Instant Pot Mojo Chicken–a dump and go citrus chicken recipe that tastes like the chicken has been marinating for hours. This recipe takes just a few minutes from start to finish!
Note: the slow cooker instructions are listed in the recipe card below
Instant Pot Mojo Chicken
My Instant Pot version of Cuban mojo chicken is super convenient. You dump the ingredients into the pot and pressure cook for just 4 minutes (with a 5 minute natural pressure release). No marinating is necessary and you end up with super flavorful bites of chicken. This chicken tastes really good over Instant Pot cilantro lime rice. It would also be great on a salad, in tacos or on top of riced cauliflower.
Traditionally, the base of the Cuban mojo chicken sauce is a mix of citrus juice, garlic and olive oil. For this recipe, I used fresh lime juice, minced garlic cloves and orange juice concentrate to pump up the flavor. I also cut up the chicken thighs into bite size pieces so each piece could be coated with flavor. Chicken thighs stay nice and tender. I haven’t tried this recipe with chicken breasts but if you do try it let me know how it goes!
If you’d like a couple servings just use 4 chicken thighs or if you want to serve 4 people use 8 chicken thighs. Either way you’ll use the same amount of sauce. If you want to serve 6 or 8 people then you can double the sauce ingredients and the amounts of chicken.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes…
Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken
Instant Pot Smoky Mountain Chicken
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Instant Pot Mojo Chicken
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 minutes (plus 5 minute NPR)
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 2-4 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup orange juice concentrate
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 bay leaves
- 4–8 fresh boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of fat and cut into bite size chunks
- Chopped cilantro, for serving
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions:
- Add lime juice, orange juice concentrate, garlic, oregano, kosher salt, pepper, cumin, and bay leaves into the Instant Pot. Stir well.
- Add in the chunks of chicken and stir to coat.
- Cover Instant Pot and secure the lid. Make sure valve is set to sealing. Set the manual/pressure cook button to 4 minutes. When time is up let the pot sit for 5 minutes and then move valve to venting. Remove the lid.
- Serve the chicken over cilantro lime rice and drizzle with some of the sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
- Add lime juice, orange juice concentrate, garlic, oregano, kosher salt, pepper, cumin, and bay leaves into the slow cooker. Stir well.
- Add in the chunks of chicken and stir to coat.
- Cover and cook on low for 2 hours.
- Serve the chicken over cilantro lime rice and drizzle with some of the sauce and sprinkle with cilantro.
Notes
For 2 servings use 4 chicken thighs and for 4 servings use 8 chicken thighs.
- Category: Chicken
- Method: Instant Pot or Slow Cooker
*Karen Petersen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
The thigh meat was surprisingly dry. Next time I will add a slurry of cornstarch/water to thicken the liquid – which was quite tasty. Also, you might like to add to remove the bay leaf when done. 4 Thighs was way too much for 2 people (I had Walmart very big thighs, maybe that was the issue.)
★★
Did you figure points for this recipe? I didn’t see it. Looks yummy and can’t wait to try it!
I don’t have points…not sure how out figure it out! I do have the nutrition info though below the recipe.
Just made this recipe very easy to make although just a tad too bitter so I added two teaspoons of sugar at the end after tasting. So so good I served over a yellow rice.T.M.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it! Thanks for the 5 stars!
How much longer should to cook time be if using cut up chicken breast?
I would only pressure cook for 3 minutes with 5 minute NPR.
This looks wonderful & I can’t wait to try it.
One question, is orange juice concentrate the frozen one? If it is, can you sub with orange juice? Would you suggest subbing with orange juice?
Just asking because if you can use orange juice I can make it tomorrow with no grocery store stop, if not I have to make a stop, lol.
I love your recipes & just ordered the new cookbook as a gift for my brother as he’s new to having an Instant Pot & isn’t sure what to make or how to do it.
Thanks so much for your support! I would also use orange zest if you are using fresh orange juice. The concentrate is stronger so you’d need more orange flavor. And yes it’s the frozen kind.
Hi Karen, if I’m doing 16 thighs do I keep the cooking time the same? Thanks
Yes, same time!
An approximate build up time would be helpful, but different IP’s may take a longer or shorter time to get up to pressure. I just figure 10-15 minutes (or more (depending on the meal). Since I don’t have to monitor the food cooking in the IP, I use that time to do the kitchen clean up.
Also, another FREE little block of time is when waiting for the pressure to come down. I set the table and get last minute items out, and I’m ready for a delicious meal.
Yep! I agree Joyce! I use that time to get lots of stuff done!
How about posting the “real” cook time! Including the time it takes the pressure to build up “before” the “cook time.” These recipes are not quick. It’s faster in most cases, to cook on the stove.
There is no way to predict “real time” as it’s impossible to be precise about when a pressure cooker comes up to pressure. I suggest you figure out the “real time” cooking for your model of pressure cooker, just like you would determine “real time” cooking on your stove.
Karen does a wonderful job of supplying us with many, many delicious recipes. For the rest of us, we don’t have to figure anything out, we just have to follow instructions.
Well said.
★★★★★
Thank you.
You rock Karen.
This recipe on the stove top 1) would require marinating or would not be as flavorful, 2) would not be as tender and 3) would require watching and stirring. One of the benefits of a pressure cooker is extremely tender meat and not being tethered to the stove.
Time to come to pressure may depend on the quantity of food since not all thighs are the same size, the size of the pressure cooker and even the brand. But you get a sense of yours after a while. And Karen often does mention how long it took hers.
For me it’s prep time on online recipes by everyone that is almost always under estimated. Gathering ingredients, measuring, washing, chopping, etc. takes me roughly double or triple the time listed (triple when fresh vegetables), so I know to mentally add that in. Maybe I’m slow. 🐢
★★★★★
Usually the time to build pressure is about 10 minutes. But that totally depends on how full the pot is and other factors. I made a video about it here: https://youtu.be/uHxriRyzaP0