This Salsa Chicken Stew is a great easy stew that can hit the spot on a cold day. I love the flavors of this one and that most of the ingredients I already usually have on hand. I love that it is Whole30, Paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, and naturally egg-free and nut-free. Includes crockpot and instant pot variations!
This stew only takes 10 minutes to put together. I love how short and easy the prep time is! A great one to throw into the Instant Pot before piano lessons or a Zoom call and have ready by dinner time. Or, prep it in the morning in the slow cooker and have it waiting when you get home from work!
Shredding Chicken Hack
The chicken breast cook whole in this Salsa Chicken Stew. When the soup is done, you shred the chicken and put them back into the stew. But, I was so over shredding chicken with two forks.
The solution? Using your hand mixer or standing mixer! Place cooked chicken breasts into a bowl. Insert mixer blade(s) and cover the mixer with a towel. The towel helps prevent bits of chicken from flying onto your kitchen backsplash (person experience, haha!). Then, mix on a low-medium speed until shredded. Don’t over mix, or you will have tiny chicken bits. But, otherwise it’s the easiest way to shred chicken quickly! You can see a video of how to do this on Instagram here.
Tips and Tricks
- Adjust the heat level by adding mild, medium, or hot salsa — or your favorite Whole30-compatible hot sauce!
- Russet Potatoes or Sweet Potatoes both work great in this recipe. Experiment to discover your favorite flavor profile.
- Top with fresh cubed avocado and roasted pepitas to add a touch of creaminess and crunch.
Budget-friendly
I love a soup that is easy to make AND budget-friendly. And this Salsa Chicken Stew is exactly that! Because it is built around pantry staples, dried spices instead of fresh, and potatoes it is more affordable than many stews. The cost per serving for this stew is $1.61. See below for a breakdown of the cost per serving. Additionally, please note the disclaimer on the sourcing of my prices and ingredients.
Ingredients for Salsa Chicken Stew
- Boneless skinless chicken breast
- Ground Cumin
- Salt + Pepper
- Paprika
- Salsa – I use a red tomato-based picante type salsa, versus a pico de Gallo. Something basic like Pace Chunky Salsa is fine or most red salsas at Trader Joe’s. I don’t recommend a green salsa for this recipe.
- Minced Garlic
- Potatoes – We love this recipe with sweet potatoes! The flavor of the sweet potatoes mixes really nicely with this stew. And also, if you don’t love sweet potatoes, you can also use an equal amount of peeled and diced Russet potatoes.
- Red bell pepper – Freshly chopped or jarred both works great. I usually find the freshly chopped to be more affordable, but the jarred red pepper can be an easy pantry option.
- Cilantro
Other Soups you May Love:
- Whole30 Budget Beef Stew
- Whole30 Creamy Cauliflower Soup
- Taco Soup (a kid-favorite!)
- Chicken Tomato Basil Soup – the soup that made my boys realize they DO like soup, haha!
Salsa Chicken Stew (with InstantPot & Crockpot options)
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. boneless chicken breasts
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth or bone broth
- 1 cup salsa
- 3 cloves minced garlic OR 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 lbs. potatoes, cut into 1" chunks We love orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, but can also use russet potatoes
- 1 cup red bell pepper, diced OR 1 cup jarred roasted red pepper
- 1/3 c. loosely packed fresh cilantro finely chopped
Instructions
- Trim chicken breasts and cut into strips.
- In a small bowl, combine cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, broth, salsa, and garlic.
- On the bottom of a 5-6 quart slow cooker or large instant pot, place chopped potatoes. Place chicken and diced red pepper on top of potatoes and pour broth mixture over chicken.
- Cover slow cooker with lid and cook on low 8 hours or on high 4 hours. Or seal instant pot and cook on Stew for 25 minutes. Once done, manually release steam released if using instant pot, stir in cilantro and break up chicken as desired (we like large chunks, but shredded works too!). Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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Also, if not on a Whole30, this pairs great with my Paleo Cornbread Muffins!
Delicious! My house smelled amazing and the whole family enjoyed.
Easy & Delicious!
Love it ! So easy to make and wish I would have read the cornbread comment because it definitely would have been amazing with cornbread !!!
