This is the Quickest Pulled Chicken Fajita Tacos recipe ever! Juicy and fall-apart tender chicken seasoned with Mexican chili powder, paprika and cumin, soaked in sweet and tangy salsa and folded in a fire grilled corn tortilla. Now that's a party in your mouth!
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Another Instant pot pressure cooking wonder where dinner is on the table in under 30 minutes.
I love Tacos!
I have to admit that I'm addicted to Tacos! Give it to me in any form, warm, cold, deep-fried, char-grilled, with any kind of meat, any kind of toppings and I'll be happy.
But this recipe is ever so simple that if dinner got any easier, I'd have to call it take-out. These Pulled Chicken Fajita Tacos can be easily transformed into Pulled Chicken Fajita Sliders for game day parties as well.
Also try this simple 3-Ingredient Salsa Chicken Tacos
Easy Peasy Tacolicious Recipe
The process to put it together is super easy. In this video, I've made this recipe in my Instant Pot.
Sauté aromatics and simply throw in your favorite jar of salsa, few spices and chicken. And then, dump and start. The addition of sautéed peppers and onions is what elevates this dish and gives it a Fajita like delicious taste.
You can customize it to your liking and very easily switch chicken for pork. Just slice it up in 1.5-2 inch pieces and increase the timer to 15 minutes. I love it when weeknight dinners come together in a jiffy, but taste like they've been cooking low and slow for a long time!
Best part is, it tastes delicious without any condiments too, but go for your favorite toppings to take it over the top!
How to Prevent a 'Burn' Message
To prevent the salsa from scorching the bottom of your pan, it is important to have thin liquid in the pot. The chicken will release its juices, so you just need enough to get it going.
The salsa that I use for this recipe is pretty thin, more like a tomato sauce consistency, so I add only about ¼ cup of water. But if your salsa is thick and chunky, add about ½ cup.
Another way of making sure that the salsa doesn't burn is to add water first, then chicken followed by salsa. Follow this sequence and don't stir anything. Just pressure cook it as-is.
Here's how to put together Pulled Chicken Fajita Tacos in the Instant Pot
 Saute peppers and onions |  Remove them, keep aside for later |
 Add water in Instant Pot |  Add seasoned chicken |
 Mix salsa and remaining seasoning |  Pour over chicken |
 Pressure cook for 8 mins |  QR after 10 minutes of NPR |
 Remove chicken |  Shred chicken |
 Add shredded chicken to pot |  Add peppers and onions to the pot |
 Stir well |  Ready for tacos or sliders! |
 Can be had as-is with tacos |  or, with your favorite toppings! |
Low Carb Chicken Fajitas Recipe
Nearly all the carbs in this dish are in the tortillas. So, to make this dish low carb and even keto, pair it with a side salad made with chopped cucumbers, red onions, avocados and cherry tomatoes. Dress the salad up with fresh lime juice, a dash of paprika, salt & pepper and enjoy a delicious low-carb dinner!
Stovetop Recipe for Pulled Chicken Fajita Tacos
You can make this tasty goodness on the stove-top too. Here's how:
- Prep: Slice onion and bell pepper into thin slices. Heat a sauce pan on medium high heat. Wait 30 seconds and add oil.
- Sliced onions and bell peppers go in the pan now, sauté for 30 seconds. Add red wine vinegar and sauté another 30 seconds. Add half of the salt & pepper, so ¼ teaspoon each and stir well. Remove in a bowl and keep aside.
- Add salsa, water and spices in the sauce pan and stir well. Add chicken breast and coat well with the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover with a lid. Cook for 15 minutes on medium heat or till chicken is tender and pulling apart easily with two forks. Stir every 5 minutes to ensure that the chicken or sauce doesn't stick and burn at the bottom.
- Remove the lid. Remove chicken in a platter. Using two forks shred the chicken. Meanwhile, add cocoa powder in the sauce and stir well.
- Add shredded chicken, onions and peppers in the sauce and stir well. Serve with warm tortillas of your choice and top with your favorite topping like cheese, sour cream, salsa and jalapeños.
Check out my Top Mexican Recipes, including chilis, bean burgers, and tacos.
📖 Recipe
Pulled Chicken Fajita Tacos in Instant Pot
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Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breast
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion sliced
- 1 large green or red bell pepper sliced
- 1 teaspoon red Wine Vinegar
- 12 ounces salsa : I used Trader Joe's Salsa Authentica
- ¼ cup water : increase this to ½ cup if the salsa is very thick and chunky
- 2 tablespoons Mexican chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin : optional
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa : optional but highly recommended
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 8 corn tortillas : substitute with almond flour tortilla for low carb
For Serving (pick your favorite condiments)
- sour cream, salsa, guacamole, chopped onion, chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the Instant Pot on Saute mode. Wait 30 seconds and add oil.
- Add sliced onions and bell peppers and sauté for 2 minutes. Then, add red wine vinegar and sauté another minute. Add half of the salt & pepper and stir well. Remove in a bowl and reserve for later. Cancel Saute.
- Mix together salsa and spices in a cup. Add water to the instant pot and then layer the chicken breasts. Pour the salsa mix over it to cover the chicken with the sauce. Do not stir. Close the lid, vent set to sealing position. Cook on Manual/Pressure Cook for 8 minutes on high pressure. For chicken breast thicker than 1 inch, increase the time to 10 minutes.
- After the cooking time is done, wait 10 minutes, then release the pressure manually. Open the lid after the pin drops. Remove the chicken for shredding. Using two forks shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Meanwhile, add cocoa powder in the sauce and stir well.
- Add shredded chicken, along with the sauteed onions and peppers back in the sauce and stir well. Serve over warm tortillas of your choice and top with your favorite topping like cheese, sour cream, salsa and pickled jalapeños.
Stovetop recipe
- Heat a saucepan on medium-high heat. Wait 30 seconds and add oil.
- Add sliced onions and bell peppers, and sauté for 2 minutes. Add red wine vinegar and sauté another minute. Add half of the salt & pepper, and stir well. Remove in a bowl and reserve for later.
- Add salsa, 1 cup of water, and spices to the saucepan and stir well. Add chicken breast and coat well with the sauce. Reduce the heat to medium. Cover with a lid. Cook for 15-17 minutes on medium heat or till chicken is tender and pulling apart easily with two forks. Stir every 5 minutes to ensure that the chicken or sauce doesn't stick and burn at the bottom.
- Remove the lid. Remove the chicken and shred it using two forks. Meanwhile, stir in the cocoa powder in the sauce.
- Add shredded chicken, onions, and peppers back into the sauce and stir well. Serve over warm tortillas with your favorite topping like cheese, sour cream, salsa and jalapeños.
Penny Skubon says
Followed directions exactly as written except to swap Mexican chili powder for regular chili powder; the salsa I used was a mango salsa. This was so good - the chicken was tender and moist, the sauce was delicious, especially when mixed with the shredded chicken. I was skeptical of the cocoa powder with my mango salsa, but it was a hit. I used fresh chicken thighs, getting ready to make again.
Aneesha says
That's great Penny, I'm so glad you enjoyed it!