Easy instant pot chipotle adobo chicken is a perfect meal prep recipe for tacos, bowls, salads and more! All you need is chicken thighs, chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, some spices and they cook in under 15 minutes. Plus, shredded in under 1 minute with a handheld mixer!
I’m always in need of easy, meal prep recipes, especially ones I can build upon.
That’s why I LOVE my instant pot because I’m all about the having the convenience of making food fast without compromising flavor! Then I have a protein staple in the fridge for the week that also tastes ahhhhhhmazing.
Enter: instant pot chipotle adobo chicken. Perfect for any meal prep recipe for the week!
If you’ve never used chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, I promise you, it’s gonna be your favorite thing. Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked jalapeños and adobo is a tangy, red sauce that those chipotle peppers are soaking in. Although you won’t use the whole can these keep well in your fridge (and then you’ll need them again next week to make this recipe again!)
I’ve talked to so many people who own an instant pot but they’ve said it’s been sitting in their pantry closet unopened. I totally get it, an instant pot can seem intimidating but it doesn’t have to be! Once you learn how to cook a few of your favorite recipes, you’ll be won over at the ease of your new kitchen gadget.
The first thing you’ll do is turn on your pot to sauté mode, and once it’s hot you’ll add a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and the chicken thighs. At this point you can add sea salt, pepper and garlic powder. The chicken will sear for 5 minutes (that will lock in the flavor!) and once golden brown, you’ll add a few chipotle peppers, sauce and water.
Then you’ll lock the lid and turn the pressure valve to sealing. The chicken will cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. I like chopping up some fresh cilantro and serve with a side of frozen cauliflower rice (oh so easy!)
Bonus: shred the chicken straight up in the same pot. No extra blending of sauces. All you need is your favorite handheld mixer and you’ve got it shredded in under a minute!
Here are a few favorite ways to use your instant pot chipotle adobo chicken:
- on top of nachos with melty cheese and extra jalapeños for a fun appetizer
- served with a side of cauliflower rice and refried black beans for an easy weeknight dinner bowl
- chipotle adobo tacos with my paleo broccoli cabbage coleslaw
- served on a bed of crunchy, romaine lettuce with sour cream and fresh squeezed lime
Instant Pot Chipotle Adobo Chicken
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs chicken thighs
- 3 chipotle peppers (from can)
- 1 tbsp adobo sauce (from can of chipotle peppers)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)
Instructions
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In the Instant Pot press sauté mode and wait until it reads “hot.” Then add 1 tbsp olive oil, chicken thighs, sea salt and seasonings. Sear chicken thighs for 5 minutes, turning thighs over once to get nicely golden brown.
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Add 3/4 cup water and 3 whole chipotle peppers plus 1 tbsp adobo sauce to the chicken thighs (no need to chop up peppers). Place the lid on the pressure cooker and secure to sealed position on the valve. Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes. Allow the pressure to naturally release (the silver button next to the valve will pop down once it has fully released). Carefully turn the valve to venting to remove any excess steam. Remove lid.
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Use a hand held kitchen aid mixer (or a stand up one if you have) and mix the chicken thighs on low until shredded. I find it easiest to go in 10 second increments. Make sure not to over mix or the chicken will become too shredded and watery!
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Add fresh chopped cilantro and serve chicken with your favorite Mexican dish like tacos, burritos or salad!
Who loves fried chicken? It’s probably one of my favorite meals. My whole family knows it. We didn’t got out to eat often when I was young. When my Grandparents would visit from California, they’d take the whole family out to lunch. All six kids and two parents, which makes sense why we didn’t go out to eat often unless Grammy and Papa came to visit 🙂
The thing that has changed, is I’m probably not going to eat all the fried chicken at the buffet, because, well you can handle a little more chicken when you are young! So, what I’ve created here is a fried chicken rendition that actually isn’t fried. It’s baked. Which 1) means less work, and 2) less dishes to wash, and 3) well baked has coined the term “healthier” so maybe it’s just that! Either way, you are going to love it.
What makes this chicken paleo friendly? It’s the crackers that give it the extra crunchy, almost corn flake texture (anyone grow up eating these?! Me!) But I definitely chose my crackers wisely. Meaning, I didn’t lose out on the flavor but found some paleo ones for you! My favorite ones I’ve tried is from the brand Simple Mills. You can buy them for cheap at Costco or your local health food store. If you like a little kick, I’d recommend the Jalapeño Sprouted Seed Crackers.
Then all you need to do is crush up those crackers and whisk a few eggs and dredge the chicken in all of this goodness. What a fancy free happy weeknight meal!
And if you are like me, you need some potatoes with your crispy chicken. You could add sweet potatoes drizzled with olive oil and sea salt with some cinnamon or a few yellow potatoes sprinkled with pepper, salt & parsley! Also, you probably already know I’m a HUGE fan of 
Nothing is stopping you now from making all the crispy, crunchy, buttery, chicken cause hello comfort golden food, I see you right here!
