Cilantro Lime Chicken (Instant Pot & Slow Cooker)

Cilantro Lime Chicken is an easy healthy meal that can be made in the Instant pot or slow cooker! Great for tacos, salads, or by itself!

Having easy weeknight meals is essential at my house because we are incredibly busy. Using the Instant Pot for dinner is a life saver. This Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken takes only 15 minutes in the Instant Pot, and is ready to serve! Use the shredded chicken in tacos, burritos, wraps, rice bowls, salads, or even all by itself!

Want to let it cook all day? Use the slow cooker! This will fill your house with a delicious aroma and the Cilantro Lime chicken will be ready at dinner time! Your family will love it, and you will love the minimal cleanup and effort. 

How to make Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken:

**Scroll all the way down to see full ingredient list and directions**

• Prep all the ingredients and then dump them all (except the cilantro) into the Instant Pot!

• Seal the instant pot and then cook on manual for 15 minutes. Once the time is up let the pot 'naturally release' the pressure for 10 minutes, then release the rest carefully.
  • You should remember when using the Instant Pot, that the time it takes to cook the recipe (15 mins), is not the total time of the recipe. You need to give the pot some time to ‘come to pressure’.
• Shred the chicken (or leave it whole if you want), then add it back to the pot, and add the cilantro to the pot, and stir to coat with the yummy sauce. 

How to make Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken:

• Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker, including HALF of the cilantro.
• Place the lid on top. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 6-7 hours, or set to high and cook for 3-4 hours - confirm that the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 165 degrees 5.
• Remove the lid and shred the chicken. Add the remaining half of cilantro and mix well.
• Serve the slow cooker cilantro lime chicken with garnishes!

How to serve the Cilantro Lime Chicken:

• Make tacos! Hard or soft shells (corn or flour) are perfect for this chicken! Add a side of rice and call it a day!
• Make a large salad for your family!
  • Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, red onion, corn, and Pepper Jack or Colby Jack cheese all tossed together with the cilantro lime chicken would be a perfect healthy low carb meal.
• Cook white or brown rice or cauliflower rice, and then serve the cilantro lime chicken over the top as a rice bowl.
  • TIP: If you plan to do this, try adding ¼ cup more stock/water when making the chicken; it will be extra saucy for the rice!
• Meal prep make-ahead cilantro lime chicken burritos! Add the cilantro lime chicken into large flour tortillas, fold into a burrito and then wrap them in foil or plastic wrap. These will stay good in the fridge for 3-5 days.
  • TIP: FREEZE THEM! Make a bunch of the burritos, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then freeze! When you are ready to cook, remove from plastic wrap and loosely wrap in a paper towel. Cook 1 min on high in the microwave, then flip over and cook for 1 more minute in the microwave. Lunch is served!
• NACHOS! Sprinkle this chicken over a bed of tortilla chips, then top with cheese; bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Top with fresh cut tomatoes, cilantro, and sour cream - YUM!

How to Freeze:

• Using at least a 6qt Instant Pot, this cilantro lime chicken recipe definitely can be doubled. Using an 8qt instant pot the recipe could be tripled. 
• Once the chicken is done cooking, and cooled, place portions (I like to do 5 cup portions) into freezer safe zip lock bags. Press flat and squeeze out all of the air. Place flat in freezer, freeze.
• Ready to eat?
  • Remove frozen chicken from freezer the night before you'd like to serve it. Place in the refrigerator overnight, and it should be defrosted by the next day.
    • TIP: Place frozen bag on a dish or in a baking dish. Occasionally freezer bags will leak, and this will avoid a mess all over the fridge. 

Is Cilantro Lime Chicken Healthy?

• YES! Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken is the perfect healthy meal. Each serving packs 33 grams of protein, only 272 calories, and 4 grams of fat. 
• While this recipe contains black beans making it not so 'low carb' you could also opt to leave the black beans out. This would drastically reduce the calories to 208 per serving, but also reduces the carbs to 16 grams vs. 27 grams (23 net) with the black beans.
  • I personally like to have the black beans in the recipe because it adds healthy fiber (4g per serving). You could opt to serve the black beans on the side if you are servings this meal to someone who is eating a 'low carb' diet. 

My favorite Instant Pot Recipes:

• Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps are the perfect healthy chicken recipe! Make the spicy chicken in just minutes, then load up fresh lettuce wraps with your favorite toppings!
• Instant Pot Asian Pork cooks up in just minutes, and is the perfect healthy dinner! Use the juicy meat in lettuce wraps, sliders, or a salad!
• Instant Pot Baked Potatoes are done in a fraction of the time as traditional baked potatoes, and are the creamiest baked potatoes you will ever eat!
• Instant Pot Bang Bang Chicken comes together in minutes and is so delicious! The classic spicy sauce is perfect on shredded chicken which can be used in rice bowls, salads, wraps, or however you want!
• Instant Pot Peanut Butter Cheesecake is a stunning dessert that comes together in no time! Not only is it amazingly easy, but it’s the best cheesecake EVER!
• Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps: Instant Pot Honey Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps are a delicious healthy meal that cooks in just 10 minutes! Simple to make, family friendly, and so tasty!
• Instant Pot Thai Lettuce Wraps (pork or chicken) can be made with pork or chicken in the instant pot or slow cooker! Juicy pork or chicken covered in an easy Thai peanut sauce makes the perfect healthy easy dinner!
• Instant Pot Roasted Red Pepper Soup: Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Grilled Cheese Croutons is the perfect comfort food without any guilt! Make it in the Instant Pot, Slow Cooker, or on the stove top!
• Instant Pot Chicken Noodle soup is rich with flavor and takes only a fraction of the time to make. Warm up on a cold day with this major comfort food.