Instant Pot Mexican Casserole—cheesy chicken, beans and rice casserole made fast and easy in your electric pressure cooker.
Instant Pot Mexican Casserole
This is an easy dump and go weeknight dinner idea that everyone will enjoy! It’s like a burrito without the tortilla. I like to add Fritos on top of my portion. They are so yummy! You can also crunch up tortilla chips and sprinkle on top.
This recipe is versatile! I used rotisserie chicken that I had chopped up and put in the freezer earlier this month. I threw the chicken in frozen and it worked perfectly. You can also use raw chicken with this recipe. Just check the notes/tips section for how to do that. I used brown rice for extra nutrition but you can also use white rice. Just make sure to cook for the proper amount of time listed in the recipe card.
Ingredients/Substitution Ideas
- Chicken broth–or water and Better than Bouillon
- Rice–white or brown
- Chopped rotisserie chicken–you can also use raw chicken. See notes below to see how.
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Garlic powder
- Onion powder
- Bush’s chili beans–chili beans have lots of flavor. I used mild.
- Pace’s picante sauce–I used mild
- Roma tomatoes–or another variety of fresh tomatoes
- Colby jack cheese–of another type of cheese like cheddar or mexican blend
- Green onions
- Fritos–original or chili cheese Fritos
- Sour cream–for topping
Steps
- Add ingredients: Pour broth into Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the rice. Add in the chicken, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, beans (don’t drain) and half of the picante sauce.
- Pressure cook: Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes for white rice or 22 minutes for brown rice. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Add remaining ingredients: Stir in the tomatoes, cheese, green onions and the other half of the picante sauce.
- Serve topped with Fritos and a dollop of sour cream.
Notes/Tips
- If using brown rice I would stir in the cooked rotisserie chicken after the pressure cooking time in step 3. If using white rice I would add the chicken in during step 1. White rice only needs a short pressure cooking time while brown rice needs a longer cooking time of 22 minutes. The chicken will taste better if it’s not cooked for 22 minutes.
- If you’d like to use uncooked chicken here’s how: for white rice cut raw chicken breasts or thighs into bite size pieces and add in with the rice in step 1. For brown rice add whole pieces of chicken (breasts or thighs, bone-in or boneless) in with the rice in step 1.
- Serve with a shredded lettuce and extra tomatoes or pico de gallo, if desired.
- This recipe is gluten-free. If you leave out the cheese and sour cream it can be dairy free.
- 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.
- Other recipes you can make with picante sauce are Instant Pot Chicken Alfredo Salsa Pasta or Instant Pot Salsa Rice.
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Instant Pot Mexican Casserole
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Cheesy chicken, beans and rice casserole made fast and easy in your electric pressure cooker.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup raw rice (white or brown)
- 2–3 cups chopped rotisserie chicken
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 (16 oz) can Bush’s chili beans (I used mild)
- 1 cup Pace’s picante sauce (I used mild), divided
- 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
- 4 oz (1 cup) shredded colby jack cheese
- 3 green onions, sliced
- For serving: Fritos and sour cream
Instructions
- Pour broth into Instant Pot. Sprinkle in the rice. Add in the chicken, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, beans (don’t drain) and half of the picante sauce.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 3 minutes for white rice or 22 minutes for brown rice. When time is up let the pot sit for 10 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Stir in the tomatoes, cheese, green onions and the other half of the picante sauce.
- Serve topped with Fritos and a dollop of sour cream.
Notes
If using brown rice I would stir in the cooked rotisserie chicken after the pressure cooking time in step 3. If using white rice I would add the chicken in during step 1. White rice only needs a short pressure cooking time while brown rice needs a longer cooking time of 22 minutes. The chicken will taste better if it’s not cooked for 22 minutes.
If you’d like to use uncooked chicken here’s how: for white rice cut raw chicken breasts or thighs into bite size pieces and add in with the rice in step 1. For brown rice add whole pieces of chicken (breasts or thighs, bone-in or boneless) in with the rice in step 1.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot
More Instant Pot Chicken and Rice Recipes…
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Instant Pot Creamy Casserole–the most delicious and creamy chicken casserole with rice, ham and cheese. You’re going to love how the Instant Pot helps you prep this casserole with minimal work.
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Instant Pot Sunshine Chicken–chicken tenderloins and rice simmered in orange juice and seasoned with turmeric makes a bright yellow, sunny dish that has great flavor and takes only minutes to prepare.
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An easy Instant Pot or Crockpot recipe with lots of lemony flavor. Serve over rice to sop up all the delicious sauce!
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This chicken and rice casserole is a classic! It’s got rice, chicken, cream of chicken soup, cream cheese, seasonings and parmesan. A classic chicken and rice casserole updated for the Instant Pot.
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.
*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.
I Made this last night and had a feeling I’d get a burn notice so I sprayed Pam in the bottom and was very carful about stirring it. Just as I suspected I got a burn notice. I just let it keep going it’s thing hoping it would be fine when I finally opened it up. I was done but lots of rice stuck to the bottom!! It was good so I’d like to make it again, any other suggestions to keep it from sticking??
★★★★
Maybe putting the chicken on the bottom would help?!
It was good, but we used raw chicken cut into bite size pieces. Cooked it per directions, but it did not taste/feel done.
I suggest cooking it longer.
★★★★
Ok good to know. Thanks for sharing your experience
I made this and it was a big hit. Tonite I doubled it and got a food burn. Followed the same directions. Any thoughts? It really did burn, stuck rice everywhere. I did salvage it, but don’t understand. Maybe the 66qt can’t handle a double batch? I don’t have an 8, but I do have a 10qt.
★★★★★
Darn! Did you stir the ingredients? If so that might be why you got the burn notice. Layer in the ingredients and don’t stir.
I made this tonight and it was a big hit. The only change I made was using tortilla chips instead of Fritos. Leftovers for lunch tomorrow!! Thanks Karen!
★★★★★
Thanks Jim! I’m glad to hear it!
This Mexican Casserole sounds yummy and I’m going to try it soon. But I have a question about different rices. I want to use a box of Long Grain & White Rice (since I have several in my storage I need to use up) instead of your recipe suggestions of white or brown rice. The box directions say to simmer for 25-30 minutes. Do you have a hint for how to adapt stove-top cooking time to IP time? I would love to use these boxes of flavored rices with other IP 365 recipes I have accumulated in my recipe book.
I would use a 3 minute pressure cook time…treat it the same as long grain white rice.