This soup is SOOO good, and SUPER easy! I didn’t know what to make for dinner (I was supposed to have something in the crockpot) so last minute (4:30pm) I threw this together -yay for frozen tenderloins and sweet potatoes) – I also added cauli rice, didn’t have any peppers, topped with df sour cream and avo, it’s perfection! Needless to say it’s easy to adapt and you can do it stove top in 30 mins! No surprise, Autumn’s recipes never disappoint!
This is absolutely delicious!
I love this salsa Chicken stew. It’s delicious, easy to make, and reheats well. I can not wait to make it again. Thank you for sharing!!
Doing a postpartum Whole30 and this recipe is a must have! Plenty of good wholesome nutrients for nursing. Love it for meal planning. Freezes great too!
It makes me so happy that this is nourishing you while you are nursing. Hooray and thank you!
Delicious and so filling! Do you think I could double the batch and freeze half?
Absolutely! All of my soups freeze great. Glad you enjoyed and thank you! 💛
Any idea on what setting i should use on my ninja foodie deluxe? It has a pressure cook setting. Usually I use that in place of most instant pot recipes but I’m not familiar with stew setting on the instant pot
Good question! I’m not familiar with using that model. However, as it’s also a pressure cooker I’d just use the same time of 25 minutes. Soups are a little more forgiving on time. If you try it, let me know how it goes!
This stew is delish, filling, and simple to make! It will definitely be added to my regular W30 rotation. Very grateful that instant Pot instructions were provided, thank you!
This was so good! I changed the second time I made it and added Salsa Verde and lentils. Loved that too. Have you added cauli-rice like in your taco soup? I’m thinking of trying it for the extra veggies.
Ooo, that’s a great call! I haven’t added caulirice to this one, but I think it would be delicious. Thank you!
Easy, delicious and husband approved!!
This was amazing! I used yellow potatoes and it turned out delicious. Such an easy and healthy crockpot meal!
YAY for this one being easy and delicious! Thank you!
Can salsa verde be used instead of regular salsa?!
I haven’t tried it, but I bet it would still be delicious – yes!
Family favorite! We can’t just stop at one bowl either. It’s simple to make and the instant pot makes it quicker. Quick meal after work.
Agreed, this is one I can still find the energy to make after work and the family loves it. Thank you!
So delicious and easy. Perfect for a winter day.
I’m so happy this was an easy and delicious win. Thank you!
Making this for the 2nd time tonight. My family and I love it!! Actually every recipe I’ve made of yours has been a huge hit! Thank you for sharing such deliciousness!!
Why thank you, I love that you have enjoyed my recipes! Happy this was worth coming back to a 2nd time!
This was so so good!!! There’s many ways to customize it as well like I think I would have really enjoyed it with a bit of sour cream and cheese on top but it was delicious as reccomended. We made it in the instant pot and added the black beans. Will definitely make this again!
I’m so happy you loved it and agreed there is so much flexibility to it, thank you!
Just made tonight & enjoyed. Will definitely make again, very tasty.
I’m so happy it was enjoyed. Thank you!
Great flavor and so easy! Used white sweet potatoes, but will probably use russets next time (was a tad sweeter than I would have liked). Thanks for the quick weeknight meal.
So happy you enjoyed it, thank you!
Delicious and simple to prepare! A big hit with my whole family. Thanks!
Easy to pop in the slow cooker before work and quite tasty! My family will be enjoying this in our regular rotation now. Thanks!
Wonderful! I’m happy this was an easy win for you, thank you!
First thing I made in my Instant Pot. I did not have chunky salsa so I added a can of diced tomatoes. My husband and I both loved this recipe. It will be a go to, for sure.
Way to break in that Instant Pot! I’m so happy it was a keeper, thank you!
This was so good, I didn’t want my bowl to be empty! Such great flavor and texture (I did chunks as well)! This will definitely be a repeat recipe for me!
Yay! I’m so happy this one was a keeper, thank you!
Made this yesterday for dinner this week. So good I added green chiles for extra spice!
I made this for my family over the holiday break. It was a hit all around, especially with my three year-old! I made it with the IP method and it was perfect.
I love that it was a hit all around, especially with your little. Thank you!
Thanks for the recipe. It’s easy and the family all enjoyed it!
Love an easy family win, so happy to hear it!
Made this last week. It was so good. Everyone in the family loved it.
Delicious. Cooked it on my stove ,added more veggies and didn’t have any cilantro. Will definitely make again. So easy to make.
One of my favorites!
Excellent yummy. Soooo good.