Cauliflower is definitely the “in” food right now. Cauliflower pizza crust, cauliflower smoothies, roasted cauliflower, cauliflower “cream” sauce, and of course cauliflower rice to name a few. I love plain old frozen cauliflower for an easy vegetable side dish with my 
If you’ve never tried cauliflower rice before, it’s a great alternative to white or brown rice. You can substitute it for topping with curries, stews, sauces, really anything you’d serve with rice. Even though I don’t specifically eat low carb, I’m always in for sneaking veggies into dishes! Plus you are basically making a veggie stir fry but with that comforting, savory, take-out-style fried rice.
You’ll see here that the cauliflower rice will get very fine and so depending on the size of the “rice” that you want you can process it for 30 seconds to a minute. You don’t want to over process it because then the rice will get mushy (same thing with cooking, it really just needs a light steaming if you are using fresh cauliflower).
If you are a fried rice fan then don’t forget to add fresh garlic and fresh ginger! I’m telling you it really makes the difference here in flavor. Plus you are getting awesome benefits from the garlic and ginger (read more about why 
What I love about this recipe is that is doesn’t take a lot of time to make. If you want to save a step, buy a bag of frozen mixed vegetables like I did here. But, if you need to use up the veggies you have in your fridge, definitely dice them up and sauté them with onions at the beginning! I like finding a blend of carrots, peas, corn and green beans. If they are frozen make sure that you don’t over cook them or else they will get mushy! Yea, I have no idea how I know that….
If you have some shredded chicken on hand, then go for some extra protein and add that in too! I didn’t have any chicken on hand, but of course I added in some eggs which will give the rice the fluffy texture you want! Make a well in the center of your pan then add the eggs and stir until fully cooked. Then mix the eggs together with the rice after they are done cooking which makes sure the rice doesn’t get mushy.
It’s best served right away, but if you’d like to save for meal prepping for the week, add in the riced cauliflower at the end when you are re-heating things up. This will keep the texture of the cauliflower rice more firm. Alternatively, you could cook the cauliflower rice more “al dente” and then re-heat for your lunch or dinner!
The rosemary and oregano pair so well with the chicken and vegetables with just the right amount of spice! And don’t forget the fresh crushed garlic and lots of lemon juice that slowly cook with everything. Have I got your mouth watering yet? And keep that chicken skin on! Cracked pepper and sea salt help that chicken get a little golden crispy. Plus, don’t get me started on the leftovers. Sometimes I wonder if I should make all my meals the day before so they can sit in the fridge and gather up all the flavor. This is a great option to take to lunch the next day!
I can’t believe this is my first dish with pomegranates. I mean, I’ve had pomegranates before but it’s always been by itself. You know, you just slice it in half, place it in a water bath (so much easier to peel!) and then pop the seeds right out. But I feel like pomegranates are so festive for the holidays and I’ve been seeing them in a lot of recipes, especially salads. So I felt it was time to get on board with this bright, juicy, red fruit!
One of my favorite things at Thanksgiving is the cranberry sauce with the turkey. Like I love gravy and all but I don’t feel like my plate is complete without the cranberry sauce. So I was thinking to myself, what else can add that tart, tangy flavor like cranberry sauce, but without having to make it over the stove top? And that’s how I decided to eat pomegranate seeds with chicken. It’s seriously such a perfect mix! This dish only calls for half the pomegranate, but you for sure could add the rest. I didn’t add the pomegranate seeds until the end because I didn’t want to cook the seeds. However, I bet it would give it a wonderful, bright taste if you add half of it during the baking time and the other half once it’s done cooking.
I’ve been adding pomegranate seeds into my sparkling water and then of course topped with gin cause why not?! It makes the best cocktail addition! I’m thinking of making a Holiday cocktail recipe with pomegranate seeds, kombucha and gin so look for it on the blog soon! One thing to be careful of is that these seeds will stain anything they come in contact with…so don’t wear white when you peel them (they aren’t as bad as beets though!)
Come on, look at that crispy skin! When you can buy your chicken organic, I always leave the skin on. Healthy collagen that’s great for your skin, hair and nails! Plus, it’s so tasty when it’s fried up in olive oil and sizzling to golden perfection. It also locks in the flavor of the chicken, keeping it juicy, so don’t forget that important step in cooking.
If you are having an intimate Thanksgiving and don’t want to cook up a whole turkey bird, why not make this dish for your festive dinner? It not only looks beautiful but tastes so yummy! If you didn’t want to add the rice, you could probably trade it in for potatoes, unless you were going to serve it with mashed potatoes. The few extra springs of rosemary are placed on top of the chicken as a garnish and are not necessary for taste. I like to keep the rosemary stems whole in the chicken and then just discard the stem once it’s done cooking. Then top off the dish with some pomegranate seeds and voila dinner is served!
