Instant Pot Chicken is one of the quickest (and easiest) ways to cook chicken!
Just a few simple ingredients (and fresh or frozen chicken) are tossed into your electric pressure cooker, push a button and voila, dinner is ready!
You can barely prepare all of the toppings in the time it takes to make perfect Instant Pot Chicken breasts!
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I love my Instant Pot (and if you don’t have an instant pot, you need one)! If you’re asking yourself, what is the Instant Pot you’re going to love this! It’s an easy to use (aka super safe) pressure cooker that takes all of the “scary-ness” out of pressure cooking. (Check them out on Amazon here).
I love being able to grab chicken breasts right from the freezer, pop them into the Instant Pot and have a meal ready to go in just a few minutes. Not only is it healthy, it’s delicious and crazy tender!
If you use a crock pot regularly, you know you need to thaw frozen meat first and then the recipe usually takes several hours to cook (like my Crockpot Chicken Tacos).
Cooking chicken in the slow cooker is perfect for when I’m gone all day and want to come home to a meal that’s ready to go but the Instant Pot cooks a meal from frozen in just minutes. I mean, I do TRY to plan meals but sometimes it’s 5pm and I really haven’t even thought about dinner (please tell me I’m not the only one)!
In this recipe, you cook fresh chicken for 12 minutes and frozen chicken for 16! Are you beginning to see what I mean when I want to call it the Miracle Pot?
4 ingredients, that’s all it takes to get started. Chicken breast, taco seasoning (I prefer homemade taco seasoning), chicken broth and salsa – that’s it! Once cooked, you simply shred the chicken and you are ready to serve!
Traditional taco fillings and hard shells are perfect, but I also love to use soft tortilla shells or even to serve this over a bed of lettuce for the perfect taco salad!
We set out a whole tray of toppings, sour cream, Homemade Salsa, lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole… pretty much whatever you want! Have a little fun with your toppings to see what you can create!
I love to make this recipe not only because it is so simple, but because everyone in my family is satisfied! Seriously, who doesn’t love tacos?!
If you’re serving a crowd, this makes the perfect taco bar… and putting the Instant Pot on warm means your guests can serve themselves whenever they want.
Add in a simple tossed salad while the chicken is cooking and you have a complete meal ready in minutes!
This recipe both freezes and reheats perfectly! Left overs can be frozen in freezer bags to use later (if there is actually any left-over!) and microwaved until hot for a quick meal. We’ve also used this chicken to make a Nacho Platter for last minute guests!
Instant Pot Chicken is so easy to make and truly one of the most versatile recipes I have ever come across (and one you’ll pull your pressure cooker out for any day of the week). Super-fast, incredibly delicious and crowd pleasing…all reasons to whip up Instant Pot Chicken Tacos tonight!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts fresh or frozen
- 1 ounce taco seasoning 1 packet, or 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
- ⅓ cup chicken broth
- 1 cup salsa
For Serving
- 12 taco shells or small flour or corn tortillas
- toppings as desired see notes
Instructions
- Place chicken breast in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Add chicken broth.
- Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken breasts. Top with salsa.
- Press “Poultry” and cook for 15 minutes if frozen and 12 minutes if fresh.
- Once done, release pressure and shred chicken with two forks. Combine with sauce in Instant Pot and serve as desired.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Dinner
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada soup
What are your thoughts on using a large can of enchilada sauce instead of broth?
I think it would be delicious! I can’t say for sure how it would work in the pressure cooker but I bet the flavor would be great. If you try it, let us know how it goes!
We love this recipe in our house, including my 11 year old! Sometimes I don’t open it when it’s done so I let it naturally release pressure. I think the extra time helps it be more tender and easier to shred. It’s a simple recipe with great flavor!! Love it!!
The flavor was good, but the chicken was very tough. Cooked it per instructions in an 8 qt. Instant Pot.
If your chicken breasts are on the smaller size, you will want to reduce the timing by about 2-3 minutes as mentioned in the notes of the recipe.
I’ve had the same issue with my instant pot and cooking chicken. Have yet to have it come out tender and moist. Is it safe to say that Different brands of Instant pots must cook way differently? Or else, I’m really not sure what I’m doing wrong. Determined to keep trying though until I get mine figured out! Thanks for the recipe. :)
What size is your Instant Pot? Do you know the weight of your chicken breasts?
You might want to try higher quality chicken breasts (organic, free range, local farmer, etc.) Unfortunately, many chickens are now raised to grow too quickly, which creates an issue called woody breast. Or try chicken thighs (which is what I did since I find the flavor so much better).
