4-Ingredient Chicken Chile Verde made with an Instant Pot – you only need four ingredients and a pressure cooker to make this easy chile verde. This delicious chile verde is a weeknight dinner favorite!
Chile Verde in an Instant
We bought an Instant Pot on Black Friday because it is all the rage. We have friends that say it is a life-changing kitchen appliance. So we bought one to see what all of the fuss is about. To be honest, I haven’t played around with it, but Josh has and he is liking it. Josh is kind of nerdy when it comes to figuring out new gadgets….new appliances, tools, games, putting together furniture, etc. He likes to read all of the instructions and figure things out, but I don’t have the patience. So I put him in charge of mastering the Instant Pot. His favorite recipe so far is this easy 4-Ingredient Instant Pot Chicken Chile Verde.
Chile Verde Made with only Four Ingredients
Josh likes this chile verde because it is SO easy to make, like almost too easy. You only need four ingredients: chicken, a jar of salsa verde, cumin, and garlic powder and just 25 minutes. Oh, and you need your trusty Instant Pot.
If you don’t know what an Instant Pot is, where have you been hiding? Ha! Just kidding. It is a 7-in-1 Multi-Functional Cooker. It is a pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, yogurt maker, steamer and warmer, and it sautés and browns. It pretty much does everything. I guess that is why people love it.
Chicken Chile Verde in One Pot
Josh uses the Instant to pressure cook the chicken. It cooks the chicken in 25 minutes, which is much faster than a slow cooker. Josh actually has a recipe for Slow Cooker Chicken Chile Verde that he loves, but I think the Instant Pot has won him over because it takes no time or effort to make. Four ingredients and 25 minutes? This is the perfect weeknight meal. And the chicken is tender, juicy, and full of flavor.
And the best part? You can use this Chicken Chile Verde for SO many things! You can serve this chile verde with rice, quinoa, or tortillas. Or you can make burritos, tacos, quesadillas, tostadas, salads, burrito bowls, fajita bowls, enchiladas, etc. Josh likes to use the chicken chile verde a few different ways during the week to mix up the boys meals. They love it too!
Pressure Cooker Chile Verde
If you are thinking about getting an Instant Pot, I guess you should do it because Josh says you have to make this easy 4-Ingredient Instant Pot Chicken Chile Verde. He said it is a weeknight dinner lifesaver. And if you have an Instant Pot, but are a little scared by it, like me, this is chile verde recipe is the one to start with because it is so easy and only requires four ingredients. You can’t mess it up!
Ok, now tell us, what are your favorite Instant Pot recipes? We want to try more! Leave your favorites in the comments! Also, any recipes you want us to create? Let us know!
If you like this easy Instant Pot Recipe, you might also like:
- Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Mexican Rice Casserole
- Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
4-Ingredient Instant Pot Chicken Chile Verde
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. chicken thighs or chicken breasts
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 16 ounces salsa verde
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the chicken in the Instant Pot or pressure cooker. Add the cumin, garlic powder, and salsa verde.
- Set cooker to high pressure for 25 minutes or on the Instant Pot press the poultry button.
- When the chicken is done cooking, quick release the pressure and shred the chicken in the pot with two forks. Season with salt and black pepper, to taste. Serve with tortillas, rice, use in burritos, quesadillas, tacos, salads, etc.
- Note-if you don't have an Instant Pot you can use a regular pressure cooker. The shredded chicken will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The shredded chicken can be frozen for up to 1 month.
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?
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Guys, I just got an instant pot this week and am so happy to see this recipe! I’ve only done BBQ pork ribs so far, and it was magic… ribs in 45 mins! Please post more recipes soon. Love your blog. Thanks! 🙂
Josh will love ribs:)
My favorite “recipe” for the instant pot is hard-cooked eggs. Cook for 6 mins, then natural release for 6 minutes, plunge the eggs into a bowl of ice water and I get the easiest peeling eggs ever. My stove top stays clean (no boil-overs) and the pot is easy to wash. Second favorite is shredded chicken, third is macaroni & cheese. I’ve also used it to make chicken broth–so much faster than the slow cooker. Hope to see more Instant Pot recipes from Two Peas…everything always has turned out great so far!
