Instant Pot Salsa Chicken is an easy and tasty dinner recipe you can make in no time at all. Use it in tacos or over rice, or add it to a healthy dinner salad.
So. Instant Pot. A shredded chicken recipe.
I mean, basic, I know. But sometimes, the basics are best. And I adore pulled meat anything, so this was bound to happen.
From Slow Cooker Pineapple BBQ Pulled Pork to Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas, and Crockpot Southwestern Chicken Tacos…
It’s easy, it’s tasty and my family all eat it without complaining.
Read: A total dinner winner in my books.
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
If you read about my disastrous first experience with the Instant Pot when I shared my method to make pressure cooked black beans, you’ll know we got off to a rocky start.
But I made a few batches of black beans to practice, nothing exploded, no bean juice sprayed all over everything… And we became buddies.
While I’m very used to stovetop pressure cooking, an electric pressure cooker is a new thing to me. So, we’re starting easy, my friends.
Enter: Instant Pot Salsa Chicken. It has only a handful of ingredients, basically no prep time and it’s super delicious in anything from tacos to salads (I have one coming at you net week, watch this space!) or even over rice.
Just take me to the recipe already!
If you’re looking for the full list of ingredients and clear instructions, that’s all at the bottom of this post! Before you scroll, there’s important information in the text below to make sure your recipe turns out amazing!
Can I use frozen chicken in the instant pot?
YES! This is one of my FAVORITE things about pressure cooking: It saves my butt whenever I forget to defrost meat for dinner.
Which happens a lot more often than I’d ever care to admit in public… ?
It’s just as simple as cooking fresh chicken in the instant pot, it just takes a little longer, and you want to be aware of a few things.
Just a few tips on how to cook frozen chicken in the instant pot:
- Frozen chicken releases more liquid as it cooks. If there is a lot of watery sauce left in the instant pot after cooking, you might want to drain off some of it before adding back the shredded chicken.
- It needs a little longer than thawed chicken. Frozen chicken obviously needs a little longer in the Instant Pot than fresh or thawed chicken does. I usually cook defrosted chicken breast for 10 minutes and frozen for 15 minutes.
- Cooking time depends on the thickness of your chicken. Even more than with defrosted chicken, thick pieces of frozen chicken will take up to 20 minute in the instant pot at high pressure to cook through. Also, if your chicken is all frozen together into one huge chunk, it will take a lot longer. In this case I recommend thawing out the chicken enough so the single pieces can be separated.
- Check the temperature. Whenever I cook chicken I check the internal temperature before serving it. But I especially do it when I cook chicken from frozen. Better safe than biting on a piece of still-frozen chicken.
Bottom line, this recipe works with both frozen or defrosted chicken. Yay!
How long does it take to cook chicken in the instant pot?
I know, the instant pot is hailed as the super-quick, make-it-in-minutes dinner saver.
And I think pressure cooking is great! Don’t get me wrong. But know that even if cooking time for frozen chicken breast seems very short at 15 minutes, there’s actually a lot more time that goes into pressure cooking chicken:
- Waiting for the instant pot to come to pressure. This is the initial stage of cooking in a pressure cooker. The instant pot needs abut 10 minutes to come to pressure for defrosted chicken, and 15 minutes for frozen chicken.
- The actual cooking time. Only once the cooker has come to the desired pressure does the timer start counting down. This takes around 10 minutes for regular-sized defrosted chicken breast (or boneless thighs), and around 15 minutes for frozen regular-sized chicken breast (or boneless thighs).
- The pressure release time. Finally, once the pressure cooking time is up, the instant pot is still under a lot of pressure. There’s natural release (just leave the pot alone) or quick release (carefully push the venting valve to vent, with a kitchen towel over your hand, watching out for steam coming out of the valve). I like to give this chicken a 5 minute natural release before quick releasing the remaining pressure, so that gets added to the time as well.
So, all of this to say, this is the actual time chicken takes to cook in an instant pot:
Frozen chicken: 35 minutes
Defrosted chicken: 25 minutes
How can I switch up this recipe?
I love this recipe, because it’s like a blank canvas: You can do so many things with it to totally make it your own!
- use chicken breast or boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- use jarred salsa, salsa verde or even BBQ sauce
- add any seasoning you like: mild taco seasoning, chili powder or even some hot sauce if you like things spicy
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How To Make Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
What do I need to make Instant pot Salsa Chicken?
FYI, the Instant Pot link below is an affiliate link. I make a commission for purchases made through that link.
Apart from the fact that you need an electric pressure cooker (like the Instant Pot!), the beauty of this recipe is that it really only needs four ingredients:
- chicken
- salsa
- chicken broth (or water)
- taco seasoning
How easy is that?! It’s so easy, you can write it on your meal plan and grocery list without even having to look up a recipe (which is how I do pretty much all of my meal planning in this season of life, if we’re being honest for a minute).
Finally, you just need something to shred your chicken with. I know there’s all these fancy bear claw things, and some people get crazy and use their hand mixers (the horror! the splatters! the burns!). I’m just very traditional here and use two forks to shred the cooked chicken on a chopping board.
Gets the job done just as well, if not better.
Step By Step Instructions
I don’t even have step-by-step photos for this recipe, because it’s so basic. But just in case you wanted a few extra details:
Step 1
First, add the salsa, chicken broth and taco seasoning to the instant pot. Stir well.
