A family weeknight favorite! Whole30-friendly salsa chicken tacos that you can make in your Instant Pot or pressure cooker!
In anticipation of the double-whammy of Cinco de Mayo and Mother’s Day, I present to you this super easy Mexican-inspired Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Salsa Chicken Tacos recipe. Busy mamas will appreciate that this dump-it-in-and-forget-it recipe tastes exponentially better than the effort expended. Better yet, it’s so simple that your kitchen-challenged partner or kids can make it for you while you relax in front of the boob tube. Personally, I don’t always have the desire or energy to cook dinner, and my favorite meal is the one someone else cooks for me. Might as well make dinner prep easy on everyone, and just throw everything into an Instant Pot!
Can I use chicken thighs or breasts for this Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Taco?
I’ve included directions for using either boneless and skinless breasts or thighs. I’m a thigh girl myself, but I tested and photographed this pressure cooker recipe using breasts—one of my least favorite cuts—because I know that many of you prefer it to chicken thighs. (See how much I love you guys? You’re welcome, chicken breast lovers!) I still recommend using chicken thighs in this recipe ’cause breasts can easily overcook in a pressure cooker if you don’t remove the chicken right away.
You can watch me demo how to make this dish on Facebook Live by clicking here.
What are Paleo- or Whole30-friendly taco shell options?
Final note before we get started: my kiddos love using Siete Foods’ grain-free tortillas to wrap their tacos, but feel free to substitute lettuce leaves if you’re going old-skool Paleo or low-carb. You can also enjoy the savory chicken in omelets, or topped on salad greens. Olé!
Can I make this in a slow cooker or Crock Pot?
Yes! Just plop the Salsa Chicken ingredients into your slow cooker or Crock Pot and cook on low for 4 to 6 hours or until chicken is cooked through and shreddable.
Time to make Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Tacos!
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1½ teaspoons Primal Palate Meat & Potatoes Seasoning (or substitute 1 teaspoon chili powder + ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt )
- 1 cup roasted tomato salsa (you can use the Salsa Roja Asada recipe from our cookbook or our app, or just use your favorite store-bought salsa)
- Grain free tortillas (or lettuce wraps if you want to keep this nut-free and Whole30-friendly!)
Equipment
- Instant Pot electric pressure cooker or stovetop pressure cooker
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring cups
- Kitchen towel
- Large bowl
- Kitchen tongs
- Forks
Method
Arrange the chicken in a single layer in your pressure cooker.
Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the chicken, making sure to rearrange the pieces in a single layer on the bottom.
Pour the salsa evenly over the chicken pieces.
Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. If you’re using an Instant Pot, press the “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” button and program it to cook for 7 minutes under high pressure for chicken breasts (cook for 8 to 9 minutes if the breasts are bigger than 6 ounces) and 10 minutes for thighs. If you’re using bone-in thighs, I would increase the cooking time to 15 minutes. (For those of you using a stovetop pressure cooker, crank the heat to high to bring the contents to high pressure. Once high pressure is reached, reduce the heat to low, or just enough to maintain high pressure. Set a timer for 6 minutes for breasts and 9 minutes for thighs.)
When the chicken is finished cooking, immediately release the pressure manually. To deal with all the released steam, I position my Instant Pot below the stovetop exhaust vent before I turn the valve. Cooking thighs and away from the house? You can let the pressure release naturally and they’ll be fine.
Remove the lid right away…
…and transfer the chicken to a bowl to prevent overcooking.
Use two forks to shred the chicken. Taste the cooking liquid and adjust with salt and pepper if necessary.
Pour the cooking liquid on top of the chicken…
…and toss well to coat.
Serve on top of your favorite grain-free tortillas or on lettuce wraps. Garnish with your favorite taco toppings and dig in!
If you’re hankering for more Mexican-inspired dishes, check out these recipes:
- Guacamole
- Mango + Avocado Salsa with Pan-Seared Salmon
- Pressure Cooker Mexican Beef
- The Domestic Man’s Caldo de Langoustinos (Mexican Squat Lobster Soup)
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Instant Pot (Pressure Cooker) Salsa Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
- 1½ teaspoons Primal Palate Meat & Potatoes Seasoning or substitute 1 teaspoon chili powder + ½ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1 cup roasted tomato salsa you can use the Salsa Roja Asada recipe from our cookbook or our app, or just use your favorite store-bought salsa
- Grain free tortillas or lettuce wraps if you want to keep this nut-free and Whole30-friendly!
Instructions
- Arrange the chicken in a single layer in your pressure cooker.
- Sprinkle the seasoning on both sides of the chicken, making sure to rearrange the pieces in a single layer on the bottom.
- Pour the salsa evenly over the chicken pieces.
- Lock the lid on the pressure cooker. If you’re using an Instant Pot, press the “Manual” or "Pressure Cook" button and program it to cook for 7-9 minutes under high pressure for chicken breasts (cook for 7 minutes if the breasts are 6 ounces, increase to 8 or 9 minutes if the breasts are bigger) and 10 minutes for thighs. If you're using bone-in thighs, I would increase the cooking time to 15 minutes. (For those of you using a stovetop pressure cooker, crank the heat to high to bring the contents to high pressure. Once high pressure is reached, reduce the heat to low, or just enough to maintain high pressure. Set a timer for 6 minutes for breasts and 9 minutes for thighs.)
- When the chicken is finished cooking, immediately release the pressure manually. To deal with all the released steam, I position my Instant Pot below the stovetop exhaust vent before I turn the valve. If you are cooking thighs, you don't have to release the pressure manually—natural release is a-OK!
- Remove the lid right away and transfer the chicken to a bowl to prevent overcooking.
- Use two forks to shred the chicken. Taste the cooking liquid and adjust with salt and pepper if necessary.
- Pour the cooking liquid on top of the chicken and toss well to coat.
- Serve on top of your favorite grain-free tortillas or on lettuce wraps. Garnish with your favorite taco toppings and dig in!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Does the nutrition information refer to breasts or thighs?
Chicken breast
One of my favorites and so incredibly easy and fast! Thighs are the better choice for this IMO. I’ve used both and breasts seem to get too dry no matter what I do!
Hi Michelle – This is one of my family’s favorite recipes. Could I make this with frozen chicken thighs?? On the nights I forget to take stuff out of the freezer??
Happy New Year!
Cherise
I don’t normally cook from frozen so I’m not sure.
It would be amazing if you could occasionally add directions that start with still frozen meat. Your recipes are amazing, but sometimes I’m not on top of things well enough to get it done with fresh meat.
If doubling the recipe, does the cooking time change any? I have 4 lbs of boneless thighs. Would 10 minutes still be sufficient?
You shouldn’t have to increase the cooking time. If anything, you can let the pressure come down naturally and it will be perfect!
Can I use chicken breast tenders and if so how to adjust recipe/time?
Yes you can, I would just reduce the cook time by about 1 minute.
This Salsa Chicken is absolutely easy to make and so delicious too!!
Question — Can I make and freeze this for a future meal? My friend will be getting out of the hospital and I would like to make some meals for them to eat whenever they want.
Thanks Michelle for all your tasty recipes!
Yes! It freezes great!
This is an incredibly delicious recipe. Thank you so much! I love the meat with sour cream on top. It is so yummy!
This was so effing good! I hve done the Carnitas ones before (also bomb!) so I wanted to try these. The Salsa Roja was a nice touch! Thanks Michelle!!!