If you need to dress up your typical week night meal, try this Instant Pot Salsa Chicken recipe. It’s delicious, simple to make and is truly a one pot meal through the Instant Pot. It’s also healthy and only 3 Blue points per serving on WW.
Do you ever have those nights when you are exhausted from work or raising kids? I totally understand that feeling.
There are days (especially lately) where I am so exhausted after work that cooking dinner seems like it won’t happen.
Watch this video to learn how to make this Salsa Chicken recipe
Between working 8 hours (or more) a day and then having to pick up the kids and cook them dinner, it’s a struggle to remember to feed yourself.
And who has time to feed themselves…let alone something healthy? That’s why I lean so heavily on the Instant Pot. It makes cooking dinners so easy.
The Instant Pot can be intimidating, but I promise that if you spend a few nights using it to cook your meal, you will feel more comfortable using it.
No Instant Pot? No problem! You can make this in the Slow Cooker!
- Spray the slow cooker with olive oil spray (you can use olive oil too, if you want). Add the rest of the ingredients (except the brown rice) and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
- Remove the chicken breasts and shred them. Add them back in and stir to combine. Serve immediately with rice (if using).
If you are interested in additional Instant Pot recipes, you should check out this BBQ chicken sandwich recipe or this chicken stew recipe.
Pro Tip! What do you do if you get a BURN warning?
- You can add 1/2 cup chicken broth after you saute the onions and garlic before you add in the chicken and other ingredients. This will help prevent a BURN warning on your Instant Pot.
I can typically get dinner ready in about 30 minutes if I use my Instant Pot, so it has become one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. I use it about once a week because it really does make cooking almost anything that quick and easy.
So I turned to my Instant Pot, and man…I am so glad I have one of these. It makes cooking things so quick and easy. And it makes weeknight cooking even easier.
Instant Pot Recipes
FAQs for this Instant Pot Salsa Chicken recipe
You can make this using a slow cooker if you don’t already have an Instant Pot. The slow cooker instructions are in the recipe card below.
You can use this in burritos, tacos, over rice. You can even use the salsa chicken over cauliflower rice for a low carb option. You can even use this as the protein on a salad. It’s really delicious any way you want to make it.
You can add up to 1/2 cup chicken broth if you get a burn warning. I have never gotten one myself, but I have heard that newer Instant Pot models can have this warning show up.
Yes! Using frozen chicken breasts can save even more time. If you use frozen, add additional cooking time to the recipe. I recommend cooking it for at least 20 minutes.
Yes! If you decide to cook the recipe directly in the Instant Pot with the other ingredients, add an extra cup of chicken broth, a cup of water and 1 1/2 cups of rice.
The short answer is yes. But I haven’t overcooked it before. I would suggest following the amount of time in the recipe card to make sure that the chicken is not overcooked.
Also, because each model of Instant Pot (or electric pressure cookers) could be different, the amount of time in the recipe card is what worked for me and my Instant Pot. You might need to add additional cooking time for the chicken to be completely cooked through.
The chicken will become rubbery if it is overcooked. This could happen in the Instant Pot. To keep that from happening, lay the chicken on the top of all the other ingredients. This will make sure that the chicken does not get overcooked.
What readers are saying about this recipe:
Readers who have made this recipe are raving about it! Here is what they had to say after feeding their family.
Tools you’ll need to make this recipe
What have you made in the Instant Pot lately?
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon garlic minced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 pound boneless chicken breast
- 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 15oz can sweet corn drained and rinsed
- 15oz can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 jar salsa of your choice
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 pouch Uncle Ben’s brown rice
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Heat the Instant Pot using the SAUTE mode. Once it’s hot, add the olive oil, garlic and onion. Cook until the onion is translucent and the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the chicken breasts over the onion mixture. Sprinkle the package of taco seasoning over the chicken breasts. Add the salsa, corn and black beans to the Instant Pot.
- Using MANUAL mode, cook the salsa chicken on HIGH pressure for 10 minutes. You can do a quick release of the pressure, or wait and use a natural release. Once the Instant Pot is finished cooking, take the chicken out and shred the chicken. Add the chicken back to the Instant Pot and stir to combine.
- Serve immediately. You can serve this over rice or in taco shells – it’s totally up to you. We ate it over rice and it was wonderful!
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Spray the slow cooker with olive oil spray (you can use olive oil too, if you want). Add the rest of the ingredients (except the brown rice) and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours.
- Remove the chicken breasts and shred them. Add them back in and stir to combine. Serve immediately with rice (if using).
