Pressure Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken

Pressure Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken
Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
35 minutes
Rating
5(2,397)
Notes
Read community notes

This warming, satisfying stew takes about 30 minutes from start to finish, thanks to the pressure cooker, which makes quick work of braising chicken and melding flavors. Use your favorite jarred green salsa as a shortcut: The salsa mingles with the chicken juices to make a thick, tangy sauce that tastes like more than the sum of its parts. (Jarred salsas vary in heat levels, so be sure to taste yours first. Make the dish spicier by leaving some of the jalapeño seeds in.) Serve the chicken over rice or whole grains, which soak up the sauce, or use the chicken in tacos, burritos or enchiladas. You can also add one cup of frozen or fresh corn, or a drained 15-ounce can of black or pinto beans to the cooked chicken and simmer until just warmed through. Pass around toppings like crunchy pepitas, tortilla chips, crumbled queso fresco or avocado, to customize at will.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • cups jarred salsa verde
  • 1(4-ounce) can mild chopped green chiles
  • 8garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and diced
  • 1teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1teaspoon onion powder
  • 1teaspoon ground cumin
  • 3scallions (green and white parts), thinly sliced
  • 1small bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems finely chopped (about 1 heaping cup)
  • Kosher salt, to taste
  • Fresh lime juice, to taste
  • Any combination of cooked rice, tortillas, pepitas, queso fresco, diced avocado and crushed tortilla chips, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

268 calories; 8 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 12 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 4 grams sugars; 36 grams protein; 822 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Add the chicken, salsa verde, canned chiles, chopped garlic, jalapeño, garlic powder, onion powder and cumin to a 6- to 8-quart electric pressure cooker; stir to combine. (Don’t add salt yet, as many jarred salsas are high in sodium.) Close the lid and turn the pressure knob to sealed. Cook on high pressure for 8 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Turn off the pressure cooker and allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release the remaining pressure manually. Open the lid. If you would like to reduce the sauce, remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a bowl and turn on the simmer function; let the sauce bubble for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, to thicken. Add the chicken back into the pot if you have removed it. Use two forks to coarsely shred the chicken. Stir in the scallions and cilantro. Taste, and season with salt and lime juice.

  3. Step 3

    Serve in bowls, alone or with rice, or in tortillas, with desired toppings.

Ratings

5 out of 5
2,397 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

I use the canned sauce technique all the time, it makes for a yummy stew, mild Herdez is my go to unless I buy it fresh from a Mexican grocer, I am lucky enough to be in San Diego. If you make it with pork butt and let it really reduce you get the yummiest carnitas. Adding green fresh garbanzos, when in season, or a handful of verdolagas or another green makes it a super complete meal, no need for extra starches

No slow cooker, no onion or garlic powder. Sautéed a cut up onion, then the garlic and cumin. Combine with all other ingredients including boneless, skinless thighs. Bring to boil on stovetop, then into 350 degree oven with lid on Dutch oven for 30 minutes, then lid off for 15 more. Served with flour tortillas, cilantro, scallions, queso, and sour cream, sides of rice and beans. Rave reviews!

One of our favorite recipes. We make it at least once a month. We will often throw in frozen corn, diced red bell peppers, spinach, or any other veggies we may have in the fridge at the end, while the sauce is reducing. Serve with avocado, shredded cheese, sour cream, and cilantro, with tortilla chips or taco shells. Sometimes we’ll also serve with pickled jalapeños and red onions, but I find it doesn’t even need it. Always a winner.

Loved. I would maybe add closer to 1.75-2 lbs or chicken maybe next time because there is so much sauce. I would also salt and pepper the chicken first. But delicious and so easy.

I know this is old, but for future reference for others, I always pressure cook my chicken from another salsa chicken recipe for 30 minutes and let natural release either 15 minutes or completely, makes the chicken much softer.

If you’re getting a burn notice, you salsa verde may not have enough water so you can add a bit of chicken broth. You could also have issues with the seal - if the pressure doesn’t built up properly in your instant pot the base is just heating the food and liquid isn’t being produced and it will either burn or cook forever.

Spoiler — this is one of those notes that is only inspired by the recipe. I had no salsa verde in the house and no way to get any so I followed the suggestion to make some with roasted veggies: onion, green pepper, jalapeño, tomatoes, garlic and... random zucchini that needed a purpose. Roasted everything, pureed, added cumin and chicken, pressure cooked as instructed — so insanely delicious wrapped in soft tortillas!

