Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos {Crowd-Pleasing!} – WellPlated.com (2024)

Have you ever been casually traipsing through your day, only to be sideswiped by the shocking reveal that you’ve been doing something painfully basic wrong your entire life? That was how I felt the first time I made these easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos. This recipe yields the BEST EVER shredded Mexican chicken. Once you try shredded chicken tacos, pressure cooker style, there is no going back.

Other days tantamount to epic Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Taco day:

• The day I realized the correct phrase is “for all intents and purposes,” not “for all intensive purposes.” (It’s true…and I didn’t find out until I was in my 20s!)
• The day I peeled a banana from the bottom instead of the top (TRY IT).
• The day I discovered baked bacon.

Shredded chicken tacos have been a trusty, easy recipe standby in my emergency dinner rotation (just like this Chicken Quesadilla) since I first learned to combine salsa and chicken in a slow cooker and turned it on.

If you are looking for a version of this recipe made on the stove top, check out my original Shredded Chicken Tacos, or Mexican Shredded Chicken.

Come to think of it,salsa chicken has been a trusty, easy recipe standby in my non-emergency dinner rotation too.

Sometimes I’d make it in the slow cooker, and sometimes I’d start with this basic tutorial for How to Make Shredded Chicken and then add salsa. (This Baked Chicken Breast is a new favorite in our house too.)

I thought we’d carry on happily for years, this basic salsa chicken and I, until a few weeks ago when I found myself wanting…more.

• More flavor.
• A better, juicier texture.
• A faster cook time.

I’d gussied the shredded chicken up, but I hadn’t solved the essential problem: how to make truly excellent shredded Mexican chicken that I could use for tacos, burritos, enchiladas, or in any which way I pleased.

Oh, and the prep for this mystery shredded chicken of my dreams still needed to be minimal and the cook time fast too.

How to Make Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos

Cue the Instant Pot.

In addition to slashing the shredded chicken’s cook time, the Instant Pot’s sauté function made it a one-step snap to brown the chicken before cooking it, which had a profound, positive impact on its final flavor, as did sautéing the onions and spices.

(Another Instant Pot winner with a similar flavor profile: Instant Pot Mexican Casserole!)

Ingredients

• Chicken. I opted to use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this recipe. However, if you’re a fan of dark meat, feel free to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead.

• Chipotle Chilis. My other mega-flavor tip for next-level shredded chicken tacos. The chipotle chilis give the chicken a deep, smoky flavor that makes it taste as if you’ve been cooking it for hours low and slow, instead of 8 minutes in the pressure cooker.

• Avocados. Add a creamy, cool factor that balances the shredded chicken’s spice.

• Diced Tomatoes. Don’t drain these. The tomatoes and their juices functions as the primary cooking liquid for the chicken in the Instant Pot.
• Onions and Garlic. Provides a great base of flavor when sautéed in the Instant Pot.
• Chili Powder. Add an additional layer of heat, spice and flavor to the chicken
• Lime. Add a little zip and acidity to balance the flavors.

Directions

1. Season the chicken and then sear on both sides in the Instant Pot, using the sauté function. Remove to a plate and set aside.
2. Next, sauté the onion and garlic and season with chili powder salt.
3. Stir in the chipotle peppers, tomatoes, and reserved chicken in a single layer and pour the lime juice over the top.
4. Lock the lid and cook on manual pressure for 8 minutes.
5. Manually release the pressure, remove the chicken and switch the Instant Pot back to sauté. Simmer and reduce the cooking liquid by about half. Meanwhile, shred the chickenwith two forks.
6. Return the shredded chicken into the Instant Pot and coat in the sauce.
7. Serve as desired with your choice of toppings. ENJOY!

I would be hard-pressed to imagine an occasion where easy Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos wouldn’t be welcome.

• They’re impressive enough to serve your in-laws for a family dinner.
• A guaranteed crowd-pleaser that would be a hit at any game day party (So would these Flank Steak Tacos).

For maximum hosting ease, you can keep the shredded chicken taco filling warm in the Instant Pot (or transfer it to a slow cooker and keep it warm there), set out the toppings and shells, and let guests build their own tacos. (Or try this Crockpot Mexican Chicken, which can keep warm in the slow cooker.)

• Instant Pot
• Food processor (if making the avocado sauce)