Check out the recipe below, followed by photos, cooking tips, and reader reviews.
Instant Pot Chili Verde
(Ratings: )INGREDIENTS
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
- 12 ounces tomatillos (about 7) husked and quartered
- 8 ounces poblano peppers (about 3) stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 4 ounces jalapeño peppers (about 2) stemmed, seeded, and chopped
- 4 ounces onions (about 1/2) chopped
- 1/4 cup water
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
For finishing:
- 1/4 ounce chopped cilantro leaves (about 1/3 cup packed), plus more for garnish
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add tomatillos, poblanos, jalapeños, onions, and water to the pressure cooker. Distribute garlic, cumin, and salt on top. Lastly, add chicken thighs. Secure and seal the lid. Cook at high pressure for 15 minutes, followed by a manual pressure release.
- Uncover and transfer only the chicken to a cutting board. Cut into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
- Add cilantro and lime juice to the pressure cooker. Use an immersion blender or countertop blender to puree the mixture.
- Select the saute mode on the pressure cooker for medium heat. Return the chicken to the mixture. Boil for about 10 minutes to thicken the sauce, stirring occasionally. Serve and garnish with additional cilantro.
NUTRITION
| Nutrition Facts Per Serving |
| Calories 310 | |
| Total Fat 15g | 22% |
| Saturated Fat 0g | 0% |
| Trans Fat 0g | |
| Cholesterol 182mg | 61% |
| Sodium 910mg | 38% |
| Potassium 270mg | 8% |
| Total Carb 10g | 3% |
| Dietary Fiber 4g | 15% |
| Sugars 4.5g | |
| Protein 37g |
Taste and Texture
Chili verde is a saucy green stew made with fresh tomatillos, hot peppers, onions, and garlic. It has that unique tomatillo taste, a bit tart and fruity in flavor. Peppers and onions add bulk and help thicken the stew, and also give a refreshing aroma to the whole dish. The cumin, cilantro, and lime juice give the stew a decidedly Mexican flavor.
Chicken thighs provide the meat component, and they’re nearly shreddable by the time the pressure cooker is done with them. Juicy and tender, they easily soak up the delicious chili verde sauce.
The sauce is somewhat thick, more like a stew than a soup, and easily clings to the chicken pieces. It thickens up considerably after pureeing the vegetables, and more so after simmering in the last step.
Ingredients in Chili Verde
I use boneless and skinless chicken thighs, which the pressure cooker easily transforms into fall-apart-tender meat. You can also substitute with pork or beef, but depending on the size of the individual chunks of meat, you’ll need to modify the pressure cooking time.
For the green sauce, I use fresh tomatillos and green chile peppers like poblanos and jalapeños, similar to salsa verde. I remove the seeds to reduce the heat, but you can include them to increase the spiciness.
All of these ingredients are added to the cold pressure cooker pot at the same time — no need to first brown ingredients on the saute setting. I add the chicken thighs on top so that they can be easily transferred to a cutting board after pressure cooking.
Just a small amount of water is added — 1/4 cup — because the ingredients themselves have a lot of water content that will be released as they start cooking. There should be no issue getting enough liquid to pressurize the pot. For reference, I use a 6 quart Instant Pot.
Ways To Enjoy
As-is. You can pour a bowl of this comforting stew and eat it by itself as a simple, low calorie meal. This is what I do.
With sides. You can pair chili verde with cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles. This is helpful for soaking up extra green sauce. Or you can serve it over mashed cauliflower.
As a filling. You can use this as a filling for enchiladas, burritos, tacos, tamales, and more. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator, and you can save them for later use in Mexican style dishes.
Used leftovers for breakfast over chicharrones with diced avocado, crumbled Mexican white cheese, and a fried egg. Delish!
It was a big hit with my boyfriend. I crumbled a little fresh Mexican cheese and diced avocado on ours and served with a low carb tortilla. Yummers!
Love this recipe. Super easy to make and tastes great!
I made twice and the second time I modified slightly. I sautéd the poblano peppers and the chicken first in garlic and used broth instead of water. This gave it a bit more flavor but it tastes great either way.
Also, if on a low carb diet, sautéd rice cauliflower makes a great side / base to serve over.
I added a bit of smoked sausage and sour cream on my bowl of the deliciousness! Otherwise, I stuck close to the recipe and it is fantastic.
Families new fav! Success! Million thank yous!
Can you make with boneless chicken breast or would it get too dry?
I haven’t tested this recipe with chicken breasts, but a number of readers have. Check out older comments by Hailey, Lisa, and Heidi for more details.
