Going Hiking Casserole–an easy Instant Pot recipe of brown rice, chicken, corn, beans, cheese and guacamole salsa. Perfect food for lasting energy before you head out on a hike!
Going Hiking Casserole
One of my favorite activities is hiking! Mountains are my jam. My son and I have been exploring new hikes this summer. It does require a lot of energy though and this casserole is a great way to fuel up before you head out or to refuel when you get back home. It’s made with brown rice so it has fiber and the chicken has plenty of protein to keep you full.
You’re going to want to search out the Herdez guacamole salsa because it is so good! The flavor is amazing. We love it. But you’ll want to get mild because even the medium is a bit spicy.
I love using chicken thighs with this recipe because they stay moist and tender. I buy the big bag at Costco in the frozen section. Because the rice requires a 22 minute pressure cooking time you can throw the chicken in frozen and it will cook perfectly alongside the rice. You can also use frozen chicken breasts if you’d like but they won’t be as tender. If you want to use precooked chicken I would just stir it in after the rice has pressure cooked.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Brown rice–see notes section for how to use other types of rice
- Water
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Cumin
- Chili powder
- Kosher salt
- Pepper
- Frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs–or breasts
- Frozen sweet corn
- Black beans–optional
- Herdez Guacamole Salsa–I use mild
- Sharp cheddar cheese–or mozzarella cheese
Steps
Add rice, water, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper into Instant Pot.
Place chicken on top.
Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 22 minutes. when time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
Stir in the corn and beans (if using). Use two forks to break the chicken apart into pieces.
Stir in the salsa.
Sprinkle the cheese on top and let it melt. Serve and enjoy.
Notes/Tips
- Serve with a green salad with a vinaigrette dressing and fresh fruit like watermelon.
- This recipe is great for prepping ahead for healthy lunches all through the week. It makes about 6 servings so you can portion it out into lunch containers* and pop one into the microwave when you are ready to eat.
- If you’d like to make this recipe with white rice (long grain white, basmati or jasmine) you’ll need to use fresh chicken instead of frozen. Plus you’ll need to cut up the chicken into bite size pieces so that it cooks at the same rate as the rice (you can also use cooked chicken like rotisserie chicken). Pressure cook for 3 minutes with a 5 minute natural pressure release.
- I used my 6 quart Instant Pot*. You can also make this in a 3 or 8 quart pot.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container* in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Another recipe you can make with herdez guacamole salsa is Dude Ranch Chicken. We also love just eating this salsa with tortilla chips.
More Instant Pot Healthy Chicken Recipes…
Instant Pot Weight Watchers Casserole
Not a lot of calories but lots of flavor! Seasoned chicken with beans, corn and cauliflower rice.
Instant Pot 3-Ingredient Chicken Dinner
Chicken and vegetables in a light balsamic sauce. Prep it in 5 minutes and cook it in your pressure cooker in 2 minutes! A fast, easy and healthy dinner!
Campfire Chicken
Instant Pot or Crockpot Campfire Chicken has chicken, red potatoes, corn and lots of flavor from seasonings. An easy dump and go recipe!
Instant Pot Lazy Mom Chicken
Tender chicken with tomatoes, potatoes, zucchini and goat cheese.
Did you know you can filter the recipes on my website to search by meat type, IP or Crockpot, low carb, gluten free, etc.? Use the filter to find exactly what you are looking for.
Going Hiking Casserole
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes (plus 10 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
An easy Instant Pot recipe of brown rice, chicken, corn, beans, cheese and guacamole salsa. Perfect food for lasting energy before you head out on a hike!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked brown rice
- 1 3/4 cups + 2 Tbsp water
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds frozen boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 2 cups frozen sweet corn
- 1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained (optional)
- 1 cup Herdez Guacamole Salsa (mild)
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Add rice, water, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and chicken into Instant Pot.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 22 minutes. when time is up let pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the corn and beans (if using). Use two forks to break the chicken apart into pieces. Stir in the salsa.
- Sprinkle the cheese on top and let it melt. Serve and enjoy.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
In my opinion it needed more flavor. Will cook it with chicken broth next time. It is very similar to dude ranch chicken which is great. The addition of tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream and avocado was helpful.
★★★★
broth is a good idea 🙂
How can this recipe be converted for an oven?
I’m sorry I haven’t tried this one in the oven and I have limited experience with rice in the oven so I’m not sure…Maybe others will know?
I want to know why this is called 365 days of crockpot recipes when every recipe I look at is for the instapot?
Thank you! I have asked this question and have never gotten an answer! Subscribe to this and I don’t have an is instapot!? Some of us have questions
Hi Kathy, I have 1482 recipes that can be made in the slow cooker on this site. Here they are: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/recipes/?fwp_method=slow-cooker
Sometimes the name of the recipe will be called “Instant Pot something” but if you scroll to the recipe card the slow cooker instructions will be there. Hope this helps!
Karen,
I’m loving the recipes you’re sending my way! Have made a couple so far and my family has loved them. For this one could I substitute noodles of some kind? Love all the ingredients but my younger daughter doesn’t like rice. If so, got a recommendation for which type of noodle might work best? I’ve been using my insta pot and so far had great success with your recipes.
Thanks, Janie
Yes! You could add in 8 ounces of penne, macaroni, cavatappi, rigatoni or rotini. I would use 2 cups of water for 8 ounces of pasta and a 3 minute pressure cook time. The chicken will need to be thawed and cut up into bite size pieces in order for it to cook at the same rate as the pasta.