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    Home » Recipes » Main Dishes » Chicken

    Pressure Cooker Chicken Taco Filling

    Published by Melissa on June 13, 2011 | Updated June 10, 2022 | 69 Comments

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    Chicken-Tacos

    It’s great to have taco meat in the freezer waiting to be used for a quick lunch or easy dinner. Since I was making the filling for my Chicken Emapanadas, I decided to triple the recipe so I would have plenty to freeze.

    I also wanted to use frozen chicken breasts, but I wanted to use them without having to defrost them first. I was inspired by Frieda’s From Frozen to Fabulous in 12 Minutes: BBQ Chicken. Cooking them in the pressure cooker allows you to avoid defrosting and results in moist, tender, flavorful chicken. Perfect for any recipe.

    Chicken-Empanada-Filling

    I froze the taco meat in ½ cup portions in quart size Freezer Ziplocs. The perfect amount for one individual serving.

    If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you could cook the chicken in the crockpot for 8 hours, or check out my Shredded Pork Tacos post to get a method for cooking it in the oven.

    Visit Pressure Cooking Today for all my pressure cooking recipes.

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    5 from 2 votes

    Pressure Cooker Chicken Taco Filling

    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time30 mins
    Course: Chicken
    Servings: 6 servings
    Author: Barbara Schieving
    Prevent your screen from going to sleep

    Ingredients

    • 1 large onion diced
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 6 large chicken breasts frozen*
    • 1 can 10 oz. diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel Original)
    • 1 tablespoon chili powder
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon pepper

    Instructions

    • Heat the oil in pressure cooker pot for 2 to 3 minutes. Sauté the onion until tender, approximately 10 minutes.
    • Add the chicken, tomatoes, chili powder, salt and pepper.
    • Cover and lock lid in place. Select High Pressure and 12 - 15 minutes cook time (depending on how large your breasts are). When timer beeps, turn off and use a quick pressure release. *If using thawed chicken breasts reduce cook time.
    • Remove chicken from pressure cooker and shred. Return shredded chicken to pressure cooker pot and stir to combine with tomatoes and juice in pot.
    • Select Sauté and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until all liquid is absorbed/evaporated.
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    « Chicken Empanadas with Ranchero Ranch Dressing
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    about us

    About Melissa & Barbara

    As of June 2022 Melissa Griffiths now is the one adding recipes. So think of it as Barbara Bakes, and Melissa too! Melissa and Barbara have been blogging friends for over 10 years and when Barbara was ready to retire and spend more time with her family, Melissa took over the site. Read more...

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Kevin

      July 15, 2016 at 9:26 am

      What if my pressure cooker doesn’t have “saute”? It has “Brown,” “Steam,” and “Slow Cook.”

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        July 15, 2016 at 9:30 am

        Hi Kevin – brown will work just fine. Enjoy!

        Reply
        • Kevin

          July 15, 2016 at 9:32 am

          Thanks. 🙂

          Reply
    2. Jean

      December 17, 2015 at 7:08 am

      Will this work in a normal pressure cooker?

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 17, 2015 at 7:39 am

        Hi Jean – this should work fine in a stove top pressure cooker as long as you don’t get a lot of evaporation as it cooks. I you do lose a lot of liquid as it cooks, then you’ll want to add some additional chicken broth or water. You may also want to reduce the cook time a minute or two.

        Reply
    3. matt

      December 06, 2015 at 12:29 pm

      How many pounds are 6 breasts? I prefer thighs and want to make sure I keep the recipe balanced. Weight measurements are critical.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        December 06, 2015 at 1:08 pm

        Hi Matt – I generally buy the frozen boneless, skinless chicken breast from Costco and they weigh about 6 to 8 ounce each. So 6 breasts would be about 3 to 4 lbs. of chicken.

        Reply
    4. Melissa

      September 15, 2015 at 2:47 pm

      I knew there wasn’t going to be enough liquid when reading the recipe and there wasn’t. My pressure cooker never got up to pressure and I have run into this a few times with other recipes. I have the instant pot. Is there a difference between my pressure cooker and yours?

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        September 15, 2015 at 3:22 pm

        Hi Melissa – Sorry you’re having trouble. I use the Instant Pot as well for creating and testing the recipes. Perhaps your Instant Pot isn’t functioning as it should be. Have you done a water test to determine how much evaporation you are having when you’re cooking?

        Reply
        • Melissa

          September 16, 2015 at 10:33 am

          Hi Barbara – No, I have never done a water test. I have never heard of it but can probably look up how to do that since I have run into this same issue a few times now. I just ended up adding water and it came up to pressure and turned out well, just had more liquid than I was supposed to I’m sure.

          Thank You!!

          Reply
    5. Brian

      August 04, 2015 at 8:01 pm

      I made this tonight and these were the best tacos I have ever had!! I didn’t use any chili powder but instead used about a 1/3 of a packet of taco seasoning plus a very small amount of extra cumin. I had to cook my chicken for about 20 minutes because one of the breasts was really big but it just meant the other chicken was falling apart that much more. A fun trick: use a handheld mixer to shred the chicken, the chicken will be fully shredded in seconds.

