Instant Pot Smoky Honey Cilantro Chicken
This Instant Pot smoky honey chicken is tender, flavorful, and perfect for salads, enchiladas, tacos – you name it! {Slow cooker instructions included as well!}
This smoky honey chicken is the best thing to ever come out of my Instant Pot.
Ingredients for Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
This recipe could not be easier! Here’s a lineup of the flavor-packed ingredients:
- salsa verde
- honey
- chili powder
- salt + pepper
- dried oregano
- cumin
- garlic powder (or fresh garlic)
- smoked paprika
If you don’t have smoked paprika, you can skip it and use regular sweet paprika, but if you’re reading this, I implore you to consider keeping smoked paprika in your pantry. It is a hot shot ingredient that is worth keeping around.
Here are 20+ other fantastic recipes that call for smoked paprika in case you need more justification for buying it.
Cooking Chicken in the Instant Pot
- Whisk together all the sauce ingredients.
- Nestle the chicken into the flavorful sauce.
- Cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.
- Release the pressure and shred the chicken.
- Stir in fresh cilantro.
This Instant Pot smoky honey chicken can also easily be made in a slow cooker. Simply add all the ingredients (except the cilantro) to a 6- or 8-quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours. If the mixture starts to look dry during cooking, add 1/2 cup or so chicken broth to the slow cooker and continue cooking.
How to Serve Instant Pot Smoky Honey Chicken
This deliciously tender and flavorful chicken can be used in so many ways!
- Tacos
- Quesadillas
- Enchiladas
- Burritos
- Salads
Serve it with cilantro lime rice, black beans, tortillas, cilantro lime dressing, and tons of toppings for a build-your-own style meal where everyone can make their own plate according to the desires of their heart.
A Tried-and-True Favorite
We eat this meal often as a family, and it is also one of my go-to take-in meals for family and friends or for when I’m feeding company at my house. It is always a hit!
With over 300 5-star reviews, this one is a keeper! Here are a few rave reviews from the comments:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This recipe is the one that finally convinced me to get an Instant pot. It did not disappoint! Seriously amazing! So,so good. This will be going into our regular meal rotation. -Cyndi
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ So easy, so good and so fast! I am making it for the third time this month. Thanks Mel for another tried and true recipe. -Reenie
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I never leave reviews, but this was SO good. I was in search of a recipe for dinner with what I had on hand, so I used red salsa (didn’t have liquid smoke or cilantro). Holy moly .. it was SO DELICIOUS! -Christine
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I made this recipe tonight. SUPER easy and is by far the VERY best thing I’ve ever made in the crockpot! It was AMAZING. I’m going to cook more and freeze portions! -Val
What to Serve With This
- Taco toppings (tortillas, cheese, avocados, sour cream, tomatoes, etc.)
- The Best Cornbread
- Honey Lime Fruit Salad
Instant Pot Smoky Honey Cilantro Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup salsa verde or tomatillo salsa
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon liquid smoke (optional, but delicious)
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder or 2-3 cloves, finely minced
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
Instructions
- Whisk together the salsa verde, honey, liquid smoke, chili powder, salt, dried oregano, cumin, garlic powder (or fresh garlic), smoked paprika, and black pepper.
- For the Instant Pot: Add the salsa verde mixture to the insert of the Instant Pot. Nestle the chicken into the sauce.
- Secure the lid and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Let the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes before manually releasing the rest of the pressure.
- Shred the chicken with two forks (right in the Instant Pot). Stir in the fresh cilantro and add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- For the Slow Cooker: Add the salsa verde mixture to the insert of a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Nestle the chicken into the sauce.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 6-7 hours. If the mixture starts to look dry during cooking, add 1/2 cup or so chicken broth to the slow cooker and continue cooking.
- Shred the chicken with two forks (right in the slow cooker). Stir in the fresh cilantro and add additional salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
- For serving: serve the chicken as desired in tacos, enchiladas, burritos, on salad, etc.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally published Sept 2017; updated April 2025 with new photos, recipe notes, etc.
do I need to cook for longer if my chicken is frozen?