I did a dozen eggs this week! Perfect!
We have made eggs and they were so easy to peel! Perfect is right!
Yes, we have done eggs! SO amazing!
I’ve tried eggs twice and both times they were under cooked! What am I doing wrong? My pot does not have an “egg” button. Some models do.
I have been DYINGGGGG to get an Instant Pot!! I love how quick and easy this is and I LOVE chile verde. Can’t wait to try this!! xoxo
You need one:)
I have a Instant Pot but never figured out how to use it. Think the instructions are missing now.
I bet the instruction manual is online, and if not, there are so many YouTube videos and blogs devoted to pressure cooking that almost anything you could hope to cook is likely covered.
Get on you tube. Pressureluck (Jeffrey) is one. Flo Lum is another. But there are a lot of people showing you how to make a lot of delicious things. Just search “instant pot” on you tube.
No need to buy an expensive IP… get a farberware 7 in 1 at walmart for $39 or $59, depending on model.
We got our Instant Pot on the Black Friday sale so it was a great deal!
Hey girl- this looks so good! I’ll have to get me a instant pot! Y’all have a great weekend!
My Instant Pot–I got it for Christmas–is my new best friend! As I write this, I’m doing this one. http://www.number-2-pencil.com/2016/09/04/instant-pot-pressure-cooker-french-dip-sandwiches/ I have a whole board on Pinterest dedicated to the IP. If you are on Pinterest, follow me under Ginger Gaubert. Don’t be afraid of the IP. It literally will change your life! 🙂
Thank you!! We are excited to keep playing around with it.
Good to know. I’m going to check you out on Pinterest. Thanks!
I went to Pinterest and found you HOWEVER I cannot find your instant pot board?
This looks amazing! I need to try this soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I was just like you with the Instant Pot. I bought one on a super good deal on Black Friday because family members were telling me how much they love theirs. So far my favorite things I’ve made it it have been homemade refried beans and baked sweet potatoes. I need more recipes like this I can use for meals. Thanks!
Thanks! We will keep playing around!
Add 2 cans of drained/rinsed whie beans, 1 can of mild Rotel, 1 chopped onion and a 32 oz container of chicken broth to make this a delicious soup served over tortilla chips. Top with cilanto, sour cream, jack cheese, etc… YUM
I also add a large can of green enchilada sauce to make it more creamy.
Sounds great!! Thanks!
I did the original recipe for the first night-yum! Hit with the whole family. Did a half recipe of the soup plan with the leftovers. Great idea and super yummy as well. Already repeating for the second time one week later.
Love my Instant Pot! Favorite recipes so far:
– mushroom risotto (delicious, creamy risotto without standing over the stove slowly adding liquid & stirring!)
– cheesecake (perfectly cooked in 10 minutes!)
– lentil and vegetable soup
– also great for making bone broth, large batches of rice/oatmeal/etc.
I could use more recipes and look forward to what you come up with!
Thanks for sharing! We are excited to try more recipes.
Jeffrey (pressureluck on you tube )did a beautiful pesto risotto.
This is so easy!
I love this idea!
Not all salsa Verdes are created equal, especially those to be found in New England. What brand(s) do you use?
We used Herdez!
I need to try this yummy dish soon!
My favorites are carnitas and maycoba or pinto beans. Please keep more Instant Pot recipes coming.
This is right up our alley for dinner! Love this!!
This was great! I used chicken breasts, which I haven’t before because I’m always worried they’ll be dry, and they turned out perfectly! We had it on rice with lots of burrito bowl toppings and a jicama and watermelon salad on the side. Lots of leftovers too! Thanks for the recipe. Now I want to try another chicken breast recipe in the IP.
