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So easy to make and with only three ingredients, this Instant Pot salsa chicken is tender, delicious, and full of flavor. Perfect for tacos, enchiladas, or really any Mexican chicken dish, this versatile dinner recipe is on repeat at our house!
🍗 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Instant Pot salsa chicken is a STAPLE at my house, for 3 main reasons. 1) It’s SUPER easy to make. I mean, the Instant Pot does all the work. 2) It’s super quick. Toss everything in the pressure cooker, let it cook for 20 minutes or so, shred it, and enjoy. It lets me get dinner on the table in roughly 30 minutes, which is an absolute LIFE saver some (ok, most) days. And 3) it’s really enjoyable. The flavors are delish – your favorite salsa with added depth from the taco seasoning – and the chicken is tender and juicy, not dry or rubbery.
- The seasoned shredded chicken is great for meal prep since it’s really pretty versatile. Enjoy it as-is. Pair it with Mexican rice or cilantro-lime cauliflower rice. Use it in tacos or enchiladas or nachos or burritos or burrito bowls. Enjoy it on a salad with cilantro, onion, roasted corn, and a creamy avocado ranch dressing or a scoop of guacamole. So many options!
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- If you’re using a salsa with a thinner consistency, you shouldn’t get a burn notice on your Instant Pot. Thicker, chunkier salsas, though, might not contain enough liquid to prevent the burn warning. If you’re using a really thick salsa, add just a touch of chicken broth to the Instant Pot – just enough that it won’t give you that error. You don’t want to boil the chicken in liquid, so don’t add much.
- Submerge the chicken as much as possible in the salsa to keep it nice and juicy, especially if your chicken breasts are especially large or thick. If needed, you can add half the salsa and taco seasoning to the pressure cooker, place the chicken, and then cover the chicken with the remaining salsa. That just helps ensure it stays covered so it can really absorb that flavor.
🥘 More Instant Pot Recipes We Love
- Instant Pot Spaghetti Sauce
- Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Whole30 Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla-Less Soup (Paleo)
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Chicken Carnitas
- Lobster Tails in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Pork Roast with Carrots, Potatoes, and Gravy
- Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken (Only 3 Ingredients)
Delicious, full of flavor, and super easy to make, all you need for a perfect Mexican-inspired chicken dish is this simple recipe!
servings
Equipment
- Instant Pot
- Silicone spatula
- Tongs
- Cutting board or large bowl
- 2 forks
Ingredients
- 1 16-ounce jar salsa of choice or make your own
- 1 1-ounce packet taco seasoning or make your own
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts approximately 3-4 chicken breasts depending on size
Instructions
- Add salsa and taco seasoning to Instant Pot. Stir to incorporate, then add chicken to Instant Pot. Flip chicken 3 to 4 times to coat in salsa. Do not add water.
- Secure lid on Instant Pot with vent in Sealing position. Set Instant Pot to Manual High Pressure for 21 minutes. Pot will pressurize, then cook time will start.
- When cook time ends, immediately Quick Release pressure. Carefully remove lid from Instant Pot. Note: any escaping steam will be very hot. Use caution.
- Carefully remove chicken breasts from Instant Pot and place on cutting board. Using two forks, shred chicken breasts into small pieces.
- Return shredded chicken to Instant Pot. Set Instant Pot to Sauté mode and stir to incorporate shredded chicken into remaining salsa. Continue stirring until sauce is absorbed, then serve salsa chicken as-is or use for tacos, enchiladas, nachos, etc.
- Make it Keto: Use a keto taco seasoning and a salsa that’s low in carbs with no added sugar (store-bought or make your own).
- Make it Paleo/Whole30: Use a compliant taco seasoning and a compliant salsa (store-bought or make your own).
- Make it Gluten Free: Be sure your taco seasoning and salsa don’t contain any gluten ingredients.
Salsa Suggestions
Feel free to change the salsa you use every time you make this dish! For homemade salsas, check out these recipes:Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1servingCalories: 203calProtein: 33gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0.02gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 1053mgPotassium: 754mgTotal Carbs: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 4gNet Carbs: 6gVitamin A: 851IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 29mgIron: 1mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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My instant pot burned the salsa chicken so it was no bueno for me.
Oh no, we’re so sorry to hear this! I’d love to troubleshoot this with you- was your salsa thick, or thin consistency? We suggest with thicker salsas, to add a touch of chicken broth to prevent burning.