Thank you so much! I love this recipe as well and I’m so happy that your family loved it so much too.
My whole family loved this recipe! I doubled it and cooked it for 15 min. I also added lime juice and cilantro at the end! Soooo yummy!!
I’m so glad that you loved it as well. It’s delicious…one of our favorites.
I just purchased my instant pot and this was my second recipe. It was delicious!!! Thank you for clear instructions. I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
Yes, you could. I never tested with frozen chicken, but you could still use it and just increase the cook time.
Can you use frozen chicken?
Hi Holly – Thank you so much. I’m glad you love this recipe too. I have updated the recipe card to include slow cooker instructions (I should have done that sooner).
Hi love this recipe. I made it for my sons family last night and they loved it!! Thank you. She would like the recipe but does not have the instapot. Could this be made in crockpot.?
Thank you Missy. If you want to double the recipe, you might need to increase the cook time by a couple of minutes, but I have’t tried that, so I am not sure if it would be needed. Try it and let me know. You could cook it 15-17 minutes instead to make sure that the chicken gets cooked through. And I never got the burn notice either, but lots of others have gotten it cooking the recipe, so I added the chicken broth just in case.
Thank you for this amazing recipe!! I was able to get my picky eater hubby enjoy black beans!! I want to double the recipe, would I need to add extra minutes? I have the larger IP so all the ingredients won’t go over the fill line. Just curious if you had any extra hints. First time I made it I actually forgot the broth, but it came out perfect. I must have used a larger jar of salsa to compensate for the liquid. Look forward to following your recipes
What type of salsa do you recommend? I grabbed the pace mild salsa. It ended up pretty good, I mixed in some mexican rice because it was liquidy. I did make this in an 8qt, I wonder if that makes a difference.
Interesting. I have never gotten a burn notice and I have made this recipe multiple (almost weekly) times. I hope it ended up working out for you after adding the extra broth. I wonder if it’s what type of salsa you are using? Maybe it wasn’t liquid enough for the IP?
I did the half cup of chicken broth and still got a burn notice… I quick released, checked everything out, added more broth and turned it back on for just a few minutes. Hopefully it turns out well, I’m hopeful.
Did you put it in the Recipe Builder on the website/app? The calculator might be adding/computing calories, which don’t take into account the zero point foods (like chicken breast). Just a thought.
My calculator came up with 9 Smart Points
(Freestyle). How did you come up with 3?
This is a recipe that we make weekly in our home. It is so easy and delicious!!! This was actually the first recipe I ever made in my instant pot and I am so glad I found this recipe.
I think the rice points would be the same – I don’t think it matters brands for rice. I usually make 2 cups of rice (1 cup uncooked) to make with this recipe.
I’m so glad that you loved the recipe! That is awesome to hear. It’s one of our favorites too.
Just joined weight watchers so i’m still learning. how many points will this be if I don’t have uncle bens rice and just cook reg brown rice in my rice cooker? also how much rice would I cook? TIA
Thank you so much for this. This was my first meal I made in my instant pot and took the advice from above with the added rice. It was delicious. Even my very picky toddler had a clean plate tonight!
You could probably use the bone-in chicken and remove the bones while shredding. You could also cut the meat off if you want to. I think either way will work great.
This sounds delicious and easy! I raised my own chickens this year and only have bone-in chicken breasts. Would I need to cut the meat off at the beginning or can the recipe be adjusted to accommodate the bones and just remove them during the shredding step? Thanks!
I made this tonight and we loved it! My husband had a burrito with this as the filling and I ate mine over lettuce. It was delicious and mine was zero Freestyle points! It did make quite a bit, so I’m hoping to freeze half of it. Thank you!
This is great feedback, Denise. I am surprised that you have to do yours 13 minutes, but I’m glad that you found something that worked for you. And that your family loves it. It’s so delicious!
Me again! I make this at least twice a month. I use Rotel in place of salsa due to personal preference, but I always have to do 13 minutes or the chicken isn’t done. Never had to use the chicken broth.
Sometimes we make burritos with it, sometimes we make enchiladas with it. Either way, it’s always a hit!
I love this! I’m so glad that you guys make this often and love it. These options are great too…it makes it so much easier without having to chop up an onion.
This is one of my favorite go-to week night recipes. When I’m in a rush I’ll just stick the chicken, taco seasoning, salsa, beans, and corn in my pressure cooker on high for 10 minutes like the recipe states and it comes out great. The other steps like onion would he even more delicious but if I’m just in a rush it’s perfect to just throw the easy stuff in. We eat it alone, over rice, lettuce, with chips…so many options. Very simple and so good!!
