Have you heard of the infamous Crack Chicken? Well I’ve cut it down to size and turned that calorie bomb into this Instant Pot Mexican Inspired, Healthy Crack Chicken. Healthy Crack Chicken means: Bring on the Guac!
This post is sponsored by Litehouse Foods and they are reinventing how we all make guacamole . . . I’ll get to that revolution in a sec. You are gonna Flip. Out.
Crack Chicken. Have you heard of it? Have you tried it? Does the name bug you in a way that makes you turn away from it then peek over your shoulder to see what exactly Crack Chicken is? I totally get it.
And peeked I did, long enough to see that it was probably delicious, but not quite worth the calories. Triple Layered Chocolate Cheesecake . . . worth the calories. Chicken . . . not so much.
So to be straight with you, I don’t know what the real Crack Chicken tastes like. BUT, I do know that this Mexican Inspired version of Crack Chicken is slimmed down, spiced up (but not spicy, so don’t be scared), and irrrr-eeee-sistable. With a bonus of VERSATILE!
My first tasting of this was in this quesadilla form below. Next was a taco salad (gah! I could eat that everyday!). Then taquitos (this got the kid vote). Then there was the wrap you’ll see in the video (whoa ???? ). Now I’m thinking hard shell tacos, wonton wrappers, nachos, stuffed tomatoes, tostadas, tamales . . . Coming soon: Marci’s Mexican Crack Chicken Food Truck . . . It’s gonna be BIG!
Let me calm er’ down for a sec to talk about a couple of important things here.
First, the question on every Instant Pot/electric pressure cooker owner’s mind:
HOW DO I MAKE SHREDDED CHICKEN IN MY INSTANT POT THAT’S NOT TOUGH AND CHEWY?
I swear I have tried all 599 methods I’ve researched on the internet and here is my conclusion (correct me if I’m wrong):
It’s not going to be perfect every single time. It’s the greatest mystery of my life, why it’s perfection 90% of the time and then BAM! Chewy.
If you want a guarantee, use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts. Those thighs will not let you down ever! Unlike my own thighs that bulk up enormously if I even think of doing squats.
So if you want my go to method, here it is:
MARCI’S (MOSTLY) BULLETPROOF METHOD FOR MAKING SHREDDABLE CHICKEN BREASTS IN THE INSTANT POT
1) Use good quality chicken. I buy my meat from one meat department only because it gives me the best results. If you live locally that store is Smiths Market Place. They will prep all my meat for me too with big smiles on their face. I LOVE them!
2) Don’t use giant chicken breasts. I find if they are big thick breasts, they just don’t work as well. I like to cut them horizontally through the center to make them thinner.
3) More time, not less. I know a lot of people say that if it’s chewy, it’s over cooked. Which makes sense, but if I want it to shred, I cook longer. 20 minutes is my rule of thumb.
4) Natural Release, Always.
5) Be cautious of stacking. Again, the consistency goes down when I start stacking a whole bunch of chicken on top of each other. I see people doing this all the time and wonder what magic they have discovered that I haven’t!
6) How much liquid? I’m not selling my soul on this one yet. For this recipe I only use 1/2 cup. For this amazing Chicken Enchilada Soup, the chicken is cooked in the liquid and comes out perfect every time. So for me, cook time makes a bigger difference than the amount of liquid.
7) For perfectly shredded chicken, I love to throw it in my food processor for about 5 pulses. I know a lot of people like to do it with a stand mixer, but I feel like it turns it to mush. I MUCH prefer the chops of the food processor.
BONUS: HOW TO MAKE JUICY CHICKEN BREASTS FOR SLICING:
That info can be found with this recipe for Instant Pot Hasselback Chicken Cordon Bleu or Buffalo Chicken Waffle Fries. It doesn’t shred well, but this Rich Lum technique makes for a very moist chicken breast for slicing, dicing, or eating with a fork and knife.
Now that we’ve got that covered, lets move on to another very important business matter.