I don't have a pressure cooker so I sauteed onion and garlic in a dutch oven then added chicken thighs and cooked a little longer. I added salsa and a little chicken broth, brought to a boil, and put lid on the pot then transferred to the oven. Cooked in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes. Took out and shredded the chicken. I cooked on the stove top w/out lid until sauce reduced. Served w/ tortillas and got raved reviews.

After following the recipe above: wet flour tortilla on both sides, place spoonful of meat, a little grated jack cheese and roll it up. Repeat for 3-4 tortillas. Sit them right next to each other in a pan and top with extra sauce and cheese. Heat in 400 degree oven or toaster oven for 15 minutes. Delicious enchiladas!

I made this but on the stovetop! As advised by another commenter, I sauteed a chopped onion, then added the finely (sort of) chopped garlic and cumin, then added the salsa verde (for anyone interested, Trader Joes' salsa verde is exactly the amount you need) and chicken thighs. I covered for 20 min on the stove on medium low, then added a cup of frozen fire-roasted corn (TJs again) and drained black beans). Shredded the chicken and added it back, served with sliced avocado and chips. Amazing!

This is an all time favorite in my house. Highly recommend using the Trader Joe’s tomatillo refrigerated salsa verde. So good. I usually serve it with the One pot rice and beans recipe as well. Delish.

I was skeptical about this right up until the end. I was worried the salsa I bought was too bland and if there were enough other spices. I stuck to the instructions though and after adding the lime juice, cilantro, and salt, the stew came to life! It was delicious! I served it over rice with chopped avocado and queso fresco. I’ll definitely be making it again, and now that I understand the dish maybe I’ll improvise.

This is probably my favorite NYT Cooking recipe yet. Absolutely love it. I use canned diced jalapenos instead of fresh to save on time. Usually about half a 4 oz can. Also as others have mentioned you can add more chicken to this as it does make a lot of sauce.

Absolutely fabulous! Simmering the sauce was a must.

Very good, Nate liked. Etta said too spicy

Even better the next day.

Doubled recipe, pressure cooked for 15 mins with a spicy green salsa. Served with black beans. Delish.

What is a "jar" of salsa verde?! 8oz, 14oz, 20oz... please label amounts more clearly.

This is in the regular rotation at home, but it’s so delicious that I would serve it to guests. You get such a high return on flavor for such a low-effort recipe. We make a side of cilantro/garlic/onion black beans too. Serve with avo and pickled red onion. I use the green salsa and diced chilis from Trader Joe’s for the recipe.

Made exactly as written with two cans (not jars) of Herdez brand mild green salsa which measured out to the perfect amount (1.5 cups). Boiled down for 5 minutes at the end. Served over Simply Recipe’s Cilantro Lime Rice with diced avocado, and Queso fresco. Excellent recipe.

Tasty, and well-balanced flavors as is. Could certainly increase or decrease heat as desired, but our family (with a wide range of spice tolerance) all thought this was good.

- chicken breast 10 min instead

This was so tasty and so easy. Adding all the fun toppings (Pepitas, crushed tortillas, avocado, queso fresco) gave this flavorful dish lots of fun texture!

Great

Realized I didn’t have onion powder or cumin after I’d started cooking, so I used a packet of Sazon with garlic and onion. Worked in a pinch! Made this with chicken breast, cooked high pressure 10 minutes. Worked great as a rice bowl for lunch and as a topping for nachos for dinner. Will be adding this to my regular rotation.

Herdez sauce (canned or jarred) is wonderful for this. A double recipe makes enough for 2 (9 x 13") pans of enchiladas. I use 8 bone-in thighs (skins removed) and cook for 30 min, natural release. Freezes well.

Friends call my version "crack chicken": -Chop a bacon strip into small 1/4-1/3 inch lardons and render till crispy in a pan -Sauté a finely diced yellow onion for 10 minutes on medium till they get some Maillard -Slice 8-cloves of garlic and sauté them in the center of the ban with direct contact till aromatic (~60 sec) then mix into onion to slow cooking -Add chopped jalapeño, bay leaf, 1 tsp of oregano to all your spices (1-2 min) -Deglaze with your salsa -*Now* add to your pot

Can I do this with bone in skinless thighs and, if so, how do I adjust the cooking time?

Tastes like it is. Chicken with a jar of salsa shortcut. Pretty Americanized version of salsa verde

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