Glad you liked it!
Can the chicken breasts go into the pot frozen?
We used fresh for this recipe, but I know people do use frozen. I am not sure on the exact cooking time for frozen. Let us know if you try it!
I’ve not tried frozen but have read several posts on another page that it is the same cooking time but it just takes longer to come up to pressure.
This recipe is soooo good! Easy and quick. I did add some cilantro, just because I love cilantro. Served it on flour tortillas with a squeeze of lime, guacamole, shredded cheese and sour cream! Definitely a keeper! Making it again tonight for Monday night football! Thank you so much!
Opps! Forgot to rate! 5 stars!
Very simple. Very good. Used a clove of minced fresh garlic & added 2 Jalopenos, chopped to t h e recipe. Made Green Chile enchiladas w/ the result. Success!
I’m assuming boneless and skinless chicken?? Am planning on making for dinner.
Yes! Enjoy!
Super easy and wonderfully delicious! 5stars!
Going t o make it
Can anyone recall about how long it took to reach pressure for this recipe?
I have an 8-qt IP, by the way.
Mine took 5-6 min. 8 qt, fresh meat, not frozen.
This would be great for making street tacos! Thanks guys, I’m making it now for one of my first instant pot meals.
This looks so good but we don’t eat poultry. Do you think I could use pork tenderloin instead? Or pork shoulder?
Thanks.
Do you put the chicken right in the bottom of the pot, or do you use the colander? I kept getting the burn message.
Can i cut this recipe in half ?
Can I use my crock pot for this recipe?
CAN I USE MY CROCKPOT FOR THIS RECIPE?
Hi Maria/Josh!
Instant Pot newbie here. If I were to hit the Poultry button on mine, do I also adjust the timer to 25 minutes? It defaulted to 15 on mine. To play it safe, I did Manual High Pressure for 25 minutes… currently cooking now!
Thanks!
The poultry button on my IP is set at 10 minutes should I add more time to make it 25 minutes? Or is 10 minutes in the IP fine?
I thought that there was a major recall on them a while back due to mold build up inside somewhere? Know anything about that?
This was so easy!
I loved it so much I want to double it.
Would I need to increase time if I do double the chicken and two jars of salsa?????
Can the chicken be frozen or does it needs to be thawed?
My daughter did it with frozen chicken.
I’ve made this twice with chicken tenders and it came out perfect both times. You really can’t mess it up. My pin was unseated and steam started leaking out in the middle of cooking and it still came out perfect.
Both times I made rice first and turned on sauté in between to keep the pot hot so that it would come to pressure quickly. If you work fast (it only takes a few seconds to throw everything in) the chicken will be lightly browned AND moist and flavorful!
Glad you liked it!
I used my Instant Pot on poultry setting and followed the recipe exactly. Sadly, after the pressure buildup I got a “Burn” notice. I cleaned up the pot, put the steamer rack in (which I did not do initially) and the chicken on top and cooked for 10 minutes since it already looked done. The flavor was not intense enough for us, so we topped it with a spicy homemade guacamole. Next time I will definitely use the steamer rack and add jalapenos as well as top it off with guacamole. Thanks for the recipe.
I only have 1 pound of chicken. Do I need to change the cook time on an instant pot if I cut down the recipe?
Thanks!
You use the same time for different amounts of ingredients.
This turned out to be so tasty! The Chicken turns out very moist and tender, and shreds so easily. We used it on rice . Next time will add corn and beans and avocado.
I’m hoping this is good. I got the burn message three times now and I think it’s because the salsa verde sticks to the bottom of the Instant Pot. Poured out the liquid and cleaned up the stuff that was stuck to the bottom and I’m trying it for a fourth time. This time I’m just cooking the chicken in some broth and will use the reserve liquid when it’s finished.
