These Meal Prep Instant Pot Taco Bowls are similar to taco salad. In just 30 minutes, you’ll have your lunches ready for the week!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – any neutral oil can be used like avocado oil, sunflower oil or canola oil.
- Ground turkey – use any ground meat of your choice. Ground chicken is a leaner option but ground beef will work as well.
- Sweet potato – yams, pumpkin, butternut squash or baby potatoes would all be good.
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth or beef broth would be the best substitutes for chicken broth.
- Taco seasoning – use store-bought taco seasoning or make your own with a blend of chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, oregano, salt and chili flakes.
- Salt – to taste.
- Black beans – refried beans, pinto beans or red kidney beans will also work well.
- Corn – fresh or canned corn kernels can be used.
- Romaine lettuce – swap out for another mixed green blend, spinach or iceberg lettuce.
- Avocado – sliced or diced avocados or guacamole would be good on these bowls.
Pico de gallo
- Plum tomatoes – cherry tomatoes, Roma tomatoes or heirloom tomatoes can be used instead.
- Red onion – you can use yellow onion, shallots or white onion, but the flavour will be milder.
- Cilantro – leave this off altogether if you’re not a fan of cilantro.
- Lime juice – freshly squeezed lime juice is best but bottled lime juice will work in a pinch.
- Salt – to taste.
How to make taco bowls in the Instant Pot
- Add the first 6 ingredients to the Instant Pot in order.
- Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes.
- Do a quick release of the pressure.
- Make the pico de gallo.
- Add the black beans and corn.
- Assemble your bowls.
- Serve and enjoy!
More topping ideas
Feel free to get creative when it comes to what you add to your taco bowls! The options are pretty much endless. These bowls are also a great way to clear out your produce drawer or use up any leftovers kicking around the fridge.
Here are some more topping ideas for your taco bowls:
- Refried beans
- Sautéed bell peppers
- Sour cream or lime crema
- Tortilla strips
- Spanish rice
- Fresh or jarred salsa
- Guacamole
Frequently Asked Questions
Taco salad bowls usually contain all of your favourite taco flavours but in a salad format. These taco bowls are similar to a taco salad, but in a meal-prep-friendly recipe. They’re made with ground turkey, sweet potatoes, seasonings, chicken broth, black beans, corn, lettuce and avocado.
This recipe is a spin on taco salad, a Tex Mex dish that originated in Texas in the 1960s.
These taco bowls have 426 calories per serving. They’re packed with protein but are healthier since you’re using ground turkey instead of ground beef.
Storing and reheating
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you plan on meal prepping this recipe, store individual serving sizes in glass bowls.
Keep in mind that when you first make this meal, some of the ingredients, such as the ground turkey, are served warm. So, if you combine the warm ingredients with the cool ones, such as the romaine lettuce, it will be impossible to reheat the meal without heating the fresh produce. As long as the meat is properly cooked, it’s perfectly safe to eat cold. If you prefer to eat the meat warm, you will want to store the meat separate from the rest of the ingredients.
To prevent the avocado from turning brown from oxidation, be sure to sprinkle some lime juice over top and store the bowls in an airtight container.
Freezing the ground turkey
While you can’t freeze these taco bowls, you can freeze the ground turkey! Once you've cooked the meat, wait for it to cool and then transfer it to a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or airtight container. You can keep the ground turkey in the freezer for up to 3 months for optimal freshness.
When you're ready to enjoy your ground turkey, move it to the fridge to thaw overnight then microwave for 2-3 minutes. You can also heat it straight from frozen in a pan on the stovetop!
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More Instant Pot taco recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60
is the version I use in this recipe. - And this is my fave taco seasoning if you don’t feel like making your own!
- Get your square glass meal prep bowls here!
is the version I use in this recipe.
Meal Prep Instant Pot Taco Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey (or ground chicken)
- 1 medium-sized sweet potato, diced
- 2 tbsp taco seasoning
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 1 can black beans
- 1 cup Corn
- 1 cup romaine lettuce, chopped
- 1 avocado, diced
Pico de gallo
- 3 plum tomatoes, diced
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Add olive oil, turkey, sweet potatoes, taco seasoning, garlic and broth to Instant Pot in that order. Set to cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Once complete, do a quick release of pressure and open lid when safe to do so.
- Meanwhile, mix ingredients for pico de gallo together and set aside.
- Add black beans and corn to turkey mixture in Instant Pot, stirring well. Serve mixture among 4 meal prep bowls, then add lettuce, pico de gallo and avocado. Will keep in fridge up to 3 or 4 days.
Comments & Reviews
Erica says
Hi! Could you add directions to make this if you don’t have an instant pot? It looks so good!
Taylor Stinson says
Unfortunately at this point in time I’m not able to do this. But basically what you could do is roast or saute the sweet potatoes and saute the ground turkey with the same seasonings instead of cooking them in the Instant Pot.
Erica says
ok thank you!
Kristine says
Hi Taylor,
In the video, it shows garlic being added to the IP, but there’s no mention of garlic in the recipe list. I’m guessing it looks like about 2 tsp or so of fresh garlic, does that sound correct? Thanks.
Taylor Stinson says
Hi Kristine – so sorry about this! It is 2 cloves of minced garlic, I’ve updated the recipe to reflect that. Thanks for catching it!
terry parks says
The links to “The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60 is the version I use in this recipe.
And this is my fave taco seasoning if you don’t feel like making your own!
Get your square glass meal prep bowls here!’ don’t work.
Looks delicious! Hubby loves anything TACO
Taylor Stinson says
I think it’s just the Instant Pot link that doesn’t work, sorry about that Terry! Thanks for the kind words!
Susan says
I’m looking at recipes like this to send to school with my teen – but I’m curious – should she microwave the whole meal? or eat the veggies first, then microwave the meat? Or eat it cold.
What do you recommend?
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Susan – you can microwave the meat separately or just eat the whole bowl cold!
Paola Mena says
Great recipe! All the flavours work so well with eachother and it is so quick and easy to make 🙂
Paula says
Sorry, do you brown the turkey first or instant pot does it ???
Tina says
Looks delish! I’m shocked that the fat content is so high though.
Taylor Stinson says
Most of it is the olive oil and avocado – they’re both very healthy fats! If you want to reduce the calories and fat content, leave out or reduce the avocado (you will probably save at least half the fat this way!)
cakespy says
This looks absolutely wonderful. Like a healthy rainbow!