Yes, you’ll need to add time based on how thick the chicken is.
Have you ever tried to freeze this and then thaw it for a quick meal?
Yes, it works great!
has anyone tried majing this without honey? I’m aviiding sweeteners in my food.
I make without honey all the time. I’ve never made it with honey and it tastes great!
This chicken is seriously the best! Family favorite!!!
This is the best chicken ever, thank you so much for this recipe. It feeds so many and is a crowd pleasure. Love!!
OMG, sooooo good! Thank you, thank you!!
Herdez ROASTED salsa verde is amazing!! Much better than the mild version. We like spicy so I also use 1/2 Chipotle powder and 1/2 chili powder.
I haven’t even made it yet and I already wanna try her version AND yours Ü
This recipe… oh wow! Sooo yummy!! The aroma alone is amazing! Thank you again for another home run!
So easy, so good and so fast! I am making it for the third time this month. Thanks Mel for another tried and true recipe.
Amazing! I’ve never cooked before and this was easy and tasted like a chef prepared it. Thanks for the recipe!
So yummy! Made this about a month ago and making it again tonight!
This was delicious! I loved it! It’s amazing how fast I cam get dinner on the table with that instant pot. I got home at 4:35, used chicken breast straight from the freezer, and we were eating at 5:15. And it was all hands off!
If I needed to cook the chicken in the crockpot on high so it’s done faster how long would you suggest?
Probably 3-4 hours?
New user here! Do I need to add water to this? What’s the general rule of thumb with adding water when pressure cooking? Thanks a million
I don’t add anything additional other than what’s listed in the recipe. Usually you want about a cup of cooking liquid when pressure cooking (although many ingredients will give off liquid so I sometimes fudge that amount just a bit).
So, so, so good! Just as versatile as Mel says! This was a hit tonight and we will enjoy it throughout the week. Thanks, Mel!
Just made this!! The whole family loved it! This will be a keeper for sure. Thank you
I never leave reviews, but this was SO good. I was in search of a recipe for dinner with what I had on hand, so I used red salsa (didn’t have liquid smoke or cilantro). Holy moly .. it was SO DELICIOUS! I got my instant pot a couple months ago and have only used it a few times. I find the timing tricky! I used mostly thawed chicken breasts for 10 minutes and they weren’t cooked, so I put them back in. I cant wait to try this as written next time. Thank you for the amazing recipe and a reason to give my IP another go! I just found you .. can’t wait to try other recipes!!!!
So happy to hear that, Christine! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
The. Best. IP recipe. Hands. Down!!!! Incredibly easy and simply delicious. I didn’t have the liquid smoke or smoky paprika so just used plain paprika. Very moist and tasty. Eating it plain now and going to use it in a trashy tamale recipe tonight. Already shared the recipe!
Trashy tamale??
Beth, basically an ugly looking tamale but yet has the same great taste of those gorgeous tedicious ones I can’t master making. It’s a dump-and-stir kind of recipe. Google search will take you to some great resources.
I have 3.7 pounds of chicken – would you put all that in the IP at once? Would you increase the sauce at all?? Making this tonight – can’t wait!
Hi Megan – sorry for the delay in responding! Yes, I’d put that all in at once. I think the sauce amount should be fine!
This was excellent and sooooo easy!
Delicious and so simple! This is definitely getting saved under ‘favorites’! I can’t wait to make this again. My boyfriend said it a keeper and the perfect tailgating food! Thanks for the yummy, smoky recipe!
Oh boy this was good! I used 4 frozen chicken breasts. It took 20 minutes with 10 minutes natural release. But they were really thick breasts, so might not take that long for thinner ones. I didn’t have cilantro, but didn’t miss it at all. Added black beans, corn, chopped baby spinach, cheese, sour cream, a squirt of lime juice for tortillas tonight and will have the same on top of rice tomorrow. Definitely a keeper!
