Instant Pot Mango Pineapple Chicken is a delicious mixture of sweet pineapple and savory chicken in an Asian flavored dish that my whole family loves. Ready in just 30 minutes with minimal effort! Simply toss in all the ingredients, press start, and let your Instant Pot do the work. It's an easy dump and go recipe!
Originally posted December 2018, Updated August 2024
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Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken Recipe
This is a somewhat new recipe to my family and we absolutely love it. Well, except for my youngest who hates anything sweet mixed into his savory dishes. He hates the brown sugar in my Sloppy Joe recipe and the pineapple in my Hawaiian Rice Salad recipe.
That aside, it's a family favorite! It has a sweet and tangy sauce, but it's mild enough for everyone to enjoy (although personally, I wouldn't mind if it had a little more kick). If you're wondering what it tastes like - it reminds me of an Instant Pot Hawaiian Chicken recipe I tried once. Or maybe Sweet and Sour Chicken from a Chinese buffet we used to visit that had pineapple in the sauce. You get the idea... golden browned chicken and flavorful sauce.
Instant Pot Mango Pineapple Chicken
We love Asian recipes and this one is at the top of our list of favorites. Other favorites are:
Tools Needed
- Instant Pot (or other electric pressure cooker)
- Sharp Knife and Cutting Board
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
Ingredients
The ingredients for this recipe aren't necessarily staple pantry ingredients (at least not for me) but I was able to find them all at our local Walmart.
- Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (3-4 chicken breasts), cut into large pieces. Lately we've been cooking a lot with boneless skinless chicken thighs and they'd be amazing in this recipe too!
- Mango or pineapple salsa (or a mixture of both, which is what I used)**
- Fresh mango
- Fresh pineapple or canned pineapple chunks (drain the pineapple juice) - I'm a huge fan of fresh pineapple but I honestly don't think you'll know the difference if you use canned in this recipe
- Water
- Salt (or to taste)
- Red Pepper Flakes - optional for a pinch of heat
- Soy Sauce - optional for a little more boost of flavor
- Cooked Rice - to serve the Pineapple Chicken over.
Substitutions
**The original recipe I was given for this Instant Pot chicken recipe called for Trader's Joe's Tropical Pineapple Mango Salsa. There is not a single Trader Joe's within a hundred miles of me, nor any other brand of salsa that seemed to fit that description.
So I had to change things up a bit based on what was available to me. Having said that, if you can get your hands on the Trader Joe's salsa, go for it!
Instead, I bought Newman's Own Pineapple Salsa and Newmans Own Mango Salsa. The first time I made this recipe, I used half of each. You could easily just use one jar of either one and I'm confident it would turn out just as good!
Find the complete recipe with ingredients measurements in the recipe card below.
I told you this Instant Pot Mango Pineapple Chicken was easy - let me show you how easy!
How to Make Instant Pot Pineapple Chicken
This truly is one of the easiest chicken recipes I make in my Instant Pot. Simple ingredients that come together for a delicious but filling meal on busy weeknights!
- Spray the inside of your pot with nonstick cooking spray, then using the "sauté function", lightly brown the chunks of chicken breasts (or boneless skinless thighs) on all sides in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Searing the chicken is optional, but I've found that lighting browning/searing the meat seals in the juices for juicy chicken and makes it a little more visually appealing too. Although you can't really see my slight browning at all with the light bouncing off the meat but I promise it's there.
- Layer the chicken in the bottom and pour the salsa on top of the chicken. Then toss it a bit so that the chicken is coated with the salsa.
- Layer the pineapple chunks and mango on top, then sprinkle with salt and add the ½ cup of water.
- Use the "Manual" setting on your Instant Pot and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Then do a quick pressure release and give it a stir.
- When serving, you'll want to cut the chicken into smaller bite-size pieces. If you happen to have one of these nifty Mix N Chop things from Pampered Chef, it's the perfect tool to break up the meat! (I am in no way affiliated with Pampered Chef... I just love that tool!!)
- Serve over hot white rice or cauliflower rice (or brown rice if that's your jam) and enjoy!! I happen to have two Instant Pots (I bought one and won one from Food Blogger Pro) so I made rice in one while cooking the chicken in the other. You could also make the rice in a rice maker or the old-fashioned way, on the stove.
