NPR included me in an article about busy parents getting food on the table last week. I've been listening to NPR since the 80's - in fact, NPR helped kick off my food obsession. I was listening to a Thanksgiving interview of Barbara Kafka about her Roasting: A Simple Art cookbook. It was an ode to old school, high-heat roasting. I bought that book in 1997 on the newfangled Amazon.com website...and it was all downhill from there.
I was going on (and on) about my favorite pressure cooker weeknight dinner, quick shredded meat for tacos. When the article came out, I squeed with joy…but then I saw the links they had back to my site. I realized I have a lot of fancy, authentic taco recipes on DadCooksDinner, but not the simple, weeknight recipes that I use, week in and week out.2
It's time to make up for my oversight, starting with Tinga de Pollo - shredded chicken tacos. Now, these are a little fancy - see the notes for the ultimate stripped down version - but even with the extra work of sautéing an onion, they're ready in about a half an hour from my pressure cooker. Even better, most of that time is hands-off, waiting for the pressure cooker finish cooking. That leaves me plenty of time to finish up the rest of the meal.
Here it is, one of my weeknight go-to pressure cooker recipes. Enjoy!
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Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos (Tinga de Pollo)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Chicken Tacos (Tinga de Pollo) recipe. Quick weeknight shredded chicken tacos, ready in 30 minutes
Ingredients
- Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and sliced thin
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ cup beer (or water)
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ancho chile powder (or a chili powder mix)
- 10- to 14.5-ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes (get the “with chilies” style if you like it spicy)
Accompaniments
- Tortillas
- Salsa
- Shredded Mexican cheese
- Shredded cabbage (or shredded lettuce, or baby greens)
- Pickled jalapeños (or sliced fresh jalapeños)
- Lime wedges
- (Plus your own favorite taco toppings)
Instructions
- Sauté the onion and deglaze with the beer: Heat the vegetable oil in the pressure cooker pot over medium heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the onion and garlic, and sprinkle with ½ teaspoon of salt. Sauté until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Pour in the beer, scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen any stuck bits of onion, then wait for the beer to come to a simmer, stirring occasionally, about 3 more minutes.
- Add the chicken and tomatoes: Sprinkle the chicken with ½ teaspoon of salt and the ancho chile powder. Add the chicken and tomatoes to the pot, and stir to coat with the onions and garlic.
- Pressure cook the chicken: Lock the lid on the pressure cooker and bring it to high pressure. Pressure cook at high pressure for 10 minutes in an electric or stovetop PC, and then let the pressure come down naturally, about 15 more minutes.
- Shred the chicken and serve: Remove the chicken to a platter with a slotted spoon - it’s OK if you get some of the tomatoes. Shred the chicken using a pair of forks. Scoop as much of the tomatoes and onions from the pot as you can with a slotted spoon, and stir into the shredded chicken. Add a ladle or two of the liquid from the pot, just enough to moisten the chicken, and serve with the tortillas and accompaniments.
Notes
Ultra short-cut ingredients: Use ½ cup water, the chicken, salt, and replace the diced tomatoes with a jar of your favorite salsa. (It will already include sautéed onions and garlic.) Skip the sauté step, dump everything in the cooker, and follow the instructions starting with “Pressure cook the chicken…”
Tools
- Pressure Cooker (I love my Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Weeknight Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 tacos (with corn tortillas and salsa)
- Calories: 329
- Sugar: 1.8 g
- Sodium: 581 mg
- Fat: 8.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 36.3 g
- Protein: 27.1 g
- Cholesterol: 106.5 mg
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Instant Pot Birria Tacos (Quesabirria con Consome)
Pressure Cooker Boneless Beef Short Rib Tacos with Dried Chile Pepper Sauce
Pressure Cooker Refried Black Beans
Quick Red Salsa
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Aaron Friedman says
That's the part of the beaty of a Vitamix, a self-venting lid.
Mike Vrobel says
Oh, mine self-vented all right... 🙂
Aaron Friedman says
Have you ever tried pouring off some of the liquid and then blending the sauce before putting the shredded chicken back in the pot? I was thinking you could go whole dried/toasted/soaked chilis in that case instead of powder.
Mike Vrobel says
Yes, you can, just be very careful about blending the chilis with hot liquid - your blender can become a chili fountain: https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/blender-disaster/
Aaron Friedman says
This recipe makes a fantastic enchilada filling. I used it to make enchilada's for Christmas dinner this year.
I use 1 tablespoon chili powder (whatever powder I'm using for the sauce) instead of a teaspoon, and go half thighs, half breast.
Aaron T Friedman says
I'm using it for Christmas enchilada filling again this year. Merry Christmas.
Mike Vrobel says
Merry Christmas!
Christina Snyder says
Thanks for the ultra short cut ingredients! Its grocery shopping day here in this house tomorrow and my pantry and fridge are getting low but not my freezer! I can still make tacos since I still have the ingredients for those today. You have saved my butt until I can make it to the store or can have some delivered.
Leslie Cyphers says
I used breasts instead of thighs & chipotle Rotel & a can of green chiles. This was phenomenal! Thank you!
David Kilijanski says
I've been doing this for years but with a crackpot. Aside from time savings is the texture or flavor much different? We just recently bought a pressure cooker and want to start playing around
Mike V says
I think they're pretty similar between the two - try it out and see what you think!
Angela says
Hi Mike - quick question unrelated to your recipe post. I'm ready to order the same pressure cooker you have, but I'm torn on whether to get the 6qt or 8qt. Your thoughts? I am an empty nester, so I only have 2 people at home, but would also want leftovers for work lunches. I greatly appreciate your thoughts as I have never used PC before and am very unfamiliar.
Mike V says
Get the 6 quart - you don't need the larger one. The 6 quart is big enough for me 95% of the time, cooking for a family of five. https://www.dadcooksdinner.com/what-pressure-cooker-should-i-buy/
Sue Mignault says
Mike: Did you happen to notice in the recipe that the cook time seems to indicate 25 hours? I had to read the whole recipe to get the actual cook time.
Mike V says
Thanks - I'll get that fixed.
Dave Gill says
Cook time 25 hours? I can only imagine what the slow cooker version is!
Mike V says
Thanks - I'll get that fixed.