Make this. It’s yummy!
Do you think this would be good on sandwich rolls?
Yum, I think it would be tasty!
I made this recipe tonight in my new instant pot. This recipe was a hit! Hubby and kids agreed as well which is always a plus. I will be making this again real soon. Thank you for sharing this recipe and for adding the instant pot directions. I can’t wait to try out more of your instant pot recipes as well.
Woooah this was amazing, Mel!! Made the best tacos tonight and I could drink the liquid straight its so good. Liquid smoke all the way. I will be making this a lot!
Made this tonight & it was delicious! Lots of leftovers, too – which I’m totally fine with. 🙂 We ate it as tacos with tomato, monterey jack, etc…alongside Mel’s Mexican Rice, of course. A super yummy meal.
Delicious! Very easy and it smells amazing. Thank you for introducing me to liquid smoke. I had never heard of it before. I had quite a bit more liquid than I expected, maybe that was due to using frozen chicken? But not a problem, the taste was incredible. I used it for tacos, we’ll make nachos with the rest.
Wowzers! That’s a good recipe. I tried using my hand mixer & beaters to shred the chicken and it worked great. Very fast.
Thanks for the tip! I’m making this tonight and appreciate all the time-saving tips I can get. Looks like everyone loves the chicken. I’m so excited to try it!
I made this last week following the recipe exactly. Wonderful!! I used homemade salsa verde – I’ve never had Trader Joe’s so can’t compare but I made salsa verde frequently.
I ate this over rice, over quinoa and lettuce as a salad, in a soft taco, as a pizza topping, and used the last bits in soup with beans, kale and corn added. So easy and so delicious.
We loved this! Six months ago I followed your suggestion and bought an Instant Pot. It sat in the box for a couple of months, then I took it out and moved it to a shelf for two more months, then finally read the instructions and ignored it a couple more months while I worked up my courage to try it! Today, I realized I had run out of excuses and dove in! When it was finished cooking, and didn’t blow me and the house up, I did a happy dance! I’m all in now! Thank you so much for the many wonderful recipes and other fabulous suggestions. You are a household name here and have blessed us so much! Tomorrow I work on the cheeseballs that are a new tradition here thanks to you!
Yay! You did it, Laurie! I’m so glad this recipe was a hit for your inaugural IP run!
This was really delicious! And SO simple. I skipped the liquid smoke, and forgot (as usual, sigh) cilantro. Served in tortillas with rice, corn, monterey jack, and devoured by everyone. My brother and his family had to evacuate because of the CA fires, so I sent it to them, told my sis in law to quadruple it, and serve for the 18 people living in one house right now. Simple, tasty, filling. Just what you need in a crisis. Also, your corn bread is the only one I make now for many, many years. I recently made it with Earth Balance & Almond Milk because my daughter needs to be dairy free, and it was still delicious.
I constantly share your recipes. Thank you for saving many, many meal times for me 🙂
Did you literally just quadruple the recipe? Did you change the cooking time?
Would this work will with pork?
Yep!
This might be silly question but is this recipe meant for frozen or fresh chicken breasts?
I usually use fresh chicken, but many have used frozen too (might need to up the cooking time by a few minutes).
I never write reviews, but read them all the time! Ha
This is THE BEST shredded chicken we’ve ever had. I drained what we were going to eat and put it on corn tortillas with lettuce, cheese, sour cream and avocados. My college daughter came home that night and has eaten it for every meal (lunch and supper) the past 3 days!! I think this would be a great dish for company…as a taco bar set up.
I tried this recipe tonight – it was wonderful and easy to prepare. I will definitely make this recipe again.
I have made this for soft tacos and it is superb. I love having an easy dish that I can make in my Instant Pot and this is very flavorful. Even made it for company at our home and they raved about the chicken and my Instant Pot.
Such a keeper!
I made this last week to use in tacos and it was fantastic! Everyone in my family, including my 3 young kids devoured it. I didn’t end up adding cilantro because my husband quite dislikes it, but otherwise made it as written. Definitely will be adding this to the regular lineup!