Thank you so much! I love the idea of cutting up the chicken instead of shredding it. That’s a great idea. I do love that the Instant Pot keeps chicken intact so that you can shred it or eat it as is. It’s awesome that way.
This was excellent! Since the breasts I used were very thick I decided to cut them into 4 inch pieces. I also used my homemade taco seasoning which is spicy so I added a little extra broth. I subbed the canned corn for Trader Joe’s fire-roasted frozen corn (thawed) and ( used an over-filled 1-cup measurement. The dish cooked in exactly the amount of time you suggested. It still had a little structure which my husband and I prefer, – we cut it into small bites, rather than shreds. I did a natural pressure release for 10 minutes, then quick-released the rest. Served it over some short grain brown rice cooked, separately,
This is great feedback, Becky. I’m so glad that you liked it and were able to cook everything in the Instant Pot together.
This is AWESOME!! Used 2 large, frozen chicken breasts, dumped everything in (broth and rice on bottom, then frozen chicken, taco seasoning, then beans n salsa), cooked all with frozen chicken for 25 minutes in my 3qt IP. Did not saute. Perfect!
I would cook this between 6-8 hours on low in the slow cooker.
How long should I cook if I use a slow cooker?
Hi Derek – I’m hoping this turned out ok after you restarted it. I added the 1/2 cup of chicken broth to the recipe card a couple of weeks ago, so hopefully you added that in. You could also have added more to the original recipe after you got the BURN warning. I never got that warning, so I have had to adapt the recipe to accommodate for this.
Seems like it would be tasty. I’m in the middle of salvaging this dish as the bottom burned and would not seal. I took everything out and washed the pot. Just put it all back together. It may be a good idea to rewrite the recipe with the note about the chicken broth closer to the beginning so this can be avoided. I’m hoping I’m not throwing out a pile of burnt tasting Mexican slip in a few minutes
You are welcome! I’m so happy you and your family loved it!
REALLY, REALLY good!! The whole family enjoyed it. Thank you!!
You are welcome! I hope that you make it and love it as much as we do.
Thanks for this, half the battle is figuring out WHAT to cook and this was a big help 😀
I adjusted the recipe card to include 1/2 cup of chicken broth, so that should have been enough liquid to not have that Burn notice. A soup wouldn’t be a bad thing either, though. That might be good with some rice too. But I also like your idea of using the extra liquid to cook the rice.
1 serving is 1 cup.
It says servings “6” is that 6 cups? How big is a serving?
I was afraid of the burn notice so I put in chicken broth at the beginning. It was way too much liquid and it turned out more like soup. I think I’ll drain off most of the liquid and use it to cook rice.
Thank you so much! I’m so glad that you loved it.
I made this for dinner tonite. Served over rice and it was FABULOUS !
I’m really not sure what happened if the chicken was still raw. I hope the Instant Pot came to full pressure for you. It’s happened to me once where it didn’t come to pressure, but I just cooked it again and it was fine.
Started with completely thawed chicken and it wasn’t done within ten minutes…..raw in the middle.
This sounds awesome! Especially since you added the rice to the Instant Pot. That’s a way to make it a true one pot meal!
I added an extra cup of broth and 1 cup of water and 1.5 cups of rice into the instant pot and it turned out great!
Thank you so much for the compliment. I am so glad that you and your husband liked it. I haven’t tried it with cauliflower rice, but I will now!
Kristyn, I made this tonight and it is delish! I served it over riced cauliflower instead of brown rice and my husband didn’t even know the difference. (Green Giant offers it in a 12 oz. package in the freezer section. Only 20 calories per serving!) We will definitely enjoy this one again! Thank you!
Yes, it’s the same. It’s just the manufacturer of an electric pressure cooker. The front panel options might be different than yours, but you should be able to follow the recipes pretty closely with your model.
Please tell me is a instapot the same as a electric pressure cooker?
I think you will be fine. Just check the chicken once it’s done cooking on the poultry setting to make sure it cooked through. It should be fine, though. If you get a BURN error, add some chicken broth and continue cooking. I think a lot depends on how watery the salsa you choose is (mine must be really watery because I never got a BURN error before). If the poultry setting works for you, let me know and I’ll add a note in the recipe card about that.
