Easy Salsa Verde Chicken | Instant Pot Recipe
This Easy Salsa Verde Chicken recipe combines tender chicken with zesty, tangy green sauce for a quick and flavorful meal perfect for busy weeknights.
Have a jar of salsa verde? Then you can make this amazing, easy salsa verde chicken! Just SIX simple ingredients (plus whatever you want to serve it with).
Best of all? You can just plop everything in the pot and get cooking right away!
This has become our family’s favorite way to make chicken taco meat!
How to make salsa verde chicken?
✅ This easy recipe will work in any brand of electric pressure cooker, including the Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi, Cosori, or Power Pressure Cooker XL.
Choose a Flavorful Salsa Verde
The store-bought salsa verde you choose makes a big difference in the flavor of the finished dish.
By far, our favorite green salsa is the Cholula Mild Salsa Verde. I’m honestly not sure what they do to make it so delicious! It uses fresh tomatillos, garlic, and jalapeño and poblano peppers, but it’s not too spicy. (Not sponsored, just our favorite).
If you can’t find that, we’ve also had good luck with La Victoria Mild Salsa Verde. The Herdez brand has a good flavor, but the Mild is more spicy than many medium salsa verde options.
Shredded chicken or diced chicken?
We prefer our chicken tacos to be easily shredded, so we pressure cook for 6 minutes with a 10 minute natural release.
If you would prefer to have sliced or diced chicken, you can take a minute or two off the cook time.
Regardless of whether you’re slicing or dicing, make sure the thickest part of the breast has an internal temperature of 165°F or greater right after pressure cooking.
If not, return the lid and pressure cook a few minutes more.
Time Saving Tip: To shred the chicken quickly, pop it in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix for a minute or two until the chicken is evenly shredded. Finish any remaining pieces with two forks.
What to serve with salsa verde chicken?
This easy green chicken is the perfect addition to Taco Tuesday. We’ve used it in tacos, burritos, enchiladas, loaded quesadillas, and salad bowls.
No matter what we’re eating, it pairs really well with our Cilantro Lime Rice and refried beans.
How to store leftovers?
I really love this recipe because the chicken is super leftover friendly.
To store: Cool to room temperature, then store in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
To freeze: Divide the chicken in individual portions. (I like to use use quart-size freezer-safe ziplock bags or half-cup Souper Cubes.) Freeze for up to 4 months.
To reheat: I prefer to let the chicken thaw in the refrigerator the night before. Then heat in the microwave on 50% power until hot and ready to use.
Other recipes for Taco Tuesday
This is one of our favorite Instant Pot chicken recipes! Looking for more Mexican flavors? Try:
Want some alternatives to chicken? We’ve got you covered too:
Do you LOVE this recipe?
Leave us a review below to tell us why!
Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos | Instant Pot recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup chicken broth
- 3 large boneless skinless chicken breasts well trimmed
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup salsa verde we used Cholula mild
- Juice of 2 limes
- Small tortillas we used the street taco size
- Optional toppings: Sliced or pickled red onion, fresh cilantro, avocado or guacamole, sour cream, queso fresco or melty cheese (like Oaxaca or Monterrey Jack), black beans, cilantro lime rice
Instructions
- Add the chicken broth and chicken in a single layer on the bottom of the pressure cooking pot. Add the salt and pepper. Add the salsa verde, keeping as much as you can on top of the chicken breasts. Do not stir.
- Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 6 minutes cook time.
- When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Use an instant read thermometer to make sure the chicken is cooked to 165F. If not, return the lid and cook at High Pressure for a few minutes more.
- Remove the chicken to a tray and use two forks to shred.
- While you shred the chicken, select Saute and bring the cooking liquid to a boil, stirring frequently.
- Once the chicken is shredded, return it to the cooking pot, add the lime juice, and stir until well combined with the cooking liquid. Continue to cook until most of the liquid is cooked off.
- Use a slotted spoon to scoop the chicken onto individual warmed tortillas. Serve immediately with desired toppings.
Nutrition
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