Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Taco Cups Appetizer Recipe

I don’t want to say that I only watch football for the food. But I pretty much only watch football for the food.

I’ve come up with a perfect, easy appetizer to serve at your game day parties. These Salsa Chicken Taco Cups are DELICIOUS and super to quick to make with your Instant Pot! I partnered with Rojo’s to bring you this flavorful appetizer recipe!

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I got an Instant Pot for Christmas and I’m obsessed with using it to make shredded chicken. It’s super easy and you always end up with tender, juicy chicken.

When I was trying to figure out what appetizer recipe would be a good fit for a football party, I decided that it definitely had to include chicken somehow. My entire family loves Mexican food, so I decided to do something with the flavors we love.

These Salsa Chicken Taco Cups are delicious and it’s easy to make a large quantity. 

Need a quick football party decoration? Use my printable football banner! 

The Taco Cups are a hearty but bite-sized appetizer to serve for your football parties. I paired them with a variety of salsas, homemade guacamole, veggies and homemade chips because those are always crowd-pleasers.

By serving some store-bought goodies, it helps to keep the entertaining easy and put less pressure on you as the hostess. But you can’t serve just any old salsa. Rojo’s products are made in small batches using premium, fresh ingredients that give them a great homemade taste.

They come in a variety of flavors including Homestyle, Restaurant Style and Southwest Fire Roasted (my favorite). Along with their salsas, Rojo’s dips would be the perfect addition to your game day table!

I also made a pitcher of margaritas to kick the party off on the right foot. 

How to Make Salsa Chicken Taco Cups

Making shredded chicken in the Instant Pot couldn’t be easier. The minimum requirement for making it is 1 cup of liquid which means you can get creative about how to flavor your chicken.

I love to make salsa shredded chicken for tacos so I decided that was a good start for these taco cups. I used Rojo’s Homestyle Salsa and some Mexican beer to ensure my chicken would be full of flavor. I added seasoning to the chicken before placing it in the Instant Pot. My seasoning was a blend of chili powder, lime and salt but anything will work including just salt and pepper. Next I added the salsa and the beer. You can totally skip the beer if you want but I love the flavor it gives the chicken.I set the Instant Pot to 20 minutes and then made sure that I had all the other ingredients I would need to put these taco cups together. When the cooking time was up, I let the steam release naturally for about 15 minutes.

The chicken literally falls apart without being dried out. Every time. I removed the chicken from the cooking liquid and quickly shredded it. I added another cup of Rojo’s Homestyle salsa to add even more flavor. To make the Taco Cups, you just have to layer the ingredients into your store-bought phyllo cups. Look for these cups in the freezer section and try to find cups that look like the ones pictured.

I’ve tried a few types and these work the best. These came in a box of 12 so you’d need to figure out how many boxes you need to get based on how many appetizers you want to make.

What’s great is that you can keep extra in the freezer and use leftover salsa chicken to make more of these whenever you want! I added the salsa chicken first, then topped with cheese and added a little bit of cilantro. You can pop these into the oven for a few minutes (before adding the cilantro) to get the cheese to melt.

I’ve made them both way and they taste very similar so this is your personal preference. This recipe makes a dinner size portion of shredded chicken which means, because you don’t use very much for each Taco Cup, you can make A TON of these! They come together quickly and are a great party appetizer idea.

I didn’t know when I made these that they would turn out to be something my kids loved too! We’ve had them several times now, for dinner, and I’m adding them to our regular dinner rotation. I just serve them with some rice and beans and you’ve got a full meal. These Salsa Chicken Taco Cups can be made ahead of time and put in the oven, right before serving, to reheat.
Rojo’s salsas can be found in the refrigerated section of major grocery retailers, nationwide. Making your own salsa can be totally time-consuming so I like to serve store-bought. Keep your eyes out for some new salsa flavors, like Hatch Chile Salsa and Salsa Verde, and for their new Queso Dips! Who doesn’t love queso!?Rojo’s has that homemade taste and freshness and it saves me a ton of time!
How will you celebrate the big game? I really enjoy the commercials and the Half Time Show. But, really, I watch for the food. Make these Salsa Chicken Taco Cups, with Rojo’s salsa, for your game day parties!

More Football Party Food Posts:

• Easiest Football Cookies to Make.
• A list of dips to make for your football party!
• You’ll love these Game Day Snack Ideas.
• Healthier Snack Ideas for your football party.

More Instant Pot Recipes:

• A round-up of Instant Pot Recipes for Game Day Parties.
• Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup, yum! 

Images by Dez and Tam Photography

Salsa Chicken Taco Cups

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Yield: 6 servings

Instant Pot Salsa Chicken Taco Cups Appetizer Recipe

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My family loves these easy Salsa Chicken Taco Cups. The Instant Pot makes it super easy to make shredded chicken that works perfectly in these crispy phyllo shells.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound of boneless skinless chicken
• 1 container Rojo's Homestyle Salsa, split
• 1/2 cup Mexican style beer
• Seasoning for chicken, like salt and pepper or a store-bought fajita seasoning
• 1-4 packages of Frozen Phyllo Cups (depending on how many are in a pack and how many you want to make)
• 1-2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, to garnish

Instructions

1. Follow the direction on the package of your Phyllo Cups (some just need to thaw, some go in the oven to crisp up for 3 minutes).
2. To your Instant Pot, add chicken, 1/2 container of the salsa and beer.
3. Set pot to manually cook for 20 minutes.
4. Let steam release naturally for approximately 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, check to make sure all the steam is released before removing the lid.
6. Open Instant Pot and remove the chicken from the cooking liquid (which you can discard).
7. In a bowl, shred the chicken.
8. Add the rest of the Homestyle salsa and mix.
9. In your thawed phyllo cups, add about a TBSP of salsa chicken.
10. Top with shredded cheese and top with cilantro.
11. Repeat to fill the remaining cups.
12. If desired, put in an oven heated to 350 degrees, to melt the cheese (approximately 3 minutes).
13. *Notes on the phyllo cups. I like to use the cups (check the photos from my post) that have a large opening. These are ready made and can be used once thawed from the freezer. I don't recommend using the Pepperidge Farms phyllo cups that have to be baked first and then you make the hole with a spoon. These do not hold enough filling or have the crunch like the cups I show in the photos. The package of cups that I used had 12 cups in it. Buy as many packages as you need to for the amount of appetizers you want to make for your party.

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 355Total Fat 21gSaturated Fat 10gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 9gCholesterol 120mgSodium 563mgCarbohydrates 4gFiber 0gSugar 1gProtein 34g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate.

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This easy chicken appetizer is great for game day entertaining! 

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