Very tasty. I had a jar of real New Mexico green hatch chili salsa. I shouldn’t have added the splash of water that I threw in; the ingredients were already moist enough. But it wasn’t ruined, just juicy. I think 20 minutes on High in the IP is plenty to cook the chicken through, with a natural release or maybe quick release after 10 minutes.
I just made this recipe and it was a little too watery. I mixed some cold water and corn starch together, kicked up the IP to saute mode, and thickened up the green chili. Put it together on a tortilla with rice and cheese. Kids loved it and so did I.
I added 1 cup brown rice and 2 cups chicken broth to stretch the meal. It worked great. My anti-rice kids are it right up! They didn’t even question if there was rice. A great super easy, healthy flavorful meal.
Did you add the broth and rice to the pot with the other Ingredients? 25 minutes?
Very tasty and really easy to pull together! The quality of your salsa verde really matters. I went with the two chicken breast option and they were perfectly cooked at 25 minutes in the Instapot. I used this chicken for your taco recipe. Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome! Glad you liked the recipe!
I followed these instructions exactly and the verde burnt to the bottom. I think maybe some chicken broth would be a helpful addition to keep that from happening.
This was so easy to make and delicious!!!! I made the cilantro rice too (stove top though, while chicken cooked) and it was the fastest, easiest and tasty dish I’ve made in the IP yet ( newbie still!). Thank you!
I just found this lovely recipe and it looks from the comments that no one has tried it with frozen chicken breasts. YES, you can use frozen. I used 4 large solidly frozen chicken breasts and set the Instant Pot manual (high) for 35 minutes. The chicken was perfectly cooked, shredded easily and was very tender. I also added a large can of whole green chilis on top of the chicken before I cooked it. Yum and thank you!
I often cook it from frozen too. Did you cook it on the poultry setting?
So easy and good!! After it cooked, I added some diced green chilis like another reviewer suggested. Also avocado, sour cream and cilantro, served over rice. So Good!! A keeper!
Delicious! I used 4lbs of semi frozen boneless chicken breast. I added the salsa verde along with two cups of New Mexico hatch Chile’s a large diced onion, cumin, and black pepper. Once it was done cooking I shredded the chicken and added a generous tablespoon of Cajun seasoning. Yes Cajun seasoning! Trust me you’ll thank me if you like your Mexican food spicy and flavorful! I let the mixture cook down for an additional 15-20 minutes so the liquid would reduce by 2/3rds and intensify the flavor. I then added about a 1/4 cup of lime juice and let it cook for an additional 3 minutes. Yum yum!
Super good! I was only cooking for one tonight so I used one chicken thigh, one clove of crushed garlic using my garlic crusher (so much better than the bottled stuff), poured in about 1/3 of the salsa verde, sprinkled it with cumin, salt & pepper & cooked on the poultry setting which was 15 min. I took the lid off & shredded it, then put it back on for another 10 min. just because I wanted to make sure it was totally cooked, even though it probably was. I served it on heated corn tortillas with avocado, sour cream, red onion, cilantro & a squeeze of lime. Yum, yum. I also made some rice.
Thank you for the recipe. It’s all about the salsa verde, really. If you bought a bad brand, it would ruin the entire dish. I will definitely make this for my family. It’s so quick, easy & tasty it’s crazy.
This was great! I panicked when I got the burn message, so I added about 1/2 cup chicken broth. After cooking, I removed and shredded the chicken while I used the sautee function to cook down the liquid a bit. Then I added about 1/2 a block of cream cheese and some tajin. Spicy and delicious!
Hi Maria! This recipe is a hit every time I make it, but 25 minutes seems to be too long to cook the chicken breasts in the IP. It turns out overdone on the bottom. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Alice
I got the burn notice and everything was burnt on the bottom. I wish I would have read the comment earlier and added some broth.
Can I do this with a whole chicken? Bone in? Skin on?
Add some water because I got a burnt pan and burn message . Try 1/2 cup of water