Salsa Chicken – Instant Pot Version
I find that this recipe is equally delicious using boneless, skinless chicken breasts or chicken thighs. In fact, I often use a combination of the two depending on what I have on hand. The ingredients for this recipe are written per pound of chicken you are cooking. You can make a single pound or several depending on your needs. I make a large batch so that we’ll have leftovers to enjoy for several nights. We serve the delicious, juicy chicken with rice and sautéed peppers and onions and then make crispy quesadillas, soft tacos, burritos, or nachos the next night. If we’re lucky, there’s enough to serve the leftovers on a third night!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- ¼ cup Desert Pepper Cantina Salsa
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Desert Pepper Chile Con Queso for serving
- Desert Pepper Salsa in your favorite variety for serving
Instructions
- Place the salsa, chicken, and seasonings in the pot. Stir the chicken to coat.
- Secure the lid and turn the valve to the sealing position. Select the Manual or Pressure Cook settings and select a cook time of between 10-15 minutes.I find that large, thick chicken breasts need a full 14-15 minutes, although you can cut them in half horizontally for quicker cooking if you prefer. Chicken thighs or thin chicken breasts should be fully cooked in 10-12 minutes. Frozen chicken will require a few extra minutes to cook through.Thanks to the salsa, there’s really no worry about overcooking the chicken or ending up with dry chicken, so I usually set my Instant Pot to 14 minutes on the Manual setting unless I have particularly large pieces or frozen chicken.
- When the cook time has elapsed, allow the pressure to release naturally for 5 to 10 minutes before opening the valve to vent and then removing the lid.
- Remove the chicken from the pot. The internal temperature of the chicken should reach 165ºF. Shred the chicken using two large forks. Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Stir to coat the chicken in the flavorful salsa broth in the pot.
- Serve immediately or allow the chicken to rest in the broth on the warm setting, absorbing the delicious flavor of the salsa and seasonings until you are ready to serve.