I made this last night in the slow cooker. Couldn’t have been easier or more delicious! My husband said some form of “this is really good” at least five times during the meal. Love!
Made this for dinner tonight and my kitchen smelled fantastic! It tasted just as delicious when it was done! I’m excited for the leftovers. We ate it as soft tacos with black beans, lettuce, cheeee, salsa, sour cream.
Absolutely loved this chicken. I used my canned chili verde. We had it street taco style, but I’m using the leftovers for chicken enchiladas. Huge hit with the teenage boys in my life.
Thanks for letting me know, Rachel! Glad it was well received by those teenage boys. 🙂
Hi Mel! This was quite good. I had all ingredients but the main salsa so I used regular tomato salsa. Have you tried that? Is it 10 times better with the other? I also used bonein chicken thighs, skinned. This made a very cheap meal and the meat fell off the bone. I did 18 minutes but think even less might work. Thank you for this and I look forward to more IP meals! My next plan is to make your Philly sloppy joes but I ran out of Worcestershire on Sunday. Must get to the store!
Hey Tara – I’ve made it with both green salsa and tomato salsa, and yes, I prefer it with the green, but I use the red in a pinch, too.
This is amazing! I ate more straight out of the bowl than on my taco. Thanks for another winner. You never let me down!
Thanks, Jill!
MEL!!! My 17 year old son declared this chicken THE BOMB! I didn’t even have the liquid smoke or the fresh cilantro. Thank you so much! We made it into soft tacos. My husband had thirds!
I also want you to know that my daughter is currently studying abroad in New Zealand and has her own kitchen. She has made so many of your recipes! Last week she made the kale, sweet potato and chicken skillet and the week before that it was the Parmesan Orzo Pasta with Peas. She usually makes a full recipe of something on Sunday and eats it all week. Thanks for being there for her!
~Andrea
Thanks for letting me know that, Andrea! I’m thrilled you guys loved this chicken, and I also got a kick out of hearing about your daughter. That’s awesome and made my day!
So good!! Thank you for another great IP recipe! I doubled my batch and cooked for 15″ because I had thicker chicken breasts. It turned out super. I am freezing a bunch for another day, because why make 1 batch of something when you can make 2 just as easily??
I made this chicken in my crockpot (even though I have an instant pot). It was so so yummy!! The sweet, slightly spicy, smoky flavor was irresistible! Thanks for another amazing recipe, Mel.
I made this chicken in my crockpot (even though I have an instant pot). It was so so yummy!! The sweet, slightly spicy, smoky flavor was irresistible! Thanks for another amazing recipe, Mel.
Mel,
Two questions.
Do you think I could use those costco pork roasts instead of Chicken?
And red or green enchilada sauce – and do you have a recipe for sauce you would recommend?
Thanks
Yes! I think the pork roasts would be amazing in this! I have a homemade green enchilada sauce recipe, but otherwise, I usually buy the green salsa (working on a recipe, though!).
I’ve made it several times with chicken, and we LOVE it!! In January I always try to use up the random things in my freezer and pantry and we had a frozen pork roast (I think it was a chunked up pork shoulder but it wasn’t clearly labeled bc I apparently haven’t learned my lesson about that yet) and it was also super delicious with pork.
Hi Mel,
Do I need to increase the cooking time when doubling the recipe?
Thanks!
No, not usually.
I’m so excited to make this tonight! I’m going the salad route…qhat dressing do you recommend? Any must-have mix-ins? Thanks Mel! You are the absolute BEST part of my meal planning!!
I think a ranch dressing or a creamy cilantro lime ranch dressing would be fabulous. When we’ve made it salad-style, I add corn kernels, black beans, bell peppers, romaine lettuce – and kind of make it a southwest style type salad.
Yum!!! That’s how I’ll make it!
I have bone-in with skin Chicken thighs. What time do you think it would take?
I would probably try 18 minutes.