Instant pot chicken tacos
This crispy shredded chicken tacos recipe is super easy, quick and absolutely mouth-watering. Just check out these photos, they indeed were as DELICIOUS as they look! With just a handful of ingredients, it takes nearly no time to prep. This recipe is my instant pot chicken tacos recipe. Due to the use of the instant pot, the chicken taco filling is fall apart tender and juicy. The cooking method draws out all the minerals and collagen making for a rich and thick broth that the chicken absorbs. If you’re searching for the perfect instant pot Mexican shredded chicken that tastes like chicken birria tacos and chicken street tacos had a love child- you have found them! I know you will love these Mexican pulled chicken tacos.
Slow cooker chicken tacos or crockpot chicken tacos used to be all the rage. But now with the instant pot- we can have the same ease and simplicity with an equally perfect final product, but in a fraction of the time. They take a couple minutes to throw the ingredients in the pot and 45 minutes to cook. That’s why these instant pot shredded chicken tacos have been made A LOT in my house. I recently made them back to back in consecutive weeks, we just couldn’t get enough. They are ah-mazing paired with my homemade tortillas and roja salsa. Eaten with my homemade tortillas, I do believe they are up there in some of the best shredded chicken tacos ever.
These tacos I describe below are not only the best chicken tacos but they are healthy chicken tacos. I omit the cheese because you just don’t need it. I find cheese necessary on dishes where you are really needing the salt and fat (for example: a salad or sandwich). But on these tacos the salt and oil on the outside of the crispy tortilla and the savory, rich, salty chicken are more than enough to satisfy. I find these crispy chipotle chicken tacos better without the cheese because they are more balanced and not overwhelmed or “too rich”.
Mexican shredded chicken recipes are a dime a dozen but I have simplified this to make a quick and easy taco recipe that knocks the flavor profile out of the park. A few simple good ingredients and some tips for execution of assembly and getting the tacos shells cooked just right and you will have a winner over and over again!
I used just a handful of ingredients: good ole trusty onions and garlic, vegetable bouillon glaze(Better Than Bouillon) and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. The spicy adobo peppers bring the heat and make for the perfect chipotle chicken flavor. Read below for the quantities and notes to make these instant pot chipotle chicken tacos.
Mexican Shredded Chicken Ingredients:
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 head of garlic
- 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (from the can)
- 2 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Bouillon glaze
- 1/2 Tbsp of cumin
Chipotle chicken cooking Instructions:
- Put the whole chicken in the instant pot.
- Add two cups of water, 2 Tbsp of bouillon, 4 chipotle peppers and 1/2 Tbsp of ground cumin to a high speed blender and blend until smooth, then pour in to instant pot.
- Chop the onions and garlic and add to instant pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Let release naturally(about 20 minutes). Then pull chicken out to shred it using another bowl. Cover shredded chicken with broth from instant pot.
Assembly and Toppings:
- Soft Tortillas- I use THE BEST homemade gf tortillas (TWO-ingredients and super easy). You can use corn, flour or gf or whatever you would like.
Toppings:
- Yellow onion (raw and diced).
- Chopped cilantro, remove majority of stems.
- Salsa of your choice. I used Salsa Roja, recipe found here. Also an extremely easy and simple salsa.
- Fresh lime wedges.
Cooking:
- There are two options for getting the tortillas crispy. The first is to use a tablespoon of olive oil (or another vegetable oil) to a hot pan and salt the oil with sea salt. Place tortillas in the pan and wipe the pan with them so to cover the outside with oil to help them get crispy. Or you can dip the tortillas in the layer of fat from the excess liquid from making the chicken in the instant pot (shown below). I did both and they were both incredible.
- Fill the center (from end to end) with the chipotle shredded chicken, top with raw diced onion and cilantro. Allow them to start to get crispy and then fold them in half by using a spatula and pressing them down firmly.
- When the first side looks crispy, turn onto the other side and allow that to cook to equal crispness.
4. Serve with salsa of choice and squeeze of fresh lime. Recommendation: Salsa Roja
NOTES FOR CRISPY SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS:
-Please do check out my amazing homemade tortillas recipe. They are THE BEST and just so happen to be gluten free, dairy free, vegan and only TWO-ingredients! I made them for these crispy shredded chicken tacos and the whole meal was truly next level deliciousness.
-These tacos eat juicy – especially when adding fresh squeezed lime and when using a high water content tomato salsa – so be prepared to be sopping the birria like juices up that are pouring out.
Healthy Tacos: These tacos are gluten free, dairy free, corn free and low in fat and oils. The simplicity of the ingredients and omitting of cheese really allows these to be healthy chicken tacos. The raw onion and cilantro and fresh veggies in the roja salsa help to boost the nutrition and value of this simple yet delicious Mexican meal.
This is the type of meal that you typically get to benefit from leftovers for a couple days. We made tacos from this for three days and it was heaven. Both my husband and I could eat tacos every day. This Mexican shredded chicken filling can be used in many different ways, try making nachos, burritos, burritos bowls, enchiladas, tamales or use the chicken and leftover broth from cooking as a base for chicken tortilla soup.
If you do end up making these crispy shredded chicken tacos, please let me know how you enjoyed it in the comments below. Feel free to like or share to your Pinterest or socials if you desire, I always appreciate it! For more recipes like this, follow me on Pinterest, my profile is: Molé in the Wall.
Don’t forget to consider making this recipe with my homemade gf tortilla wraps and Roja salsa!
Crispy Shredded Chicken Tacos
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 head of garlic
- 4 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (from the can)
- 2 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon Vegetable Bouillon glaze
- 1/2 Tbsp of cumin
- Chopped cilantro
- Salsa roja
- lime wedges
- tortillas
Instructions
- Put the whole chicken in the instant pot.
- Add two cups of water, 2 Tbsp of bouillon, 4 chipotle peppers and 1/2 Tbsp of ground cumin to a high speed blender and blend until smooth, then pour in to instant pot.
- Chop the onions and garlic and add to instant pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Let release naturally(about 20 minutes). Then pull chicken out to shred it using another bowl. Cover shredded chicken with broth from instant pot.
- Soft Tortillas- I use THE BEST homemade gf tortillas (TWO-ingredients and super easy). You can use corn, flour or gf or whatever you would like.
- There are two options for getting the tortillas crispy. The first is to use a tablespoon of olive oil (or another vegetable oil) to a hot pan and salt the oil with sea salt. Place tortillas in the pan and wipe the pan with them so to cover the outside with oil to help them get crispy. OR you can dip the tortillas in the layer of fat from the excess liquid from making the chicken in the instant pot (shown below). I did both and they were both incredible.
- Fill the center (from end to end) with the chipotle shredded chicken, top with raw diced onion and cilantro. Allow them to start to get crispy and then fold them in half by using a spatula and pressing them down firmly.
- When the first side looks crispy, turn onto the other side and allow that to cook to equal crispness.
- Serve with salsa of choice and squeeze of fresh lime. Recommendation: Salsa Roja
- Top with chopped cilantro, diced white onion and a squeeze of lime.
