Instant Pot Southwestern Rice Bowls- Vegetarian Option

This is the time of year that I usually start trying to get myself back into my work routine, which means I HAVE to work on coming up with some quick and easy dinners. If you've ever tried to cook after going back to work, it is a STRUGGLE. I love cooking, but when the school year starts back up again, my energy levels by dinner time are low and my motivation to cook is even lower. That's where these recipes come in to save the day! This instant pot dinner is going to become one of your new favorites if you're a busy person! This is the easiest recipe I've ever typed! It takes less than 20 minutes to cook AND all you get to sit back and let the instant pot do all the hard work. Don't worry, crock pot instructions can be found in the notes :). These are basically just DIY Chipotle bowls, which means that they are filling and delicious. This makes a great dinner but would also be a great lunch/meal prep option, if you're into that. Vegetarian option can be found in the notes section! If you're making any of these recipes, be sure to tag me in your photos! (Instagram- @lifewithsarahdavis Facebook-@SarahElizabeth)

Author: Sarah Davis

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 18 minutes

Servings: 4

Keywords: Instant Pot, Southwestern, Rice Bowl, Quick Dinner, Easy Dinner, Dinner, Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice (you can use white if you prefer!)
• 1 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno, diced (remove the seeds if you don't want it spicy)
• 1/2 an onion, diced
• 1 can of corn, with liquid
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 frozen chicken breast
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon each: pepper, garlic powder, onion, oregano, cumin
• 1 spoonful of your favorite salsa
• Juice of 1 lime
• A few dashes of your favorite hot sauce
• For Garnish/Serving: Cilantro, Cheese, Lime, Sour Cream (or greek yogurt), Hot Sauce/Salsa, Tortilla chips, etc.

Instructions:

1. Place all your ingredients (except those for garnish/serving) into your instant pot. Mix to incorporate seasonings.

Here's what mine looked like before cooking. I ran out of chicken breast
so I used 2 chicken breast tenderloins.

2. I cooked mine on the brown rice setting on my instant pot, which is 18 minutes. After time is up, release pressure. Remove chicken and shred. Return shredded chicken to the instant pot and stir until well incorporated.

Here's what mine looked like when it was all done, YUM! 

Notes:

1. This can definitely be made in the crock pot if you don't have an instant pot! If you make this in a crock pot, be sure to boil the chicken stock before adding to the rice mixture in the crock pot. Then cook on high for 2-2 1/2 hours or until rice and chicken are tender.

2. For vegetarian option: Omit chicken, use vegetable stock and Pro Tip: CHECK YOUR BEANS. Most canned black beans are actually not vegetarian because when they are cooked they have been cooked with meat or in meat broth. Be sure your beans specifically say vegetarian/vegan if you want to play it safe. :)