Instant Pot Salsa Chicken recipe is the way to go if you are a meal planner, or cooking for a crowd. With just a few ingredients, and less than 45 minutes, this pressure cooker Mexican shredded chicken will be ready for tacos, taco bowls, enchiladas, or salads!
Originally published on 12/20/2017
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
This is a quick and easy Instant Pot meal to make. It's one of the easiest in my Instant Pot recipe collection! You can make Instant Pot Salsa Chicken with as little as 2 ingredients, but I like to add extra seasoning so it comes out very flavorful.
You can make so many tasty recipes from Mexican shredded chicken, or freeze it for future delicious meals.
Season your chicken breasts and add them to the inner pot.
Pour the salsa over them and close the lid and cook. You will soon have tasty Instant Pot Salsa Chicken. Easy!
Shred and add back to the sauce and enjoy!
I'm a big fan of bringing my own lunch to work. Maybe splurging once in a while, but I like knowing what I'll be eating, and being able to control the portions and ingredients.
Of course, the other big advantage of bringing your own lunch to work is the cost. If you make Instant Pot Salsa Chicken and shred it, you can get several lunches out of this recipe. Hooray for meal prep!
Add some cooked rice, black beans, corn, cheese, and sour cream for delicious taco bowls! Make chicken tacos, or add the meat to a salad.
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If you make this great salsa chicken recipe, please leave a comment below with a star rating. I'd love to know how you liked it!
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken is Mexican flavored shredded chicken breast that you can use for tacos, burrito bowls, and casseroles. Lots of flavor, and this pressure cooker shredded chicken is so useful!
- 3 - 4 Chicken Breasts**, skinless/boneless (approx. 8 oz ea)
- Salt, to season meat
- Pepper, to season meat
- 2 tsp Garlic Powder, to season meat
- 1 Tbsp Taco Seasoning***
- 1 tsp Oregano (If you can get Mexican Oregano, it's really good)
- 16 oz Salsa*
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Season chicken breasts on all sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
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Put ½ cup of salsa in the inner pot of the pressure cooker. Then add the chicken breasts to the pot, setting them on the salsa.
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Sprinkle the oregano and taco seasoning over the chicken.
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Pour the remaining salsa over the chicken, covering it. *If your salsa is really thick, you can add ¼ cup of water to help the pressure build, but I have never needed to. I use a salsa that is from the refrigerated section of the store, and it works nicely, with good flavor.
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Put the lid on the pot and set the steam release knob to the Sealing position.
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Press the Pressure Cook/Manual button (or dial) and then the + or - to choose 10-12 minutes** depending on the weight/thickness of the breasts. You don't need to add any additional liquid to the pot, the salsa and chicken have enough to bring it to pressure.
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When the cooking cycle has ended, let the pot sit undisturbed for 10 minutes to naturally release the pressure. Then, after 10 minutes, manually release any remaining pressure (there may not be any, and that's okay) by turning the steam release knob to Venting.
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Remove the chicken to a large bowl and shred it, using two forks. Then add it back to the pot. If there is too much liquid for your taste, just scoop some out. Leave some, as it has a lot of flavor, and will also keep the meat moist (the liquid is also great over rice).
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Now you are ready to use it in your favorite recipes!
**If your chicken breasts are the really large (11 oz or more) sized, increase cook time by 3 minutes.
***Try my Easy Taco Seasoning recipe. It's great in so many recipes, even pasta!
RESOURCES TO MAKE pressure cooker salsa chicken and More
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Heather
How many carbs all I see is 160 calories. Serving size it how much
Sandy
There is 140 calories in 3 oz of chicken breast. The remaining calories come from the type of salsa you use. You can use an online tracker to figure out the exact amount and other nutrients based on what you use.
Cyndi
I never get around to leaving comments, but I had to this time, it was a perfect recipe for my chicken craving family! I followed recipe exactly & had no issues with burning as others mentioned. (I used jar salsa from Costco.) took the breasts out after it was done per instructions, & then took out most of the salsa liquid so I could customize how saucy we wanted it, then added it back to the shredded chicken, so I had about a cup of salsa sauce left over. My youngest daughter, a fun 15 yr old, picky, teenager who lives with a severe food allergy to dairy/milk products, loves making tacos! I need to make chicken all the time to satisfy her cravings for spicy, savory, fast chicken for tacos. I hate the mess sautéed chicken breasts make in my kitchen, so I decided to try this recipe after searching thru others. She was hesitant (as other trials from OTHER recipes haven't been successful), but when I unsealed the lid, and that yummy, savory scent filled the room, she ran back to sample it! Then I tasted it, then word traveled around the house... Well, I only made 2 breasts in case it was another flop recipe, so now I need to make more! EVERYONE LOVED IT that after all the "sampling" she barely had enough for her tacos. Great thing is, it's SO easy & very little extra effort to do, she can make it perfectly and I don't mind making it again and again! Thank you for your yummy, EASY recipe!