Click here to see how I make perfect rice in the Instant Pot.
Variations
If you want your meal to have a little more kick, I recommend a medium or spicy salsa. Or you could add a shake of red pepper flakes or sriracha sauce. My kids prefer milder foods.
Serving Suggestions
Add some steamed broccoli or green beans on the side to round out this meal.
It's a perfect meal for a busy weeknight or lazy weekend.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Recipe
Instant Pot Mango Pineapple Chicken
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
Instant Pot Mango Pineapple Chicken is a delicious mixture of sweet pineapple and savory chicken in an Asian flavored dish that my whole family loves. Ready in just 30 minutes with minimal effort! Simply toss in all the ingredients, press start, and let your Instant Pot do the work. It's an easy dump and go recipe!
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Breasts (approximately 3 pounds)
- 16 oz Pineapple or Mango Salsa
- 1 Mango, cubed (approximately 8 oz.)
- ½ pineapple, cubed (approximately 16 oz.)
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
Instructions
- Spray the pot with non-stick cooking spray,
- Using the "Saute" setting, then lightly brown the chicken on all sides (3-4 minutes). This step is optional, but it does look more appetizing when browned.
- Layer all ingredients in the pot, cook on high pressure for 12 minutes.
- Quick release, then cut the chicken into chunks or slices and serve over rice.
Notes
If you want your meal to have a little more kick, I recommend a medium or spicy salsa. My kids prefer milder foods.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Carribean
Barbara
I am looking but can’t find the actual re ipe for this.
Rose Atwater
Hi Barbara - we had a little broken link, but I moved your comment to the actual recipe so you're set now. It's here (if my reply doesn't bring you here) : https://pressurecookermeals.com/instant-pot-mango-pineapple-chicken/
Candy Knott
Wow....my third recipe for the mini duo and it was fantastic...thank you sooo much....looking forward to the next one......I didn’t half the ingredients....and it all worked well in the 3 qt.....
Rose Atwater
So happy to hear it Candy!!
Meesh
Hi! Do you happen to know how many Smart Points this meal would be for WW?
Rose Atwater
Hey Meesh - I added the nutrition information at the bottom of the recipe card but I don't know how to calculate WW points - sorry!
SK
@Meesh... Depending on your Salsa, this will be a 1-2 point meal (without the rice).
Jodi
Quick and easy! Very tasty! I added a pinch or two of red pepper flakes, which gave it nice pop. I may try dusting the chicken with jerk seasonings next time. It passed the hubby taste test with flying colors. However, try as I might, I'm not seeing the nutrition information! A little help? Thanks for the fun recipe!
Rose Atwater
They're on the bottom of the recipe card.
Lisa
Just wondering if it’s ok to use frozen mango and frozen pineapple in this recipe?
Looks yummy!
Rose Atwater
I haven't tried but I'd think it would work.
SB
So easy to make and turned out perfect! Loved the pineapple and mango!
Leanna
This looks delicious! Do you think adding a veggie like red peppers would go good with this? Kind of like a sweet and sour chicken? Just trying to get a veggie added into the meal. Thank you.
Rose Atwater
Yes!! That would be delicious!
Marla
Can you use frozen mango and pineapple?
Rose Atwater
Yes!
Michelle
Can you use cauliflower rice? If so would I add it to the instapot with all of the other ingredients?
Christy
Has anyone made this with regular mild salsa? I can’t seem to find the pineapple it mango salsa here.
Robert
Easy to prep meal and very tasty. It was a success and we have leftovers for tomorrow. We would make this meal again. Thank you.
Ryanne
I forgot the water, but I was glad I did. It turned out soo watery even without the added water.
I used half Aldi Pineapple Salsa and half Aldi Mango Pico de gallo.
The taste was fine but not spectacular (would be better with cumin and/or jerk seasoning)
I am guessing the excess liquid was probably from the Pico de gallo. it seems dry, but all those fresh veggies release liquid when cooked. I wouldn't have expected that much though.
Lisa Wichtendahl
The recipe as is is great. I only have some fresh mango salsa from Jewel and a jar of Tradet Joes Peach Salsa. Would either or both of those work? I could cut up some pineapple in there too. Just want to know if I could use what I have and if I use just the fresh mango salsa I would need to add more liquid to it. Thanks.
riley
what is a serving size