Instant Pot or Crock Pot Salsa Verde Chicken
This Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken can be made in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker – it's a one pot Mexican-inspired green rice bowl made with tomatillo salsa then topped with avocado, cilantro and jalapenos!
In the mood for a different twist on a burrito bowl? (other than buffalo chicken burrito bowls of course…)
You're going to LOVE this Salsa Verde Chicken with rice and beans – it's such a filling, flavourful meal and fun take on the classic burrito bowl, and it's made all in ONE POT for easy clean up and of course for your meal prep needs.
Come on, you better know I'm the queen of meal prep by now!!!
What I especially love about these Salsa Verde Chicken Bowls is how versatile they are, and how you can easily re-purpose the ingredients in these bowls for other meals as you feel like switching it up throughout the work week.
Actually, one of the chief complaints I get about meal prep is that people tend to get bored after the first couple of lunches, and I have to say I agree.
It's hard eating the same old thing over and over for lunch, but it's also kinda nice to know that you automatically have something healthy that you can grab out of the fridge on the go, or when you're super hungry and you've just arrived home from work.
That said, I also think it's great when you have different ways to re-purpose your leftovers, and before we dive too deep into this salsa chicken, I thought I would just share some ways that you can re-create these bowls and turn them into something new throughout the week – and you may need to do that, especially if you're just cooking for yourself and have way too much of this to eat yourself LOL (I should point out this is the case with me most weeks!)
Let me fill you in on a couple other ways you can re-purpose this salsa chicken into other meals:
- Tacos (place the filling in a corn tortilla)
- Burritos (saute some extra bell peppers and onions, then add some extra toppings (sour cream, pico de gallo, guac) and roll up into a flour tortilla
- Breakfast Bowls (crack a fried egg on top and pair with some turkey bacon)
What is Salsa Verde?
Now, I know this is what you may be wondering before we dive into the specifics of these bowls. Well, salsa verde, put simply, is GREEN SALSA made from tomatillos and it is SO good! You still get the kick of regular red salsa, and I would actually describe it as having a bit of an extra bite. It can be a tiny bit spicier, and you can usually find it in a jar from your local grocery store in the Mexican section.
I used one such jar in this salsa verde chicken recipe, and it was basically just a matter of dumping that in alongside some chicken broth, chicken, rice, cumin, chili powder, garlic, onions, black beans and corn.
Stir in your green peppers after everything has pressure cooked and let them steam (I'm a big fan of the steaming method using the Instant Pot, your veggies never get overcooked this way!) and then add the rest of your toppings like sliced avocado, jalapenos and cilantro.
Will you be making this Salsa Verde Chicken?
This is such an awesome meal prep idea and a super fun twist on your traditional burrito bowl, you're going to love it!
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.
Grab some Glass meal prep bowls if you plan on packing this salsa verde up for lunch!
I usually use this brand of salsa verde or the no-name brand from my local grocery store (in my case, President's Choice)
And of course I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box!
Instant Pot (or Crock Pot) Salsa Verde Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 medium-sized chicken breasts, diced into 1 inch pieces
- 1 medium-sized yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups salsa verde
- 1 can black beans
- 1 cup frozen corn (do not defrost!)
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 2 green peppers, sliced
- 1 avocado, sliced
- 1 jalapeno pepper, sliced
- 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Add olive oil, chicken, onion, garlic, spices, broth, salsa, beans, corn and rice to Instant Pot in that order. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes, then do a quick release of the pressure. Instant Pot will take about 10-15 minutes to come to pressure, then the 5 minutes to cook.
- When safe to do so, remove lid and stir in green peppers. Replace lid and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Divide among four bowls and top with avocado, jalapeno and cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
- Crockpot instructions: Add olive oil, chicken, spices, broth, salsa, beans, corn and rice to slow cooker. Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 8 hours. Stir in green peppers and let sit 5-10 minutes. Divide among four bowls and top with avocado, jalapeno and cilantro. Serve and enjoy!
Nutrition
8 hrs in crockpot?
Hey Vic! Yes, you would be looking at about 8 hours on low in the crockpot!
Quick release or natural release?
Hey Casey – it’s quick release! It should say that in the recipe 🙂
I doubled the recipe and the rice doesn’t seem ready when I stirred in the peppers. Darn, I dumped the peppers before looking, turned it on a few more minutes. Fingers crossed!!!
Oh no! Did you use white rice or jasmine rice? Some other kinds of rice sometimes take a bit longer to cook than jasmine rice..unfortunately the type of rice does matter in this recipe
Uncooked or cooked chicken?? Usually takes around 40 min for raw chicken to cook in my pressure cooker at high pressure! Does it take less time if it is diced chicken?? Thanks!
Hey Kelly! You find when you cook chicken that it really takes 40 minutes on high pressure? I worry that cooking it for that long would make the chicken extremely overcooked and tough. Have you tried other cooking times before or are you cooking a whole chicken with all its bones in? This recipe uses 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (medium-sized) and the chicken is diced up. Though it’s raw, they are 1-inch pieces so they cook very fast. Even in an oven or in a frying pan this much chicken cut up this small would only cook about 10-15 minutes, which is how long it takes for the pot to preheat. I can assure you the chicken gets cooked in the time I mentioned!
