Instant Pot Chicken Tacos: A Great Family Recipe
Super flavorful and incredibly easy to put together, these Instant Pot Chicken Tacos are the perfect quick weeknight dinner option.
You’ll be able to whip them up using just a few pantry staples, and they’re sure to be a huge hit with everyone in your household.
I have to admit, these have made taco night come up more frequently in my household, and I’m not complaining.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Family Favorite: These chicken tacos are sure to be a hit with everyone at the table.
- Quick and Simple: The Instant Pot makes this meal easy and hassle-free to prepare.
- Customizable: Top with your favorite garnishes for a personalized taco experience.
Ingredients for the Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
To make the Instant pot chicken tacos, here’s what you’ll need.
- Chicken Breasts: The star of the show, chicken adds a hearty and satisfying protein element to your tacos.
- Taco Spice Mix: Gives your chicken that classic taco flavor, adding a kick of heat and a depth of flavor.
- Salt: Enhances the natural flavors of the chicken.
- Water: Helps to cook the chicken and dissolve the taco spice mix, ensuring every piece is well-seasoned.
For serving
- Tortillas: The vessel for your taco fillings, they add a soft or crunchy texture depending on your preference.
- Salsa: Adds a tangy and spicy note, complementing the seasoned chicken perfectly.
- Avocado: Brings a creamy and rich texture to your tacos, and adds a dose of healthy fats.
- Cilantro: Provides a fresh and herby flavor, brightening up the overall taste of the tacos.
- Lime Wedges: Adds a zesty freshness that cuts through the richness of the other ingredients.
- Jalapeños: Optional for those who like a bit more heat, they add a spicy kick to your tacos.
- Sour Cream: Another optional ingredient, it adds a cool and creamy element, balancing out the heat from the taco spice mix and jalapeños.
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
Once you have your ingredients ready, here’s the process you’ll need to follow to put these chicken tacos together.
Step 1: Season the Chicken Breasts
In a bowl, sprinkle taco seasoning over the skinless chicken breast cubes. If you love the heat, you can also add some chili powder into the mix.
Step 2: Get It Ready for the Pressure Cooking
Add the seasoned chicken, a cup of water, and salt to the instant pot and stir to mix. You can also use chicken broth instead of water to make it extra flavorful.
Step 3: Pressure Cook the Skinless Chicken Breasts
Select the PRESSURE COOK button on HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes. (Make sure the valve is in the SEALING position).
Step 4: Cook Chicken Until Well Done
Once done, let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release pressure by manually moving the valve from SEALING to VENTING position.
Step 5: Shred Chicken
Open the lid carefully and select the CANCEL button. Remove the chicken pieces to a bowl and shred them using two forks.
Step 6: Serving and Assembling the Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
Heat the tortillas in a hot pan. Build your tacos by adding shredded chicken, mashed avocado, salsa, and cilantro on top of each of the warm tortillas.
Step 7: Add-Ons and Toppings
Optionally can also add some sour cream and a few jalapenos for extra flavors. Squeeze some lime juice on top. Serve hot and enjoy.
What Toppings Go Well With the Instant Pot Chicken Tacos?
The best part about these Instant Pot Chicken Tacos is the fact that they are super customizable. You can add in the toppings of your choice, based on what you have at hand.
Condiments
Sour cream is an excellent classic topping for these delicious tacos. If you don’t have it at hand or are looking for a healthier alternative, some plain Greek yogurt should do the trick.
And of course, don’t forget the shredded cheese!
Salsa
Any kind of salsa or pico de gallo can be a great topping to your for your chicken tacos. If you don’t have the time to whip up fresh salsa, you can use jarred salsa too.
Another great idea is to use salsa chicken instead of skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.
Veggies
One of my favorite toppings for these shredded chicken tacos are freshly chopped veggies. I like to stick to the classics- diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce and sliced onions.
I also sometimes like to add some avocado slices to bump up the nutritional value of the tacos.
How to Store and Reheat the Instant Pot Chicken Tacos?
- You can store the leftover shredded chicken in an airtight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator or for around 3 months in the freezer.
- You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of breasts.
- I’ve used packaged / store-bought salsa and taco mix for this recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are the Instant Pot Chicken Tacos Healthy?
In my opinion, these tacos are actually healthy. They give you a good chunk of protein from the chicken breast, the carbs from the tortillas and the fiber and micronutrients from the veggies and toppings.
Plus, you always have the option to take a few extra steps to make the tacos healthier.
You can use a leaner cut of chicken as opposed to the chicken breasts. Chicken thighs are great, because they cut down the cook time and also pack in more flavor.
