Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
Instant Pot salsa chicken is a quick, flavor dinner recipe you can make right in your pressure cooker. This healthy shredded chicken would be delicious on taco night, as part of a burrito bowl and pairs perfectly with any number of rice dishes.
If there’s one meal that’s always reliable in my house, it’s taco night.
To keep it interesting, I like to switch it up my basic ground beef tacos with things like chicken tacos.
This recipe is perfect for that.
Plus it is less active prep than standing over the stove and browning meat for tacos thanks to the Instant Pot.
Ingredients
You don’t need anything fancy to make this recipe.
To make it you need:
- Chicken breasts– Use boneless, skinless breasts that you have trimmed the extra fat from.
- Chicken broth
- Salsa– Mild salsa keeps it kid friendly, but if you prefer hot and spicy feel free to use your favorite spicy salsa.
- Spices– Cumin, minced garlic and chili powder
How to Make
Making this is very easy!
To start, pour the chicken broth into the inner liner of the Instant Pot.
Then place your the steamer basket with the chicken breasts on it into your Instant Pot.
Now, whisk together the salsa and spices.
Set aside a half cup of the mixture and pour the rest over the chicken.
Then secure the lid onto the Instant Pot and make sure the valve is set to sealing.
Pressure cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Then let the pressure naturally release for 5-10 minutes.
After that, open the valve to quick release any of the remaining pressure.
Once the pressure has been released, open the Pot.
Hit cancel on the Pot and then hit soup mode so that you can simmer the sauce and broth while you shred the chicken.
Carefully remove the chicken and the steamer basket from the Pot using tongs.
Shred the chicken with two forks or meat claws.
When the chicken is shredded, hit the cancel/keep warm button on the Instant Pot.
Return the chicken to Pot and toss with the reduced sauce and the remaining half cup of salsa. Serve and enjoy!
What to Serve With It
I love using this shredded chicken recipe as a filling for tacos, burritos and quesadillas.
It also pairs so well with:
Storing Leftovers
You can refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
You can also freeze leftovers to use with other dishes.
To freeze, let the chicken cool completely and transfer it to freezer bags.
Seal the bags and freeze for up to 3 months.
Can I make this in the slow cooker instead?
Yes! Reduce the chicken broth to 1/2 a cup, and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6-8.
No need to reserve any salsa with this method, add it all in over the chicken.
It’s done when the chicken’s falling apart tender and easily shredded.
Can I use frozen chicken in the Instant Pot?
Yes, you can use frozen chicken but it will take longer.
For large frozen chicken breasts, adjust the cook time to 16 minutes and allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes.
How long does it take for the Pot to come to pressure?
An 8 quart Instant Pot will take roughly 15 minutes to come to pressure with this recipe if you are using fresh chicken.
Making this with frozen chicken breasts will mean a longer cook time.
How much chicken does this make?
This recipe yields about 6-7 cups of shredded chicken- plenty for a hungry family!
Can use fresh or frozen chicken, but with frozen chicken the IP will take longer than the 15 minutes to come to pressure.
Tips and Tricks
- If worried about the steam release and your cabinets, or just hot spray, place a damp rag over the valve and you can also use tongs to turn it.
- For less salt, use sodium chicken broth.
- Feel free to switch your salsa up to suit your tastes.
- Make sure you don’t put the salsa under the chicken. It needs to sit on top of the chicken to avoid the burn notice.
Other Instant Pot Chicken Recipes You Might Enjoy
This Instant Pot salsa chicken is a winner that everyone will love. Your family will love eating it and you’ll love making it since there is almost no prep. Make it the next time you need a quick way to switch up taco night!
Looking for other Instant Pot chicken recipes? Try these:
If you’ve tried this INSTANT POT SALSA CHICKEN, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
Ingredients
- 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts trimmed of fat
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 16 oz jar mild salsa
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 clove garlic minced
Instructions
- Pour the chicken broth into the instant pot liner.
- Add a steamer basket/insert and place the chicken breasts on top.
- Add the salsa and seasonings to a small mixing bowl. Whisk together to combine.
- Set aside 1/2 cup of the mixture, and pour the rest of the seasoned salsa evenly out over top of the chicken.
- Add the lid to the instant pot, turning to close, and set the vent valve to seal.
- Cook the chicken on high pressure for 15 minutes.
- Once the chicken is done cooking, let it naturally pressure release for 5-10 minutes. Then turn the valve to vent, careful to avoid hot steam, and release any remaining steam.
- Hit the 'soup' button on your pot, and set it to HIGH. This will allow the broth to simmer and reduce while you shred the meat.
- Using a pair of tongs, transfer the cooked chicken to a cutting board and shred- either using two forks or a pair of meat claws.
- Hit the cancel/keep warm button to stop the cooking process.
- Add the shredded chicken back into the pot along with the remaining half cup of seasoned salsa. Stir everything together until evenly combined.
- Serve the chicken as is, over rice, in soft flour tortillas, tacos, etc.
Notes
- If worried about the steam release and your cabinets, or just hot spray, place a damp rag over the valve and you can also use tongs to turn it.
- For less salt, use sodium chicken broth.
- Feel free to switch your salsa up to suit your tastes.
- Make sure you don't put the salsa under the chicken. It needs to sit on top of the chicken to avoid the burn notice.
Nutrition
I make a recipe that is similar to this, but with a few additional steps that I think make a huge difference. First, I use thin sliced cutlets vs breaststroke because it makes for a much easier time shredding and it seems to come out much more tender. Also, before I put chicken in the instant pot, I like to add a dry rub to it. I lay out a long sheet of aluminum foil to protect my countertop, then I lay out chicken cutlets in a single layer and liberally sprinkle a combo of fajita seasoning and sazon and rub into chicken. Flip over cutlets and coat other side and rub in. Now it’s time to layer all the ingredients in the instant pot. My son has texture issues so I away blend my salsa before adding it to the pot, but that’s optional. For salsa I use Pase picante mild and, if I have it, I also add some sofrito into salsa before I blend, dump salsa mixture or salsa puree` mixture into botton of instant pot then place trivet. Begin loading chicken slices onto trivet, alternating layers. Then place lid into position and lock. Turn on @ high pressure for 40mins and allow to natural release. Remove lid and then remove trivet, being cautious to not spill chicken and place trivet/chicken on a cutting board to shred chicken. This will be effortless as chicken will shred at slightest touch. Once the chicken has been shredded, add it back to instant pot and mix with salsa sauce. It’s great with soft flour tortillas, on top of nachos, or inside quesadillas (my fav)