2 Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken

white bowl of 2 ingredient salsa verde chicken

This 2 Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken is mouthwatering! It’s extra tender, juicy and full of flavorful spices. It’s the perfect add to tacos, burrito bowls, salads or eaten by itself!

You guys. I have a confession to make. I have an obsession with salsa. It’s bad. Like, if I don’t have fresh salsa on hand – I may go mad. My all time favorite red salsa recipe is of course, my Easy Homemade Salsa recipe. This was, in fact, the recipe that turned me on to actually liking to fresh tomatoes. For years, I turned my nose up at them. They were too juicy and watery and just blegh. But then I made this fresh homemade salsa, my world forever changed. The tomatoes were full of flavor, juicy, and were the perfect combination for the spicy flavors in the salsa.

I could rant forever about how much I love that salsa. However, I still haven’t ventured on making a homemade Salsa Verde. Why, you ask? Because I already have found a brand that checks off everything on my list! 1) It’s cheap! 2) It’s made with minimal ingredients and no added sugar! 3) It’s the perfect combination of a little spicy, a lot juicy, and the most flavorful. Yup, It’s Trader Joe’s brand Salsa Verde. It’s the bomb. You can find out about it more on my 18 Favorite Trader Joe’s Items post I did a few months back!

trader joe's salsa verde

What’s the difference between red salsa and salsa verde?

Red salsa is usually made with roma tomatoes and is obviously – red. Many people vary in how they make their own – but there are usually roma tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos, lime, cilantro and salt. Salsa verde is similar except they use tomatillos instead of roma tomatoes.

So here are the two ingredients you’re going to need to make this Salsa Verde Chicken:

  • chicken breast
  • one jar of salsa verde

Wow. Bet you didn’t see that coming! Okay, and to be honest, you will need just a few spices. But, I feel like spices don’t really count as ingredients because you most likely have these already in your cabinet. But, the good news is if you don’t happen to have the spices, the salsa verde has enough flavor to carry the chicken through! But, of course – some garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper and cumin wouldn’t hurt if you happen to have it on hand.

2 ingredient salsa verde chicken in white bowl with gold fork

How You Make Salsa Verde Chicken:

Okay, so, my preferred way to make this Salsa Verde Chicken is in the Instant Pot. It’s super duper fast and retains the moisture of the chicken inside of the pressure cooker. Although, I must say, my Instant Pot seriously freaks me out. Like, I’m always afraid it’s going to explode on me. Is anyone else scared of their Instant Pot? Let me know in the comments.

chicken with salsa verde in instant pot

So: Instant Pot. Place the raw chicken breast in it and cover it with the spices and the entire can of salsa verde. Pressure cook it on high for 20-ish minutes. Let the steam release. Shred it. You’re done-zo.

So, combine the amazing Salsa Verde with a big ol juicy chicken breast and what do you get? The most amazing, flavorful, TENDER chicken you have ever eaten. The chicken just gets fully immersed in the entire jar of salsa verde. It soaks into it and I swear, I’ve never shredded chicken easier in my life.

Feel free to remove some of the liquid of the salsa verde if you don’t want it as liquid-y. However, I think the salsa verde liquid has the MOST flavor. If anything, put it on rice! Or eat it by the spoonful.

shredded salsa verde chicken in instant pot

Other Ways to Cook Salsa Verde Chicken:

You can cook it in your crockpot or slow cooker as well! Do the same thing – cover the chicken breast with spices, salsa verde and cover with lid. Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours. Shred and you’re done!

Lastly, if you want to bake it, you can do that as well! Place in an oven at 350 with the chicken and salsa verde in a baking dish. Bake for about 30 minutes. Shred. You’re done!

side angle view of 2 ingredient salsa verde chicken

It’s literally that easy. And the result is the most delectable, moist chicken you’ll ever have!

2 ingredient salsa verde chicken with taco ingredients

What to Eat 2 Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken On:

You can meal prep this chicken and eat it all week! Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy it:

  • over rice
  • in a burrito bowl
  • on tacos
  • on a big taco salad
  • by itself

Yes, it’s extremely versatile and amazing. Perfect on anything. Especially tacos.

big white bowl of 2 ingredient salsa verde chicken

Hope you guys enjoy this 2 Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken! It’s a perfect Fall recipe – especially since you can let it cook while you go cozy up with a new book! Enjoy!

