Home » Dinner » Chicken » Pressure Cooker Crispy Chicken Carnitas
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.
Bear with me while I’m having this moment of carnitas insanity, and if it’s not too much to ask, have this moment with me, won’t you? 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. There’s just something about simple toppings that do it with these. 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. As in, if you were to come over for dinner tonight, in no way would I judge the number of warm homemadeflour tortillasyou stuffed full of these chicken carnitas and then proceeded to 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. Please and thank you.
It’s a little outrageous how simple these are to make, and the possibilities are endless. Having a big batch of these chicken carnitas in the fridge or freezer is perfect for quick meals throughout the week.
I’m so over the moon about these right now; can you tell?
Crispy chicken carnitas (1 min):
Ingredients for chicken carnitas:
- Chicken:Use boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts. I prefer to use chicken breasts because I prefer white meat, but my 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 1/4 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 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; we’ll 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.
- Mayonnaise:If you’re making the chipotle sauce for tacos, burritos, bowls, quesadillas or nachos!
Instant Pot Chicken Carnitas
- Make the seasoning mix.In a bowl, combine the cumin, chili powder,r oregano, salt and pepper. 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.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. Add the lid, and let the pressure build up, and cook for 8-10 minutes. I had a ton of tiny chicken breasts, so all I needed was 8 minutes. For larger chicken breasts, pressure them for 9-10 minutes. You can do a quick release by turning the valve.
- Shredthe chickenonce it’s cool enough to handle. Do this in a kitchen aid mixer or you can use two forks and shred it. Don’t even THINK about tossing out that liquid from the pressure cooker! We’re going to add ¼ cup of it back into the chicken before we broil it.
- 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. Rotate your pan too, and add a couple more tablespoons of the cooking liquid to keep things flavorful and juicy.
FAQs about this recipe
Are carnitas chicken?
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!
How do serve chicken 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!
How to make chicken carnitas in crock pot?
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
Yield: ~ 1 3/4 lbs. of shredded chicken
Pressure Cooker Crispy Chicken Carnitas
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Chicken carnitas made in the pressure cooker so they're quick and easy! We crisp them up in the broiler and they areperfect to meal prep and enjoy for the week!
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon EACH chili powder AND dried oregano
- salt and pepper
- zest and juice of 1 orange (about ¼ cup)
- 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 + more
For the Chipotle Sauce:
- ½ cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1-2 chipotle peppers + 1 tablespoons adobo sauce
- pinch of salt and 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!
is this a good choice for you?
nutritional facts for 1/8th of the recipe and is only for the meat.
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30 Minute Meals By Diet Chicken Dinner Instant Pot Slow Cooker Under 500 caloriesburritos carnitas chicken chicken carnitas instant pot mexican food pressure cooker tacos
originally published on Jan 6, 2017 (last updated Jan 3, 2024)
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145 comments on “Pressure Cooker Crispy Chicken Carnitas”
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connie — Reply
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.-
Marzia — Reply
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 🙂
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Chava Mazal Stark — Reply
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!
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Jennifer — Reply
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!
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Marzia — Reply
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! 🙂
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Jesse — Reply
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.
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Jesse — Reply
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!!!
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Marzia — Reply
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 🙂
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Joi — Reply
Hi Marzia,
This looks so yummy. It’s my first time reading your blog and I am going to bookmark it.
Thank you 🙂5
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Logan Troxell — Reply
Carnitas means pork.. There isn’t pork in this recipe, Looks good though!
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Marzia — Reply
Literally translated carnitas means ‘little meats’. Pork is more traditionally used but that doesn’t mean we should limit our options 🙂
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Tracy Brooke — Reply
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!
5
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Rena — Reply
Would this recipe work just the same for a regular pressure cooker – not the Instant Pot?
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Marzia — Reply
Yes it’ll work in a regular pressure cooker as well, however cooking times may vary slightly.
