Instant Pot Street Tacos

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Our Instant Pot street tacos with chicken have all the flavor of your favorite street side-taco but we used seasoned chicken instead of carne asada.

Who doesn’t love street tacos? However, I’ve noticed most recipes only feature beef. Kim and I wanted to make a version using Tex-Mex chicken.

So, we decided to adapt our original chicken soft taco recipe into Instant Pot street tacos with chicken instead of carne asada.

All it takes is few ingredients and about 35-minutes to create your own street taco experience in the comfort of your kitchen.

Three finished instant pot street tacos on a white plate topped with onions and tomatoes.

How to make Instant Pot street tacos

First, start by turning your Instant Pot on to its saute setting. Place the stainless steel liner into the pot.

Then add your cooking oil and give the pot a minute or two to heat up. After that, toss in the chicken, onions, and taco seasoning.

Now, you can use store-bought taco seasoning. It works just fine. Or, you can use a homemade version, similar to what we used on our tasty turkey tacos.

An aerial photo of the raw ingredients like chicken and taco seasoning.

Once the chicken has cooked for about 4 minutes, put in the garlic. Let it saute for about 30-seconds; however, don’t let it burn.

If the garlic overcooks, then it will become bitter. Afterward, when the garlic is done, add the chicken broth, roasted tomatoes, and green chiles.

Top-down view of the taco filling cooking in the pressure cooker.

Then, close the lid and seal the valve. Set the pressure cooker on manual or high pressure for 6 minutes.

Last, allow the machine to perform a 10 minute “natural release.” If desired, use tongs or 2 forks to shred the Tex-Mex chicken.

Serve the finished street tacos with condiments like cilantro, diced onions, and shredded cheese.

Close-up view of the finished tacos served with a lime wedge.

Tips for Instant Pot street tacos:

  • Be sure to deglaze the Instant Pot when you add the chicken broth to capture all that flavor that stuck to the bottom of the pot.
  • Serve your cilantro as a condiment. Some people, like myself, think it has an odd flavor. Don’t believe me, see this article from the Britannica.
  • This can be made on a stove-top by putting everything into a large saucepan or stockpot, uncovered, and cook it over medium-low heat for about an hour.
  • Yon make street tacos in the Instant Pot with chicken thighs by substituting boneless chicken thighs in place of the chicken breast.
  • Season the chicken with our homemade chicken seasoning.
Three instant pot street tacos with chicken filling and diced onions.

Instant Pot Street Tacos

5 from 25 votes
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Author: John
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes
Come to Pressure, Natural Release: 15 minutes
Total Time: 36 minutes
Servings: 4 Servings

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil, canola, corn, vegetable, etc.
  • 1 ounce taco seasoning, store bought or homemade
  • 1 white onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 10 ounces diced tomatoes and green chiles, 1 can
  • ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • 16 street taco-sized tortillas, corn or flour

Instructions
 

  • Turn on the Instant Pot to the saute setting, add the liner, and add the oil.
    2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • Add the chicken, onions, and taco seasoning to the line. Saute the mixture for 3-5 minutes.
    1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
    1 ounce taco seasoning
    1 white onion
  • Then, add the garlic and saute for an additional 30 seconds. Now pour in the tomatoes and green chiles, and chicken broth. Scrape the bottom of the liner to keep the chicken from sticking.
    2 garlic cloves
    10 ounces diced tomatoes and green chiles
    ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • Close the lid and make sure the valve is set to “sealing,” set the Instant Pot to “manual, high pressure (manual/pressure cook),” for 6 minutes.
  • Allow the Instant Pot to perform a 10-minute “natural release.” Serve the finished tacos with condiments like cilantro, diced onions, and shredded cheese.
    16 street taco-sized tortillas

Suggested Equipment

Notes

The calories listed are an approximation based on the ingredients and do not include the condiments. Actual calories may vary.
Chicken filling can be stored in your fridge, in a sealed container, for up to 3 days.
We used a 6-Quart Instant Pot Duo Plus for this recipe and have not tested the recipe in another model.

Nutrition

Serving: 4ounces | Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 25g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 923mg | Potassium: 471mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 984IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
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32 Comments

  1. Love finding new recipes for my Instant Pot) I like how easy it is to make it, will be perfect for the weeknight!)

  2. Love finding new recipes for my Instant Pot) I like how easy it is to make it, will be perfect for the weeknight!)

  3. We love soft tacos!! I think of them right next to pizza. There are times like this recipe when I wish I had an Insta-pot. Unfortunately I don’t but I believe I can use the Dutch oven and follow your recipe and ingredients. My mouth is watering thinking of the tacos.

    1. Thank you, Marisa! Absolutely, you can use any cooking method you want to prepare this recipe. In fact, this dish originated from my slow-cooker shredded chicken tacos. To be honest, I find that recipe a lot easier to make than this one.

  4. We love soft tacos!! I think of them right next to pizza. There are times like this recipe when I wish I had an Insta-pot. Unfortunately I don’t but I believe I can use the Dutch oven and follow your recipe and ingredients. My mouth is watering thinking of the tacos.

  5. We love soft tacos!! I think of them right next to pizza. There are times like this recipe when I wish I had an Insta-pot. Unfortunately I don’t but I believe I can use the Dutch oven and follow your recipe and ingredients. My mouth is watering thinking of the tacos.

  6. I love slow cooker taco recipes, everything turns out so tender and juicy. I don’t have an instant pot but am going to try this in a slow cooker. Thanks for sharing this!

  7. I love slow cooker taco recipes, everything turns out so tender and juicy. I don’t have an instant pot but am going to try this in a slow cooker. Thanks for sharing this!

  8. I love slow cooker taco recipes, everything turns out so tender and juicy. I don’t have an instant pot but am going to try this in a slow cooker. Thanks for sharing this!

  9. I love soft taco! So much more than the crispy ones which fall apart when I try to eat one. I also love my Instant Pot! And now I love it even more because that means I can make your delicious recipe just as it’s written! Your chicken soft tacos look so delicious and I can’t wait to try them.

    1. Thank you, Elaine! Kim and I thrilled you enjoyed the recipe and hope you get the opportunity make the tacos soon. Have a great day 🙂

  10. I love soft taco! So much more than the crispy ones which fall apart when I try to eat one. I also love my Instant Pot! And now I love it even more because that means I can make your delicious recipe just as it’s written! Your chicken soft tacos look so delicious and I can’t wait to try them.

  11. I love soft taco! So much more than the crispy ones which fall apart when I try to eat one. I also love my Instant Pot! And now I love it even more because that means I can make your delicious recipe just as it’s written! Your chicken soft tacos look so delicious and I can’t wait to try them.

  12. Soft tacos are so good. We hardly ever use the hard shells. The filling here looks and sounds delicious…and try fun family dinner. A great way to feed a crowd too.

    1. Thanks, Gloria! We are huge fans of flour or corn tortillas, so it made perfect sense here. This recipe is great for a weeknight family dinner! 🙂

  13. Soft tacos are so good. We hardly ever use the hard shells. The filling here looks and sounds delicious…and try fun family dinner. A great way to feed a crowd too.

  14. Soft tacos are so good. We hardly ever use the hard shells. The filling here looks and sounds delicious…and try fun family dinner. A great way to feed a crowd too.

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