If you love easy pressure cooker meals, this Pressure Cooker Chili-Lime chicken is a versatile recipe to have in your arsenal. If you don’t have a pressure cooker- don’t turn away. This is still a great recipe that you could use with any other cooking method so stick with me. This chicken is delicious in a tacos, burritos, rice bowls, with side of beans, or on a big Mexican-inspired salad. It’s a great option for meal prep that you can enjoy in many ways throughout the week!
Ingredients Needed
This is just a preview of ingredients and method, keep scrolling for full printable recipe.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts – The first few times I cooked boneless, skinless chicken in my pressure cooker, I was disappointed. It always had a funny texture; kind of dry and mealy- similar to when you overcook it in a slowcooker. After several trial and error experiences, I finally figured out I was cooking it waaaaay too long. For me, the magic number has been 6. Six minutes under high pressure and I get perfectly cooked, juicy, flavorful chicken that my family loves. I also discovered that I didn’t need lots of extra moisture, like broth. When extra liquid was added, it simply diluted the flavors and turned quite soupy. To remedy this, I put this chicken in without any additional fat; simply a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a handful of seasonings. It results in the perfect amount of flavor-packed juices to toss the chicken in. I generally use chicken breasts that are a little over than an inch thick at most. I would say if they’re any thicker than that I’d probably just cut them in half to make sure they get cooked through.
- Limes – If I don’t happen to have fresh limes around, I always have a big shaker jar of TrueLime (seriously one of my FAVORITE pantry ingredients. It’s granulated fresh lime and works brilliantly in just about everything). Just reconstitute it with the appropriate amount of water in this case so the pressure cooker has some liquid to create steam.
- Chili powder
- Cumin
- Onion powder
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic cloves
- Liquid smoke
- Pressure cooker – I have an Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker, if you want to read more info about it, I’ve written about it, here!
How to Make Pressure Cooker Chili Lime Chicken
- Just toss boneless, skinless chicken breasts into your pressure cooker and squeeze a lime over it, then add chili powder, cumin, onion powder, salt and pepper, and some fresh minced garlic. Just a bit of liquid smoke gives it the perfect hint of smoky flavor. Simply toss everything around and make sure it’s well coated.
- You could probably do an immediate steam release, especially since you’re going to shred the chicken anyway (immediate release tends to break food up a bit sometimes) but I generally let it sit for just a few minutes as I’m prepping dinner and then release. Your chicken should look nice and plump and juicy. I always pop an instant-read thermometer in there just to make sure everything is to temperature. It should be at least 165°F.
- Take the chicken out and shred it with two forks and then pop it back in the pan and toss it with the juices. You’re left with really flavorful chicken, perfect for salads, tacos, burritos, you name it.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished chicken in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within about 4 days for best results.
- Chili-Lime Chicken is great to keep in the fridge to pull out for quick meals throughout the week. I love to have it on hand for meals while my kids are at school and I need a quick, healthy, filling lunch. It’s so easy to toss in a wrap, or in a bowl with leftover quinoa or rice and some veggies.
- If using frozen chicken breasts, I usually do 12 minutes high pressure. If using “thin cut” frozen (I buy them in bags at Costco) they cook in 6 minutes!
Alternate Cooking Methods
Bake
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a 9×13 pan, prep your chicken as outlined in the recipe. Cover with foil and bake until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Grill
Prep the chicken in a pan or bowl, allow to marinate for 30 minutes or up to 6 hours, then toss the chicken on the grill until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. For quick, even cooking, you may want to butterfly your chicken breasts first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, make it one day and enjoy it for 3-4 days! Store the chicken with some of the cooking liquid and reheat gently to help keep it juicy.
Yes, this chicken freezes well. Place chicken in a freezer safe container with cooking juices and freeze for up to 3 months.
Yep! You shouldn’t need to adjust the cooking time, just be aware that it may take a little longer to come to pressure and a little longer for the pressure to release.
Yep, simply prep the chicken the exact same way but in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Cover with foil and bake in a 350°F oven until your chicken reaches and internal temperature of 165°F, probably around 30 minutes. You could also prep the chicken in a pan, allow to marinate for 30 minutes or up to 6 hours, then toss the chicken on the grill until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
Pressure Cooker Chili-Lime Chicken
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts boneless, skinless
- 2 limes medium-large
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt use a little less is substituting table salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 6 cloves garlic finely minced or pressed
- ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
Instructions
- If chicken breasts are more than 1-inch thick, cut in half. Place chicken in pressure cooker pot. Squeeze in the juice of both limes. Sprinkle all seasonings and liquid smoke over chicken and add garlic. Use clean hands to rub spice mixture all over all sides of chicken.