Just made this tonight for me and my dad. I added even more chili peppers. Served with rice and black beans. It’s so good!
I really love this recipe. Making it tonight for the 3rd time. AND I doubled the recipe because my husband and I scarfed it down so quickly last time! So simple and really really delicious! Thanks!
Absolutely delicious!!! Served over Cauliflower rice. Spicy!! I left some seeds but not too many. Will definitely make this again. We LOVED it.
I forgot to give stars.
can you make this without a pressure cooker? if so how would you modify? just curious if you need the pressure cooker for the tomatillos?
You don’t need a pressure cooker for the tomatillos. You should be able to make this using a pot on the stovetop — probably need to add some water in Step 1 and cook until the chicken is tender enough to shred and the other ingredients are soft enough to easily puree using a blender.
Excellent recipe! Did not include the jalapenos, and used a cilantro with lime mixture but everything tasted great and my guests loved it. I doubled the recipe to have some to freeze for later.
This looks amazing! It’s hard for me to get tomatillos where I live—is it possible to substitute a salsa verde? I want to make this!
Hi Sarah! I think using salsa verde would be a decent substitute for fresh tomatillos. You might want to cut down a bit on the cumin and salt in this recipe, since salsa verde usually comes with its own seasonings.
Thank you, Julia! I was able to hunt down some tomatillos, but I wound up adding some pre-made salsa verde in for a kick, anyway! It was great. Making it again today.
Held back on the jalapenos as one of the poblanos made my eyes water! Chopped one and placed on the side. Served over saffron Spanish rice. Very simple. Absolutely delicious with a fresh citrus-y and mildly spicy taste. A keeper!
My husband hates cumin. Is there a different spice I could substitute?
It’s possible that he may not detect it in this dish, since it’s a blended mixture of various ingredients, especially if you halve the cumin. As for substitutes, I would replace the cumin with a mix of ground coriander and chili powder.
I made this recipe EXACTLY as it suggested and it’s perfect. This is flavorful and perfectly textured after blending and simmering. I will be making this again.
I made this, with minor modifications I went with cubed pork tenderloin and instead of water I used a modelo. Came out pretty good, my bad not using as many peppers because I was nervous about the spice level next time I will use the full amount.
Can you make this in a regular crockpot instead of an instant cooker?
Yes, that would work. You would need to transfer everything to a pot on the stovetop for the boiling step.
This is a regular in our rotation now, and even my picky processed-food obsessed kids request it weekly. I now add in 1-2 avocados at the immersion blending stage to get more fat, and this actually thickens and smoothes it out a bit, meaning no additional cook-down time. We usually double the recipe and sometimes grill the thighs prior to adding them. We’ll also tend to add additional hot peppers of assorted types based on what we find at the farmers market or local hispanic grocery after the base of poblanos and jalapeños, and the kids insist on splashing Cholula on this, which does add a nice tang.
Gary’s Anejo tequila idea sounds excellent; before going full keto I also like masa as a thickener for the same earthy quality. Now I might have to sacrifice some good tequila for this.
I do occasionally get the burn alarm on the Instant Pot due to not enough liquid to start. I usually use 1 cup of onion, garlic or cilantro bouillon.
I saw this recipe this morning and HAD to have it. Just finished the first bowl and LOVE it! The only change I made is adding an ounce of quality Anejo tequila for a more earthy flavor. Next time I will join the Serrano gang for a bit more kick. Thank you!
Will be making this again and again. Really delicious and easy to make.
This recipe is absolutely delicious. I followed this recipe exactly without any modifications. Wow, wow, wow! This chile verde brings a ton of flavor without being too spicy. If you have an Instant Pot and an immersion blender, this dish is fast and easy. It’s a keeper!
Mine definitely does not look like the picture. It’s mostly chicken. I thought I’d have a big pot of a chili like consistency but I just have a small pile of delicious shredded chicken. Did I do something wrong?
That’s odd. The recipe provides weight (in ounces) and quantity measurements. It’s best if you measure by the weight (ounces) value because the sizes of these ingredients can vary a lot.
I actually measured by weight at the store when I purchased these ingredients. My results were much more like a stew than a taco filling. My guess is that either 1) your chicken-to-veggie ratio was off; 2) you forgot to add a little water; or 3) you left the vent open by mistake on the instant pot during pressure cooking.
Absolutely delicious!! Served it with the cauliflower mash. Hearty and zesty and all good things.
This is a DEFINITE REPEAT recipe! I garnished it with some finely shredded white cabbage and thinly sliced radishes. Kind of what you’d do with a Pozole.
This is so delicious! I used chicken tenders and they fell apart when I took them out to shred! So so so amazing!!!