Instant Pot Caribbean Chicken Salad is checking off every single requirement I have for the Ultimate Salad for Dinner. Crunchy, creamy, sweet, tangy, and loaded with good fats and protein so you feel satisfied and proud of your healthy self as you gaze upon your empty plate. And the Sweet Orange Vinaigrette? Insanely simple to make with clean bright flavors that will make you swoon!
Possibly the highest compliment I've ever received was from my sister Maegan when she said, “You make eating healthy so good that no one even cares that it's healthy.”
About makes me cry.
Instead of the framed photo with the popular quote, “Sisters my Chance, Friends by Choice” I want her quote hung on my wall.
That's when you know you're a sentimental foodie.
This bright, Caribbean Chicken Salad has been devoured biweekly for over a month at my house while I did serious research on what could possibly be the perfect dressing to take it to the next level.
Well, after some heated discussions with my husband about which of the 5 dressings I made was the best, we've finally dwindled it down to one winner, Sweet Orange Vinaigrette.
And just to make sure I was on the right track, I made a big batch of this salad for a family party. It received rave reviews and was worthy of “going back for seconds” by more than one big, strong man in the room.
That's enough recipe testing right there! Men enjoying salad? DONE! Type it up, it's perfect!
In respect to my amazing husband who helps me test and perfect every recipe that shows up here on TIDBITS, I'm throwing in his favorite salad dressing of the bunch in the recipe card below. Be sure and try that one out sometime too!
WHY YOU WILL LOVE INSTANT POT CARIBBEAN CHICKEN SALAD
- Juicy bites of chicken infused with the classic, warm, jerk style spices, sweetened with honey, and brightened with pineapple and lime juice – you'll be snacking away at it like candy!
- Festive, colorful salad that delights your eyes just as much as your mouth. Spinach, red bell pepper, avocado, mango, mandarin oranges, and beyond! It's like eating the rainbow but not in an artificially colored Skittles kind of way.
- Then there's the texture party: creamy avocado and goat cheese, crunchy water chestnuts and cashews . . . my, oh my. My jaw is tired at the end of it and I don't even care.
- Clean, bright tasting Orange Vinaigrette that takes seconds to shake up and accentuates the flavor of the entire plate so perfectly.
HOW TO MAKE CARIBBEAN CHICKEN IN THE PRESSURE COOKER
- Place the chicken, juices, and spices in the pressure cooker pot and cook
- Add salad dressing ingredients to a jar or dressing container and shake
- Once the meat is finished cooking, start assembling the salad
- Fill the serving bowl with spinach and add the bell pepper, avocado, mango, mandarin oranges, and water chestnuts
- Gently toss
- Top with cheese, cashews, and cilantro and serve the dressing on the side
SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR DETAILED COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST CARIBBEAN CHICKEN SALAD
- The chicken can be served hot or cold, it tastes great either way. For an easy dinner, make the chicken the day before then just toss all the ingredients together when ready to serve.
- Always serve the dressing on the side. This might mean you need to double the vinaigrette if you have dressing hogs about (ME!), but this will prevent a sad, soggy salad situation, especially if you want leftovers.
- This salad is great for a big group, but is great for a weeknight dinner too. I like to keep all of the ingredients separate and let my husband and kids assemble their salad according to their preference. For my kids, that oftentimes means 2 leaves of spinach topped with 3 scoops of mandarin oranges and a handful of cashews. Oh well, at least they believe they like salads.
- Buy goat cheese in a tube or feta in a block, don't buy pre crumbled cheese! It's dry instead of creamy and it takes a whole 10 seconds to crumble it yourself.
- Add crispy bacon or prosciutto. I didn't add this to the recipe since it was a recent discovery and one I will be repeating often.
- For an extra fancy presentation, serve the chicken and toppings in lettuce cups at a party and drizzle them with the vinaigrette. You will be an absolute hero.
HOW TO STORE, REHEAT, AND FREEZE CARIBBEAN CHICKEN
- Store: If possible, store each ingredient separately in the refrigerator and toss it together right before serving.
- Reheat: Chicken can be reheated gently in the microwave for 30 seconds or on the stovetop if you prefer it warm.
- Freeze: The chicken will freeze beautifully in a freezer-safe or food saver bag for at least 3 months. I have never tried freezing the dressing.
