Life is a beautiful place with Instant Pot Shredded Chicken on speed dial. What to do with all that shredded chicken? Make this Instant Pot Chipotle Ranch Chicken Panini every single day until it gets old sometime next year!
This Instant Pot Chipotle Ranch Chicken Panini completely blew me away. I tend to get carried away with recipes, sometimes thinking more is more like in the case of this Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu and this Chicken Tikka Masala. In my defense, in these particular recipes, more really is MORE!
This simple panini can be ready in 20 minutes flat and I am smitten with every single bite. My friends, this is a shining star kind of meal.
All the food groups wrapped up into a whole grain tortilla, then heated through and sealed shut in a panini press. It's healthy, it's creamy and so flavorful and juicy that I don't even have to hunt down a dip. And I'm a dipper die-hard.
Did you already know about the magical flavor combo you get when you combine lime, chipotle in adobo, and ranch dressing? Wowza, it's incredible!
To keep it on the healthy side of things, I skipped the ranch dressing and combined a packet of ranch seasoning with my homemade yogurt and it worked perfectly. Even my yogurt hating husband was licking his plate clean. Of course, I didn't tell him it was yogurt . . .
Side note, I haven't tried it yet, but if you want to avoid the prepackaged ranch seasoning packet, you could try making your own using this Ranch Spice Mix recipe. This is what I plan on doing the next time so I will update when I do.
While this is delicious wrapped up cold, there is just something magical that happens when this wrap meets a panini press. I've used this Cuisinart Griddler for nearly 10 years now and I still love it.
HOW TO MAKE A PANINI WITHOUT A PANINI PRESS
If you don't have a panini press and aren't about to buy one anytime soon, here is how I used to do it before my panini press days.
Prepare your tortilla wrap. Heat up 2 skillets over medium high heat. It's best if one is slightly smaller than the other. Spritz or brush the tortillas with a little olive oil then place tortilla in the larger pan. Place the smaller hot pan on top of the wrap and press down firmly, but not so much that the fillings start coming out of the tortilla. Cook until the bottom of the tortilla is browned then flip and place the hot smaller skillet on top again. Boom! No pretty lines, but you've got yourself a flat, crispy, sealed panini and you didn't have to buy a thing.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT SHREDDED CHICKEN
For all my tips on this, be sure and check out this post with all my tips for shredded chicken. You can also find these tips in this recipe for Mexican Inspired Crack Chicken (make this!). You'll have perfectly cooked chicken for all your quick meal needs.
Here's to quick and easy food that doesn't need all the bells and whistles! Enjoy!
Tools/Ingredients used to make Instant Pot Chipotle Ranch Chicken Panini
Instant Pot Chipotle Ranch Chicken Wrap
Creamy, smoky ranch chicken all wrapped up with lots of fresh veggies makes this my favorite panini wrap ever!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: about 6 servings 1x
- Category: Entree
- Method: Panini Press
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
For the Chipotle Ranch Sauce
- 1 cup greek yogurt (fat free, 2% or Homemade Instant Pot Yogurt)
- 1 (1.0 oz) package of ranch seasoning mix
- zest and juice of 1 lime
- 2 chipotle in adobo chilies, chopped (from a 7 ounce can of chipotles in adobo) plus 1 tablespoon of the sauce from the can
For the Wrap
- 2 cups shredded chicken (from this Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe)
- 1 cup corn (canned, frozen, or fresh cut from a cob)
- 1 large tomato, chopped
- 1 medium avocado, chopped
- ¾ cup shredded pepper jack or monterey jack cheese
- 6 – 8 whole grain tortillas (burrito size)
Instructions
- Preheat a panini press or heat a griddle pan (or a large saute pan) on the stove top over medium high heat.
- In a small bowl, combine yogurt, ranch mix, lime zest, lime juice, chipotle chiles, and adobo sauce.
- In a large bowl, stir together the Instant Pot Shredded Chicken, corn, tomato, avocado, and cheese. Add the Chipotle Ranch Sauce and gently stir to combine.
- Scoop the chicken mixture onto a tortilla (about ⅓ cup or so) and center it down the middle. Fold the sides of the tortillas over to meet in the middle. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Mist the tortillas with nonstick cooking spray and place on a griddle pan or in a panini press. Cook until outsides are golden and crisp and the center is hot and gooey.
- Serve hot.
Notes
- For a simple extra step, Make your own Ranch Seasoning Mix
- To make this without a Panini Press – Prepare your tortilla wrap. Heat up 2 skillets over medium high heat. It's best if one is slightly smaller than the other. Spritz or brush the tortillas with a little olive oil then place in the larger pan. Place the smaller hot pan on top of the wrap and press down firmly, but not so much that the fillings start coming out of the tortilla. Cook till the bottom of the toritall is browned then flip and press it down once more. Boom! No pretty lines, but you've got yourself a flat, crispy, sealed panini and you didn't have to buy a thing.
Keywords: instant pot shredded chicken, chicken wrap, chipotle chicken, Mexican food
Welcome! I’m Marci, wife to my motorcycle dream man and mother of 3. I have a passion for creating and cooking delicious masterpieces in my kitchen and am ecstatic to share my discoveries on TIDBITS! I like my food tasty, wholesome, memorable, and always, ALWAYS followed by dark, salty chocolate.
This recipe should get some more love! Also, just got reminded I need a slow cooker! Love the photos.
Brian, Yes, it’s one of my faves! I haven’t used my slow cooker in years since I bought a pressure cooker!