Making Instant Pot chicken tacos is a great way to get dinner on the table quickly and ensure that it’s going to taste delicious. Using fresh or frozen chicken tenders, these shredded chicken tacos are a simple recipe that packs a lot of flavor in every bite.
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We love tacos around here and all things Instant Pot. They’re such a great appliance for helping to get dinner on the table quickly and easily. Perfect for those long hectic days. Another great bonus for these pressure cookers is that they don’t heat up the house nearly as much as a stove, so summer cooking is much more convenient.
Make these IP chicken tacos for any dinner night and you’re sure to have a hit on your hands. Made with just a few simple ingredients and minutes of your time this dish is truly simple. It’s as easy as adding stuff to the pot and waiting for the finishing beep. Don’t you just love those kinds of recipes?
This one pot chicken tacos meal is going to be a repeat meal in your home like it is in mine. Feel free to switch it up a bit and customize it to your own family’s tastes. Adding in more heat, spices, of different salsa flavors will change up the chicken taco seasoning recipe but the results will almost always be delicious.
I hope you enjoy this wonderful stress-free chicken tacos recipe as much as we have. Make sure to let me know any changes you made and if they were delicious because I’m always interested in hearing how somebody makes a recipe their own and what has worked well.
Chicken tacos ingredients
- Broth: You can use chicken broth or vegetable broth depending on what you have on hand. Soup stocks will also work great here but even water and bullion could work in a pinch.
- Spices: Using cumin and coriander we get that traditional “taco meat” flavoring we expect and adding in a little salt will help to enhance the flavors well.
- Salsa: Use some of your favorite salsa verde to give us more flavor and moisture in the meat. You can use your favorite brand and level of heat here to really customize this dish's flavor profile.
- Chicken: To give us great-tasting chicken use fresh or frozen chicken tenders. These are the smaller cuts of chicken meat so they’ll cook quickly and evenly in less time, making dinner ready faster.
How to make Instant Pot chicken tacos
- Combine the broth, spices, salsa, and salt in your Instant Pot liner.
- Add in the chicken tenders and make sure to submerge them in the water.
- Close the lid and seal it shut. Set it to cook at Manual High Pressure for 6 minutes.
- Let the Instant Pot naturally release the pressure for 6 minutes after it has finished. This will help to prevent a lot of hot liquid from splashing through the vents and will ensure that the chicken has a longer time to cook.
- After those minutes have passed, vent the remaining pressure in the pot.
- Remove the lid and then shred the chicken. Stir the chicken around to coat well in the juices in the pot.
- Fill your taco shells as desired and enjoy!
FAQs and Tips
You can shred chicken any number of ways but one of the fastest ways is with an electric mixer and two beater attachments. This will shred the meat almost instantly and really helps to cut down on time but I do not recommend doing it inside of your Instant Pot liner as it can scratch it up.
Another great way is a pretty standard and traditional way of simply using two dining forks. Poke the meat with both forks and pull away, dragging the forks over the meat of the chicken. It should shred easily as you go.
You can serve just about anything and still have an enjoyable meal. Some of our favorites include fried taco shells, cilantro-lime rice, refried beans, or cowboy caviar. You’re sure to have a hit if you serve up anything with a southwestern or Mexican flavor profile.
You can add any of your favorite taco toppings to the shell including (but not limited to) shredded lettuce, cheese, diced tomatoes or onion, sour cream, or even more salsa. All of these should work to help give you the best flavors from every bite.
If you find yourself with some chicken taco meat on hand after the meal is over, keep it stored in an airtight container in the fridge for no more than 3-5 days. This should give you plenty of time to use it up but if not, you can always freeze the cooked meat for up to 3 or 4 months. Then just thaw and reheat before eating.
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Instant Pot Chicken Taco Filling
Ingredients
- 1 cup broth (chicken or veggie)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup salsa verde
- 6 chicken tenders (frozen or fresh)
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients except the chicken tenders in the instant pot liner.
- Add the chicekn tenders, submerging them into the liquid.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 6 minutes.
- Let the Instant Pot naturally release pressure for 6 minutes.
- Vent the remaining pressure.
- Remove the lid and shred the chicken.
- Fill taco shells as desired!
Alli
We love this taco filling.