrap it into a burrito.
I used a few healthy substitutions in this recipe – the kind that, mostly, no one will notice.
The typical white rice is replaced with parboiled (also called converted rice). To make parboiled rice he whole rice kernel (brown rice) is actually steamed before the bran is removed. This process transfers some of the extra nutrients to the “white” parboiled rice. The process changes the rice’s starch so that the grain has more fiber and a lower glycemic impact (38 GI for parboiled vs. 89 for white rice) – even lower than brown rice (which averages a 50 GI).
I replace the lettuce with raw cabbage – that’s an extra dose of Vitamin C and a little extra fiber, too.
My favorite, most-used, substitution is swapping out the typical sour cream for plain whole milk yogurt. That’s a significant savings if you’re watching your fat-intake (3.5% fat for plain yogurt vs. 30% for sour cream).
I generally don’t recommend pressure cooking boneless-skinless chicken breasts because they’re easily over-cooked. However, the chicken breast works in this recipe for several reasons. First I use a whole half-breast which is nice and thick – the thicker something is, the slower it pressure cooks. Next, the meat is on top of the beans and primarily steaming – steamed meat pressure cooks slower than boiled meat. Then, the bowl that’s cooking the rice is right on top of the chicken so it will protect it a bit and slow down its cooking time even more. Lastly, we actually want the chicken to over-cook so that it can be easily shredded.
Don’t forget that while the chicken, beans and rice are pressure cooking you can make the tomato salsa and guacamole from scratch. Here are my recipes for accompaniments to use to dress the burrito (or burrito bowl):
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| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 L or larger | steamer basket/trivet, heat-proof bowl(s) | 4-6 min. | High(2) | Natural |
(per serving)
- Serves: 4-6
- Serving size: ⅙th
- Calories: 415
- TOTAL Fat: 5.1g
- TOTAL Carbs: 64.3g
- Sugar Carbs: 0.2g
- Sodium: 629.5mg
- Fiber Carbs: 10g
- Protein: 28.8g
- Cholesterol: 46.5mg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 whole boneless skinless chicken breast (about 1 lb or 450g of meat)
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 medium yellow or green bell pepper, chopped
- 1 cup (200g) dried black beans, soaked overnight
- 1½ cup (375ml) water
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon marjoram
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups shredded lettuce or cabbage
- 1½ cups (285g) parboiled rice
- 1½ cups (375ml) water
- 1 lime zested and juiced (about 1 tablespoon zest and 1 tablespoon juice)
- In a 4-cup (1L) capacity heat-proof bowl, add the parboiled rice, lime zest and water. If the container does not have a handle, make a foil sling. Set the container and sling aside.
- To the pre-heated pressure cooker add the olive oil and brown the chicken on one side (about 5 minutes).
- Remove the chicken and add the onion, bell pepper, black beans, herbs and spices, salt, bay leaf and water. Mix well.
- Lay the chicken breast browned-side up on top of the bean and veggie mixture.
- Lay the steamer basket or trivet on top of the chicken breast.
- Rest the heat-proof bowl with the rice mixture on top of the steamer basket.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker.
Electric pressure cookers: Cook for 6 minutes at high pressure.
Stovetop pressure cookers: Cook for 4 minutes at high pressure. - When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Natural release method.
Electric pressure cookers: Disengage the “keep warm” mode, or unplug the cooker, and open the lid when the pressure indicator/lid-lock has gone down (about 20 to 30 minutes).
Stovetop pressure cookers: Move the cooker off the burner and wait for the pressure to come down on its own (about 10 minutes). - Remove the bowl with the rice out of the pressure cooker and set aside. Then, sprinkle lime juice over the rice and fluff with a fork.
- Remove the trivet or steamer basket and put them to wash.
- Remove the chicken breast to a plate and with a fork, or two, tease the meat apart.
- Slide the meat back in the pressure cooker and mix well with the beans. Meanwhile, find and discard the bay leaf.
- You're done! Make a Burrito or Burrito bowl by layering the rice, lettuce, chicken and bean mixture, and optional Guacamole, Salsa, and Sour Cream (or yogurt).
This just might have to go on the weekend menu. Thanks.
I don’t believe you can cook black beans in 4 minutes.
Try it. They have to be soaked, of course!
Ciao,
L
Is it 1 cup of beans before soaking or 1 cup after soaking? Can this be doubled?1 chicken breast will not feed my family.