- Secure lid on pot and cook at high pressure for 6 minutes. When finished let rest for 5 minutes and then release steam. (Or if you're short on time, just do immediate steam release). Check temperature of chicken with an instant-read thermometer and make sure internal temperature is at least 165℉.
- Shred chicken and return to pot and toss in juices. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.
Notes
- Store finished chicken in an airtight container in the fridge and enjoy within about 4 days for best results.
- Chili-Lime Chicken is great to keep in the fridge to pull out for quick meals throughout the week. I love to have it on hand for meals while my kids are at school and I need a quick, healthy, filling lunch. It’s so easy to toss in a wrap, or in a bowl with leftover quinoa or rice and some veggies.
- If using frozen chicken breasts, I usually do 12 minutes high pressure. If using “thin cut” frozen (I buy them in bags at Costco) they cook in 6 minutes!
Alternate Cooking Methods
Bake
Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a 9×13 pan, prep your chicken as outlined in the recipe. Cover with foil and bake until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.Grill
Prep the chicken in a pan or bowl, allow to marinate for 30 minutes or up to 6 hours, then toss the chicken on the grill until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. For quick, even cooking, you may want to butterfly your chicken breasts first.Nutrition
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Questions & Reviews
Recipe looks great, will definitely try it. But I’m finding myself very drawn to the dishes and bowls in the photos. Did I miss a post about them at some point? They are beautiful. Any information you can share?
I actually bought those on vacation in Mexico! I love bringing home dishes and kitchenware from my travels because they’re souvenirs that actually get used 🙂
Sara I love your posts! I bought the pressure cooker and am excited to try this. When you post, I can easily “Pin” it to my Pinterest board. When Kate posts, I can not. I have to copy and paste the URL. Just FYI. You probably know that, but just in case…it’s so much easier when you ad the “Pin” option.
I just went to the link and ordered a jar of the True Lime and True Lemon! I’m so excited to get it. My family is ADDICTED to citrus, and the bottled liquid lemon juice just doesn’t cut it. Also, I’m so so glad you’re doing these InstaPot recipes. I got mine for Christmas and I feel like a new mom (with way more time to spend with the kids after work since I’m not spending as much time prepping meals!). Keep them coming!
Have you ever put the chicken in frozen? Curious to know if you would add a couple extra minutes for frozen…
I was actually just coming back to add a note about frozen. I didn’t include it in the recipe because I wanted to test it more than once before leaving instructions. With frozen, you’ll need more cooking time- about 15 minutes should do it, for normal/thinner pieces of chicken. If the chicken breasts are enormous, you’d need closer to 30. I also add about 1/4-1/2 cup liquid since the moisture is trapped in the frozen chicken and you need some liquid to create steam. Chicken broth, salsa, even water are options, but it does dilute the flavor a little so I like to use something like broth to add flavor back in.
I’ve never done chicken in my pressure cooker because I was worried about how it would turn out, but I love the idea of chicken in 6 minutes! Thanks for great instructions and a recipe that sounds delicious and versatile!
Looks so great! I love TrueLime! If you use the TrueLime, do you add some water? I understood that a pressure cooker needs some liquid to work, but maybe the chicken is “wet” enough?
Exactly- the pressure cooker does need liquid to create steam, but I’ve found that chicken breasts (plus the lime juice) provide enough moisture without turning it into soup! If you use True Lime, I’d add a little water or broth (just use the proportions on the container for the fresh juice equivalent).
This flavor profile looks right up my alley! Like you, I LOVE TrueLime, although I’m wondering where you buy your giant bottle. I get the 2.85 oz bottles on Amazon that you linked to, but if I’m seeing it right, your bottle is 10 oz! That’s awesome!
I like a sprinkle of TrueLime in my water to jazz it up. I use mine all the time in recipes as well. I’m excited to make this chicken!
I didn’t realize I had grabbed the link for the smaller bottle- here’s the updated link for the big one!
I love love love chili lime chicken! We’re going to have to try this recipe asap!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
This looks so yummy. Could you do this in a crockpot? If so, how long would it need to cook? Something new to try. Yay!
You could definitely throw it in the crock pot, but I would cook it on low and it shouldn’t take too long to cook, you’d have to just check the temp to see when it was done!
Please keep the Instant Pot Recipes coming! This looks awesome and I will be trying it this week.