Instant Pot Salsa Chicken

When it comes to simple, easy weeknight meals, this Instant Pot Salsa Chicken takes the prize. Although you can bake a tasty salsa chicken, once you make this dish in the pressure cooker, you’ll love how much easier and tastier it is for a quick dinner. With just a few ingredients and being ready in under 30 minutes, it is a real “dump and go” meal!

Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

A while back, I shared my Instant Pot Chicken Chile Verde in my Cook Once, Eat All Week post.

Both the Chicken Chile Verde and this Salsa Chicken made in the pressure cooker are perfect as leftover makeover meals. Plus, you can use the shredded chicken for tacos, nachos, salads, burrito bowls, enchiladas, or soup.

New to Instant Pot cooking? Read How to Use the Instant Pot 101 and Tips & Hacks for the Instant Pot first.

Ingredients for Salsa Chicken

The ingredients for Instant Pot Salsa Chicken are pretty simple, as I mentioned. You’ll need:

• 2 pounds of chicken
• A jar of salsa
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• garlic powder, salt, and pepper

Instant Pot Pressure Cooking

Pressure cooking is fast. Those new to pressure cooking are often surprised at how quickly the Instant Pot cooks food.

It isn’t “instant,” though, as the name implies. It takes a while to bring the pot to the heat needed to pressure cook. See my Instant Pot Top 10 Tips for how to shorten overall cooking times.

Frozen Chicken Thighs or Breasts?

One of the things I love most about the Instant Pot is pressure cook frozen meat. Just toss your frozen chicken thighs or breasts right into the Instant Pot. Defrosting them is not necessary.

I like using a mixture of boneless, skinless chicken thighs and chicken breasts (or tenderloins) in the Instant Pot. The thighs have good flavor and are inexpensive. Chicken breasts have less fat but tend to be a little bland.

Using a combination of both is the perfect mix for the best flavor and tenderness.

How Long Do You Cook Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot?

These are the cooking times I use to cook chicken in the Instant Pot:

• Boneless chicken thighs or chicken tenderloins: 8 minutes (fresh or frozen) with a 10 minute natural release
• Boneless chicken breasts: 10 minutes (fresh or frozen) for thinly cut or 12 minutes for larger breasts with a 10 minutes natural release
• Bone in chicken breasts: 12 minutes (fresh or frozen) with a 10 minutes natural release.

Allowing a natural release after cooking chicken ensures a tender and juicy outcome. If you skip this step and go straight to a quick release, your chicken may turn out tough and chewy.

Take a temperature check to ensure the chicken is at least 165º.

Not sure what a natural or quick release is? Read my post on How to Use the Instant Pot to find out.

How to Make Chicken Salsa Instant Pot Style

1. First, preheat your Instant Pot by setting it to sauté, and add olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Go ahead and gather your ingredients.

Preheating is important: I believe that allowing your pot to preheat and using a little cooking oil on the bottom helps prevent burning.

2. Next, lay the chicken pieces on the bottom of the pot. Pour over the salsa, and add the spices. Twist on the Instant Pot lid and make sure the sealing lever is closed.

3. Press cancel to end the sauté and set the pot for high pressure, for 12 minutes.

4. After the pressure cycle is over, allow Instant Pot to release for 10 minutes naturally. Then, initiate a quick release by turning the sealing lever open.

How to Easily Shred Chicken

Do you know the secret to easily shredding cooked chicken? Well, it’s using a mixer!

Mix it right in the pot with a hand mixer, or use a stand mixer. Just be sure to start with a low setting. Otherwise, you could have a mess in your hands.

Variations on Instant Pot Chicken Salsa

• Use Salsa Verde to make a Salsa Verde Chicken Soup by shredding the chicken and adding 4 cups of chicken broth.
• Make Creamy Chicken Salsa by stirring in 4 ounces of cream cheese to the salsa after pressure cooking.
• Use the chicken to make an easy Chicken Tortilla Soup.
• Give leftovers a transformation and use the chicken in tacos or Creamy Chicken Enchiladas.

How to Prevent an Instant Pot Burn Notice

No one wants to get a burn notice on their Instant Pot. It will appear on your Instant Pot’s screen as “BURN,” “OvHt,” or “Food Burn.”

I have yet to experience this, but I have some suggestions on preventing and dealing with a burn notice…

• Before pressure cooking, turn the Instant Pot to sauté and let it warm up. I add 1 Tbsp of olive oil before adding my ingredients to keep food and sauces from sticking and burning.
• If you sauté meats before pressure cooking, deglaze your pot by adding the broth a few minutes before sealing your pot.
• Keep an extra Instant Pot liner insert on hand. If you get a burn notice, then having an extra pot will allow you to safely transfer the food to a clean pot and continue cooking. Plus, an extra pot gives you flexibility when pressure cooking. There are times when I make rice or potatoes first, add a silicone lid to that pot, and use my second pot for the meat.

For more information on how to handle a burn notice, read this article from America’s Test Kitchen.

See below for the Complete Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Recipe + Video!

How to Serve Salsa Chicken

I love to serve this as salsa chicken tacos with tortillas, beans, and rice. Or use it as a hearty filling for homemade burritos.

You also can use shredded chicken to make nachos and sliders for yummy snacks or appetizers.

If you are counting macros…

For low-carb macro days, use lettuce wraps to make low-carb salsa chicken tacos or add shredded salsa chicken to a fresh garden salad loaded with veggies.

I am sure that Instant Pot Salsa Chicken will become a regular easy, weeknight dinner in your house.

Frequently Asked Questions

Get the Recipe Here

---

Here are other easy Instant Pot recipes you’ll love

• Loaded Potatoes
• Sour Cream Pork Chops
• Chicken Posole
• Beef Stew
• Lasagna Soup