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
hi! should the chicken breasts be in a single layer? should I avoid placing them on top of each other? thanks!
It’s not a huge deal if they overlap 🙂
Oh my word. I made this for dinner tonight and it is amazing!!! Thank you so much for sharing a wonderful recipe for chicken.
I saw this post a few months ago and saved an Instapot to my wish list. Got it when it went on sale on Prime Day. So far I have made yogurt, chicken broth, rice, quinoa, Barbacoa and this chicken twice. The first time I had to slice it, it didn’t shred. Today it shredded and it is so good!
I am trying to lose 30 pds after baby #3 and am starting my 2nd round of 21 day fix. This is perfect for the fix. I will be making a batch every week. Thank you!
Great recipe!! I followed your cooking time and it was perfect. I still can’t get over this pot. Tasty chicken for enchiladas cooked, shredded and ready to go within 40 minutes from start to finish. I had the True Lime and used 1/4 cup of water but probably could have used way less to hold on to more of the seasoning. Thanks for posting your recipe!
When you say let it rest for 5 minutes, do you mean you hit cancel
And leave it for 5. Or do you let the keep warm program run?
My pressure cooker just automatically stops cooking and rests, so that’s what I mean. You could certainly turn it off as well, either way works.
Just to clarify, when the cook time is up in an Instant Pot, the heating element shuts off until pressure is released, then kicks in again to keep things warm. If the heating element stayed on, it would take much longer to release pressure, overcooking the food.
When you say to cut the chicken breasts in half if thicker than 1″, do you mean cut them horizontally to make cutlets or vertically to make two halves the same thickness? Thanks! This recipe sounds so delicious!
Yep, horizontally to make cutlets.
Made this tonight in the instant pot and it was a hit! Used frozen breasts (4 big ones) for 10 minutes. Added onion and cilantro on tortillas and everyone loved it. Thank you!
Did you place your chicken on the bottom of the pan or use the trivet?
I have no clue where my trivet is so I just dump everything in there 🙂
I love the idea of this but don’t have a pressure cooker. Would you recommend cooking in a crock pot, as mentioned in a comment above? Or do you think another way would work better?
Yep, you could definitely pop it in a slow cooker. Probably low for a couple hours or so? You’ll want to cook it until it reaches 165 degrees.
My pressure cooker instructions state that I need to have at least an inch of liquid in the bottom of my pan when cooking. is a Hot Pot different in some way? Without liquid, I don’t there would be enough steam to build up pressure and have the valve automatically shut and start the cooking time.
This works perfectly in my pot, and there is enough moisture (the chicken releases tons more) but all pots are different. If you need a little more for your pot, I would just add a little more lime juice and chicken broth until you have enough. Hope that helps!