VARIATIONS OF CARIBBEAN CHICKEN SALAD
- Honey Lime Vinaigrette: This was hands down my husband's favorite dressing so I included it in the recipe card below.
- Spicy Caribbean Chicken Salad: Add some heat by adding a pinch of cayenne pepper to the Orange Vinaigrette – it's a delicious sweet/spicy combo.
- Caribbean Lettuce Cups: As mentioned above, the chicken and toppings can be layered in romaine or butter lettuce cups and served on a large platter.
Loaded dinner salads are one of my most favorite things to dive into at the end of the day and this Caribbean Chicken Salad is sure to satisfy just about everyone.
Get ready to party your way through the most enjoyable salad you've ever experienced. Let me know what you think!
Enjoy!
MORE INSTANT POT SALAD RECIPES
- Instant Pot Healthy Potato Salad
- Instant Pot Mexican Street Corn Salad with Creamy Jalapeno Sauce
- Classic Italian Pasta Salad
- Instant Pot Blue Cheese Cheesecake with Strawberry Spinach Salad
TOOLS USED TO MAKE INSTANT POT CARIBBEAN CHICKEN SALAD
Instant Pot Caribbean Chicken Salad with Sweet Orange Vinaigrette
Bright, festive, and satisfying, this Caribbean Chicken Salad is good enough to serve for dinner!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Salad
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 ½ pounds) cut into small, bite size pieces
- ¼ cup pineapple juice
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 1 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon curry powder
Sweet Orange Vinaigrette (double if you like a lot of dressing)
- ¼ cup orange juice concentrate, thawed (not orange juice)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
To Assemble
- fresh baby spinach or spring mix
- 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
- 1 avocado, diced
- 1 mango, diced
- 1 cup mandarin oranges
- Can of sliced water chestnuts, sliced into thin strips
- Crumbled goat or feta cheese
- Roasted, salted cashews
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Add cubed chicken to pressure cooker pot. Add remaining ingredients for chicken to the pot and stir. Arrange chicken so it’s all on the bottom of the pot, not stacked on top of each other.
- Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 1 minute.
- While chicken is cooking, prepare the dressing by adding the orange juice concentrate, olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper to a mason jar. Secure lid and shake until well combined. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.
- When pressure cooking is complete, use a natural release.
- Put It Together: In a large salad bowl (or on individual serving plates), combine spinach or spring mix, chicken, red bell pepper, avocado, mango, mandarin oranges, and water chestnuts; gently toss. Garnish with goat or feta cheese, cashews, and cilantro and serve with Sweet Orange Vinaigrette on the side.
Notes
- Serve as lettuce wraps! Toss salad ingredients together and scoop into romaine, iceberg, or butter lettuce cups. Drizzle with Dressing and serve!
- Chicken can be made ahead of time and tossed into the salad cold.
- It was tough deciding which dressing I wanted for this recipe. The Orange Vinaigrette is my favorite, but my husband LOVED this Honey Lime Vinaigrette so I will include it here as well.
Honey Lime Vinaigrette (double if you like a lot of dressing)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of allspice
- Kosher salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper
Add ingredients to a jar and shake until combined.
Keywords: Caribbean Chicken, Instant Pot chicken, Salad
Will the chicken brown in the IP and not be rubbery and pale? Thx.
Jane, No pale rubber here 🙂 It won’t brown, just juicy little nuggets of chicken.
To bbq the chicken instead, what’s the minimum you recommend for marinating time? Thanks!
Has anyone tried grilling this? I’m thinking of marinading the chicken & then grilling? Hope it works!
Jen, I have, and I Love it!
Curious how long to marinade in the spice mix if I go the bbq ing of the chicken route? Thanks Marci!
Jane, I would do at least a couple hours. It’s so good grilled!
We made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! My 2 year old and 4 year old asked for seconds!
★★★★★
Jessica, Isn’t it wonderful! It makes me so happy to eat this one, and I love that your kiddos loved it to 🙂
The recipe says to cook the chicken for 1 minute…surely it needs to cook for longer than that, right?
Shahnaz, between the pressure building and the natural pressure release, the cooking time works great for cubed chicken. This recipe is so yummy!