New fast and filling meal ideas are always welcome in my kitchen! These beef and rice bowls are a healthy and delicious take on tacos and I can make them start to finish in 30 minutes.
Instant Pot Mexican Beef and Rice Bowls
I love that I can use my Instant Pot to quickly cook this whole meal in one pot (the fewer dishes the better!). While the beef and rice are cooking I chop any toppings that we’re going to use. Like my Chipotle-style burrito bowls, this is one of those fun meals that is easy for each person to customize for their tastes. I put a scoop of the meat and rice mixture in each bowl and let each kid top it the way they like.
For toppings, we like cilantro, avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, raw onion, or fresh tomato.
Are Rice and Beans Healthy?
These beef and rice bowls do contain two ingredients that I don’t use too often: rice and beans. Perhaps you will remember some of my previous posts that discuss the health issues of rice and beans.
I sub cauliflower rice in many of my recipes (such as this vegetable fried rice), but we do occasionally eat white rice as well. This is one of those recipes that I like rice in. Variety is the spice of life!
As for the beans, to each their own. When my autoimmune disorder was acting up, I couldn’t eat beans but now occasionally do. If you can tolerate beans, they can be a great source of nutrients and fiber as long as they’re fully cooked.
The Amazing Versatility of Leftovers
When you’re all about eating a real food diet, leftovers become one of your most valued commodities. Making use of leftover food saves so much time and money, so I’m always coming up with ways to repurpose last night’s dinner.
We eat a lot of egg scrambles and frittatas for breakfast and salads for lunch. We use the leftovers wrapped in lettuce leaves for tacos or made into a Mexican soup.
Cooking note: If you don’t have an Instant Pot, this recipe can be made in a skillet on the stove with just slight differences. Similar to this recipe, just simmer the salsa, broth, and rice in a covered skillet with the browned beef until the rice is tender.
New Thought: Take the Instant Pot Camping?
My whole family loves to camp (and I love the health benefits we get from it). Lately, I’ve been considering taking my Instant Pot camping with us this summer when we camp in a campground with electricity. It would be really handy to come back from a long afternoon at the beach or in the woods and be able to throw dinner together quickly. I plan to combine all the ingredients before leaving home and just dump them in the Instant Pot what it’s time to cook. I’ll let you know how it works out!
Has anyone else out there tried camp cooking with their Instant Pot? I’d love to hear about what you did.
Mexican Beef & Rice Bowls Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 TBSP olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef (or turkey)
- 1 red onion (diced)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups salsa
- 1 cup white rice (rinsed)
- 15 oz black beans (cooked, drained, and rinsed)
Instructions
- Turn Instant Pot on the saute setting.
- Heat oil in the bottom of Instant Pot and add beef, onion, chili powder, salt, and cumin.
- Cook, stirring regularly, until meat is browned.
- Stir in the broth, salsa, and rice.
- Close the lid and set to sealing.
- Select manual and set timer for 8 minutes.
- After 8 minutes, manually release pressure by carefully switching the lid to “venting” instead of sealed.
- Add black beans and stir to combine.
- Serve with desired toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
What are your favorite one-pot Instant Pot meals? Please share below!
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I have a pressure cooker and a slow cooker and don’t want to purchase another expensive piece of cooking equipment. When using the instapot in a recipe it would be very much appreciated to have a note of how to prepare if you don’t have an instapot, which most people don’t have. I know they are becoming popular but in a community of 100 people, I only know 2 people who have an instapot and they don’t actually use them.
Most recipes for an Instant Pot can be converted to a slow cooker or a regular pressure cooker recipe.
My family and I go to our state Homeschool conference every year, and stay at the hosting resort hotel. We always take our Instant Pot and make a meat entree the first day for lunch (taco lettuce cups), then eat as leftovers for dinner and lunch the next day. I try to use beef rather than chicken, as we aren’t crazy about IP chicken texture. Since the IP has a saute feature, I might try the Pakistani Kima with our left over beef for dinner, then add to cooked rice for a stir-fry for lunch. Our family treat is to eat dinner out the second night.
I use my IP camping all the time. It’s a huge help when it’s just me. I’m about to adapt this receipe to a piece of beef that I had left over. With yellow rice which is a bit lower in carbs. I’ll let you know.
I’m just wondering if number 7 and 8 need to be switched in order to cook the black beans.
The black beans will just need to be warmed through, which will happen in just a minute or two of stirring 🙂
Awesome! Only change I made was to increase the chili powder to 2 tsp , we like the extra boost of flavor. My husband who isn’t always so thrilled with being a guinea pig for new recipes loved this !!!
would it be all the same timing in a pressure cooker? Thanks! Going to try this out tomorrow evening.
Hi Katie!
Do you think short-grain brown rice would work in this?
Thanks,
Angie 🙂
Do you prefer the white because of arsenic concerns in the brown?
Hi Katy, do you have a brand for the beans. Thanks