Well, I don’t know how big your family is, but I fed four people with a 1 lb. chicken breast and had left-overs! The point of this recipe is that the chicken, beans and rice together will make a meal. You can absolutely add a second chicken breast but doubling the beans and rice will be tricky unless you have a very tall pressure cooker and very tall steamer basket. The second chicken breast will throw off the seasonings so add a little extra salt, herbs and spices.
The ingredient list says “1 cup dried black beans.” That means measure one cup of dry black beans, before they are soaked.
Ciao,
L
Substitute jackfruit for cooked chicken and brown for white rice and soy milk yogurt for a super healthy alternative.
Thanks for sharing your variation, salbers!
Ciao,
L
Do you think pre-soaked brown rice would work with the same cooking time?
I haven’t tested pre-soaked brown rice. How long does it take to pressure cook?
Ciao,
L
Laura, basmati brown rice that has been soaked overnight takes 12 – 14 minutes to pressure cook on High in the bottom of a stove top cooker, depending on how al dente you like it.
OK, the soaked brown rice will take the same amount of time cooking bain marie, above the ingredients, as in the base of your pressure cooker. It will use the same ratio of water to liquid, too. However, I don’t think the beans and chicken will hold for the rice in this recipe.
I would either pressure cook it separately OR try something else on the bottom that will match the cooking time of the rice.
I was going to suggest going with this bean recipe on the bottom, but they take about twice as long as your soaked rice.
However, you can NOT soak the brown rice and make this pressure cooker curry bowl with it.
I’m sorry, but right off the top of my head, I can’t think of an easy way to substitute the parboiled with soaked brown rice in this recipe.
Ciao,
L
Usually cook brown rice, including basmati, 50 min maybe 55 min on the stove. Will 14 min be enough in the IP?
What a great method to play with! I’m more a fan of pinto beans than black beans. Laura, do you think it would feasible to do this with pinto beans, chicken thighs instead of chicken breast, and soaked brown rice? Another riff on this method might use Mexican heirloom beans ( example: that have different cooking times and flavors, opening up more possibilities, such as using quinoa or cracked hominy in place of rice. Can’t wait to start playing with this.
Can I use just regular white rice with this recipe?
Unfortunately, no. It will be overcooked.
Ciao,
L
Thank You!
I’ve done this with regular long grain white rice and it was fine; a little softer but not mushy. We don’t care for chewy rice and I never buy converted rice.
Marbos, thanks for sharing your experience in using long grain rice with this!
Ciao,
L
Nice video but PLEASE lose the music .I had to turn my speakers off to get through the video.
I just made this tonight and the recipe is fantastic! Rice, chicken and beans all cooked beautifully. Thank you also for the video which helped me assemble everything faster and with a little more confidence. I should also add that I used 1.6 lbs. of chicken, since that is what I had defrosted, and the recipe worked beautifully with that amount of chicken. Also I mixed a cup of frozen corn in with the finished beans which cooked quickly and added a little sweetness. Thank you so much for the recipe. No more Mexican take-out!!
I’m so glad you read you enjoyed it. Please come back to rate the recipe when you get a chance (the stars are under the comments)- the corn was a great addition!
Ciao,
L
Made this tonight…very tasty! My rice was slightly undercooked. I have a fagor duo and the heatproof bowl that fitting in my steamer basket wasn’t as shallow as the one in your video, would that affect the time? I’m just new to the whole PC thing and do find the duo a bit temperamental to know when to start timing. I know to wait a few minutes longer after the yellow button pops up but it seems to be a bit of a guess as to how long. If i wanted to cook the rice separately, will the chicken be okay? Or should I still put the steamer basket in to protect the chicken a bit?
Bookgal, you need to start timing the Fagor Duo when the yellow pin that comes up is stiff (you can’t lightly push it back down) and steam starts coming out of the main valve – the duo is my LEAST favorite model of the Fagor line because it makes figuring out when it has reached pressure so challenging.
The depth of the bowl would not have affected the rice – so I think it might have been an error in timing count-down – but the material could also have an effect. What material was the bowl?
Ciao,
L
Hi Laura
Thank you, yes the Duo seems tricky to figure out when to start. May yet invest in another PC as got this one fairly cheap anyway. The bowl was glass (pyrex).
Regards
Bookgal
This looks yummy! Can you share where you got the bowl you made the rice in?
Hi Rachel, the bowl is the larger container of those ubiquitous “nesting stainless steel storage” sets that I’ve seen for sale everywhere. I use the largest and next-to-largest ones in my pressure cookers with the sling. Here is an example of what they look like…
http://amzn.to/1Ue1IJK
I use the little ones for the kids school snacks, and the medium ones for feeding stray and abandoned neighborhood cats. The lids are NOT for the pressure cooker and they are so flimsy that they usually warp after the first dish-washing anyway. If you get a better-quality set with good lids, save those to store your leftovers!