This was delicious! Just an FYI – you don’t list the onions in the instructions. I noticed that I hadn’t put them in one minute into the cook time, so I quick released, added them, and set to cook for 3 minutes and it turned out great! My whole family loved it, even my 9 year old daughter and 10 year old son. 😀
Oh no! So sorry about that Erin! I’ve gone ahead and fixed it 🙂 So happy you enjoyed, thank you for sharing with me!!!
I’m excited to try this recipe,! Just checking, it’s beans with liquid from the can? Also do you know if there are any considerations about doubling? We have a large slow cooker. So glad I found your site!
Yes it is Sarah! And I don’t think you will have to adjust anything if doubling…I would just make sure you cook on low for the full 8 hours instead of on high for 6…let me know how it goes 🙂
If I use frozen chicken breasts how much time will I need to add?
I’m sorry Lexy I’m not sure – I haven’t tried it this way yet!
So I just sautéed the chicken a little and then set it for 10 min instead of 5 and it came out great! I had a burn message because I mixed everything together instead of layering it like you said (whoops) but just scraped the bottom and restarted it. Is was SO good! Even my 5 & 6 yr olds loves it! Thanks!!
So glad you liked it Lexy!!! Thanks for sharing with me 🙂
This was amazing! Prepared it as directed in my electric pressure cooker and it was really tasty and came out perfectly. We added cheese on top when plating. This will enter into our rotation for sure. It also made 8 servings!
Thanks so much for sharing Jennifer, I’m so happy you enjoyed 🙂 The cheese on top is a great idea!!!
I have the mini instant pot. Can I fit in the whole recipe?
I’m sorry but I’m honestly not sure Kathy, I haven’t tried it myself!
Oh my goodness! I made this tonight and it was yummy. I have never cooked with Jasmine rice before it cooked beautifully! So fast. I think it took longer to prep everything then it did to cook lol! Thanks for sharing this recipe😊😊
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe Sheri!!! Thanks for sharing with me 🙂
Hi This looks great. Is the nutritional information for one serving? Is it 4oz.? Thanks!
Hey Michelle! I couldn’t tell you the weight of the serving size but the nutritional info is for one serving, which is 1/4 of the recipe. Hope that helps!
Is it regular jasmine rice or “minute” jasmine rice?
Regular 🙂
If I double this in my instant pot and use boneless skinless chicken thighs will cooking times stay the same?
Hey Tracy – I’m honestly not sure because I haven’t tried it myself. If I were to guess, maybe up the cooking time by 2 minutes?
Do you drain the liquid from the beans or is part of the cooking liquid?
You rinse and drain them!
What if I were to use quinoa? Would the taste be similar? Cooking time similar (I’ll be using a crockpot). I just feel quinoa is a bit healthier than jasmine rice. Maybe I’m wrong.
I’m not sure that the liquid to grain ratios would be the same for quinoa but you could try! I imagine cooking time would stay the same.
I just made this last night. It was delicious!! After it was dished out, we added a squeeze of lime juice. Doing that added the right amount of something that just pushed it over the top!! My entire family liked it. This was also the first thing I made in my new instant pot. Thank you for making it so easy!
So happy you liked it Shannon – love the squeeze of lime overtop, great idea 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing with me!!!
Great recipe, but what is the serving size in grams? Trying to log macros 🤷♀️
Unfortunately I can’t provide that info – sorry about that!
Recipe looks delish ! If I wanted to use regular white rice instead of the jasmine, how much and how long of cook time ? Also would it change up the calories a lot ?
Hey Danielle! White rice should be fine but I would add an extra minute of cook time in case. Unfortunately I can’t advise on the calories but I assume it would be around the same.
I am very disappointed with the instructions for preparing this recipe using a slow cooker. I doubled the recipe and opted for 6 hours on high. After 5 hours, I lifted the lid and not only were the edges slightly burned, but everything was over cooked. For anybody wanting to try this recipe, i would recommend using an Instant Pot or cooking everything but the rice for three hours on high, then cooking the rice with the leftover juice.
This looks great, will be making it for my kids. In glass containers in the fridge, any guess as to how many days this would be good for? Trying to organize things to cook a bunch Sun & Wed so ideally cooking things that will last 2-3 days in the fridge and still be ok to eat.
Thanks in advance!
Adam
Hey Adam! This will last up to 5 days in the fridge 🙂
Thanks for the quick reply! I have a slow cooker but looking at the instant pot cook time, I might pick one up. Amy recommendation on a particular make/model instant pot?
I have the 6 quart Instant Pot DUO Plus 🙂
Thanks for the info…Amazon here I come.
Turned out perfectly! My husband and I both loved it. Served with “Food Should Taste Good” brand Multigrain tortilla chips and lime on the side and it was delicious. Favorite instant pot recipe I’ve tried so far.
Love it!!! So happy it came out great 🙂
If using a slow cooker, do not add the in the beginning as stated. I stupidly did that and it was absolute mush after eight hours. But I will say the taste was pretty good.