Instant Pot Salsa Lime Chicken–so you have frozen chicken breasts in the freezer and need to make dinner? Throw them in the Instant Pot with some salsa, lime juice and some seasonings and you’ll get perfectly shreddable chicken that you can serve in burritos, enchiladas, tacos, salads or quesadillas. Dinner can’t get easier than this!
Get the SLOW COOKER version of the recipe here
Instant Pot Salsa Lime Chicken
I am one of those people that NEVER have thawed meats. I never remember to put the meat in the fridge the night before to thaw. That means I’m constantly using my Instant Pot and slow cooker to cook frozen meats. I love cooking frozen chicken in my Instant Pot. My favorite basic chicken for any recipe is my Instant Pot Seasoned Shredded Chicken. But this Instant Pot salsa lime chicken is a new favorite too. Just add 3 frozen chicken breast halves (about 2 1/4 lbs) to the Instant Pot and add in lime juice, salsa, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and kosher salt. Set the timer to 25 minutes and then let the pressure release naturally. I have found that doing a natural release is the best way to cook meats. It allows the meats to remain tender and moist. It does require more time but I’m okay with that to get the best results.
More Instant Pot Chicken Recipes
What Instant Pot Did You Use?
To cook this Instant Pot Salsa Lime Chicken I used my 6 quart Instant Pot Duo 60 7 in 1 for this recipe. I also own the 6 quart Instant Pot IP-LUX60 V3 Programmable Electric Pressure Cooker. They are both great pressure cookers! The first one I mentioned has a yogurt making function but other than that they are fairly similar. The price difference between the two is about $20.
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Instant Pot Salsa Lime Chicken (from frozen)
Prep Time: 5 minutes- Cook Time: 40 minutes (cooking time plus pressure release time)
- Total Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Method: Instant Pot
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Pin RecipeDescription
So you have frozen chicken breasts and need to make dinner? Throw them in the Instant Pot with some salsa, lime juice and some seasonings and you’ll get perfectly shreddable chicken that you can serve in burritos, enchiladas, tacos, salads or quesadillas. Dinner can’t get easier than this!
Ingredients
- 3 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 1/4 lbs)
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 1 cup salsa or picante sauce
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 cup snipped cilantro
Instructions
- Add the frozen chicken* to the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add in the lime juice, salsa, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and kosher salt. Stir to coat the chicken.
- Cover in the Instant Pot, make sure the valve is on sealing, set the manual timer (high pressure) to 25 minutes. When the timer beeps let the pressure come down naturally for 15 minutes. At that point if there is still more pressure you can release it by moving the valve to venting.
- Remove the chicken and place it on a cutting board. Shred the chicken and place it back in the pot. Stir the chicken in with the juices. Stir in the cilantro. Use tongs to serve the chicken. You can use it in enchiladas, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, salads, etc.
Notes
*If your chicken is thawed you can set the timer to 17 minutes instead of 25. You’ll still do a natural pressure release.
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Any recommendations on what type of salsa to use??
I always just buy a big jar of pace picante sauce 🙂