Making taco chicken in the Instant Pot is a super easy way to get dinner on the table or to do some advance meal prep!
This versatile pressure cooker taco chicken can be used for tacos, burrito bowls, enchiladas, quesadillas, nachos, and more!
Note: This post may contain affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.
One of my favorite hacks for saving time in the kitchen is to “cook once, eat twice.”
It’s not unusual for me to make a meal that can serve us twice. It’s just not realistic for me to make a new and different meal every single night (I’m guessing you can relate!).
Being able to do the prep work once and then enjoy the food twice is a beautiful thing.
But sometimes we grow tired of leftovers. In those cases, it’s really helpful to be able to cook something once that can be used in different ways. Versatility is our friend around here.
If that sounds familiar to you, that’s reason enough for you to love making this taco chicken in the Instant Pot. Well, that and the fact that it’s delicious! And fast! And easy! 🙂
The resulting chicken is tender and flavorful and perfect for tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, burrito bowls, nachos, or salsa chicken pockets. You could even serve it alongside some arepas con queso!
Instant Pot Shredded Chicken for Tacos
You can make a batch of this chicken for tacos one night and then save the leftovers to make one of the other options another night.
This helps to avoid getting tired of having the exact same thing. I do something similar when I make Instant Pot Greek chicken, Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ chicken, and Instant Pot ranch chicken–gotta love versatile recipes!
I used to make a version of this chicken in my slow cooker, but I wanted to find a way to make it faster, particularly for those times when I forget (or don’t have time) to start it early in the day.
So I adapted the slow cooker recipe to a pressure cooker recipe.
How to Make Salsa Chicken in the Instant Pot
This recipe only requires a handful of ingredients–chicken, salsa, water, a ranch packet, and some spices. If you don’t have all the spices or need a shortcut, just add in a packet of taco seasoning.
All ingredients are added to the insert pot of the Instant Pot and cooked for a mere 5 minutes. So simple!
And just like that, you’ve got a quick and easy taco chicken that you can spoon into warm tortillas, bake into melty enchiladas, or serve over Instant Pot Spanish rice.
You can add as many toppings as your heart desires–lettuce, cheese, fresh tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, avocado, guacamole, black beans, and more! The possibilities are endless!
No matter how you decide to use your taco chicken, it’s sure to become a regular staple on your meal plan. Having such a quick and easy fix for your dinner time woes is priceless.
Learn more about getting started making easy pressure cooker recipes here. You can also find my selection of pressure cooker recipes here!
More Easy Instant Pot Chicken Recipes:
- Creamy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta
- The Best Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
- Easy Instant Pot Arroz con Pollo
Recommended Equipment:
- Instant Pot (I have the DUO60 model, but there are many options available)
Quick and Easy Taco Chicken in the Instant Pot
Instant Pot taco chicken is so versatile--add it to tacos, burritos, enchiladas, nachos, or whatever you desire!
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup salsa
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tsp coriander*
- 2 tsp chili powder*
- 1 tsp cumin*
- 1-oz packet of dry ranch dressing/dip mix
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- *can substitute taco seasoning packet in lieu of these spices if desired
Instructions
- Cut each chicken breast in half and place it in the insert pot of the Instant Pot.
- Add salsa and water. Sprinkle remaining ingredients in top of chicken breasts. Do not mix together.
- Close the lid and set the vent to the sealed position.
- Using the Manual/Pressure Cook setting, select a 5 minute cook time at high pressure.
- Once the cook time is complete, perform a quick release or allow a natural release of pressure.
- After pressure has released and the valve has dropped, carefully remove the lid.
- Remove chicken and shred or chop as desired, then return chicken to the liquid in the pot.
- Serve as desired.
Notes
If using whole boneless frozen chicken breasts, I recommend increasing the cook time to 15 minutes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 222Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 510mgCarbohydrates: 5gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 36g
Nutrition information is not automatically calculated and is not guaranteed for accuracy.
When you say a “packet” of ranch, how much is that?
Hi Melinda–the dry ranch seasoning mix comes in 1-ounce packages. I’ll update the recipe to clarify! 🙂