Welcome! I am so happy you chose to gather around my table. My name is Mia Swinehart and I am a registered dietitian with a passion for simple healthy recipes, women's hormonal health, and overall wellness!
The best Instant Pot shredded chicken taco meat! It’s saucy, juicy, full of flavor, and perfectly tender. The best addition to your tacos, burrito bowls, taco salads, tostadas, etc.!
This Instant Pot chicken is SO quick and easy to make, so it makes for the best throw-together weeknight dinner. It’s also perfect for meal prep for the week!
The flavorful sauce for the chicken is made mostly from chopped tomatoes (from the can) and a packet of taco seasoning. So, it’s a great pantry-staple recipe to have in your pocket!
This recipe is:
Gluten free
Dairy free
Soy free
Nut free
Grain free
Paleo-friendly
It is seriously SO good- I am obsessed with the flavor of the sauce!! It also uses chicken thighs (instead of breasts), which tend to be much more tender. Another bonus is that they tend to be more affordable! Win win.
This is the perfect protein to prep for simple lunches or dinners throughout the week. Add this shredded taco chicken meat to your favorite salads, bowls, tortillas, on top of sweet potato fries, or even nachos! So many way to use this versatile recipe 🙂
One of my favorite ways to use this shredded chicken is on a salad with mixed greens, corn, black beans, and avocado. For a dressing, I do a drizzle of olive oil, squeeze of fresh lime juice, salt and pepper, and some salsa! Such a simple and delicious meal for lunch or dinner.
For this recipe, you will need your Instant Pot. I’m sure this could be done in the crockpot- but I haven’t tested it so I can’t say for sure! If you try it, let me know!
Be sure to leave a rating and review if you give this recipe a try 🙂 It’s so helpful to me and other readers! Thank you so much! xo
Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Set your Instant pot to the sauté setting and add your oil. Once heated, add the chicken and sear for 2 minutes per side. Remove from the pot and set aside.
While still on the sauté setting, add another splash of oil and your shallot and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes. Turn off sauté setting.
Add your chicken back to the pot, along with the taco seasoning, water, and tomatoes. Set to PRESSURE cook on HIGH for 8 minutes.
Manually release the steam, then allow to cool for a few minutes before using 2 forks to shred the chicken. Leftovers can be stores in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to tag @gatherednutrition on INstagram so I can see what you made! Leaving a rating and review on the site is a huge help too!
i recently made this dish and was amazed at how simple and delicious it was! most of the ingredients were already in my home so i didn’t have to go buy a bunch of complicated ingredients! i love the rich aromatic flavor it has and am never disappointed when i make @gatherednutrition recipies! <3
Yes you can make this in a crock pot! It just takes a lot longer! I do this and also add black beans and use hotel tomatoes instead of plain. Chopped tomatoes! A great topping is shredded coleslaw made up with mayo and sirracho! Yum yum!
LOVE this recipe, I make probably weekly. I also used it in your paleo enchilada recipe, just didn’t add enchilada sauce to the mix, just on bottom and on top and it came out AMAZING.
I’ve been meal prepping this to take to work for months now. It’s so quick and easy, and has a lot of flavor. I usually make taco bowls with rice, beans, etc. because the ingredients transport and keep well, but if I’m home I like to use it in salads.
Delish! Tried it in the crock pot and worked great. Mine was set on low for 2 hours but I still seared in olive oil on the stove in a pan before putting into the crockpot. Then I used a hand blender to shred the chicken and mix in the tomato/tacos. It was lovely 🙂 thanks Mia!
i recently made this dish and was amazed at how simple and delicious it was! most of the ingredients were already in my home so i didn’t have to go buy a bunch of complicated ingredients! i love the rich aromatic flavor it has and am never disappointed when i make @gatherednutrition recipies! <3
★★★★★
This makes me so happy! Thank you so much Hal! 🙂
this is probably a dumb question but is there anyway i can make this without an instant pot? it looks too good to resist 🤩🤤
Yes you can make this in a crock pot! It just takes a lot longer! I do this and also add black beans and use hotel tomatoes instead of plain. Chopped tomatoes! A great topping is shredded coleslaw made up with mayo and sirracho! Yum yum!
Happy to try chicken in a different way, the best complement for rice, thank you! lots of love from Argentina 🌎🍗
LOVE this recipe, I make probably weekly. I also used it in your paleo enchilada recipe, just didn’t add enchilada sauce to the mix, just on bottom and on top and it came out AMAZING.
Thank you so much Emily! SO happy you love this one! 🙂
I’ve been meal prepping this to take to work for months now. It’s so quick and easy, and has a lot of flavor. I usually make taco bowls with rice, beans, etc. because the ingredients transport and keep well, but if I’m home I like to use it in salads.
★★★★★
Delish! Tried it in the crock pot and worked great. Mine was set on low for 2 hours but I still seared in olive oil on the stove in a pan before putting into the crockpot. Then I used a hand blender to shred the chicken and mix in the tomato/tacos. It was lovely 🙂 thanks Mia!
I also didn’t add the water as I found it didn’t need it in the crockpot.
Delish! I used frozen skinless chicken thighs. Very tender and flavorful.
★★★★★