IP Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos

Tender, juicy shredded chicken taco meat that is super easy to make … and you can use it in so many ways! Chicken goes from frozen to fabulous in the instant pot with tequila, salsa, onion, garlic, zucchini and a bit of cumin, then shredded and scooped into warm tortillas with a squeeze of fresh lime. Top your tacos with sauteed onion and peppers, avocado, cilantro and a drizzle Sriracha ranch dressing for a marvelous Mexican meal.

What do you do when you have frozen chicken tenders in your freezer that are kind of freezer burned and you’re craving chicken taco meat? You throw them in your Instant Pot with a few other yummy things, then send a little wish out into the universe, hoping that somehow the pressure cooker can transform the ice-crusted chicken into something at least somewhat edible.

Well, that’s what I did anyway. And oh my gosh, I was freaking amazed at the results! The chicken was fall-apart tender, so easy to shred and the juices that were left after I finished working some of them back into the chicken made a FANTASTIC chicken tortilla soup (using some of the shredded chicken, a little cheese and some crunchy tortilla chips).

My daughter was super pleased because she had been craving chicken taco meat too. It didn’t take the two of us long to polish off the whole batch, most of which actually went into chicken taco salads. My daughter makes her taco salads with romaine lettuce, Doritos, lots of shredded chicken and a bit of shredded cheese. My chicken taco salad consists of my mom’s fresh garden lettuce, my favorite beans (another Instant Pot win!), chopped tomato, avocado, maybe a little chopped zucchini or corn or sweet peppers and then doused in lots of my cilantro almond salsa, some shredded cheese and a nice little drizzle of Sriracha Ranch Yogurt Dressing, that magical condiment I seriously want on almost everything.

But I digress. This chicken taco meat is totally amazing for … um … TACOS! (or burritos or enchiladas or just about any Mexican dish). Especially if you make yourself some homemade tortillas. I used the store-bought variety and they were still out-of-this-world good. I could only imagine how good they’d be with homemade tortillas. Don’t forget the squeeze of fresh lime on the taco meat just as you’re about to eat it … it makes it taste oh so fresh and good!

So if you have freezer burned chicken in your freezer and a pressure cooker available, give this a try. You might just be pleasantly surprised at the transformation from something you were ready to toss into an absolutely delectable dinner.

Instant Pot Tequila Lime Chicken Tacos

• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 16 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
• Yield: 2 - 4 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

For the chicken:

• 1 medium onion, peeled & chopped into chunks
• 1/2 of a zucchini, chopped into chunks
• 2 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled
• A sprig or two of fresh oregano
• 1/4 cup water (or a mix of water/tequila)
• 1 Tablespoon tequila
• 1/2 teaspoon better than chicken bouillon
• 1 cup salsa (I used my cilantro almond salsa – recipe here)
• 2 – 4 frozen chicken breasts or 6 – 8 frozen chicken tenders (boneless, skinless)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 Tablespoons low sodium taco seasoning mix (like my Qdoba taco seasoning – recipe here)

For the tacos:

• Wedges of fresh lime
• Small corn (or flour) tortillas
• Shredded Mexican blend of cheeses
• Sauteed onions and sweet peppers
• Chopped romaine lettuce
• Fresh ripe avocado
• Fresh cilantro leaves (if you like cilantro)
• Sriracha ranch dressing (recipe here) and/or your favorite salsa

---

Instructions

1. Put the onion, zucchini and garlic in a mini food processor and pulse to chop fine.
2. Pour the chopped onion and zucchini mixture into the instant pot. Add the water and/or tequila, bouillon, and salsa, then set the frozen chicken on top and sprinkle with seasonings.
3. Pressure cook for 16 minutes. Quick release. Unplug and let sit (without opening) for 40 minutes.
4. While the chicken is resting and soaking up the good juices, prep the taco ingredients.
5. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, lift the chicken out and set it in a small mixing bowl. Use two forks to shred (it should be fall apart tender already) and squeeze a couple wedges of fresh lime juice into the chicken, then stir. Warm the tortillas just before serving. Serve with more fresh lime and all the fixings. Enjoy!

---

Notes

You could totally add more chicken to this recipe without adjusting any of the other ingredients! There’s plenty of cooking liquid to accommodate extra chicken.

RECIPE SOURCE: http://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/

© Copyright 2019, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.