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Crispy Chicken carnitas are made in the instant pot or pressure cooker, so they’re quick and easy! We crisp them up in the broiler and serve them wrapped in tortillas, served as burritos, or in rice bowls. They are perfect to meal prep and enjoy for the week!
Let me introduce you to my new favorite way to eat chicken – crispy chicken carnitas from your pressure cooker.
It all starts with crispy shredded chicken that we’ve pressure cooked, then shredded and broiled for a hot second, so the chicken gets nice and crispy on the outside but stays tender and juicy on the inside. We then tuck it into warm, white corn tortillas and move on to the topping possibilities. Diced onions and chopped cilantro are really all this needs. And chipotle sauce. Because sauce makes the world a better place!
And while we’re on the topic of tacos, may I just add that friends don’t count chicken carnitas tacos. If you were to come over for dinner tonight, in no way would I judge the number of warm homemade flour tortillas you stuffed full of these chicken carnitas and consume in one sitting.
No ma’am. Friends don’t count tacos.
Friends make sure there are plenty of tortillas around for you to load up with chicken, sauce, toppings, and repeat. Heck, you can even turn them into carnitas nachos with a little guacamole action.
Having a big batch of these chicken carnitas in the fridge or freezer is perfect for quick meals throughout the week.
I made this divine recipe for my family tonight, and it is one of the most scrumptious and perfect meals I’ve ever made. It’s fresh, tasty, and tangy and you can eat it forever and never feel like you’re sinning. My kids and wife absolutely raved about it and rated it one of their favorite meals ever. This one is a keeper!
Crispy chicken carnitas (1 min):
Ingredients for chicken carnitas:
- Chicken: Use boneless skinless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breasts. I use breasts because I prefer white meat, but dark meat lovers would undoubtedly enjoy this more with dark meat.
- Seasonings: You’ll need quite a few seasonings from your spice drawer! Grab some ground cumin, chili powder, dried oregano, kosher salt, and black pepper. These spices give the carnitas so much flavor. You’ll also need a sprinkle of garlic powder if you’re making the chipotle sauce.
- Citrus: You’ll need orange zest and orange juice as well as some lime juice for the chicken marinade. We’ll cook the chicken carnitas in a mixture of citrus and chicken broth to give it the most flavor.
- Chicken broth: You’ll need ¼ cup chicken broth to cook the chicken in the pressure cooker. The combination of orange, lime, and chicken stock gives the carnitas a delicious flavor.
- Onions: adding a quartered onion to the pot provides more flavor. The onions cook in the liquid and then break down in a soft texture as they pressure cook.
- Chipotle peppers: we’ll need a couple of chipotle peppers packed in adobo sauce. These add a smoky flavor to the chicken. You will also need a bit more if you’re going to make the spicy chipotle sauce for bowls or tacos.
- Bay leaf: Grab a dried bay leaf; then toss this in with the other ingredients for the chicken.
- Oil: We’ll sear the chicken in the oil before pressure cooking it. Use avocado oil or any other you usually use in your kitchen.
- Cilantro: Add a handful of cilantro as the chicken cooks. This just adds additional flavor to the dish. Then, finish the tacos by sprinkling with a little cilantro too!
- Mayonnaise: If you’re making the chipotle sauce for tacos, burritos, bowls, quesadillas or nachos!
Instant Pot Chicken Carnitas
- Make the seasoning mix. Start by combining the cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle the seasoning all over the chicken breasts, taking care to season both sides.
- Sear the chicken. Heat a swish of oil in the instant pot. Then add the chicken breast and sear on both sides. This helps the spices bloom in the hot oil and allows the chicken to develop a light crust on the outside. Remove the chicken thighs or breasts to a plate.
- Sear the aromatics. Add the onions and garlic to the instant pot and give it a quick saute to help release the flavor of the onion and the garlic cloves.
- Pressure cook. Then add the chicken back into the pressure cooker along with chipotle peppers and some of that adobo sauce, a bay leaf, a handful of cilantro, orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth mixture. Place the lid and start the pressure cooker. Once done, turn the knob for a quick pressure release.
- Shred the chicken once it’s cool enough to handle. Do this in a kitchen aid mixer or you can use two forks and shred it. Save the liquid, we’ll use it before broiling the chicken.
- Broil. Spread the shredded chicken out onto a sheet pan and drizzle a little oil over the chicken so that the broiler makes the outside of the chicken carnitas extra crispy. It’ll go into the oven for a total of 10 minutes; make sure to stop halfway and give it a toss with tongs. Finally, sprinkle with a little cilantro when it’s hot out of the oven!