Step 2
Next, you’ll add the chicken. The reason why I don’t add the chicken first is because then there’s no liquid underneath the chicken.
This means your chicken could get stuck to the bottom of the pot, it could burn and it could be a very stressful dinner instead of a relaxed one.
Just make sure you stir a little, so that the chicken is covered with salsa.
Step 3
Then comes the whole Instant Pot thing:
- close the lid with the valve set to “sealing”
- choose “manual”, “high pressure”, and 10 minutes for defrosted chicken or 15 minutes for frozen chicken
- allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure and cook for the duration of the countdown timer
- once the time is up, switch off the Instant Pot and let it stand for 5 minutes (just do nothing to it)
- after 5 minutes, carefully push the valve to “vent” with a towel over your hand, watching out for steam escaping from the valve
- once the entire pressure has been released, carefully open the instant pot (there will still be steam coming out of it, so watch out!)
Step 4
Now it’s time to shred the chicken.
Carefully lift it out of the instant pot with kitchen tongs and set it on a large wooden chopping board.
Shred it using two forks (or whatever you like using best).
Step 5
Finally, place the shredded chicken back into the sauce in the instant pot.
I like to give it 5 minutes before serving, so it can really soak up all that juice and get all plump and juicy.
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Can you freeze this Instant Pot Salsa Chicken?
Yep, you sure can. In fact, it’s one of my favorite recipes to keep on hand for quick lunches and easy dinners. It can be frozen for up to 3 months.
While this recipe can be frozen, please remember to do the following:
- Wait for the chicken to cool completely before freezing it (otherwise your freezer could heat up too much and affect the other frozen goods in there). But do freeze it as soon as it is cool enough.
- Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
- Label the bag or container with the contents, today’s date AND the use-by time.
- Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
- Make sure the chicken is properly heated and piping hot all the way through before serving.
So… What goes good with salsa chicken?
This is a great chicken recipe, because you can cook a large batch once and then serve it many ways.
Here are a few ideas what we love to have with this Instant Pot Salsa Chicken for lunch or dinner:
- chicken taco salad (recipe coming!!)
- Serve it with cilantro lime rice and a Avocado, Mango and Black Bean Salsa
- turn it into tacos with shredded cabbage, cheese and guacamole
Like this recipe? Why not try some more of my chicken recipes?
I LOVE chicken. It’s easy to make and the kids love it, too.
Some of my other favorites you’re going to love just as much include Creamy Chicken Asparagus Pasta, Greek Chicken Kabobs and Crispy Oven Fried Chicken!
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Grab the printable recipe for this Instant Pot Salsa Chicken here:
Printable recipe
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
Recipe details
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups jarred salsa
- ½ cup chicken broth or water
- 1-2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast (or thighs) (fresh or frozen both work)
Instructions
- Add everything to the Instant Pot: Place the salsa, chicken broth and taco seasoning in your instant pot. Stir well. Add the chicken and stir to coat, making sure there is some sauce underneath the chicken (so it doesn’t burn!)
- Cook the chicken:
- Close the instant pot with the pressure valve set to “sealing”
- Choose “manual”, “high pressure” and set the timer to 10 minutes for FRESH OR DEFROSTED CHICKEN and 15 minutes for FROZEN CHICKEN
- Once the chicken is done cooking, switch off the instant pot and let it stand for 5 minutes.
- Release the remaining pressure by carefully pushing the pressure valve to “vent” with a kitchen towel placed over your hand. Watch out for the steam escaping, do not put your face over the instant pot!
- Carefully open the instant pot, again, watch out for steam.
- Shred chicken: Remove the chicken from the instant pot with kitchen tongs and set it on a large wooden chopping board. Shred it with two forks and add it back to the sauce in the instant pot. Allow it to soak up the sauce for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes
While this recipe can be frozen, please remember to do the following:
- Wait for the chicken to cool completely before freezing it (otherwise your freezer could heat up too much and affect the other frozen goods in there). But do freeze it as soon as it is cool enough.
- Use a container or bag that is suitable for freezing.
- Label the bag or container with the contents, today’s date AND the use-by time.
- Defrost thoroughly before reheating.
- Make sure the chicken is properly heated and piping hot all the way through before serving.
Klee says
This was easy, quick, and very good. Used it for a couple of meals.
Nora Rusev says
I’m so glad, Klee!
Pam Cook says
My family absolutely loves this chicken!! Our favorite is to use it in chicken taco bowls because each person gets to put whatever ingredients they want into the bowl and I don’t have to listen to my son complain that he doesn’t like “such and such”. I usually use cooked rice, black beans, cheese, olives, tortilla chips, sour cream, additional salsa, etc. Basically whatever we have around the house that goes well into a chicken taco bowl. We’ve done corn before as well. I make up a batch and then freeze it into meal-size packages to be used later. With only 3 of us it makes quite a few meals for us!
Stephanie Chen says
It did not work. Would keep giving me the burn signal. Had to move it to the oven instead.
Nora says
Sorry it didn’t work for you, Stephanie! Maybe your salsa was thicker than mine. Next time it would probably help to add a little extra water. Sorry again, glad you managed to salvage it in the oven!