Instant Pot Jerk Chicken and Mango Salsa

5/29/18

This Instant Pot Jerk Chicken and Mango Salsa is a one pot meal made complete with homemade jerk chicken seasoning using ingredients from your spice drawer along with basmati rice – works well for a make-ahead lunch or as a 30-minute dinner idea!

Have you ever wanted to learn how to make jerk chicken?

Well, now's your chance to make a copycat version at home!

This Instant Pot Jerk Chicken and Mango Salsa is a delicious one pot meal that takes the guess work out of your favourite Caribbean dish and most of the spices are ones you can find in your pantry at home!

And I mean, anytime you add mango salsa to the mix along with some avocado…let's just say you can't go wrong! I think I've made this mango salsa maybe 3 or 4 times now on the blog, it's just so good! So bring the flavours of the tropics to dinner tonight, or your weekly meal prep!

I don't know about you, but one or my fave things to do to make meal prep a bit easier is to make some homemade spice blends and keep them on hand. I have a homemade taco seasoning, Italian seasoning, alongside a Greek spice blend and Cajun mix.

I sometimes buy the store brand spice blends when they require special ingredients I don't necessarily want to source out like Za'atar spice (mostly used in Mediterranean cuisine), but as it turns out, jerk chicken seasoning is way easier to make than you think!

So, what can I tell you about these Instant Pot Jerk Chicken and Mango Salsa bowls other than the fact that they are delicious and make a super healthy dinner. Let me fill you in on the spice blend first though.

How to make Homemade Jerk Chicken Seasoning

So the spices you need to keep on hand for this Jamaican jerk chicken is pretty simple, basically the following:

• Allspice
• Chili powder
• Garlic powder
• Nutmeg
• Thyme
• Cinnamon
• Cayenne pepper

With this jerk chicken recipe, I don't really use too much cayenne pepper and instead rely on some jalapeno peppers to bring some heat to this dish. I de-seed most of them and chop them up really fine so the overall dish isn't too spicy, and then I also add in some other ingredients like lime juice, garlic and onions to finish the flavour and create somewhat of a marinade/sauce for the chicken and rice.

And speaking of rice, I've cooked it at the same time as the chicken with all of the seasonings to make this a true Instant Pot dump dinner.

That's the best part of the Instant Pot: the fact that you don't have to go through a bunch of steps. Just dump everything in, set it and forget it. I would be doing it wrong if I were to cook the rice on the side separately. Plus, while it's not necessarily authentic Jamaican jerk chicken, it is an easy version that also packs the rice with a ton of flavour. Sooooo good.

The mango salsa is kind of optional for this recipe but it does bring a nice touch to these bowls, and a pop of colour, especially if you end up using avocado.

But, if you're not into making the salsa while everything's cooking away in the Instant Pot, you can definitely use up other veggies in these bowls, like what I did with these Jerk Chicken Meal Prep bowls that I created last year.

I would suggest adding in some thinly sliced/chopped red pepper and some sort of green veggie like spinach in at the end of cooking time and let it all sit for 5 minutes with the lid on. That way you get your veggies in, and this Instant Pot Jerk Chicken is more microwave-friendly if you go to take these bowls as a work lunch.

Will you be making this Instant Pot Jerk Chicken and Mango Salsa? 

When meal prep is this easy and delicious, you're going to want to make more of these bowls and celebrate the warm weather with some heat!

If you try any of my recipes be sure to let me know on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or in the comments – I’d love to see what you come up with!

The Instant Pot DUO Plus 60 is the version I use in this recipe.

You could use this Jerk Seasoning if you don't feel like making your own!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Instant Pot Jerk Chicken and Mango Salsa

This Instant Pot Jerk Chicken and Mango Salsa is a one pot meal made complete with homemade jerk chicken seasoning using ingredients from your spice drawer along with basmati rice - works well for a make-ahead lunch or as a 30-minute dinner idea!

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Caribbean

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 372kcal

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium-sized chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 yellow onions, diced
• 3 jalapenos, deseeded and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp homemade jerk chicken seasoning (recipe below)
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup dry basmati rice

Mango salsa

• 1 mango, diced
• 1 avocado, diced (optional)
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1/4 cups chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1/2 tsp salt

Homemade jerk chicken seasoning (make ahead then store in an airtight container in your pantry)

• 2 tbsp allspice
• 2 tbsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp onion or garlic powder
• 2 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp cayenne (optional if you want it spicy)

Instructions

• Add all ingredients to Instant Pot in order shown, leaving rice last and poured overtop of other ingredients as shown in the video. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 10-15 minutes to preheat, then the 3 minutes on high pressure.
• Meanwhile, mix ingredients for mango salsa together. Do a quick release of the pressure and open lid when safe to do so. Stir together, then divide among four bowls and top with mango salsa. Serve and enjoy!
• Note: I recommend you make the jerk chicken seasoning a couple of days ahead so you can easily access it and add it to the Instant Pot when you go to make the recipe. Then it will be in the pantry for future use!

Nutrition

Calories: 372kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 716mg | Potassium: 608mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 16% | Vitamin C: 68% | Calcium: 5% | Iron: 12%