Has anyone tried bringing the chicken before cook or with this cause I very salty dish?
Que fácil de ve, no practicar e intentar, gracias
You’re welcome! Enjoy!
Can you freeze this meal? Before or after cooking? Thanks.
Hi Missy, you can freeze before cooking for meal prepping. I hope this helps!
This was my very first recipe in my new Instant Pot!
Only modification I made was i added 2/3 cup of chicken broth, 1/3 didn’t look like enough in the bottom, and I was happy I did. I also bumped it up to 15 mins with fresh not frozen and everything pulled apart easily.
I don’t have a poultry mode, so just did the manual Pressure Cook mode on high for 15 mins and slowly released pressure over 5-7 mins.
So happy you enjoyed it Tim! Have fun with your instant pot.
Natural or Manual release?
We used a quick release in this recipe but readers have done both with success Scott!
Really yummy! Had two larger chicken breasts, did 12 but could have used 15 for optimal shreddiness. That said I was using a mini. Took the chicken out to shred, cooked a little extra liquid down on saute while shredding, and it was perfect! Great recipe, thanks!
I am so glad you enjoyed the chicken tacos KK!
I always have to add a bit more broth or some water to the recipe or my instant pot always burns.
My instant pot seems to hate tomatoes lol! I got the dreaded BURN message, but not all is lost when this happens. I turned off the instant pot and released the pressure. Moved everything over to a bowl, scraped up the burnt pieces and wiped out the pot. Then I simply put the veggie basket in and put everything back in. I learned this trick when trying a chili recipe. My chicken turned out delicious!
Thanks for sharing this tip Bug! I know this is going to be really helpful to other readers! Glad you enjoyed the chicken!
Always looking for a quick, after work recipe that doesn’t involve a whole lot of prep. This perfectly accomplishes that with an AMAZING chicken at the end (followed the recipe to a T and used frozen chicken). Thanks for the recipe!
So happy to hear that Lydia!
Is the chicken broth necessary? I have a 16oz jar of salsa, would I be able to just use that for the liquid? I am new to using the instant pot.
Hi Gabrielle, we have only made this recipe as listed, and since pressure cookers can be tricky, I don’t want to say for sure. If you try it please let us know how it turns out.
Excellent recipe, thank you Holly! I worked with the darker cuts of meat and it came together so nicely in this recipe. Shredded the chicken, threw it back in the pot, and reduced the sauce on the saute function for 5ish minutes.
Chopped white onion, cilantro, and slices of lime. I don’t need to go out for street tacos any time soon. Definitely adding this to my weekly dinner rotation.
I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe Catherine!
Turned out so good! trying to cook more heart healthy for the family and have to be gone for dinner – so wanted this done and in the fridge. Came out exactly like photograph. My only switch up was to add corn kernels from an ear I picked this morning with the salsa.
Did garlic brown rice for side….this quick pot is amazing!
Yay! So happy this turned out for you Niki!
Easy and delicious!
Thanks Barb!
I used this recipe except I modified a little – I used 3 1/2 fresh, LARGE boneless/skinless chicken breasts (like you get from Sam’s Club – 7 breasts were just over 6 pounds), 3 Tbsp of taco seasoning, 1 cup mild salsa and 1 cup chicken broth. I did 20 minutes on high and then 12 minute natural release and then let off the rest of the pressure. I did 4 batches like this tonight.
The chicken so easy to shred and I put in a large container and put the liquid back on it. I will be using this tomorrow for an event so I will be reheating. It has a good flavor – if I were doing it for my family (instead of an event) I would use a little more seasoning and maybe medium salsa instead of mild.
I forgot to click the stars … definitely 5 stars!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Your modifications sound quite tasty Nina!
I just made this using 4 frozen chicken breasts and adjusting the recipe accordingly. I don’t have a poultry button so I just used the pressure cooker button. It wasn’t cooked through after 15 min and I ended up cooking it for 30. Otherwise it was a hit with the family!
I am glad you enjoyed the recipe despite the adjustment in time Elanor.
There are so many delicious recipes!
Thank you Liane!
I used Trader Joe’s Pineapple Salsa. It is not that watery so next time I would use more chicken broth but this was delicious. Thank you!
Great idea Claire! That would be delicious.
Undercooked chicken breasts, 12min not enough for fresh chicken unless it’s cut into pieces. Had to place back in the IP for 8min + natural release.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy this Joe, I make it frequently and always love it! If your chicken breasts were on the larger side that may account for the extra time needed.
Love this recipe. .can it be tripled? I have quite a few guest coming and want to make sure I have enough
If you have a large instant pot, I do believe tripling it would be fine!