Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Tacos (Video) – Kalyn’s Kitchen

posted by Kalyn Denny on April 30, 2021

Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Tacos have flavorful chicken combined with cream cheese and cheese, for chicken tacos that are a crowd-pleaser! Use low-carb tortillas or eat the cheesy chicken mixture in lettuce wraps if you prefer!

PIN the Chicken Tacos to try them later!

Everyone who’s enjoyed creamy chicken enchiladas is going to love this recipe for Instant Pot Cheesy Chicken Tacos. Chicken is quickly cooked in the Instant Pot with salsa, onion powder, and garlic powder. Then the cooked chicken is removed to reduce the cooking liquid which is then combined with Green Tabasco Sauce, lime juice, diced green chiles, and cubes of cream  cheese to make an amazing cheesy sauce that’s mixed with the shredded chicken. I promise, these are just ordinary chicken tacos, these are chicken tacos for people who like cheesy Mexican food!

Of course you can make these deliciously-cheesy chicken tacos in a slow cooker too; if you prefer that method, just check the recipe for those instructions. The tacos will be a hit with kids too if you use mild salsa, but you might want to leave out the hot sauce and let people add that at the table if you’re serving to kids.

Serve the tacos with more cheese, plus olives to add at the table (with any other toppings you’d like) for a taco dinner that the family is going to love! We liked them best with my favorite whole wheat low-carb tortillas, but you can definitely eat the cheesy chicken taco meat in lettuce wraps or over a salad instead. And next week is Cinco de Mayo, so I hope you’ll try this recipe that I’m featuring as one of my Friday Favorites

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

How to make this recipe:

(Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information.)

1. I always use Pace Picante Sauce (affiliate link) for recipes that need salsa, because it doesn’t have added sugar.
2. Trim the chicken breasts and cut into lengthwise strips.
3. Add to the Instant Pot with salsa, onion powder, and garlic powder.
4. Lock lid and set Instant Pot to HIGH PRESSURE for 8 minutes. When time is up, let the Instant Pot release pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then do quick release until all the pressure is released.
5. While chicken cooks, get the Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link), fresh lime juice, cubes of cream cheese, and diced green chiles ready to go.
6. When pressure is all released, remove chicken to the cutting board.
7. Turn the Instant Pot to SAUTE/LOW HEAT and simmer to reduce the liquid left in the pressure cooker to about 1/2 cup. Shred the chicken apart with two forks.
8. When the sauce has cooked down to about 1/2 cup, turn off Instant Pot and let the liquid cool for a few minutes. Then stir in Green Tabasco Sauce, Lime Juice, diced green chiles with juice (affiliate link), and cubes of cream cheese.
9. Whisk until the cream cheese has melted and mixed with the liquid to make a creamy sauce. Then add chicken back into the Instant Pot with the 3/4 cup grated cheese and stir to combine.
10. To serve, heat tortillas in a hot dry pan for a minute or so, top with some of the cheesy chicken mixture, olives, green onions, and other toppings as desired.
11. We loved these with more Green Tabasco Sauce added at the table. You could also serve with salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream, avocado, or guacamole.

Love Your Instant Pot?

I use a 6 Quart Instant Pot for all my Instant Pot Recipes. Check out my growing collection of Pressure Cooker or Instant Pot Recipes! Find more Pressure Cooker/Slow Cooker Recipes on my other site!

More Tasty Tacos from the Instant Pot:

Low-Carb Greek Pork Tacos 
Buffalo Chicken Tacos 
Low-Carb Flank Steak Tacos with Spicy Slaw
Spicy Shredded Chicken Lettuce Wrap Tacos
Instant Pot Sriracha Chicken Tacos

Ingredients

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into lengthwise strips
• 1/2 cup Pace Picante Sauce (see notes)
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 T Green Tabasco Sauce, plus more to add at the table if desired
• 2 T fresh-squeezed lime juice (see notes)
• 4 oz. cream cheese, cut into small cubes
• 1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles with juice
• 3/4 cup grated Mexican Blend cheese, plus about 3/4 cup more for serving tacos
• 8 Mission Carb Balance Low-Carb Tortillas (see notes)
• Sliced olives for serving (optional)
• Sliced green onions for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Trim visible fat and any undesirable parts from chicken breasts and cut each into 3-4 lengthwise strips. Put chicken strips into the Instant Pot with the salsa, onion powder, and garlic powder.
2. Lock the lid, set the Instant Pot to HIGH PRESSURE, 8 minutes.
3. While the Instant Pot comes to pressure and cooks for 8 minutes, get the green tabasco sauce, fresh lime juice, cubes of cream cheese, and diced green chiles (affiliate link).
4. When the 8 minutes cooking time has finished, let the Instant Pot NATURAL RELEASE for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to quick release the rest of the pressure.
5. Remove the chicken strips to a cutting board to cool. Turn the Instant Pot to SAUTE/LOW HEAT and let the liquid simmer until it’s cooked down to about 1/2 cup. (This took about 5 minutes.) While the liquid reduces, use two forks to shred chicken apart.
6. When the liquid has cooked down, turn off the Instant Pot and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Then stir in the Green Tabasco Sauce (affiliate link), lime juice, diced green chiles with juice, and cubes of cream  cheese. Whisk the sauce until the cream cheese is all melted and mixed with the liquid to make a creamy sauce. Add the shredded chicken back into the Instant Pot (you can turn it on low for a couple of minutes if you feel the chicken has cooled down too much) and add the grated cheese, stirring so it mixes with the chicken and melts slightly.
7. To serve, heat tortillas in a hot, dry pan for about a minute. Fill each tortilla with some of the creamy chicken mixture, more grated cheese, and other toppings as desired such as olives, green onions, salsa, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, avocado, or guacamole.

Slow Cooker Directions:

1. To cook in a slow cooker, trim and cut chicken as above and put into a 3.5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) with the salsa, onion powder, and garlic powder.
2. Cook on LOW for about 5 hours, or until the chicken is tender and shreds apart easily.
3. Remove chicken to a cutting board to cool.
4. Transfer the liquid to a saucepan that’s large enough to hold all the chicken. Cook the liquid over low heat until it’s reduced to about 1/2 cup (about 5 minutes.)
5. Turn off heat and let the liquid cool for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the Green Tabasco Sauce, lime juice, and cubes of cream cheese and use a whisk to stir until cream cheese has melted into the liquid to form a creamy sauce. Add the chicken into the pot with the grated cheese and stir to combine and melt the cheese slightly.
6. To serve, heat tortillas in a hot, dry pan for about a minute. Fill each tortilla with some of the creamy chicken mixture, more grated cheese, and other toppings as desired such as olives, green onions, salsa, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, avocado, or guacamole.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving:

Calories: 270Total Fat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6.3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5.2gCholesterol: 75mgSodium: 272mgCarbohydrates: 23.3gFiber: 15.9gSugar: 2.5gProtein: 27g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
With low-carb tortillas these cheesy chicken tacos should be suitable for most low-carb diets. The tortillas I prefer have 3 net carbs per tortilla. For Keto or gluten-free, eat the cheesy chicken mixture in lettuce wraps or over salad. This recipe could be made suitable for the South Beach Diet with reduced-fat cream cheese and cheese and would be Phase Two with low-carb tortillas or Phase One with lettuce wraps or eaten over salad.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Check out Pressure Cooker Recipes for more ideas like this one.Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You can also Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
These cheesy chicken tacos were first posted in October 2017. The recipe was updated April 2021.