Today marks the first ever Instant Pot recipe I’ve done! I do have to admit though, despite everyone saying the Instant Pot is the best thing since sliced bread – no wait… better than sliced bread, I remained unconvinced.
But since I had so many requests for Instant Pot recipes, I decided to finally buy one and get to recipe testing. And while it’s too early to say whether or not I’ll be addicted to it, it’s definitely been an extra convenient and fast way to make dinner.
At risk of everyone yelling at me, I’m just more of an old fashioned ‘slow food’ kind of cook, and the Instant Pot just rubs me the wrong way in that regard. There’s nothing that compares to something slowly simmering/braising in my opinion. However we’re all on the same boat in the time department, everyone (me included) needs super easy recipes to help with the lack of time we’re all experiencing.
And so, today’s recipe fits the bill for being extra fast, as well as easy. I also developed this recipe to make way more than you’ll need, (meal prep style) so there’s leftover salsa chicken to freeze for a second even easier meal.
You can make the salsa chicken on it’s own if you’d like, but I’ve also included everything we served it with. Our favorite so far has been to pile it into roasted sweet potatoes, and top with homemade salsa and guacamole. Over the course the recipe testing this, (we’ve eaten a lot of salsa chicken!) we also tried it with spaghetti squash and steamed rice. Both of those are great too, we just loved the sweet potatoes a smidge more.
To make this recipe absolutely as easy as possible, you get to start with frozen chicken, (no need to remember to defrost something for dinner)! I used 2 packages of chicken breasts, each package had 2 frozen chicken breasts in it for a total of 3 pounds of meat.
This is what it looks like 45 minutes later, (around 25 minutes if you only do 1 package of meat).
Then the chicken is shredded and added back to the juices before serving. If I’m doing a small batch of shredded meat, I’ll do it by hand with 2 forks. But for this recipe I like to use a little shortcut!
Meat Shredding Shortcut: Carefully remove the finished chicken breasts from the Instant Pot and place them into the bowl of an electric mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on low speeds until the chicken is shredded, 1-2 minutes.
This shortcut is gold and such a timesaver, especially for bigger batches. I actually heard it from my friend who heard it from a friend – aren’t those just the best kind of tips!?!
I had loads of tomatoes from Farmer’s Market the first time I made this, so I made a fresh Pico de Gallo. But since tomato season is almost over, I also tested it out with my Easy Fire Roasted Blender Salsa which is really good too!
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Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
A super easy dinner with leftover chicken to freeze for another even easier meal!
Ingredients
Instant Pot Salsa Chicken:
2 – packages frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts, 3 pounds, see notes
3 cups of your favorite salsa, I used my Easy Fire Roasted Blender Salsa, see notes
1/2 cup of chicken broth, or water
Sea salt to taste
Serve with:
4 small sweet potatoes, well scrubbed and washed, about 2 pounds
1 recipe The Best Guacamole
Additional salsa or my Easy Fire Roasted Blender Salsa
Optional: shredded lettuce, sour cream, and grated cheese, see notes
Instructions
Run each package of frozen chicken under hot water in the sink for a few seconds just to loosen the package. Add the salsa and chicken broth/water into a 6-quart Instant Pot, then place the frozen chicken in.
Secure the lid, set the valve to sealing, and turn the machine on to pressure cook on high for 45 minutes.
While the chicken cooks, prepare the rest of the ingredients you want to serve it with.
Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the sweet potatoes in half, and place them flat side down on the baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 25-30 minutes. Or you can roast them whole for about 45-50 minutes.
When the chicken has finished cooking, let the pressure release naturally until the button drops. Or if you’re in a hurry, you can quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
Carefully remove the chicken breasts from the juices and shred. You can either use 2 forks and hand shred the chicken, or place it in an electric mixer. Then using the paddle attachment on low speeds, shred the chicken.
Mix the shredded chicken back into the juices and season to taste with sea salt. The amount of salt will vary depending on what salsa you use.
Serve the chicken over the roasted sweet potatoes with the toppings of your choice.
Refrigerate the leftover chicken until it’s thoroughly chilled. Then portion it out as desired and freeze in airtight containers for up to 6 weeks for another quick and easy meal.
Notes
Each package of chicken I used contained 2 frozen chicken breasts stuck together. The time needed to cook this recipe might be a bit less if your chicken breasts are frozen individually.
I love freezing my Easy Fire Roasted Blender Salsa which makes it really easy to have on hand for recipes like this.
I’ve been loving these without the dairy, but I’ve included them as options because it’s tasty and depending on how you and your family eat, they’re a nice addition, (Tyler loves his bowls with cheese and sour cream).
The salsa chicken for this recipe makes twice as much as you’ll need for one dinner. I freeze my extras for another meal within the next 6 weeks of making this.
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: Entrees
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: Mexican