HOW TO MAKE AMAZING GUACAMOLE IN 1 MINUTE OR LESS
No joke. 1 minute using this revolutionary jar of Litehouse Guacamole Herb and Spice Blend (I found it in the produce section of my grocery store). Inside this magical bottle is a mix of freeze dried red onions, cilantro, lemon peel, tomato, red chili, garlic, and cumin. All you do is mash an avocado, dump in this Guac mix, add a fresh squeeze of lime juice and a pinch of salt and BOOM! You’re done! You can eat it right away, but 30 minutes in the fridge is like, WHOA! Add extra lime or salt to taste and devour it with a side of Healthy Crack Chicken. Yum!
This Guacamole Blend is only one of many products created by Litehouse. I love companies that make wholesome eating easy and convenient, and Litehouse does just that with a huge variety of dressings, dips, blue cheese (I’m dying to try this one!), herbs, and the most delicious Honey Crisp Apple Cider. I find most of their products in the refrigerated section of the produce department.
Last item of business:
GIVEAWAY is now over. Congratulations Monica!
Litehouse Foods is generously giving one lucky winner a full set of Instantly Fresh Herbs. That’s SIXTEEN jars of every Litehouse herb flavor, including this Guacamole Mix. How sweet is that!
To enter simply leave a comment below telling me your favorite cooking tip/hack in the kitchen. It can be Instant Pot related or not, just give me your best!
Enjoy this Healthy, Mexican Inspired Crack Chicken with a side of Green Veggie Rice very very soon! I dare say it will become a regular in your home.
Tools/Ingredients used to make Instant Pot Mexican Inspired Healthy Crack Chicken
Litehouse Guacamole Herb and Spice Blend
*This post contains affiliate links. Thank you!
PrintInstant Pot Mexican Inspired Healthy Crack Chicken
A healthier Mexican inspired version of the very popular “Crack Chicken”, this Instant Pot Mexican Crack Chicken is as versatile as it is addictive.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings
- Category: Entree
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs (if breasts are especially large, cut them in half horizontally. I feel like they cook up more tender this way)
- 1/2 cup salsa (if it’s a very thick salsa, add 1/4 cup water to the pot as well)
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese or whipped cream cheese
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 1 15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
- cilantro to garnish
- optional toppings: pico de Gallo or salsa, guacamole, sour cream or plain yogurt, taco shells or flour tortillas
Instructions
- Add chicken breasts to the pressure cooker pot, placing them in a single layer across the bottom as much as possible. Add salsa, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Secure the lid and turn pressure release knob to a sealed position. Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes.
- While chicken is cooking, prepare pico de gallo and guacamole if using homemade.
- When pressure cooking is complete, use a natural release.
- Remove the chicken to a plate and shred with two forks or place it in a food processor and pulse a few times for a smaller dice, being careful not to overprocess it to the point that it turns to mush.
- Add cream cheese and pepper jack cheese to the pot. Select saute to melt the cheese and whisk until smooth. Stir in the black beans and shredded chicken.
- Use the chicken for quesadillas, taquitos, hard shell tacos, soft taco wraps, taco salad, etc. Serve with pico de gallo, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, or any other favorite Mexican style toppings.
Freezer Instructions
- Place a freezer safe ziplock inside the pressure cooker pot. Arrange the chicken in a single layer with the other ingredients in step 1. Seal the bag and freeze inside pressure cooker pot until solid, then remove the bag from the pot and place back in the freezer until ready to use.
- When ready to cook, add 2-3 tablespoons of water to the pressure cooker pot. Remove chicken and other ingredients from ziplock and place inside the pot.
- Cook at high pressure for 30 minutes then proceed with the rest of the directions above.
Notes
- The cooked, shredded chicken freezes and thaws really well. I like to add 1 – 2 cups of chicken in freezer safe ziplocks
Keywords: Mexican food, taco, quesadilla
My favorite kitchen hack is beans!! Seriously, I make at least a pound of beans a week, to add to all kinds of recipes (fiber! heart health!) Rinse and sort 1 lb of any dried beans. Throw in IP covered with 2″ veggie broth. Add two bay leaves. Set IP for 30 minutes on manual. NPR. Boom. Delicious beans for the week!
