Pretty Little Apron

Instant Pot Recipes

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tacos

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This Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tacos recipe is one for the books! Chicken is so quick to make in the Instant Pot, and this recipe combines just a few staple ingredients to make a delicious taco filling perfect for hard shells, soft shells, nachos, burritos, enchiladas and more!

Instant Pot Chicken Tacos

In my last post, I talked about how much I adore my Instant Pot Duo Plus! It does so many things so I am still trying to navigate my way through them all, but I’ve created some really awesome recipes so far. We are a taco loving family, so naturally I wanted to create a couple taco night recipes that everyone in my family could enjoy. This Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Taco recipe was a winner, and approved by my husband and the kids!


This was certainly a “let’s just throw these ingredients into the pot and see what happens” kind of experiment, but I was pretty sure it would work out great. Cream cheese is in the recipe and is basically my secret weapon of cooking so I knew it would make a really delicious addition to tacos. This is a recipe that I probably would have tried to make in my slow cooker before, however the Instant Pot is so quick it has replaced my slow cooker for a lot of recipes.

I still think the slow cooker has it’s own place in the kitchen, however it just doesn’t compare to the Instant Pot for so many reasons. The slow cooker has one function, while the Instant Pot has nine and is way easier to clean! I also like the look of the Instant Pot better so for now my slow cooker is on the shelf. I’m sure at some point I will find which recipes I like better in the Slow Cooker vs Instant Pot but the experimenting with the Instant Pot is super fun!

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Taco Recipe Tips

  • As always, please read your Instant Pot manual in full before starting any recipe if you aren’t familiar with using it. 🙂
  • I used 6 chicken breasts which equaled 2.5 pounds of meat. I do buy organic chicken, so the breasts are a lot smaller then the ginormous ones you may sometimes find at the grocery store. I would suggest going by weight and trying to get as close to 2.5 pounds of meat as you can.
  • When you take the lid off of your Instant Pot, you will need to stir in the cream cheese as it will still be in chunks. To get a really smooth sauce, I put my Instant Pot on saute for a couple minutes and pulled apart the chicken while the cream cheese was melting down into the sauce. This step only adds an extra couple of minutes and makes the most delicious sauce ever!
  • When you open your Instant Pot you may think the sauce seems thin. Once your chicken is pulled apart it really starts to soak everything up and come together. It will thicken the longer it sits as well so making this ahead of time is never a bad idea (totally not necessary though).
  • I used Ortega brand products because that is what I prefer. You can surely use your own favorites in place of Ortega. I used to make my own taco seasoning but when I was pregnant with the baby I couldn’t get enough of Ortega seasoned tacos and it has stuck ever since then!

Creamy Chicken Tacos

 

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Instant Pot Chicken Tacos

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tacos

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Dana
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 12
  • Total Time: 17 minutes
  • Yield: 6
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Description

A delicious, creamy taco filling that can also be used in your other favorite Tex-Mex meals!

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts (2.5 pounds of meat)

1 cup water

1 packet Ortega Taco Seasoning

1/4 cup Ortega Taco Sauce

8 ounces cream cheese

additional salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Put all ingredients into the Instant Pot. I just pulled apart my block of cream cheese into chunks and it worked great.
  2. Stir taco seasoning into liquid. Secure lid onto Instant Pot and set on manual mode for 12 minutes. After your 12 minutes of cooking time, you will want to do a 10 minute natural release of pressure. See recipe tips if you are unfamiliar with what this means.
  3. After your 10 minute natural release of pressure, release your steam vent to let out any additional steam, then remove lid. Switch your Instant Pot to saute mode, and mix cream cheese particles into the sauce. The saute will also help you shred your chicken easily.
  4. Serve in hard taco shells with all of your favorite taco night toppings! We served ours with hard taco shells, cojita cheese, and fresh cilantro.

Notes

I use an Instant Pot Duo Plus and love it!

Keywords: Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Tacos

Creamy Chicken Tacos

 

 

Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki

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This Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki is the perfect take out inspired recipe, right in your Instant Pot! Your pot will open to delicious, fall apart beef coated in a balanced, classic teriyaki sauce. I know you will love this one!

Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki

You guys. My Instant Pot is amazing me over and over again. Every time I make a recipe I have to pinch myself because it was so easy! I love throwing something into the Instant Pot during the day so that dinner is ready and I can clean up, and get out of the kitchen for the evening. I can enjoy dinner with my family instead of running around like a chicken with my head cut off. It feels really good to have most of the dinner dishes done before you even have dinner too!


I’m still discovering all of the ridiculously amazing settings on my Instant Pot. I have the Duo Plus, and it has two whole rows of settings that can do things like steam, sterilize, make yogurt, pressure cook, slow cook, and more. I mean, if this thing isn’t just pure magic then I don’t even know what it is.

I’ll be honest, when I first got it, I was kind of wondering if it would live up to the hype. After tasting this recipe, I can officially say the Instant Pot lives up to the hype 100% for me. It doesn’t get any easier then this, and you don’t have to stand over a stove all evening. You can throw your ingredients in the pot and walk away! Hallelujah!

 

Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki

With school starting next Monday I am sure on the hunt for some easy weeknight recipes. This Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki is exactly the kind of recipe I love to have on hand on a busy night where everyone has homework, the kids are whining, the baby is crying, and my husband is working late. I’m pretty sure that is always how those nights go, right? It is never just one thing, it is EVERYTHING all at once. When you feel like your drowning in your Mom duties, the last thing you want to do is cook. I’m finding more and more that instead of ordering take out like we used to, I am grabbing some protein throwing it in the Instant Pot, and putting a side on and I’m done.

Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki

Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki Recipe Tips

  • I use 2 pounds of sirloin in this recipe, but other cuts of beef would work the same. Wegman’s is my go-to for meat, and they always have double packs of huge sirloins in their selection. I pick one up and the meat goes a long way! Roast meat or stew meat would work too, however I do prefer the sirloin because I can easily trim the chewy, fatty edges.
  • As always, please read your Instant Pot manual before using the Instant Pot!
  • If you aren’t familiar with Instant Pot terminology this is what you need to know: First press the manual button and on your screen you’ll see that you can set your pot to high pressure and adjust time. Set to 17 minutes. Make sure your steam valve is closed, we want to keep the pressure in the pot. If your steam valve is open, you’ll see the steam coming out of the pot. You don’t want this. Your pot won’t start cooking immediately, it does need to come to heat first. Everything happens automatically so you literally just set it and walk away. Once the pot is to temperature, the timer will start. After the timer runs out, it will beep to let you know it is done, however you still need to release the pressure. This recipe calls for a natural pressure release which literally means letting the pot sit and doing nothing. When your pot beeps to let you know your cooking time has finished, a new timer begins to let you know how long it has been releasing pressure. Once 20 minutes has elapsed, your dinner is done! All you have to do is open the steam valve to let any additional steam out, and then open the pot.
  • This sounds super hard to follow but once you have done it one time you will realize how easy it is. Your Instant Pot does everything!

Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki

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Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki

Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki

  • Author: Dana
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Description

The Instant Pot makes this Beef Teriyaki so easy! You will open your pot to tender, delicious Beef Teriyaki, and your mind will be blow at how simple it was!

Ingredients

2 pounds sirloin steak, cubed

1 cup water (to put in pot before cooking)

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/4 cup cold water (for thickening sauce)

2 Tablespoons cornstarch (for thickening sauce)

Instructions

Cut your sirloin into cubes. Add sirloin, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic to your Instant Pot.

Set your Instant Pot on Manual Setting at high pressure. Make sure your steam valve is closed. Cook for 17 minutes, then allow a 20 minute natural release. Release vent to allow any extra steam to release, and open pot.

Switch Instant Pot to sauté mode, uncovered. Mix 1/4 cup cold water with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch, mixing well to make sure there are no clumps. Pour the cornstarch slurry into your Instant Pot and stir until your teriyaki sauce thickens.

Serve over a bed of jasmine rice or broccoli.

Notes

I used the Instant Pot Duo Plus for this recipe! Here is exactly the model I have. I can’t say enough about how magical this machine is!

Instant Pot Beef Teriyaki