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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!
Looks amazing will definitely try it! Thank you for sharing.
FANTASTIC!!! Used thighs. Shredded in the cooking juices and let it sit for about an hour before broiling. Served with with avocado slices, fresh tomato salsa, fresh strawberry salsa, mango slices, romaine lettuce leaves as well as flour tortillas, sour cream , chopped cilantro and lime slices and these terrific black beans that I make and Mexican cauliflower rice. SOOOO GOOD!!!
I tried it and it’s so tasty! Wow!!
This is delicious! Outstanding flavor. This is my second time making. Since I am only cooking for 2, we have plenty of leftovers. This freezes well. After looking at some of the comments, I will leave the onions in with the chicken next time.
This dish is so delicious. I actually cut up the onion on accident the first time, so it was cooked into everything and the flavor was amazing, so I’ve continued doing it that way. But other than that, I make it how you do. Great job girl!!
I can do the same in a crock pot, right?
Has anyone modified this to make in a slow cooker?
This recipe was so tasty. I put some of the Cooked onions with the chicken on the pan after chopping them up And broiled then as well. I’m glad I did. Served with red onion chopped very small like in the picture. I made 2 pounds for four people and thought I would have a lot left over I really only have enough for one taco left. Next time I will make double
What a nice recipe.
Nicely explained.
Bravo!
Amazing Recipe. I want to make but want to know how much time it takes?
wow so good recipe! Was thinking of trying it with pork. But how much time it took, How long i have to cook,can you help me?
These were delicious!! My family doesn’t think they like meat cooked in the crockpot, so this Instant Pot recipe was perfect! So flavorful! We didn’t have nearly as many leftovers as we probably should have!
Fewer leftovers is always a good sign! Appreciate you circling back to leave a comment, Betsy 🙂
Just tried this recipe. Loved it. I want to say keep it up and guide us how to make such recipes.
Thanks for this. I have been searching for this
This was a huge hit in my house!
So glad to hear that, Laura! 🙂
Saved. It’s a banger. I skipped the oven step just for time’s sake and it was still delicious.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it! Thank you for taking the time to come back and comment! 🙂
It is really difficult to secure groceries at the moment, especially fresh items (quarantine.) What would happen if I had to skip the cilantro? ?
Cilantro adds a bright flavor to the recipe, but you can omit it if you aren’t able to get some at the moment!
Love this recipe! Was thinking of trying it with pork. How long i have to cook,can you help
I used boneless pork loin chops and they were perfect. I also substituted enchilada sauce for the adobo sauce because that’s what I had in the pantry.
Because of COVID I have extra time and your recipe saved my day.
This crispy chicken recipe is so tasteful that I now love to eat this dish on daily basis without keeping the weight gaining in my mind. Thank you.