INSTANT POT CHICKEN TACOS

TasteofthekitchenJanuary 9, 20240231 views

Say hello to one of the EASIEST Instant Pot meals: Instant Pot Chicken Tacos! Made with juicy shredded chicken and your favorite taco toppings, these tacos are a dinnertime win. This recipe can be made with fresh or frozen chicken.

Love tacos? You might also enjoy this Instant Pot Taco Meat, Crockpot Chicken Tacos and this easy Taco Recipe.

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WHY YOU’LL LOVE THESE INSTANT POT CHICKEN TACOS

These Instant Pot chicken tacos are one of the Instant Pot recipes that I make most often. In fact, I’ve made them twice for dinner in the past week! There’s so much to love about this recipe.

5 Ingredients, 10 Minute Prep Time. Making this recipe is as simple as putting a few ingredients in the Instant Pot, letting it pressure cook, and then coming back later to shred the chicken. Dinner doesn’t get any easier than that!
Hands-Off Recipe. While the chicken cooks in the Instant Pot, you’ll be free to make the other parts of your meal. I like to serve Mexican Rice and Fajita Veggies with these Instant Pot chicken tacos.
Family Favorite. Tacos are a kid-friendly meal, and everyone can add their favorite toppings.
Versatile! Serve the shredded chicken wrapped in corn or flour tortillas, or add it to a Burrito Bowl or Taco Salad.
Perfect for Meal Prep. Like this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe, you can cook the chicken up to 3-4 days ahead of time and then store it in the refrigerator to use in quick and easy meals.
Cook from Fresh or Frozen. We’ve all been there: you forgot to thaw the chicken and dinnertime is quickly approaching. No problem! You can safely cook chicken from frozen in the Instant Pot, and this recipe is one of my favorite ways to do so.

INGREDIENTS

Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts: They cook up nice and tender in the Instant Pot, perfect for shredding. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs also work well in this recipe.
Seasonings: Chili powder, ground cumin and garlic powder add flavor. If desired, you can substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons of Taco Seasoning in place of the individual spices.
Salsa: Jarred salsa works perfect here. The salsa flavors the chicken and it’s also the liquid that allows the Instant Pot to pressurize.

HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT CHICKEN TACOS

Here’s a quick overview of the recipe steps. Find the full printable recipe with ingredient amounts below.

Add everything to the Instant Pot. Put the chicken breasts in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Then sprinkle the chili powder, cumin and garlic powder over the chicken. Finally pour the salsa over the top.

Pressure cook on high pressure for 16 minutes.

Let the Instant Pot naturally release for 10 minutes. During the natural pressure release, the chicken will rest and the juices will redistribute throughout the meat. This ensures tender, juicy chicken.

Quick release any remaining pressure.

Shred the chicken. Then stir some of the salsa mixture from the bottom of the Instant Pot into the shredded chicken. See this post with three easy ways for how to shred chicken.

Serve the chicken in warm tortillas or crunchy taco shells with your favorite toppings.

TO USE FROZEN CHICKEN

You can use frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs in this recipe without changing the cook time. The only exception is that if your chicken breasts are very large AND frozen, I recommend increasing the cook time to 18 minutes. The chicken needs to be frozen as individual breasts or thighs, not one large frozen mass of chicken.