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
Thank you very much for sharing this wonderful creation. It is undoubtedly the BEST chicken recipe I’ve tasted in a LONG LONG time. I served it over sautéed zoodles, with avocado slices on top and it was AH-MAZING!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU…. I’m off to scope out more of your recipes :D. NEW FAN!!!!
is the liquid smoke a deal breaker? i don’t have any and don’t care for it
You’ll lose that flavor component, but if you’re not a fan of it then I’d def just leave it out, no prob!
I have made this several times now. We love it. We subsititue Rotel diced tomatoes and keep the juice as part of the liquid. I have done it with frozen and find about 15 minutes and natural release.
Thank you!!
Just made this with bone-in chicken breasts (in a mini Instant Pot) and without the onion powder (which I didn’t have). Fabulous. I’m a newbie (1 week) to electric pressure cooking, but am already a fan, as an experienced cook.
These werethe most succulent chicken breasts I’ve made ever — no more undercooked poached chicken breasts, over cooked roasted ones , or dicey sautéed versions for me.
I loved these seasonings, but obviously the method is outstanding, and would accommodate all sorts of other flavors.
Does it matter if you use the Poultry setting or Manual? Is there a difference between the two?
Just use manual. I very rarely use those preset buttons because you just have less control over them.
Would you use this to make your taquitos or just cook plain chicken to make them? If you would use this recipe, would you change the ingredients in the taquitos recipe since it would already be seasoned? Thanks!
Made this from 2 lbs of frozen chicken with your instructions above to add 1/2 cup of Chicken broth and pressure for 30 minutes. 10 minute natural release and it was outstanding, there was not a shred of chicken left after dinner! Used the excess liquid to flavor some steamed rice and it was great!
so apparently I used to much true lime…how much do you use?
This recipe calls for 2 juicy limes, which is about 1/2 cup lime juice, so I would just use the conversion on the true lime label for that much. Hope that helps!
Thank you for sharing this technique of pressure cooking chicken with less liquid! Using these instructions, I cooked 2 lbs of chicken breast with 2-1/2 tablespoons of green chile ranch seasoning, the juice of 1 lime, and 2 tablespoons of water. They were cooked perfectly after 6 mins and a 5 min pressure release. I then put the chicken and all of the accumulated juices into the bowl of my KA stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and shredded on low speed. Perfection!
do you think the timing would be more or less using boneless, skinless thighs? I have about 6 lbs of thighs I want to use for a family party – this sounds like a good recipe everyone would enjoy. I know it only takes 6 minutes, but I’m going to be extremely short on time, would this be OK made the day before?