Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

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Taco night dinner has never been easier! Easy Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos are bursting with flavor. Make the slow cooker or the Instant Pot! You may also love our pork carnitas.

Back to school time is coming like a hurricane and it’s time to start planning those easy weeknight dinners. If you’re like us, between sports, school and family activities, life gets crazy this time of year.

These Instant Pot Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos are a lifesaver…and a recipe the whole family loves.

chicken tacos on a cutting board

What is the difference between salsa and salsa verde?

Salsa verde is a green salsa generally made from tomatillos, white onions, jalapenos and cilantro (along with other seasonings). Traditional salsa is red and tomato based. Although I’m newer to salsa verde, I’ve found that our family loves it. 

Often times salsa verde can be spicier than traditional salsa, but we’ve found different heat levels in the store, so be sure to grab the level of spicy that your family prefers.

**Make our Homemade Salsa Verde. It’s amazing…and easy!!**

ingredients for salsa verde chicken tacos on a table

How to Make Shredded Chicken Tacos

We’ve prepared this recipe in the Instant Pot, but it can be done in the slow cooker also. For either version, it’s important to plan ahead and make sure you have chicken and salsa verde on hand, plus tortilla shells and taco toppings such as cheese, sour cream, tomato and lettuce.

Shredded Chicken in the Instant Pot

To make the salsa verde chicken tacos in the Instant Pot, you’ll first season the chicken, then brown it using the “saute” feature of the Instant Pot.

Once you’ve browned the chicken, add the salsa verde, seal the Instant Pot and then set it to low pressure for 15 minutes.

Allow the pot to depressurize naturally for 10 minutes, then open the pot, shred the chicken and turn the pot to “saute” (lid off) again so that the chicken can simmer and soak up some of the juices. This makes the juiciest chicken!

At this point, you are ready to make your tacos.

Shredded Chicken in the Slow Cooker

Although the Instant Pot is handy for last-minute meals, we still love our slow cooker. To make slow cooker salsa verde chicken tacos, season the chicken and brown it in a hot skillet on all sides. Then place the chicken on low, add the salsa verde and allow it to cook for 4-5 hours on high or 6-7 hours on low until the chicken shreds easily. The exact timing will depend on how big the chicken breasts are.

Shred the chicken and serve up the tacos!

5 chicken tacos with toppings on a table

What to Serve with Tacos

Here are some of our favorite side dishes:

overhead view of shredded chicken tacos
overhead view of shredded chicken tacos

Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

4.89 from 9 votes
Taco night dinner has never been easier! Easy Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos are bursting with flavor. Make the slow cooker or the Instant Pot! 
Servings 6
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
Natural Release 10 minutes
Total Time 33 minutes

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Ingredients
 

For the Shredded Chicken:

  • 2 pounds chicken breasts
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cups salsa verde

To Serve

  • corn tortillas
  • diced red onion
  • diced tomatoes
  • jalapenos
  • cilantro
  • avocado
  • lime wedges

Instructions
 

Make the Chicken:

  • In a small bowl mix together the chili powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
  • Liberally season both side of the chicken breast with the prepared seasoning.
  • Turn the Instant Pot on the ‘Sauté’ mode. Add the olive oil and let it heat up for a minute.
  • Add the chicken breasts and let it cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until both sides gets a golden sear.
  • Add the salsa verde.
  • Turn off “Sauté” mode. Put the lid on, making sure that the pressure valve is in the “Sealing” position.
  • Select the “Pressure Cook” mode. Adjust the ‘Pressure Level’ to “low” and adjust the time, with the “- / +” to 15 minutes.
  • When Instant Pot beeps, let the pressure release the natural way for 10 minutes and then using a thick tea towel, turn the pressure valve to “Venting” position to do the quick release.
  • Using two forks or even an electric mixer, shredded the chicken in the pot itself.
  • Turn on the on the ‘Sauté’ mode for 5 minutes and let shredded chicken soak up the liquid. Serve immediately.

To Serve

  • Warm the corn tortilla in the microwave for 15 seconds.
  • Pile about two tablespoons of Salsa Verde Chicken on each taco shell. Top with chopped red onion, tomatoes, jalapeno slices, cilantro and a big squeeze of lime juice.
  • Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

To speed up the serving process, chop and prep the toppings and the garnishes, while the chicken is cooking in the instant pot. Warm the tortillas and cover them in foil to keep warm.
The calories shown are based on the recipe making 6 servings. The calories shown are only for the chicken. Calculate the remaining calories based on what you serve on your tacos. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate.

Nutrition

Calories: 251kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 96mg | Sodium: 722mg | Potassium: 724mg | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 615IU | Vitamin C: 4.7mg | Calcium: 8mg | Iron: 0.6mg
Course Main Dish
Cuisine American
Calories 251
Keyword easy dinner recipe, instant pot recipes, mexican recipes, shredded chicken tacos

About Julie Clark

I'm Julie Clark, CEO and recipe developer of Tastes of Lizzy T. With my B.A. in Education and over 30 years of cooking and baking, I want to teach YOU the best of our family recipes.

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Kristie
1 month ago

5 stars
I don’t have an instant pot can I make in slow cooker

Laurie Bearden
2 years ago

Hi I’m going to make this for my sons graduation party and will be using about 8 pounds of chicken. Would I quadruple the salsa verde as well, or just the seasonings and chicken? I know instant pots can be tricky with liquid.

Morgan
4 years ago

Quick question: when you say 6 servings do you mean 6 total tacos or a serving of more than one taco? Just trying to figure out how to track this in my fitness pal when I make them because I like to pre-plan my calories for the week. Please and thank you!

Preity
4 years ago

5 stars
LOOOOOOVED this recipe!!!!! So easy to make and delicious! This will be part of our taco tuesday for sure!