Ciao,
L
The recipe looks wonderful, but I would like to know if I can substitute quinoa for the rice.
If so, what would the ratio of water be for 1 cup of quinoa?
Lesley, the cooking time in this recipe is too long for the quinoa. If you want to experiment, I recommend covering the quinoa with foil to slow down the cooking – no guarantees this will work in the allotted time, though. Use the same water ratio for quinoa as stated in the pressure cooking time chart.
Ciao,
L
Made this tonight. Delicious! Everything came out perfect. Thanks Laura!
Can you please share the name of this band?! My 2 year old daughter has become obsessed with this song!
Yes, it does have a bit of an “umpa lumpa” sound – the song is called “Meatball Parade” and it’s by Kevin Macleod (a coposer) – you can download any of his albums for free here – scroll down to the “world” section for his most 2-year-old (and adult) friendly stuff:
https://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/collections.php
Almost all of my videos use his music – except for the Japanese sushi video where I just used his music a little bit at the intro the sound track from real Taiko drums for the rest of it.
Happy Baby Crazies!
Ciao,
L
Laura,
This looks fantastic! I have small Pyrex bowls and small Corning-Ware bowls. Would either of those be fine to use for the rice in this recipe and in other PC recipes?
Thanks so much.
Absolutely, check that they are oven-safe and if they are you can use them! Not too small! ; )
Ciao,
L
I made this tonight and my beans were slightly undercooked and my chicken a little dry. Would you recommend adding some kind of liquid with the beans? I don’t really want to cook it for longer or the rice will be overcooked. It was still delicious though!
Did you soak the beans and add the water noted in the recipe?
Ciao,
L
I soaked the beans but somehow didn’t see that water had to be added… I guess I was lucky that the beans didn’t burn. Can’t wait to do it again, properly this time :)
I made this for dinner last night, with some homemade pico de gallo. It was so flavorful and delicious!
I used pinto beans, soaked, and set the IP for 8 minutes. Then, I took out the rice and chicken, but the beans were not quite tender, so I turned on the IP for an additional 2 minutes under pressure. By the time I shredded the chicken and stirred the rice, and set the table, the beans were tender. It worked out well.
Thank you for this!
This looks delicious! I’ll try it tonight and come back to tell how it turned out.
Laura – if I cook the rice separately does the PC cooking time change?
No, the cooking time does not change if you pressure cook the rice separately. Go for it!
Ciao,
L
Laura – I followed the recipe and everything turned out great, except for the rice; it was very mushy. I used converted rice so I am not sure what could have gone wrong. I made my guacamole and salsa from scratch, so overall the dish was a hit. Any ideas on how the rice might have become so mushy?
Did you notice the rice ratio in this recipe was different from the rice chart? It was 1:1 to make up for the slightly longer cooking time. Did you follow that ratio or rinse or soak the rice? Mushy usually means too much water. Remember with rice you have to measure the quantities exactly and not approximate.
Ciao,
L
I believe I used a 1:1 ratio, but now that I think about it, the rice did sit for a while before I was ready to put it the pressure cooker and noticed that it had absorbed all the water by the time I put in it (the rice actually looked like it was cooked even before I put in). I will make your dish again and will be sure to double check my measurements. Great recipe, thanks!
It probably was! Parboiling changes the rice grain from a starch to a gel – you re-hydrated “the gel” by having it sit in water. : )
Ciao,
L
Hubby and I thought this was absolutely delicious! I made it with soaked brown rice and so there was too much water, but it turned out fine. (Obviously, I am not a good cook. LOL Plus, I am new to pressure cooking.)
Could pinto beans be substituted for the black beans in this?
This recipe is based on matching the pressure cooking times for black beans, rice and chicken breast. Pinto beans take about twice as long to pressure cook (10 minutes), so you can substitute them but be aware that the chicken breast and rice might be slightly over-cooked.
Ciao,
L
I loved the video and the music for it. If I didn’t have time to soak the beans, could I use canned beans, rinsed and drained?
Hi,
Can I reduce the quantities as we are only two (and partner not so fond of black beans)? Will it affect the cooking time?
Hi Paul, yes you can reduce the quantities without changing the cooking time – you can do this with any recipe. Just be aware to never lower the quantity to LESS than your pressure cooker’s minimum liquid requirement.
Ciao,
L