For added nutrition, you can drizzle a bit of olive oil (aka healthy fat) into the mix, along with the seasoned chicken.
You can also get some extra protein by adding black beans along with the shredded chicken.
Another great way to make these Instant Pot chicken tacos healthier is to choose low sodium or low fat varieties for the cheese you’re using, and add more of fresh, crunchy veggies.
Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos Cooking Times
Here’s a breakdown of the cooking time for these pressure cooker chicken tacos.
Prep Time-10 minutes
Cook Time-20 minutes
Total time- 30 minutes
Yeild-10-12 tacos
Remember that if you are starting off with frozen chicken breasts, the cooking time might be slightly longer.
Can You Prep the Recipe in Advance?
You sure can! You can season the chicken breasts, cook them in your electric pressure cooker and then refrigerate it for 2-3 days, until you are ready to assemble the tacos.
This can be particularly helpful if you love tacos and like to meal prep and save on cooking time.
Can You Use Leftover Chicken for the Recipe?
Yes! This is actually a great way to use up any leftover chicken breasts that you might have, or even some rotisserie chicken.
It is always great to start off with fresh chicken though, because the flavors and textures you’ll get will be unmatched.
Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
Super flavorful and incredibly easy to put together, these Instant Pot Chicken Tacos are the perfect quick weeknight dinner option.
You'll be able to whip them up using just a few pantry staples, and they're sure to be a huge hit with everyone in your household.
I have to admit, these have made taco night come up more frequently in my household, and I'm not complaining.
Ingredients
- 2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 3 tablespoons taco spice mix
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup water
- Servings (Optional Extras)
- Salsa Dip
- Avocado cut or mashed
- Cilantro
- Lime wedges
- Jalapeños (optional)
- Sour cream (optional)
Instructions
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
Once you have your ingredients ready, here's the process you'll need to follow to put these chicken tacos together.
Step 1: Season the Chicken Breasts
In a bowl, sprinkle taco seasoning over the skinless chicken breast cubes. If you love the heat, you can also add some chili powder into the mix.
Step 2: Get it Ready For the Pressure Cooking
Add the seasoned chicken, a cup of water, and salt to the instant pot and stir to mix. You can also use chicken broth instead of water to make it extra flavorful.
Step 3: Pressure Cook the Skinless Chicken Breasts
Select the PRESSURE COOK button on HIGH PRESSURE for 10 minutes. (Make sure the valve is in the SEALING position).
Step 4: Cook Chicken Until Well Done
Once done, let the pressure naturally release for 5 minutes, then quick release pressure by manually moving the valve from SEALING to VENTING position.
Step 5: Shred Chicken
Open the lid carefully and select the CANCEL button. Remove the chicken pieces to a bowl and shred them using two forks.
Step 6: Serving and Assembling the Instant Pot Chicken Tacos
Heat the tortillas in a hot pan. Build your tacos by adding shredded chicken, mashed avocado, salsa, and cilantro on top of each of the warm tortillas.
Step 7: Add-Ons and Toppings
Optionally, add some sour cream and a few jalapenos for extra flavors. Squeeze some lime juice on top. Serve hot and enjoy.
Notes
SERVING:
Heat the tortillas in a hot pan.
Build your tacos by adding shredded chicken, mashed avocado, salsa, and cilantro on top of each tortilla. Optionally, add some sour cream and a few jalapenos for extra flavors. Squeeze some lime juice on top.
Serve hot, and enjoy.
You can store the leftover shredded chicken in an air-tight container for 3-4 days in the refrigerator or for around three months in the freezer.
You can use boneless, skinless chicken thighs in place of breasts.
I’ve used packaged / store-bought salsa and taco mix for this recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 95Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 210mgCarbohydrates: 4gFiber: 2gSugar: 1gProtein: 8g
More Instant Pot Recipes
If you loved how this recipe turned out, and are inspired enough to try your hands at some more such delicious recipes, here are a few good ones you might want to look at.
- Instant Pot Teriyaki Chicken Recipe
- Instant Pot Orange Cake
- Instant Pot Mexican Beef Stew
- Instant Pot Crack Chicken
- Instant Pot Egg Roll In A Bowl
- Best Instant Pot Butter Chicken Recipe
- The Best Vegan Tacos With Pineapple And Mango
These easy, quick and luscious chicken tacos with salsa are lightly spicy, juicy, and full of flavors. This recipe is perfect for a delicious and hassle-free taco night with the family. And with INSTANT POT you can make it in less than 30 minutes. Healthy and delicious tacos effortlessly!!!
