Instant Pot Burrito Bowls

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Instant Pot Burrito Bowls are perfuming my kitchen, like a savory potpourri. I wish I could scoop you all up and put you in my kitchen right now.

I just popped the vent open on my Instant Pot and my whole kitchen smells like heaven with scents of steak, chili powder, cumin, onion, and sweet carrot. What a delicious blend!

If you love Mexican food, burrito bowls, and your Instant Pot like I do, then this recipe for Instant Pot Burrito Bowls is the perfect recipe for your dinner this week.

These burrito bowls are full of fork tender steak, seasoned with flavors of cumin, chili powder, garlic and onions, mixed with a sweet, salty, & spicy blender sauce. Served with corn and black beans, over a bed of rice flavored with chili powder, tomatoes and green chilies.

Squeeze a few wedges of lime over top and scoop in a generous portion of spicy pickled jalapenos and you have a drool worthy dinner!

How to Make Burrito Bowls in your Instant Pot

Start by cutting the top round steak into ½-1 inch cubes, bite sized. The onions into 8 large pieces and the peeled carrots into 1 inch chunks.

Set the Instant Pot to saute mode and add the oil. Saute the steak for 5 minutes until it is browned on the outside. It is okay if it is still a little pink in some spots.

Turn off the saute mode and add the onions, carrots, and all the spices (leaving out the tomato paste, vinegar, and sugar. Those are added later).

Stir to coat the beef and veggies with the seasonings. Add the beef broth and close the Instant Pot, seal the top pressure valve, and set it to cook on meat/stew, high pressure for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile start your rice on the stove top. Add the rice, tomatoes, cumin, salt and water to the pot and cook over medium high heat until the pot comes to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and cover the pot, cooking for 16-18 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Once it is cooked fluff the rice with a fork and set aside for serving.

When the Instant Pot beeps at the end of the 20 minutes, let the pot do a 5 minute natural pressure release. At the end of 5 minutes do a quick release by turning the top valve to “vent”.

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Using a slotted spoon, remove all the beef chunks from the Instant Pot and set aside.

Pour all the remaining liquid, carrots, and onions into a blender or food processor. Add the vinegar, tomato paste and sugar to the blender. Blend until it is smooth, about 30 second to 1 minute.

Taste the sauce for additional seasonings- if you like more vinegar tang, more salt, more chili powder, or spice (add cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes), add those now.

Mix the beef with 1 cup of the blender sauce. Set the remaining sauce aside for serving.

Heat the corn and black beans in the microwave until heated thru.

How to Assemble Your Burrito Bowls

In a soup size bowl add the desired amount of rice to the bottom of the bowl.

Top one side of the rice with a portion of the beef/sauce mixture. Add the corn and black beans to the other side of the bowl.

Pour the desired amount of the blender sauce over the burrito bowl….the desired amount is a lot : ) . Now add any toppings you would like, for example: lime wedges, cilantro, and/or pickled jalapenos. (see the list below for other topping ideas)

Toppings for your Burrito Bowl

By adding toppings to your burrito bowl you can enhance the complex flavors even further. Of course it is completely personal preference, so you choose whatever toppings your family would like to use.

I like a squeeze of lime, chopped cilantro, and a few pickled jalapenos.

Here are a few other ideas:

• Pickled Jalapenos
• Chopped Cilantro
• Fresh Lime Wedges
• Sour Cream
• Plain Greek Yogurt
• Sliced Avocado
• Guacamole
• Fresh Diced Tomatoes
• Salsa
• Shredded Cheese
• Pico De Gallo
• Chopped Green Onions
• Diced Red Onions
• Sliced Fresh Jalapenos

Sauce For Burrito Bowls

This enchilada style blender sauce for the burrito bowl is undeniable!!! The first time I made it I started eating it like soup, with a spoon, straight out of the blender! It is that good.

Since it is cooked in the Instant Pot with the beef it has a cooked-all-day flavor, in 20 minutes. The carrots give the sauce just the right amount of thickness and sweetness and all the seasonings create the perfect “enchilada-ey” flavor.

If you like your sauce a little spicier you can always add a little cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes to the blender.

Believe me you will be drowning your bowl in this sauce…. or eating it straight out of the blender, like me!

Variations on the Instant Pot Burrito Bowls

Here are some ideas to customize your burrito bowl recipe:

• Add some cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes for your preferred level of heat.
• Use cilantro lime rice in the bowl instead of my red rice recipe.
• Try using Mexican Cauliflower Rice instead of white rice for a lower carb dinner.
• Substitute pinto beans for the black beans, or a mix of the two.
• Add some sweet chopped red peppers- fresh or sauteed.

What Goes Well with Instant Pot Burrito Bowls for Dinner

Ok, let’s get real about the pictures that I take… they are completely styled to look beautiful and appetizing. That is what you want to see, right!!!

When you eat these or make these at home do not try to recreate the pics that you have seen here. Your bowl should look more like the pic below. This is how they look when I eat them:

This dish is 100% more delicious all mixed up together with a ton of the blender sauce poured over top!! Heap on the toppings, mix it all up, and dig in!

This dish is what I consider an all-in-one dinner. You have your protein, starch, and veggie all in one bowl. One and done.

However it does go well with tortilla chips, my restaurant style salsa , and my rosemary paloma or grapefruit margaritas. Sometimes I will even use the chips as a spoon, we’re real casual here.

If you wanted to add a fruit side dish, try my recipe for Fresh Pineapple with Citrus Herb Glaze, it goes great with Mexican dishes.  Delish!

Recommendations for Buying An Instant Pot

If you do not have an Instant Pot but are interested in buying one, I would highly recommend the 6 qt Duo Plus 9-in-1 or the 6 qt Duo Plus 7-in-1.

I personally have the 6 quart 9-in-1, to be honest I am not sure I will ever use all 9 features (like the sterilize or yogurt), but I guess they are there if I want them. The main features I use are the saute, meat/stew, soup/broth, rice, and pressure cook.

The main reason that I recommend these two Instant Pots is the size, 6 quarts. This gives you the space you need inside the pot to make just about any recipe, for two people or ten people!

Did you know that your Instant Pot can also double as a Slow Cooker!!! I plan to take advantage of that feature more this winter.

Buy the Instant Pot here, thru my affiliate link. It will NOT cost you any extra, it simply supports me and allows me to continue providing awesome recipes for free on Mom’s Dinner! Thank you♥

I hope you give this recipe for Instant Pot Burrito Bowls a try in your kitchen.

Love- Susie

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