Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken

This Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken is a flavourful Mexican inspired casserole dish made under 30 minutes. It’s a zesty and slightly tangy chicken rice dish with a hint of spiciness, topped with melted cheese and garnished with cilantro.

This Mexican casserole is one of the easiest naturally gluten-free chicken dinners making this a perfect weeknight meal, especially when you are short on time.

WHAT IS INSTANT POT SALSA VERDE CHICKEN

Salsa Verde Chicken is a flavorful and comforting casserole dish made with chicken, black beans, tomatoes, green chilies, jalapenos, and Mexican spices and layered with rice.

This casserole is a popular Mexican-inspired dish with the chicken made in an Instant Pot, then layered in a casserole and baked to perfection.

How is salsa verde chicken made in an Instant Pot?

First, all you need is about five minutes of prep time. The only thing you need to do is dice the onion and chop the garlic. Everything else is pretty much done.

Since we are using an instant pot, the salsa verde chicken’s cooking time is only twelve minutes under pressure.

The only extra time is the five minute sauteing of the onions and garlic. Once the chicken is cooked, layer the rice with the salsa verde sauce, top with chicken, remaining sauce and cheese.

Then pop it in the oven and broil for about three minutes to give this Mexican inspired dish a delicious goey cheesy topping.

chef’s notes

I firmly believe the onions and garlic need to be sauteed first. This is because it will give the salsa verde sauce extra flavour, making the sauce super tasty.

The rice should be cooked separately. The reason for this is, if you cook the rice in the sauce and the chicken, the rice will absorb the delicious juices and make this chicken rice dish dry and less flavourful.

COOK THE RICE FIRST

When I make this Mexican chicken dish, I start with the rice. To cook the rice is super easy. All you need is long grain rice, water and salt. Bring the rice to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook covered for about 10 – 15 minutes, depending on the rice type.

Once the rice is done cooking, turn off the heat and let it stand for about 10 minutes. Then fluff the rice with a fork. However, it is best to follow the package directions.

To add extra flavour to the rice, I added one bay leaf, a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of turmeric. Turmeric adds beautiful golden colour to the rice.

SERVING MEXICAN CHICKEN CASSEROLE

This salsa verde chicken dinner is rich and hearty on its own. But I do like to add toppings to everything, and this chicken  dish is no exception.

I wanted some freshness, so I added avocado slices and extra herbs. Sour cream is also a refreshing addition and compliments the spiciness of the salsa verde sauce.

If you want to go all out, add a salad or even a gluten-free garlic bread.

BENEFITS OF USING INSTANT POT FOR CASSEROLES

It’s simple, the sauce and chicken cooked in a fraction of time as you would need when you cook this salsa verde dish on the stovetop or slow cooker. But more importantly, I can put the chicken on and walk away.

The salsa verde chicken will keep warm until I am ready to place it in the oven to melt the cheese. The only thing I would like to add, the rice should be hot before you mix it with the salsa verde chicken.

If you cooked the rice earlier, warm it up in the microwave before mixing it with the salsa verde sauce and chicken.

Love Mexican inspired dishes? Here is a selection of our most popular gluten-free Mexican recipes. One of my favourite recipes, besides this Instant pot salsa verde chicken, is the Santa Fe Skillet Chicken Dinner.

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Meet Kristina. Passionate about creating delicious, innovative gluten free recipes, and author of two cookbooks.

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Many thanks!

Kristina x