Juicy and flavorful Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos are a quick and delicious weeknight dinner. Perfect for freezer meals and make-ahead dinners, these Instant Pot Chicken Tacos are also Whole30 compliant, paleo-friendly, keto, and gluten-free.
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Chicken tacos are something that most families can agree upon for dinner. They work so well because they’re versatile and adaptable to the preferences of everyone around the kitchen table.
Add some of the shredded taco meat to Baked Tortilla Bowls or tortillas for those want handheld tacos. Much like Sheet Pan Pork Fajitas, you could also use a large piece of leaf lettuce to make grain-free, Whole30 compliant and paleo-friendly tacos.
Or, like in the above photo, add some of the meat to a huge bowl of greens and veggies and make a killer chicken taco salad. The world is your oyster! Errr, I mean it is your chicken taco.
What Ingredients Are in Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos?
- Chicken (spoiler alert)
- Chicken broth or water (related: How to Make Chicken Bone Broth)
- Taco Seasoning (related: Gluten-Free Taco Seasoning)
If you have leftover chicken when all is said and done, try it on top of these Greek Fries or use it for Whole30 Chicken Salad.
Sarah, Why Don’t You Use Salsa in This Recipe?
Many people love throwing a jar of salsa into the Instant Pot or slow cooker with some chicken and calling it a day.
I don’t, and there are two reasons why. One: when you cook chicken, there are always odd little bits that come off during the cooking process (see photos below under “here’s how you make it”). Sometimes it is almost like a foam(?). I don’t want that in my finished product. Adding salsa means the sauce you’re serving with the chicken has those odd bits in it. No thanks.
Two: if you add seasoning to the chicken while it cooks, you’re stuck eating it in that form. Whereas when you cook up a ton of unseasoned chicken breasts, you have more options for meal prep. Double the recipe and all of a sudden you can have pressure cooker chicken tacos or Instant Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup.
You could also make Chicken Salad With Greek Yogurt (delicious, but not Whole30 compliant), or Asian Chicken Taco Boats. You could also throw a bunch of cooked shredded chicken into soup like the Ultimate Chicken Gnocchi Soup.
Should I Use Chicken Breast in Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos? Chicken Thighs?
Use either. Or both! I like to use a mix of chicken breasts that we get in our Butcher Box order and organic chicken thighs that I buy from Costco. Use the rest of the chicken thighs to make Whole30 and Paleo-friendly Roasted Greek Chicken Thighs.
Chicken breasts are easy and tend to be pretty straightforward (no gnarly fatty bits). But over time they can dry out. Chicken thighs are fattier and thus make super flavorful Whole30 tacos. But the act of shredding them takes more “hunting” to remove fatty parts.
Can I Double The Recipe?
Yes! Just watch the max fill line of your Instant Pot and use at least 2 cups of liquid total to make sure there are no burn alerts.
Can I Use Frozen Chicken in the Instant Pot?
You can! The cook time increases by 5 minutes. If you’re using frozen chicken in this recipe, make sure they are frozen individually and you’re not just putting a big stuck together brick of chicken in the Instant Pot.
Brick of Chicken is my new band name. Dibs.
Can I Use a Slow Cooker Instead?
You can! Check the recipe card below for cooking times. If you’re interested in more slow cooker taco recipes, check out my Slow Cooker Stree Tacos recipe.
Can I Freeze the Cooked Meat?
I’d be mad if you didn’t! Meal prep and freezer cooking is my jam (related: cook 30 days worth of food in one day with Once a Month Meals) so it would be a huge missed opportunity to not stick a ready-made meal into the freezer.
Store cooked shredded chicken taco meat into freezer Ziploc quart-sized bags for quick grab and go meals.
Pressure cooker chicken taco meat will keep in the fridge for three days. Mix some with homemade Whole30 BBQ Sauce and whip up a batch of BBQ Chicken Mac and Cheese.
Here’s How to Make It
*Detailed and printable recipe card is available at the bottom of this post.
Place chicken in the Instant Pot insert and add 3 cups of chicken broth or water.
Lock the lid into place and set the steam release handle (valve on top) to “Sealing”. Press Poultry>High Pressure>12 minutes. <—–If you have any questions about those terms, check out this post on recipes for Instant Pot beginners.
See? Foamy bits. You don’t want that in your salsa!
Allow for a 10-minute natural release and then perform a quick release. Remove the chicken and transfer to a bowl and shred with two forks. Add 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid from the Instant Pot to the bowl along with 1.5 tbsp of taco seasoning.
Plain shredded chicken – a bowl full of possibilities!
Serve with your favorite taco fixings, or see freezing tips above to store for future meals.
Pro tip: If desired, transfer meat to a foil-lined baking sheet and put under the broiler for 2-3 minutes. It will give you amazing crunchy bits while still keeping the meat tender.
Pro Tips/Recipe Notes
- To avoid over or undercooked chicken, it is best to use uniform sizes of chicken in the Instant Pot. My pieces of chicken were about 6 oz each.
- Many people love to shred their chicken with a paddle attachment in a stand mixer. I’m not a fan of this because I find it makes the texture of the chicken too mushy.
What to Serve With Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos
If you eat rice, some rice with broth and Whole30 Taco Seasoning would be lovely! If rice isn’t your jam, use cauli rice instead for a delicious base for these shredded chicken tacos.
I love to top my own taco salad with Cilantro Chimichurri and I will often add some Encurtido for a bright, colorful, and spicy addition.
More Whole30 Instant Pot Recipes Like This
- Whole30 Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Paleo Beef and Broccoli
- 21 Easy Whole30 Dinners
- Whole30 Pot Roast
- Paleo Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Instant Pot Sous Vide Egg Bites Recipe {Whole30, Dairy-Free, Paleo}
- Instant Pot Orange Chicken
- 11 Best Whole30 Chicken Recipes
Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos Weight Watcher Points
One serving of Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos has 2 WW Freestyle SmartPoints.
Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos {Instant Pot Tacos}
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breasts or mix of chicken thighs
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 1.5 tbsp taco seasoning
Instructions
- Place chicken in the Instant Pot insert and add 3 cups of chicken broth or water.
- Lock the lid into place and set the steam release handle (valve on top) to “Sealing”. Press Poultry>High Pressure>12 minutes.
- Allow for a 10-minute natural release and then perform a quick release. Remove the chicken and transfer to a bowl and shred with two forks.
- Add 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid from the Instant Pot to the bowl along with 1.5 tbsp of taco seasoning.
- If desired, transfer meat to a foil-lined baking sheet and put under the broiler for 2-3 minutes.
Notes
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Hello, just curious on the best way to defrost and use the left over frozen shredded chicken? Do you usually just thaw it out in the fridge and use the next day? I was worried it would get a weird texture or mushy. 🙂
I usually defrost it overnight in the fridge. To use, we make more tacos, BBQ chicken sandwiches, or add it to soup (after it has finished cooking).
It’s never been mushy for us!
Thanks, I always refer back to this for timing on fresh and frozen chicken. Easy weeknight taco dinner!
You’re welcome and I love you!