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by Ed
This easy Instant Pot Chicken Tacos from frozen chicken recipe is going to be the key to me getting more meat on taco night. What do I mean by this?
Well, currently we typically have the kids make Baked Chicken Fajitas and they often slice the chicken into big pieces. When it’s cooked, they then win the race to get those big pieces first.
I love that our kids A) cook, and B) love to eat what they’ve cooked, but the selfish part of me wants more chicken in my fajita/taco/burrito! But how?
We love Tex-Mex (the aforementioned Baked Chicken Fajitas, Easy Guacamole, Homemade Salsa and this Mexican Lasagna with Tortillas are all in our regular rotation). So, we’re taking inspiration from Chipotle and their diced and shredded meats as a jumping-off point for this recipe’s more equitable taco filling distribution.
The second part is our love for cook-from-frozen Instant Pot recipes (like these collections of Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Recipes & Instant Pot Dump Recipes). Such a time saver! Plus from frozen recipes like ours mean much less planning ahead. We try our best to plan – but some days just throw you for a loop.
Put them together and you get happy parents with a quick meal that needs minimal prep and zero forethought on thawing meat.
So here’s how I’ll get more chicken in my taco with this dish: the slicing of the chicken in this recipe comes AFTER it is cooked.
Have you ever sliced any meats cooked in an Instant Pot? They are so tender and ready to burst that they come apart easily and in MANY pieces. You could easily shred this chicken too with a couple of folks if you wanted.
No more big pieces of chicken for the kids to vulture = more for the rest of the (slower) parents to enjoy. And look at the meat that it yields – it could totally be a Chipotle copycat.
The Instant Pot is also very flexible too. We are looking forward to further experimenting with frozen pork or chicken thighs instead of breasts in these Instant Pot street tacos.
Or maybe adding in peppers, jalapenos or red onions, while they cook? Right now we just chop all these and everyone garnishes their tacos at the table. Which is a super family-friendly way to serve meals – especially with picky eaters.
And if we’re really lucky, we will have leftovers to make quesadillas with the next day (but I doubt it – they’re too tasty).
The sky is the limit. So hit your kitchen and get cooking. You probably have almost everything needed to make these Instant Pot Chicken Tacos from frozen on hand.
Easy Instant Pot Chicken Tacos from frozen chicken
Ingredients:
- 4-6 frozen chicken breast portions
- 1 C chicken stock or water
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp Cumin
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 small white onions
- Mini Corn Tortillas
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Lime, optional
How to Make Instant Pot Chicken Tacos with lime and cilantro
(I like to pour the liquid over the meat when using frozen meat in a pressure cooker so that the thin layer of ice on the outside melts and the spices will stick better.)
Mix spices to combine, and sprinkle over chicken.
Peel and halve one onion, and peel garlic. Add to Instant Pot.
Meanwhile, dice the additional onion and finely chop cilantro.
Remove chicken from pan, leaving onion and garlic.
Dice or shred chicken.
(You can cook the tortillas on a dry pan, or add a little bit of spray oil to get the golden fried look. Dry toasting will bring out more of a corn flavour, but I like the flavour and texture better when using a tiny bit of oil.)
Serve with grated cheese, salsa (our homemade salsa is delish!) and our easiest Guacamole ever!
Easy Mexican Instant Pot Chicken Tacos from frozen
Ingredients
- 4-6 frozen chicken breast portions
- 1 cup chicken stock or water
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 Tbsp Cumin
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 small white onions
- Mini Corn Tortillas
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Lime, optional
Instructions
- Place frozen chicken in Instant Pot and pour chicken stock over top. (See Note 1.)
- Mix spices to combine, and sprinkle over chicken.
- Peel and halve one onion, and peel garlic. Add to Instant Pot.
- Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, dice the additional onion and finely chop cilantro.
- Remove chicken from pan, leaving onion and garlic. Dice or shred chicken.
- Toast tortillas on a griddle until heated and flexible. (see Note 2)
- Top with chicken, diced onion, and chopped cilantro. Squeeze a bit of lime juice on each taco if desired.
Notes
Note 1: I like to pour the liquid over the meat when using frozen meat in a pressure cooker so that the thin layer of ice on the outside melts and the spices will stick to the meat.
Note 2: You can cook the tortillas on a dry pan, or add a little bit of spray oil to get the golden fried look. Dry toasting will dring out more of a corn flavour, but I like the flavour and texture better when using a tiny bit of oil.
You can’t beat Instant Pot Dump Recipes for speedy meals – and especially Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Recipes – we’ve got this delicious collection and have shared lots of our own:
- Instant Pot Lemon Chicken with Garlic from FROZEN chicken
- Instant Pot Chicken Fried Rice
- Quick Tender Ribs in the Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Korean Beef
- Instant Pot BBQ Whole Chicken
- Beer Brisket Instant Pot
- Instant Pot Frozen Chicken Recipes
Robin and Ed are a DIY-loving couple with over 25 years of design and build experience. Also, Robin is a Nutritionist and former Registered Dietitian and Ed is an award-winning Business Educator. We share strategies for living a rich life on a DIY budget: creative money-savvy ideas for a stylish home, healthy meals and family fun. Our work has been published in the pages of Do It Yourself, Farmhouse Style and Better Homes & Gardens magazines.