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    Home » Instant Pot » Mexican Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

    Mexican Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

    Published on September 8, 2019 | updated on September 22, 2020 by Diana

    Jump to Recipe

    Easy 3-ingredient Mexican Instant Pot shredded chicken made in half an hour! This shredded chicken is perfect for tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, taquitos, burritos, you name it!

    Taco filled with shredded salsa chicken made in the instant pot

    So today I’m sharing my go-to shredded chicken recipe that I make ALL the time, especially on really busy days. You will love this recipe, because:

    • You only need THREE ingredients (and water!)
    • It’s a dump and start recipe!
    • The chicken comes out so juicy and tastes incredible!
    Mexican Instant Pot Shredded Chicken in the pot

    I also make this shredded chicken in the Crockpot, so if you’re a slow cooker fan than make sure to check it out!

    Table of Contents hide
    1 The Ingredients
    2 How to Make Mexican Instant Pot Shredded Chicken
    3 How to Use Mexican Style Shredded Chicken?
    4 Recommended Tools for This Recipe
    5 Video Tutorial
    6 More Mexican Instant Pot recipes
    7 Mexican Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

    The Ingredients

    Here’s what you’ll need:

    • Chicken breast (I used 3 large ones for my recipe).
    • Salsa, you can use either homemade or store-bought salsa. Spicy or not, you decide!
    • Fajita seasoning, or taco seasoning.

    I recommend adding a little bit of vegetable oil to the bottom of the pot to avoid the chicken from sticking to the pot, and if you’re using chunky salsa then you’ll have to add a bit of water (about ½ cup).

    A collage with 3 images on how to Make Shredded Chicken in the Instant Pot

    How to Make Mexican Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

    Probably the easiest Instant Pot chicken recipe that I ever made.

    • Add a little bit of vegetable oil to the bottom of the pot, then add the chicken and season it with the fajita seasoning (or taco seasoning). Followed by the salsa. Depending on the salsa that you’re using, you might need to add water (I recommend adding a ¼-½ cup of water) to avoid getting a BURN message.
    • I also heard that the newer Instant Pot models show the burn message more often, so keep that in mind and decide whether you need to add water or not (to be safe, you can just add at least ¼ of a cup of water).
    • Give everything a mix so that the salsa goes underneath the chicken, then cover with the lid.
    • Make sure that the vent is in sealing position, and press on “manual” or “pressure cook” (this depends on which IP model you’re using), choose high pressure, and cook for 20 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to come to pressure, then cook the chicken.
    • Once it’s done, quickly release the steam and carefully open the lid.
    Shredded salsa chicken inside the Instant Pot, garnished with chopped parsley

    Shred the chicken using 2 forks. You can either do this in the pot (like I did in the video), or take the chicken out and shred it on a board and then put it back in the sauce.

    Mexican Instant Pot Shredded Chicken tacos

    How to Use Mexican Style Shredded Chicken?

    This Instant Pot shredded chicken is great in:

    • Tacos
    • Enchiladas
    • Burritos
    • Quesadillas
    • Sliders and salads!

    Recommended Tools for This Recipe

    If you love easy 3-ingredient recipes, then you will love my creamy salsa chicken recipe!

    Video Tutorial

    While this recipe is easy to make, it always helps to watch a quick video. Give it a watch below!

    https://youtu.be/G0YtG-BLOTs

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    Welcome to the Instant Pot and Air Fryer recipes and hacks group! In this group we share great and some exclusive recipes that you can make in your In…

    More Mexican Instant Pot recipes

    • Instant Pot creamy salsa chicken
    • Instant pot chicken fajitas
    • Instant Pot steak fajitas
    • Instant Pot fajita rice
    • Instant Pot burrito bowls
    • Instant Pot Mexican corn

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    Mexican Instant Pot Shredded Chicken

    Easy 3-ingredient Mexican style Instant Pot shredded chicken that can be used to make tacos, shredded fajitas, burritos, etc.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 5 minutes
    Cook Time: 20 minutes
    Instant Pot coming to pressure: 10 minutes
    Total Time: 35 minutes
    Servings: 8
    Calories: 122kcal
    Author: Diana

    Ingredients

    • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
    • 3 large chicken breasts about 2 lbs
    • 4 tablespoons fajita seasoning
    • 1½ cups salsa enough to cover the chicken
    • ½ cup water only if you're using chunky salsa or have a newer IP model

    Instructions

    • Add the vegetable oil to the pot, and make sure that it's covering the bottom of the pot.
    • Dump chicken, seasoning, salsa and water and give everything a mix to make sure that the sauce goes underneath the chicken.
    • Cover with the lid, and make sure that the vent is in sealing position. Press on MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK on high heat and set at 20 minutes.
    • When the cook is finished, quickly release the steam. Carefully open the lid, and using 2 forks shred the chicken (you can either do this inside of the pot, or outside the pot and then put the shredded chicken back into the sauce).

    Video

    Notes

    You should not get a BURN message, but this depends on the salsa that you use if it’s thick or not. You can always add ¼–½ cup of water if you’re worried that you might get a BURN message.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 122kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 499mg | Potassium: 475mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 298IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 1mg
    Did you make a recipe?Tag @littlesunnykitchen or hashtag it #littlesunnykitchen!

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    1. Stephanie

      June 15, 2020 at 11:04 pm

      Can you use frozen boneless chicken breast?

      Reply
      • Diana

        July 02, 2020 at 7:28 pm

        Hi Stephanie, yes you can, it will just take longer to come to pressure.

        Reply
    2. Jo

      April 08, 2020 at 2:36 am

      Can this be made in a slow cooker? I don’t own an Insta Pot.

      Reply
      • Diana

        April 08, 2020 at 2:57 am

        Definitely! For boneless chicken breasts cook on HIGH for 2-3 hours or LOW for 4 to 5 hours in the slow cooker. The chicken will be tender and register an internal temperature of 165F. I hope that you enjoy!

        Reply
    3. Janelle

      December 13, 2019 at 3:13 am

      What salsa did you use?

      Reply
      • Diana

        December 13, 2019 at 3:26 am

        Canned tomato salsa!

        Reply

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    Hello and welcome to Little Sunny Kitchen! I'm Diana and I love cooking with fresh, and seasonal ingredients. I'm a trained chef, food blogger, and photographer. More about me!

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