Name: 4-Ingredient Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 12 min
Total time: 17 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts; 1 (1-ounce) packet taco seasoning; 1 cup chicken or vegetable broth; 1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained; corn or flour tortillas; salsa; avocado; cilantro; slice jalapeño; limes

What You’ll Need

Instant Pot – I was definitely very late to the Instant Pot game. I only just purchased my Instant Pot about 6 months ago, but man do I already LOVE it. I have an 8 quart Instant Pot, and it’s truly the perfect size for either big batch meals or a quick dinner for two. Two pounds of chicken takes only 12 minutes to fully cook in an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. I set my pot to the “Meat” setting to cook, but depending on your pot, your same setting may be labeled as “Poultry” instead. Once the 12 minutes is up, press the steam release button on the lid of your Instant Pot to manually release the pressure before removing the lid. Then, remove the chicken from the pot, shred it, before placing it back into the pot to absorb that delicious sauce!

Chicken Breasts – Boneless, skinless chicken breasts are ideal for this shredded chicken recipe. They’re perfectly lean, and a blank canvas for the seasonings in this dish.

Taco Seasoning – One packet of taco seasoning contains all the flavor we need for this recipe! I love the Siete Mild Taco Seasoning, but really any brand will work. I especially enjoy using pre-packaged taco seasoning since it has all the spices we’d want in this taco recipe. This single ingredient makes our entire meal so much quicker and easier to make!

Top Tips

Reserve any leftover sauce in the Instant Pot and spoon it over your tacos! All of the flavor in this dish comes from the sauce our chicken is cooked in. Therefore, use every last bit of it – trust me, it’s delicious!

Serve this taco-seasoned Instant Pot shredded chicken over rice or a salad instead. I love turning this flavorful Mexican-inspired chicken into a taco salad or burrito bowl for a new, and exciting meal. This is also a great way to use up any leftover chicken!

instant pot shredded chicken on a plate with limes and cilantro on the side

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Gluten-Free: Ensure the taco seasoning you’re using is gluten-free, since some contain all purpose flour! Also, serve these Instant Pot shredded chicken tacos over corn tortillas, or Siete Grain-Free Tortillas for a completely gluten-free meal.

Make it Vegan: For Instant Pot vegan tacos, replace the chicken with one cup of dried lentils! Cook your lentils with the taco seasoning, vegetable broth, and fire roasted tomatoes at high pressure for 15 minutes. The lentils will soak up so much delicious flavor!

Make it Paleo/Whole30: Use a paleo-compliant taco seasoning such as Siete Taco Seasoning, then serve your shredded chicken over lettuce wraps to turn this into a super healthy, low-carb lunch or dinner.

4-Ingredient Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos

0 from 0 votes

Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

In need of a quick and easy dinner recipe, ready in under 30 minutes? Look no further than these Instant Pot Shredded Chicken Tacos! They’re loaded with delicious flavor, and ready to be topped with whatever your heart desires. Salsa, shredded lettuce, cheese, avocado, guacamole – the possibilities are endless!

Ingredients

For the Instant Pot shredded chicken:
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 (1-ounce) packet taco seasoning
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
For the tacos:
corn or flour tortillas
salsa
avocado
cilantro
slice jalapeño
limes

Directions

Place chicken breasts in Instant Pot, then pour in broth. Sprinkle with the taco seasoning, then add in diced tomatoes.
Set to Poultry/Meat for 12 minutes, then manually release steam before removing lid.
Remove chicken breasts from Instant Pot and shred with two forks. Place shredded chicken back into Instant Pot and stir to mix in with the sauce.
Fill tortillas with shredded chicken and any toppings you’d like.

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Like this recipe?

This kung pao tofu will quickly become one of your favorite dinner recipes! One pan and 15 minutes is all you need for this intensely flavorful meal. This kung pao tofu is also entirely vegan, plant-based, and gluten-free!

kung pao tofu on a plate over rice, with sesame seeds on top

What You’ll Need

Extra Firm Tofu – Extra firm tofu is the key to getting it super crispy! It will hold its shapes once cut and cooked, forming these little golden brown nuggets of perfection. Tofu is also the perfect blank canvas to really any recipe! It has very little flavor on its own, but absorbs all the flavors it’s paired with. The tofu in this recipe soaks up all of our delicious kung pao sauce, making it just incredible!

Red and Green Bell Peppers – Two bell peppers give this dish incredible color and brightness! Start by removing the core and any seeds from each pepper. Then, chop them into similarly-sized pieces. Stir fry the bell peppers for only a couple of minutes in the fourth step of this recipe. The goal is to get them tender, while still maintaining their bite.

Unsalted Cashews or Peanuts – You’ll find either cashews or peanuts in most kung pao recipes. They, too, give this overall dish the perfect crunchy texture that pairs beautifully with our smooth and tangy sauce. However, if you don’t like nuts, you can simply leave them out of your kung pao tofu.

Top Tips

Oil your pan well before frying up the tofu. If not enough oil is used, your tofu might stick to the pan – losing that delicious outer, crisp coating!
For an even saucier vegetable stir fry, double the sauce recipe! This kung pao tofu sauce is seriously so good, you’ll practically want to drink it. So don’t skimp on the sauce, and make as much as you’d like!
Feel free to turn this into a kung pao chicken recipe instead! To do this, simply replace the tofu with 2-inch cubes of chicken and cook them in the second step until fully cooked through. Then, use your chicken just as you would the tofu in the remainder of the recipe.

close-up image of kung pao tofu on a plate over rice

Adjust This Recipe To Your Dietary Needs

Make it Gluten-Free: To ensure this recipe is completely gluten-free, use tamari instead of soy sauce. Tamari is the gluten-free equivalent to soy sauce and tastes exactly the same!
Make it Nut-Free: For a nut-free version, simple leave out the cashews or peanuts in this recipe. But if you’d still like that nutty flavor, you can add in a couple tablespoons of sesame seeds instead.

One-Pan Kung Pao Tofu

5 from 3 votes

Recipe by Samantha Course: MainDifficulty: Easy

Servings

servings

Prep time

minutes

Cooking time

minutes

Total time

minutes

Ingredients

For the tofu:
14 ounces extra firm tofu, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons sesame oil or avocado oil
For the veggies:
3 garlic cloves, minced
2-inch piece ginger, grated
3 scallions, sliced (white and green parts separated)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup raw unsalted cashews or peanuts
For the sauce:
1/4 cup vegetable broth
3 tablespoons soy sauce, use Tamari for gluten-free
1 tablespoon rice vinegar, or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons corn starch
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Directions

Place cubed tofu in a bowl with cornstarch and toss to evenly coat.
Heat sesame oil in a large pan over medium-high heat, then fry tofu in a single layer for 2-3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove cooked tofu and set aside.
Add garlic, ginger, and white parts of scallions to pan and cook for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant.
Add in red and green bell peppers, sauté for 2-3 minutes then place tofu back into pan along with green parts of scallions and cashews or peanuts.
Whisk together all sauce ingredients in a bowl, then pour into pan and reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer until sauce has thickened then serve over rice.