This Instant Pot Cafe Rio Chicken is done in under 30 minutes and makes dinner so darn easy and delicious. Perfect for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, rice bowls, salads, etc.
My Instant Pot and slow cooker have been lifesavers this summer. There have been so many hot nights where I have not wanted to turn my oven on.
If any of you haven’t jumped on the Instant Pot band wagon, you absolutely should. It took me a while to hop on, but I am so glad I did. It did sit in the box for several weeks before I even opened it, I was a little leary about using it. I thought it was going to be complicated, but it wasn’t at all and I absolutely love it!
I’ve taken several of my slow cooker recipes and adjusted cooking times and done them in my Instant Pot, like this Cafe Rio Copycat Chicken. It’s so simple to make and is done in less than 30 minutes, using frozen chicken breasts (this includes the time for the natural release).
This chicken is so so good. It’s perfect for tacos, salads, enchiladas, burritos, rice bowls, etc. You can top it with, salsa, cilantro, avocado, cilantro, lime juice, shredded lettuce, chunks of tomatoes, and/or fresh avocado. The possibilities are endless! It is definitely the perfect, kid-friendly meal!
Instant Pot Cafe Rio Chicken
Description
For slow cooker instructions click here.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts
- 2/3 cup Italian dressing (I use Zesty Italian)
- ½ tablespooon minced garlic
- ½ tablespoon chili powder
- ½ tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 pkg. ranch dressing mix (3 Tbsp)
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in the bottom of your Instant Pot.
- In a small bowl combine Italian dressing, minced garlic, chili powder, cumin, ranch dressing mix and water. Pour over chicken.
- Place the lid on the pot and set to the lock or SEAL position.
- Turn the Instant Pot to the MANUAL setting for 12 minutes if your chicken is frozen, or 8 minutes if it’s not frozen.
- When the timer goes off allow the pressure to naturally release for about 15 minutes before removing lid.
- Remove chicken from the pot, shred.
- Use for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, salads, etc.
- Category: Chicken/Poultry
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I am new to instant pot cooking. I am confused about cooking this 3-4 hours. And then putting the lid on and cooking based on if the chicken is frozen or not. Could you please clarify this for me.
Hi Robyn, sorry for the confusion. The “cook 3-4 hours” shouldn’t have been in the instructions, I’ve fixed it. Thanks for catching that.
I have frozen chicken breasts. Do I need to do anything extra or can I throw them in the pot frozen with everything else??
Hi Emily! You can just throw them in the pot with everything else. The instructions tell you how long to cook this if you’re using frozen chicken breasts. Let me know how it turns out.
I read that a second too late haha thank you for the quick response! Hopefully it’s okay. I wasn’t able to separate the breasts ahead of time 🙁
I hope it worked out for you!
If you double the recipe do you cook it longer?
Hi Jaelyn, you don’t need to cook it longer if you double it.
Dumb question, but between steps 2 and 3, do you add the mixed ingredients from the bowl and it gets cooked along with the chicken for 8 or 12 mins? Or should it be added after the chicken is cooked and shredded?
Thx
You add it before you cook the chicken. Not a dumb question because I forgot to put that in the instructions. Thanks for catching that, I fixed it. Enjoy!
I used frozen chicken and it was still raw when I took off the lid. I think the time needs to be increased to 17 min, at least for frozen chicken.
★★
Sorry your chicken wasn’t done, but 12 minutes has always been plenty long when I’ve cooked frozen chicken breasts. That is also pretty much the time you will find on most food websites if you google it. Did you cook it on high pressure and let it do a natural release for 15 minutes?