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        August 04, 2015 at 9:17 pm

        Thanks Brian – glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for sharing your tips.

        Reply
    6. Grace

      May 21, 2015 at 1:17 pm

      Looking to try this recipe tonight. What if I’m using defrosted chicken breasts for this recipe? How long should the cook time be if I’m not using frozen chicken breast?

      Reply
      • Barbara Schieving

        May 21, 2015 at 3:18 pm

        Hi Grace – defrosted chicken breasts should only take about 6 minutes. Enjoy!

        Reply
    7. Kelly

      July 30, 2014 at 7:09 pm

      I made this tonight for future dinners and it turned out delicious! Awhile back, I accidentally bought a can of extra spicy Rotel tomatoes (with habaneros… eek!) instead of regular and that’s all I had on hand, so I (hesitantly) used them. It was good and SPICY, but ohhhhh so tasty. I just used a sprinkle of chili powder since the tomatoes were extra spicy. I love how easy it was to make. Heck, I love all of your recipes that I’ve tried so far! Looking forward to chicken tacos, some spicy chicken and noodles, and maybe a spicy chicken casserole. Thank you so much for sharing. 🙂

      Reply
    8. Drew

      June 12, 2012 at 1:58 pm

      I made this on Sunday and it was awesome!!! I tweaked a bit by using half thighs and half breasts which made it nice and rich. I think next time I may try some chipotle peppers in there. Great recipe and super easy!

      Reply
      • Barbara

        June 12, 2012 at 7:27 pm

        Hi Drew – so glad you liked the recipe! I’ll have to try it with thighs. Chipotle peppers would be a great smokey addition too.

        Reply
    9. deeba

      July 21, 2011 at 9:22 am

      You got to be kidding me GF…I LOVE this. How easy can life get with a recipe as good as this? I love th idea of frozen chicken breasts. Must try this SOON!

      Reply
    10. Nicole@HeatOvenTo350

      June 28, 2011 at 7:23 pm

      I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Thank you for sharing it!

      Reply
      • Barbara

        June 28, 2011 at 10:23 pm

        Thanks so much for letting me know you made it and liked it. My favorite comment to receive!

        Reply
    11. Frieda

      June 23, 2011 at 6:58 pm

      I’m so glad I saw your post! Just got back from vacation and will post my shredded chicken recipe tomorrow. Took an old Rival Crockpot Mexican Turkey recipe and used it with chicken in my pressure cooker ~ I was pleased with the results! Linked your post to my blog…

      Reply
    12. Eliana

      June 23, 2011 at 11:04 am

      Second recipe I have seen today involving a pressure cooker! This is pressure cooking done right Barbara.

      Reply
    13. cindy

      June 18, 2011 at 4:34 pm

      I have used a pressure cooker for years. But I just may need to upgrade to a model like yours. Looks like the Cadillac of pressure cookers! I do love having cooked meat in the freezer in 1-2 serving containers. Saves us from the dreaded ‘fast food’. This meat looks delish and very versatile. Have a great weekend.

      Reply
      • chell

        February 05, 2016 at 4:04 pm

        Cindy I used the old stove top pressure cooker for many many years. Last year I got the electric pressure cooker and OMG I had no idea what I was missing. No more trying to figure out just which notch is really medium high. You just choose meat, soup rice or whatever select your time and it does it all for you. No more fuss. I recommend if you have a family you spend a little more and get the XL model. You will love it.

        Reply
    14. Dragon

      June 16, 2011 at 8:31 pm

      I need to get over my fear of pressure cookers…..this recipe might change my mind. 🙂

      Reply
    15. kristy

      June 16, 2011 at 9:47 am

      Talking about taco fillings, I still have 2 packets of special seasoning for the filling which were sent to me by a sweet blogger friend from US. Yours pressure cooker meat sounds amazing. I bet it tastes tenderly delish. Have a great day, dear.
      Kristy

      Reply
    16. marisa

      June 15, 2011 at 9:27 pm

      What a fantastic idea! I love it! I just may have to break down and get myself a pressure cooker!!!

      Reply
    17. natalie (the sweets life)

      June 15, 2011 at 1:36 pm

      your pictures of the tacos are drool-worthy!!

      Reply
    18. Blond Duck

      June 15, 2011 at 5:27 am

      DELICIOUS! I must try this!

      Reply
    19. Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella

      June 15, 2011 at 3:52 am

      Yum! I love these pressure cooker recipes as I love my pressure cooker. You’ve got to love something that cooks food so quickly! 😀 xxx

      Reply
    20. Donna

      June 14, 2011 at 11:49 pm

      MMmmmmm . . . another recipe to add to my “Learn to Use my Pressure Cooker” list!

      Reply
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