Sandy
Hi Cyndi!It's so great when a recipe works so well for someone! I'm happy that your daughter is able to make and enjoy this chicken recipe! I loved reading your review, thank you so much for taking time to write it!
Terri Robbins
So I cooked this according to directions, however it does not say whether to cook on hi or low, so I choose high, as soon as my instant pot heated up, it said "burn", so I took everything out washed the pot and started over. Second time I added water to make the salsa a little thinner, as suggested, well same thing happened again! Ended up having to cook on the stove, so of course it did not turn out right. What did I miss?? Why did it stick and burn? The taste was great and would love to make again.
Sandy
Hi Terri. In general, pressure cooker recipes are High pressure, unless otherwise indicated. I can't tell you why yours did the burn thing. I make this recipe often and it has never happened. The only thing I can think of is that the salsa was too thick. I know you added some water, but maybe you didn't add enough? Also, make sure the spices are on the chicken and not the bottom of the pot.
Megan
I also got a burn notice but when I cleaned the bottom and put everything back in I put the chicken on the trivet. No issues after that. Great recipe!
Sandy
Oh that's a bummer. It can happen if the salsa is too thick. You could add just a splash or two of water next time.
Irene
Most Instant Pot models have a setting for you to select high or low pressure; that is what Terri is referring to.
Charlene
I had the same burn error happen, but I’m positive it was because I dumped the taco seasoning packet onto the chicken, inside of the pot. The seasoning burned. I scraped the bottom and mixed the seasoning better with the salsa and it worked fine.
D
Hmm I think I will try this. I tried another Salsa Chicken recipe for the instant pot elsewhere. It didnt turn out well. I put the correct amount of salsa, no extra water, but I used chicken thighs, like the recipe I was using did, but after it was done, the salsa was all liquidy, and diluted and had fat globs from the thighs. It didnt taste very good. The persons recipe I used, stated oh you didnt put enough seasoning. lol. But it was the salsa, becoming so diluted, it looked like tomato water, with globs of fat. Your recipe looks good. The salsa looks like salsa still.
Sandy
Hi, The salsa chicken does come out a little on the watery side, depending on the salsa you use, but also the chicken. Some companies pump the meat with water to plump them up, and it comes out when you cook it. When I make this, if it looks a little too watery, I just scoop out some of the liquid before I add the shredded chicken back in. Not sure about the fat blobs, thighs are fattier, but I'm not sure what that's about. If you do try my recipe, I'd like to know how you liked it. Thank you for your comment.
Ginger
You need to trim the fat off the thighs.
I prefer the thigh meat over breast meat for my salsa chicken burritos.
Taryn
Hi! Just wondering if I need to use the trivet in the bottom of my pot?! This recipe sounds so good! Thank you!
Sandy
No, I just put the chicken in the pot.
Michelle DeLong
This sounds really yummy! I’ve read recipes done in the instant pot that can be done with frozen chicken. Have you ever tried doing that? How much extra time would it take?
Thanks 🙂
Sandy
Hi Michelle, I'd try it as is with frozen chicken and see how it comes out. You can always add time if you need to. Often times the frozen chicken makes it take longer to get to pressure, and that evens it out. But I would test it first.
Peter
This recipe is great! This is the easiest recipe for quick and tasty chicken for meal prep. I make the taco seasoning in a cup and then pour it over 2lbs of boneless skinless chicken thighs and I mix it so it's evenly coated.Then I put a thin layer of salsa in the bottom of the instapot, add the chicken and then cover the top with salsa. Personally, I don't think it needs a full 16 ounces of salsa, but chicken thighs also have more fat that renders down than chicken breasts. 15 min at high pressure is perfect time. Great results!
Sandy
Hi Peter, I'm happy that you like this recipe! I agree that you could get away with less salsa. I wanted to have extra flavorful liquid to put over rice, if someone wanted to. Thank you for your nice review!