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Emily — Reply
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!
5
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darla — Reply
Everyone here loved it! The flavors are great and the spiciness can be adjusted with sour cream to suit the children!
5
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Marzia — Reply
So glad to hear that Darla! Thank you of taking the time to comment 🙂
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Anne-Mette — Reply
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?
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Marzia — Reply
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 🙂
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Geri — Reply
You can also buy the cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce on line(amazon, etc).
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Hope — Reply
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 waterInstructions
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.
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Chava Mazal Stark — Reply
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!
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Joel — Reply
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!
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Marzia — Reply
So glad to hear it was a hit, Joel! Thank you for taking the time to comment!
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Bonnie Vick — Reply
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!
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Natasha Long — Reply
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! 🙂
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Marzia — Reply
Hope you guys love it Natasha!
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Eileen Enos — Reply
This recipe is amazing! Made it tonight for friends:) the kiddos loved it and so did the grown-ups. That chipotle sauce is amazing!
4.5
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Melissa Ruth — Reply
This looks great but I need something not remotely spicy. Any ideas?
My family is super sensitive to any heat.-
Marzia — Reply
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!
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Tony — Reply
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.
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Kim — Reply
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!
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Marzia — Reply
Yes, that’s correct Kim. Hope you enjoy the carnitas! 🙂
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Christinat — Reply
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.
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Ashley — Reply
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!
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Andrew P. — Reply
I have made this a few times and everyone loves it! Also once you remove the chicken do not toss out the remaining juice! We strained it and used it to make some very flavorful rice.
5
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Debbie — Reply
This recipe is a a flavor bomb in your mouth! I’m already in love with my electric pressure cooker but this recipe… I can’t love enough! Hello leftovers!!! CAPITAL DELISH!!!
5
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Farah — Reply
I had a lot of the liquid from pot left over. I feel bad throwing it away. What can I create out of it??
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Marzia — Reply
Hi Farah, you can strain the liquid and pop it in the fridge or freezer and use it as the ‘chicken broth’ for homemade enchilada sauce
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Valerie — Reply
How many servings are in this recipe. I love that you have the nutritional count, but need to know if what we had was about the same as one servings on the nutritional content.
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Marzia — Reply
The nutritional facts are for 1/8th of the recipe (written below the nutritional facts label). Unfortunately, it doesn’t allow me to add it to the label but this information can usually be found below the label itself or at the top of the recipe card 🙂
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Heather — Reply
I made this tonight, it was crazy good! This will definitely be one of my go to recipes! I severed it over cilantro lime rice in the tacos. I also used the cooking liquid to cook some pinto beans in the IP for a side.
5
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Heather — Reply
I made this and the chicken dried out under the broiler. It was like jerky!! What did I do wrong?
4
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Marzia — Reply
Hi Heather! My best guess is that it just needed a little less time under the broiler. For next time, I suggest testing the chicken every 2-3 minutes during the broiling stage. Your broiler just seems to be more powerful and it probably crisps things up a little faster 🙂
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Ashley — Reply
Just made this. Cannot say enough about how amazing it turned out! So flavorful! I may have taken a spoon and drank the leftover cooking liquid lol!
4.5
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Marzia — Reply
I may have done that too! Haha! Thanks for taking the time to comment Ashley! 🙂
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Dave S. — Reply
Marzia,
I made this two nights ago and served as tacos per your recommendation. My family raved about them. Thank you for a great pressure cooker recipe! I made a double batch and have plenty for additional meals. Tonight, I put the saved cooking broth in the Blendtec and puréed it. I then used it to replace the liquid in my favorite Mexican rice recipe. Was excellent!
Thank, again!
4.5
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Diane — Reply
I made these vegan by using Butler Soy Curls instead of chicken and swapping the mayo for a vegan alternative. Instead of adding milk to the sauce I used the juice of half a lime. Thanks for the recipe. Absolutely delicious!!!
4.5