Mary Ellen, so easy, but I agree, IP beans are amazing!
I always preset the kitchen table. But, when I got married my Mother in law told me her secret.
“When you’ve been out gallivanting all day and nothing is cooked, starting frying up onions so that when your husband walks in he’ll think you’ve been cooking all afternoon.” She was a great Mother in law.
Monica, My kids are finally old enough to “preset” the table for me. Your mother in law rocks, I love that 🙂
Hi! My favorite Litehouse product is freeze dried cilantro! I didn’t know they made quacamole mix!!
The tip I tell everyone is that if you put just a bit 1/2 tsp- of butter in your potatoes to boil they will not boil over and make a mess on your stove! Best thing I ever learned in the kitchen!!
Dana, I love the cilantro, it really has awesome flavor compared to other dried brands. The Guacamole mix is amazing! Love the tip!
I grow bell pepers so when I get lots of them, I chop them, fill snack size ziplock bags and freeze them. That is just the right size to put in lots of different recipes and I don’t always need to have fresh peppers on hand.
Diane, I’m going to plant more peppers this year because of this tip!
My favorite time saving tip is to brown your ground beef in big quantities when you have extra time and freeze it. You can even season some of it with your favorite seasonings. It saves so much time when making tacos/taco salads/spaghetti or anything you would add ground beef to. You just remove the amount you want from the freezer and run under water to separate.
Tawney, My mom did this for me when I was pregnant and it was so very convenient
When I make broth in my instant pot I freeze it in silicone molds that are 1/4 cup in size. When frozen I transfer to freezer bags with type of broth and date made. When I need a cup of broth , I know that I need 4 cubes or if I just want to add a little flavor throw in a couple of cubes.
Karen, I’ve been meaning to do this for so long!
My favorite tip is when you’re hosting a dinner party fill up the sink with hot soapy water. You can put all your dishes in the water to soak while you enjoy time with your guests. After they leave clean up is easy cuz you don’t have dried dirty dishes!
Courtney, So simple but why have I never thought of this!
My favorite thing in the kitchen that I did was to get a large griddle that goes over two of my gas stove burners. Who needs all four burners anyways? Having this griddle there has saved me so much time as I can do big batches or pancakes, sausages or patties all in one go. I have also switched to all heat resistant silicon whisk and spatulas and stirring spoons so that I don’t have anymore burned handles from leaving them in the pot for just a few seconds.
Isabelle, I need to do this!
My favorite tip on Sundays I not only prepare my shredded chicken I also brown ground turkey and freeze recipe ready while I roast a variety of veggies in the oven to add as side dish or in my recipes such as frittatas!
Caryn, I find I’m so much more relaxed throughout the week if I do this!
I love to use scissors in the kitchen. I cut herbs, pizza, sandwiches, veggies, noodles. The list goes on and on and on…
Wynne, You have me intrigued . . . I’m definitely going to test my shears out more now.
I am excited to try the guacamole seasoning! I have not tried any of their seasonings yet. My favorite thing to do is to buy several large blocks of cheese, grate them all in my food processor, get a bunch of snack-sized zipper bags and put a 1/3 cup of grated cheese in each bag, then place all the snack bag in various gallon-sized zipper bags, label with the type of cheese and freeze them so I have whatever cheese i need on hand at all times. The other thing I like to do is make my own chicken/beef/veg broths and freeze them in ice cube trays, bag and label them with the amount in each cube. Big time saver
Karen, I use this cheese trick as well! I’m always so happy at dinner time when I don’t have to grate cheese for whatever I’m making.
I love cooking all types of food with my Instant Pot! Thanks for sharing all your delicious recipes!
My favorite dessert hack is to use my Instant Pot as a double boiler to melt chocolate and peanut butter for No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars! So easy; just place/balance a glass bowl on the pot filled with about 1 cup of water and your ingredients are melted faster and smoother than done in the microwave.
Kelly, what a great idea! I need to try this!
