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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!
Delicious but a lot of steps….worth the effort!!!
I can’t find any information on how many servings your recipe makes or if the toppings or tortillas are included in the nutritional info. Do you have the answers to these questions?
There’s a note below the nutrition label that answers all of your questions 🙂
It is my favorite recipe now. Everyone I know liked it. Thank you.
I made this and it was awesome. The only thing different I did was after I crisped the chicken, I pureed the broth with the onions and Chipotle peppers with a hand blender and used that as an additional topping to the chicken. I’ve used this chicken to make tacos and a bowl with rice and beans. Up next will be nachos. Thanks so much!
Super Easy and yummy!
Turned out AWESOME, 5/5 from me for this. Thank you!!
I tried your carnitas yesterday. They smelled amazing while they cooked, but the chicken didn’t have as much flavor as I thought it would (or should). It was still tasty, but I was a bit disappointed that the wonderful smell didn’t translate to wonderful tasting chicken. After I took the chicken out of the IP and shredded it with my Kitchenaide blender (the ONLY way to shred chicken), I had quite a few onions and juices left over. I used some of the liquid to pour over the chicken as you suggested, but then there were those lovely, soft onions just sitting there. When I tasted one, WOW! That’s where all the flavor went!!! I highly recommend adding more onions (and maybe peppers) to this recipe and then eating them with the meat rather than tossing them out. I even cooked a batch of onions only using this same recipe so I’d have more. The flavor wasn’t quite the same; this time they picked up more of the lime juice. Apparently, onions (like zucchini and egg plant) are a great way to add more flavor! I’ll have to try the leftovers on a chalupa with broiled vegetables (tomatoes, onions, peppers, and zucchini) and cheese!
We do this too, we save the liquid/onion mixture and pour a little of the liquid over the leftovers and put in the microwave to heat and serve in the shell with the onions on top and then cole slaw. This time, I left the liquid onion mixture out overnight by accident and had to throw it away. I wonder how you cooked extra. Did you do it in the instant pot? I want it to have that flavor profile, thinking some broth, onions, garlic, orange zest, orange juice a little lime juice, and Chipotle/Adobe as in the recipe… thoughts?
Perfect one, just like the way i like it. Thanks!
Oh my stars!!! This is where it’s at! Just pulled it out and had a sample. More please. Thanks for this as it seriously upped the chicken game around here!
Love this recipe! Was thinking of trying it with pork. How long would I need to cook pork for?
These look absolutely delicious! You have amazing food photography too :] As much as I know my girl’s will love these, I know I will too!
Wow. I love this recipe. I will try this out for my friends and husband to taste. Love it.
This recipe was perfection! Easy, quick, and so so tasty. The chicken was tender, juicy, and flavorful. I had nearly all the ingredients on hand with the exception of adobo & chilis, but we just went without. It was amazing and every single person in my family loved it. Even the picky people! And it felt like a light dish, which was perfect for our already hot temps in NC. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
How many servings does the recipe make? The nutritional info is for one serving but I didn’t see how many servings the recipe made. Thanks!
It makes about 8 servings, you can always find this information right below the nutritional facts. Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow me to add the info to the label!
Made this the other night. I just got my instant pot and this is the 2nd thing I tried. Soooo good! When I went to make it, I realized I didn’t have any oregano or cumin—I tore apart my spice cabinet lol! But what I did have was one of those taco seasoning packets which did have cumin in it along with some other goodies, so I used that along with the chili powder etc to dredge my chicken. I used boneless skinless breast and thighs, because I had that on hand and my boyfriend is a maniac for chicken thighs—but I’m always trying to get him to incorporate more chicken breast into his life ? when it came out of the IP, I only put a small portion under the broiler because we wanted to try it both ways—they were both delicious in their own ways. Anyways, we had it “regular style”—with salsa sour cream and lettuce on a flour tortilla, but also we tried it with fresh cilantro, fresh lime juice and some crumbly goat cheese along with some “sauce” I made from lime juice, sour cream and the adobo sauce from the chipotles—YUM! The combinations are endless and all delicious. We had leftovers (even though we both pigged out that night lol) and so today I made us each a salad to take to work, and some of the chicken in a separate little baggie to heat up & top the salad with—OMG perfection again. I could actually even eat the chicken for dinner again tonight! This is a big thing since I’m not typically a fan of leftovers. I’m thinking maybe some kind of flatbread or something. Whatever the case—delicious delicious delicious and so easy and so versatile!
This was super delicious & I didn’t even use the chipotle sauce as I’m dairy free & hubby doesn’t like mayo. I just used green salsa & it was delicious. I diced the abode chilis & skipped the extra sauce just in case it was too spicy. The citrus adds an amazing taste. I had some oranges from a neighbors tree & was super happy to be able to use them in a such a yummy recipe. Broiling in the oven was super easy.
I love my instant pot & I was excited to try this recipe. It did not disappoint!
Thank you for posting this great recipe.
Absolutely llovd this. That sauce! Turned out perfect. Thank you!!
Hi,
is there any alternative to cilantro? Pls let me know. Thanks
I don’t like cilantro so I use parsley
Delicious recipe – I didn’t even have oranges/juice or the adobo peppers on hand. It was great with just lime juice and chicken broth. Finishing the chicken under the broiler is genious. The end result works equally well for tacos or for pulled barbeque chicken. It was so good I made a second batch right after the first.
We just got our first instapot for Christmas and are working through recipes from Pinterest. I have to say this one is one of the best of the best! WOW!! The citrus flavors are amazing, and the last step of broiling the chicken is brilliant! Also the chipotle sauce MADE this recipe! WOW! Thank you so much! This is going into our regular rotation!