5 from 9 votes
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2 Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken

This 2 Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken is mouthwatering! It’s extra tender, juicy and full of flavorful spices. It’s the perfect add to tacos, burrito bowls, salads or eaten by itself!

Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword instant pot salsa verde chicken, salsa verde chicken, trader joe's salsa verde
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Servings 2 people
Calories 337 kcal
Author Haylie

Ingredients

  • 1-1.5 lbs chicken breast
  • 12 oz. jar of salsa verde (preferably Trader Joe's brand)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • dash of salt and pepper

Instructions

For Instant Pot:

  1. Place raw chicken breast, spices and jar of salsa verde into the Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Release steam valve for quick release. Shred. Adjust seasoning if needed. Enjoy!

For Crockpot/Slow Cooker:

  1. Place raw chicken breast, spices and jar of salsa verde into the crockpot/slow cooker: Cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 hours. Shred. Adjust seasoning if needed. Enjoy!

For Oven:

  1. Preheat oven to 350. Place chicken breast, spices and jar of salsa verde into a baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes or until done. Shred. Adjust seasoning if needed. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

Enjoy this 2 Ingredient Salsa Verde Chicken on salads, tacos, burrito bowls, over rice or just by itself! 

 

32 comments / Add your comment below

    1. Hey Jo! I’ve personally never tried using frozen chicken breasts so just in case, I would recommend thawing them out! Thanks for trying my recipe! Hope you love it as much as I do! 🙂

      1. 5 stars
        Thanks for this bone head easy and delicious recipe and Yes, you absolutely can use frozen chicken breasts. Just a couple extra minutes and voila!

        1. Max, yay!! So so glad the recipe worked out for you and you enjoyed it 🙂 And thank you for the helpful feedback on the frozen chicken breasts!

  1. 5 stars
    Beyond delicious! I used a fired roasted Salsa Verde and added northern white beans and a small sliced yellow onion. Served on a low carb tortilla with avocado and a 4 cheddar cheese blend. We’ll be making this all the time, absolutely awesome. Will serve on rice next time.

  2. 5 stars
    This is my go to recipe for a quick and easy meal! PS… I’m always nervous my IP is gonna explode too! lol your not the only …. Thank you again for an amazing recipe and tips! Cheers! – CanCan

  3. I added just the chicken and the jar of salsa verde from TJs and then once it was done, I dumped it all over riced cauliflower. It needed nothing more and was absolutely delicious. This is a keeper. Thank you!

    1. Hi Ally! Thanks for the comment! I wouldn’t think that the cook time would change. Instant Pots are pretty amazing gadgets! However, I would definitely check the chicken after the 20 minutes are up just in case 🙂 Let me know how it goes!

    1. Hey there! Sorry I forgot to clarify in the recipe card. I did a quick release 🙂 Just updated it! Thanks! Hope you enjoy! – Haylie

  4. 5 stars
    I meannnn, it doesn’t get much easier than this! I put five frozen chicken breasts from Trader Joe’s in the instant pot (tjs chicken breasts are small) and one jar for the 20 minutes and it came out PERFECT!

    1. Hi Cassie!! Yay! This review totally just made my day. So glad the recipe worked out for you! I’m going to have to try Trader Joe’s frozen chicken breasts! 🙂 Thanks again! – Haylie

    1. Hi David, I’ve never tried chicken tenderloins in place of chicken breasts for this recipe but I’m sure it would work! I would definitely reduce the time of cooking. I found this website/recipe to be helpful – https://cookingwithkarli.com/perfect-instant-pot-chicken-tenders-fresh-or-frozen/ in knowing the time difference, although I haven’t personally tried it myself. I would try to cook them at high pressure for maybe 5-6 minutes and then do a natural pressure release. Just make sure they’re cooked all the way through! Let me know if you try it! Thanks – Haylie

    1. Hi Jodie Marie! I actually didn’t put my chicken on a rack – I just added it all into the bottom of the Instant Pot 🙂 I hope you try out the recipe and love it! Best -Haylie

  5. 5 stars
    This was so good and so easy! 🎉 The fam said it was as good as Chipotle. Made a quesadilla for the pickiest eater and burrito bowls for everyone else. I used chicken thighs instead of chicken breast and didn’t notice a difference at all.

  6. Hi, I just brought home my first Instant Pot and the test run was terrifying. I will be making this tomorrow as my first dish, thanks for the recipe!!

  7. I make a soup with green salsa and white beans and chicken. I usually use Herndez salsa but I will try Tjs salsa next time.

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