FAQs about this recipe
Typically carnitas are made with pork, aka pork carnitas. But considering not everyone eats pork, chicken is a decent substitute when you want to enjoy carnitas!
There are a number of ways to server chicken carnitas. You can make burrito bowls, serve them over tortilla chips for homemade carnitas nachos, in corn or flour tortillas, or if you’re looking for low carb high protein options, make sweet potato boats loaded with shredded chicken. Serve topped with salsas or anything else you like!
Though I haven’t tested this recipe in a slow cooker, I feel you could easily sear the chicken in a skillet, then transfer to a slow cooker and let it look low and slow for 3-4 hours or until the chicken is easily shreddable with two forks.
If you like this recipe, you might also like:
- Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos
- Blackened Shrimp Tacos with Smashed Avocados
- Gotta Have ‘Em Ancho Chicken Street Tacos
- Marinated Mojo Steak Tacos with Guacamole
- Big Batch Homemade Taco Seasoning
Crispy Chicken Carnitas (Pressure Cooker)
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder such as ancho or chipotle
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano preferably Mexican oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ cup orange juice plus the zest of 1 orange
- ¼ cup lime juice
- ¼ cup chicken broth
- 5 cloves garlic pressed or chopped
- 1 yellow onion quartered
- 1-2 chipotle pepper 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- ½ bunch of cilantro stems included
- 2 tablespoons oil plus more
For the Chipotle Sauce:
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon milk or nondairy milk
- 1-2 chipotle peppers + 1 tablespoons adobo sauce
- pinch kosher salt
- pinch garlic powder
Instructions
For the chicken:
- Combine the cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt and pepper in a bowl. Sprinkle the seasons over the chicken breasts on both sides.
- Heat the instant pot on the sauté setting. Add a quick swish of oil and sear the chicken breasts on both sides for a minute on each side. Do this in batches so the chicken sears rather than steaming. Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the onions and pressed garlic, let cook 2 minutes flipping as needed to brown all sides evenly.
- Add the chicken back into the pressure cooker along with the orange zest, orange juice, lime juice, chicken broth, whole chipotle pepper(s), adobo sauce, bay leaf, and cilantro. Cover the instant pot and let pressure cook on the 'chicken' setting for 8-10 minutes depending on the size of the chicken breast. Prepare the chipotle sauce while you wait for the chicken to cook. Allow the pressure to release naturally or turn to the 'vent' setting. Allow it to vent completely before removing the lid.
- Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to the 'broiler' setting. Remove the chicken breast to a clean surface and shred the chicken using 2 forks. Place in a large bowl and drizzle ¼ cup of cooking liquid over the shredded chicken and toss to coat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the oil over the surface of a baking sheet. Add the chicken and drizzle the second tablespoon of oil on top. Stir to coat evenly.
- Broil the chicken for 10-12 minutes stopping half way to toss the chicken and drizzle another 1-2 tablespoons of cooking liquid. Rotate the pan for even broiling.
For the Chipotle Sauce:
- While the chicken is pressure cooking, add the sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.
Notes
- Leftover chipotle peppers/adobo sauce can be kept in a zip-top bag in the freezer!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like This? Leave a comment & rating below!
This has become a staple in our house! i make it almost every week as our meal prep lunches. I serve it over half a roasted sweet potato!
Thank you for this recipe. I made it earlier this week, and it was amazing! I wish there was more leftovers! I finished it in a cast iron on the stove top b/c the broiler scares me a bit. This is going in the regular rotation.
When you.say cooking liquid that is what is left from after taking out the chicken in the instant pot? Sorry I don’t cook much but want to try this!
Yes, that’s correct Kim. Hope you enjoy the carnitas! 🙂
This looks great but I need something not remotely spicy. Any ideas?
My family is super sensitive to any heat.
Hi Melissa! I wouldn’t say these carnitas are super spicy but they certainly do have a teeny tiny kick. You could try omitting the peppers but i’m really not sure how flavorful they would be as the peppers certainly do add a lot of flavor!
No real replacement for chipotle.
An option that would give a little smoke flavor without the heat would be to fire roast or broil green or red bell peppers. Peel, remove seeds, chop and add as much as you like.
This recipe is amazing! Made it tonight for friends:) the kiddos loved it and so did the grown-ups. That chipotle sauce is amazing!
I Love Carnitas! And I Love my Instant Pot! I think we are going to love this in tacos and then enchaladas. Think I’ll just full my IP with as many chicken tenders as it will hold (there’s 5 of us) and hope for leftovers to freeze! 🙂
Hope you guys love it Natasha!
this was a great recipe with lots of flavors! This was also a great recipe to use the features of my new pressure cooker! This is a keeper, yum!
