Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Recipe

shredded moist and tender salsa chicken mixed with caramelized vegetables in the serving dish.

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This Instant Pot Salsa Chicken is fast, flavorful, and incredibly versatile. Tender shredded chicken is pressure cooked with bold seasonings, delicious homemade salsa, and chicken broth, then tossed with caramelized sautéed peppers and onions. Takes about 45 minutes to make and it's a perfect meal prep chicken recipe.

Prep Time10

Cook Time15

Build pressure and release:20

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Mexican

Diet: Gluten Free, Low Fat

Servings:

Calories: 151kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

Equipment

Pressure cooker (aka Instant Pot)
Large cooking pan

Ingredients

Chicken:

3-3.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast and/or chicken thigh meat
3/4 cup chicken broth
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp kosher coarse salt more or less to taste
12 oz homemade salsa can use your favorite salsa

Vegetables:

avocado or olive oil for cooking
1 yellow or white onion
2 red bell peppers can use other colors
1-2 jalapeno peppers
salt

Topping:

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Cut the fat off the chicken meat if you prefer and place the chicken into the Instant pot.
Add seasoning and chicken broth. Stir to mix everything very well.
Add salsa and stir again.
Close the lid on the Instant Pot and close the valve to seal. Set the pressure cooker to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Note that it will take a few minutes to build up pressure before it starts cooking.
Once the time is up, let it do a natural release for about 10 minutes and then do a quick release.
While the chicken is cooking, cook the vegetables.
Slice the vegetables thin and preheat the large cooking pan over medium heat. Once the pan is preheated, add the oil and vegetables and sauté until caramelized and soft. Try not to disturb them too much while they're cooking so the vegetables get a change to get a golden sear. Once golden-brown and cooked, take off heat.
Take cooked chicken out of the Instant pot with a slotted spoon and place it into a large mixing bowl. DON'T discard the cooking liquid!
Pro Tip: use a hand held mixer to shred the chicken. It's fast, easy, and works perfectly.
When chicken is shredded, add about 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid, the vegetables, and cilantro (if using) and mix with a spatula.
Serve the chicken as a main protein with sides, add them to tacos, in quesadillas, in taquitos, use it to stuff chicken enchiladas and any other way you can think of.

Video

Notes

Chicken: I like to use a combination of chicken breast and chicken thigh meat for a more juicy and flavorful results. You can choose to just use chicken breast or thigh if you wish.
Chili peppers: jalapenos are pretty mild but if you'd like more spice, feel free to use spicier peppers like red chili peppers, habaneros, or serrano. Remember, seeds and membrane is where chili peppers store most of it's spice.
Salsa: for the best flavor of the chicken, I highly recommend using my homemade salsa recipe but you can use another salsa if you wish.
Cooking liquid: don't discard the cooking liquid because it's so flavorful! You can use it to add to homemade enchilada sauce, or use it with chicken broth to add to chicken tortilla soup or chicken enchilada soup.
Storing: store leftover chicken in an air-tight food storage container, in the refrigerator, for 3-4 days. You can add a little more cooking liquid to help keep the chicken moist and juicy.

Nutrition