I have this in my instapot right now. I’m nervous because I’ve doubled almost all of the ingredients for my large family. I also chopped up 4 bell peppers and added those. I didn’t add any broth because I thought the peppers would produce enough liquid. I couldn’t find the manual setting on my crock pot brand instapot, so selected the poultry setting (which was 15 minutes on high pressure). Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thank you so much! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Adding sour cream sounds wonderful too, but be careful of the added points if you are following Weight Watchers.
This was super yummy!
I mixed in a CUP of sour cream to the finished product just before serving.
Thanks for the recipe!
I think you would want the “Browning” option. That would probably be similar to the “Saute” option that my IP has.
I used the recipe builder to calculate 3 points per serving. If you use the calculator, it might be higher because foods that are now zero points (beans, chicken, corn) have calories (according to WW support when I asked them about this a while ago).
Thanks Debby for the review. I’m glad that you used quinoa with it (that’s a great alternative to rice) and that it still tasted wonderful. We love this recipe so much too!
My pot does not have a sauté button. It has
Slow cooking and browning. So I was wasn’t
Sure what to do. This is my first time with an
Instant pot.
Thanks
How did u calculate 3 smart points based on the nutritional info providec?
I made this last night and accidentally added 2 cans of black bens (it doesn’t change point count) and my salsa was good and spicy—this is now one of my family’s favorites! I had only quinoa instead of rice and nice and light! Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe!
You have to leave it off in Saute mode, but you put it on when you switch to Manual mode.
And do you leave the lid on during sauté mode?
Put it in whole if you are using the Instant Pot. You shred it after it’s cooked.
Should the chicken breast be cut into cubes or put in whole?
I made it separately. I’m sure you could put it in the IP, but I haven’t attempted that yet with rice.
Did you cook the rice separately or in the IP?
The Instant Pot should default to High pressure. So, it should be fine. I’m not sure how it looks on your IP, but mine shows the level of pressure in the middle of the front panel and you can change it by the + or – buttons. But it should default to High pressure.
I’m confused when you say “high” pressure? I went from sauté to manual and did 10 minutes but I don’t see a place for me to set the cooker to “high”? I have an instant pot IP-LUX 6 quart.
Yes, possibly, but check the points on a rotisserie chicken instead of boneless, skinless chicken breast that’s zero points.
Can’t you do this on the stove using rotisserie chicken?
No, I don’t think you would need to change the time or anything if you don’t add the beans. Just omit those, and you should be fine.
Do you think I would need to change anything if I don’t add beans? Thanks can’t wait to make my first meal in the instapot!
You should probably add 2-3 minutes extra for frozen chicken. Cooking chicken breast usually takes about 8-10 minutes, so 12 minutes (total) should cook the chicken if it’s frozen.
How much time do you add for frozen chicken?
The jar I used was 12oz. but you could use more than that if you wanted to.
Could you give me an idea how much salsa to use?
Hi Annette – I’m sorry that you had to add chicken broth to get the burn message to go away. I will adjust the recipe to include that (I didn’t get that message, but I’ve had others say that as well). I’m glad that you loved it despite that!
Delicious! I had to add a little more chicken broth to get the burn message off my IP. We served it over rice and will definitely make this again!
Oh no! I have never gotten that type of message before, even when I was testing out this recipe. I’ll check over the recipe and make a note in the Notes section that you might need to add some chicken broth if you get that message. I am glad that it smelled and tasted good, though!
I followed the directions carefully, but I kept getting a display message saying “burn” and the pot would not reach the proper pressure to seal. After some online research, I realized that there was either not enough liquid in the pot or the liquid was too thick to create the steam needed. I ended up adding about a half cup of water, and that fixed the problem. The next time I make this, I will deglaze the bottom of the inner pot with some water or chicken stock after sauteing the onion and garlic and before adding the chicken.
This dish had great flavor and made my whole house smell wonderful!
Hi Susan – Thank you! I have the 6 quart size and I think the 3 quart might be too small for 2 people. It might work for some things, but some soups would overflow in the 3 quart. I don’t think you would need the 8 quart one, but the 6 quart is a good size for me and my husband.
This looks great. I am considering getting an instant pot and was considering the 3 quart. I assume this recipe is for the 5qt? Does everyone think that is the best size for 2 people? Sometimes we get tired of eating the same things over and over but love the idea of freezing for later.
Nope, too late. I’m eating leftovers instead.
Just kidding. I’ll have to make this this week. Thanks!
Hi Dana – that’s a good idea. I don’t know if I can do that for every recipe, but you could always use a slow cooker instead. You can throw in all the ingredients and cook on high for 4-6 hours. Then just shred the chicken.
I wish recipes included instructions for those of us without instant pots.