This Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken can be made in the Instant Pot or the slow cooker – it's a one pot Mexican-inspired rice bowl.
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How to make this recipe
- Add olive oil, chicken, onion, garlic, spices, broth, salsa, beans, corn and rice to Instant Pot in that order. Pressure cook for 5 minutes.
- Once done, safely remove lid and stir in green peppers. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Divide among four bowls and top with avocado, jalapeno and cilantro.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to make salsa verde chicken in a crockpot
- Add olive oil, chicken, spices, broth, salsa, beans, corn and rice to slow cooker.
- Put slow cooker on high and cook for 6 hours. For low setting, cook for 8 hours.
- Once done, stir in green peppers and let sit 5-10 minutes.
- Divide among four bowls and top with avocado, jalapenos and cilantro.
- Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients and substitutions
- Olive oil – use any neutral oil as a substitute for olive oil.
- Chicken breasts – chicken thighs are a great alternative to chicken breasts and may offer a juicier cut of meat.
- Yellow onion – sweet onions, shallots or white onions are a great alternative to yellow onion.
- Garlic – use fresh or jarred minced garlic or garlic powder in a pinch.
- Chili powder – cayenne pepper, chili flakes or paprika can be used as a substitution.
- Cumin – ground coriander, taco seasoning or garam masala can be used in this recipe.
- Salt (to taste)
- Chicken broth – vegetable broth is a great substitution for this recipe. A bouillon cube mixed with water will work in a pinch.
- Salsa verde
- Black beans – navy beans, pinto beans or red kidney beans may also be used in this recipe.
- Corn – use fresh, canned or frozen corn in this recipe.
- Jasmine rice – any white rice variation will work well as a substitute.
- Green peppers – green bell peppers will match well with the theme of this recipe but feel free to use any bell pepper colour or a green poblano pepper.
- Avocado (to garnish)
- Jalapeno (to garnish)
- Cilantro (to garnish)
What is salsa verde?
Salsa verde is green salsa made from tomatillos. The taste has a similar kick of regular salsa but actually has a bit more of a bite to it. It can be a tiny bit spicier, and you can usually find it in a jar from your local grocery store in the International foods section.
For this recipe you will probably use one whole jar of salsa verde. If you have leftovers, enjoy them with tortilla chips as a snack!
Storing and reheating
Once your salsa verde has cooled to room temperature, store the leftovers in individual servings in airtight containers in the fridge for up to five days. Yes – that means this chicken bowl is the perfect meal prep recipe!
When storing this salsa verde chicken, you will want to store the leftovers without any toppings on them to make reheating an easier process. Prep the toppings and store them separately. Top the leftovers after you've warmed the serving and are ready to enjoy the dish.
To reheat this recipe, microwave it for 2-3 minutes with some water sprinkled over top to ensure the chicken and rice do not dry out.
Freezing this recipe
I love freezer-friendly recipes! They are the perfect solution for future lazy dinner nights where all you want to do is heat something and go! They're basically a healthier version of freezer dinners from the grocery store.
To freeze this recipe, divide up into individual servings in glass bowls and freeze up to 3 months. Dividing the recipe into individual servings will make reheating that much easier.
When you're ready to enjoy, make sure to sprinkle a bit of water overtop then reheat in the microwave for 6-7 minutes, stirring halfway through. Depending on your microwave, you may need more or less time.
More Instant Pot chicken recipes
Meal prep tools for this recipe
- 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!
is the version I use in this recipe.
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!
Video
Nutrition
Peter says
I carefully followed the instructions, used an InstaPot, and it cooked just right. Not a big fan of green peppers, so substituted anaheim peppers instead. I wasn’t that happy with the flavor from the can of Salsa Verde. Planning to make it again, but I’m likely to substitute Hatch Chilies, or something with bigger flavor. It was easy, and I liked the result, worth messing around to find the perfect flavor.
Rachel says
can I use canned corn?
Taylor Stinson says
Yes for sure!
Danielle Z says
Don’t add the rice in the beginning. It’s absolutely mushy. If using a slow cooker just make it separate at the end.
kristen says
Would it work to cook the rice separately and add it when the recipe is done? I’m just very particular about my rice being a certain way.
Taylor Stinson says
I haven’t tried it this way myself but you could give it a try! I imagine it would work 🙂
Kimberly says
Made this last night and it was a hit! I’m a newbie to the Instant Pot and not a very skilled cook with any method. I subbed brown rice since I’m doing WW. I guessed I’d need another 2 0z of liquid for brown and to increase cook time to 18 minutes. Ended up not being enough time and then because of that there was too much liquid. Boiled it off and it was still delicious even with my errors. Will try again with longer cook time. If you, or any other readers, have tips on time and liquid adjustment for substituting brown rice, it would be much appreciated! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Taylor Stinson says
Hey Kimberly – brown rice takes a lot longer to cook than white rice. I’m not exactly sure of how to modify here because it depends on what type of brown rice you’re using and I would need to do some testing. Overall, I’m happy you enjoyed!
Kimberly says
Tried it again with Rice Select Jasmati Brown Jasmine rice using 1/4 cup less broth and set pot for 20 minutes. Still not enough adaptation for brown. Will get it right one day! Cooked water off and it was delicious. We love your flavorful recipe
Taylor Stinson says
I’m so happy you enjoyed! I wonder if more cooking time might work for brown rice…
Blake says
I made this tonight but omitted corn and subbed with brown rice and chicken thighs! For brown rice it probably needs a bit longer and mine came out more like a soup but it was still delish!
Jenn Cornell says
I tried frezzer prepping this recipe per another blogger’s meal prep recommendation and cooking from frozen. Dont do this, thaw it first. Otherwise you’ll end up like me with burn notice after burn notice, frustrated af, ordering a pizza and wasting a bunch of food.
Ellie says
If I portion it out into freezer bags ahead of time do you think that will work? Should I defrost it first or throw it all in frozen when I cook it?
Taylor Stinson says
I haven’t tried it this way myself so unfortunately I can’t advise 🙁 If you do assemble raw then freeze, I would defrost in the fridge for 24 hours before throwing in the crockpot. I’m just not sure how the rice would hold up!
Alex says
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.
Taylor says
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.
Taylor Stinson says
Love it!!! So happy it came out great 🙂
Bob says
Did you stir in the rice….I see it was added near the end….will it cook, out of the water?
Taylor Stinson says
It is added to the rest of the ingredients at the end and not stirred in. It will get cooked during the pressure cooking process.