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Instant Pot Mexican shredded chicken in a pressure cooker, ready to serve.
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5 from 2 votes

Instant Pot Mexican Shredded Chicken

Quite possibly the only Mexican shredded chicken recipe you'll ever need! This simple pressure cooker shredded chicken is so flavorful and tender and is perfect for tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, enchiladas, and more!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Chicken Main Dishes
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 6 to 8 Servings
Calories: 303kcal
Author: Julia

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 small yellow onion or ½ large yellow onion, diced
  • 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs*
  • 1 7-oz can diced green chilis
  • 1 15-oz can enchilada sauce
  • 1 cup salsa of choice
  • Sea salt**

Instructions

  • Plug in your pressure cooker and press the Sauté button and add the oil. Allow it to heat up for a few minutes, then add chopped onion. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion has softened, about 5 to 8 minutes. 
    Yellow onions sautéing in an Instant Pot
  • Add all of the remaining ingredients to the Instant Pot.
    Ingredients for Mexican chicken in an Instant Pot
  • Stir everything until all of the ingredients are well-distributed.
    All of the ingredients for the shredded chicken stirred up in an instant pot, ready to pressure cook.
  • Secure the lid on the Instant Pot. Press “Manual” or “Pressure Cook” and set the timer for 20 minutes, making sure the pressure is set to High heat, not Low heat. Turn the steam valve set to the sealed position (or ‘sealing’) if it isn’t already shut. If you're using frozen chicken, increase the cook time 4 extra minutes for a total of 24 minutes.
  • The pressure cooker will take about 5 to 10 minutes to heat up. Once it has come to pressure, it will run its 20-minute pressure cook course.
  • Once finished, allow the Instant Pot to go into natural release all the way and go into Keep Warm mode for at least 15 minutes (ideally one hour if you have the time). After 15 minutes, you can use the quick release to release any remaining pressure.
    Cooked chicken in an instant pot for tacos. Ready to shred into shredded meat.
  • Open the lid of the Instant Pot and use tongs to transfer the chicken to a cutting board. Use two forks to shred it.
    Shredded chicken on a cutting board.
  • Transfer the chicken back to the Instant Pot with the juices so that it soaks up more flavor.
    Tongs holding shredded chicken, transferring it back to the pressure cooker with the juices.
  • Use chicken for Instant Pot chicken tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, chicken quesadillas, or taco salad.

Notes

*You can also use boneless thighs, breasts, chicken tenders, or a combination of thighs and breasts. I do a combination of chicken thighs and chicken tenders.
**Because there is already salt in enchilada sauce and some salsas, I would wait on adding salt until the chicken is finished cooking. You can taste the shredded chicken and add sea salt to your personal taste once it is ready.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving (of 8) | Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 188mg | Sodium: 764mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g