I made this divine recipe for my family tonight, and it is one of the most scrumptious and perfect meals I’ve ever made. It’s fresh, tasty, and tangy and you can eat it forever and never feel like you’re sinning. My kids and wife absolutely raved about it and rated it one of their favorite meals ever. This one is a keeper!
So glad to hear it was a hit, Joel! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
This looks delicious. I make a similar chicken carnitas in the pressure cooker (this was before I got by brand, new sparkling Instant Pot). I’ll have to give your version a try!
Hi 🙂
This looks really good and healthy too. I live in Netherlands and we can’t get chipotle peppers or adobo sauce in the supermarkets. What would you suggest I use in stead?
So happy to hear you wanted to give this recipe a try. For the chipotle peppers and adobo sauce, you can swap it out for fresh jalapeño with a couple dashes of hot sauce (such as Tabasco). It won’t be exactly the same but it will come pretty close 🙂
You can also buy the cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce on line(amazon, etc).
There truly is no substitute for the chipotles. It is so unique! Here is a recipe to make Chipotles in Adobo yourself. It may be cheaper on line for the dehydrated chilies or you may be able to find other variety of dehydrated chilies locally..The recipe is from Chef Mark Miller. Hope this helps.
7-10 medium-sized dried chipotle chiles, stemmed and slit lengthwise
1/3 cup onion, cut into 1/2-inch slices
5 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 tablespoons ketchup
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups water
Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a pan, cover, and cook over very low heat for 1 to 1-1/2 hours, until the chiles are very soft and the liquid has reduced down to 1 cup. This recipe will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator in an airtight container. For chipotle puree, place cooked chipotles and sauce in a blender, and puree. Put through a fine sieve to remove seeds.
Everyone here loved it! The flavors are great and the spiciness can be adjusted with sour cream to suit the children!
So glad to hear that Darla! Thank you of taking the time to comment 🙂
Really easy!!! These were a total hit. I didn’t add as many chiles/adobo to the chicken breasts, so my kids ate chicken and cheese tacos, and we could enjoy the spicy version with a hotter sauce. I also zested the 2 limes before juicing them and made cilantro-lime rice in the Instant Pot as a side. Thanks for the simple and delicious dinner!
Would this recipe work just the same for a regular pressure cooker – not the Instant Pot?
Yes it’ll work in a regular pressure cooker as well, however cooking times may vary slightly.
This was my first recipe with my new Instant Pot. It was delicious! I put the carnitas on top of tostadas that I spread with refried black beans, then topped with Mexican cheese and popped back on the broiler. With sour cream and your chipotle mayo? A knockout!
Carnitas means pork.. There isn’t pork in this recipe, Looks good though!
Literally translated carnitas means ‘little meats’. Pork is more traditionally used but that doesn’t mean we should limit our options 🙂
Hi Marzia,
This looks so yummy. It’s my first time reading your blog and I am going to bookmark it.
Thank you 🙂
Oops, one quick question…. what you bump the time up to if I started with some frozen chicken breasts/thighs that I have? Or should I just not be lazy and thaw them out? Thanks!!!
Hi Jesse, I’ve only tested the recipe with thawed chicken breasts so it’s a little difficult for me to say whether you’d need to bump up the cooking time. I feel you may run the risk of the chicken overcooking on the outside if you don’t thaw them out prior to cooking. For best results, I suggest thawing them 🙂
About to make this for a crowd this weekend, I love that you crisp them up after! We have an old wedgewood so the broiler option is the drawer under the oven, so I can’t really get in the “middle” so I’ll just keep close watch on them. That crispy texture is going to be delicious, I can tell! Such a change from the wetter shredded chicken.
Broil for 10-12 minutes? Seems like a long time, but I’ll keep an eye on it. I’m going to try this one night this week!
It does seems a bit long, but that’s correct – 10-12 minutes. Just make sure to keep the baking sheet on a rack near the center of the oven so it doesn’t burn the chicken. Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
I don’t have a pressure cooker. How else could I cook your yummy recipe?
I really want to make this recipe – looks sooo good.
Hi Connie, I bet you could follow the recipe through step #2 and then add everything to a slow cooker and let it cook on low for 6-7 hours or high for 4-5 hours and then pick the recipe back up at step #4. Think it should work just as well 🙂
Hi Connie,
I make a similar recipe in the slow cooker. Marzia’s recommendation below is in line with how I do it, and it turns out well!