Rock-hard brown sugar? Put a piece of bread in and close the lid. A day or so later the bread will be completely desiccated and the sugar will be fresh and soft as new.
Robyn, My mom taught me this trick as a kid. It still amazes me!
I love the pesto Costco has in the refrigerated section, but it is way too much for just me to use up before it goes bad. So I freeze it in ice cube trays and store it in ziplock bags, that way you can drop a pesto cube on pasta or add to sauces.
Linda, I always do this when my basil plant goes crazy 🙂
I don’t have any hacks. All those other comments are awesome! Such good ideas, I need to write them all down. Pinterest showed me that peeling a banana by pinching the nub instead of breaking the stem is way easier. Its the only way I peel a banana now. My toddler can peel his own, it’s awesome. Won’t go back to the traditional way. I told my Hawaiian friend and she just laughed at me. When she was a little girl, living on the island, they would climb the banana trees and pinch some open and eat straight from the tree. When the bushels were cut off they’d find all these half eaten bananas. 🙂
Laurel, Well you taught me something new! And that’s hilarious. My kids did the same thing with my peaches a couple years ago and I was not laughing then.
My favorite kitchen hack is to grate up fresh ginger root and then freeze it in about 1 tbsp measurements in an ice cube tray. I add a little water to each one to make sure they stick together. Then I can just pop them in anything in calls for. My husband loves to put a cube in his smoothies. I need to go try that guacamole one! I can never make a great guacamole!
★★★★★
Maegan, I love this idea! The frozen ginger I was buying at the grocery store had other additives in it which bugged me. Guess I won’t need that anymore! It is seriously my favorite guac now. I feel like I’m cheating when I make it, but it’s sooo good!
I would love to try these herbs! One hack that I constantly do is to freeze sliced bananas. I love having them available, like frozen mango, to add to smoothies. Love all these ideas!!
Barbara, My freezer is always, always stocked with frozen bananas 🙂
Whenever I am freezing food I try to flatten it so it defrosts faster. Love to use dried herbs but in the summer when I can get fresh I also found freezing them works well. Love trying new products especially when they can be used with fresh produce. Thanks for the recipe.
Stephanie, I finally learned the flatten trick a couple years ago and it really does work so good.
It’s gardening time and if you don’t have time to can extra homegrown tomatoes just rinse well put in gallon ziplock single layer place on cookie sheet and freeze. Once frozen stack bags in freezer. When need tomatoes for soup salsa etc. take out however many you want skins slide off as they thaw.
Cathy, I have never even heard of doing this! What a great idea!
Use the pizza cutter to cut pieces for kids when they are small. It’s much faster when you have multiple littles than to cut with the knife and fork.
Melody, Genius! I figured this one out when all my kids were 3 and under.
Already gave you my favorite kitchen hacks, but wanted to say that at 5am, I am already drooling for dinner time, thanks to you describing the guac and the crack chicken…I think I should skip my eggs and bacon this morning and head right over to dinner! Thanks Marci!
Karen, hahahaha! Good to know it’s totally normal to be thinking about dinner while I’m eating breakfast 🙂
😉
This recipe sounds really yummy! Have you tried it without the cream cheese? I’m wondering what the difference would be.
Robin, It wouldn’t have the creamy factor, but the flavor would still be amazing.
One of my favorite kitchen hacks is I love to buy rotisserie chickens when they’re on sale, take them home and get all the meat off and freeze in 2 cup measurements. They keep for months and it’s so easy to take out and add to a recipe to make it quicker or even just to whip up some chicken salad for lunches. The possibilities are endless and you’re always ready with something to eat.
Jen, I do this all the time as well! Nothing beats the flavor of a rotisserie
My freezer – that is my best kitchen hack EVER! Seriously – I prep stuff in huge batches when it’s on-sale or I have time. Everything from fruit for smoothies to whole wheat muffins, to raw cookie dough balls that cook in 12 minutes, to steel-cut oatmeal blocks, goes into the freezer and makes my life so much easier.
I’m interested in your whole wheat muffins, Mandy!
Mandy, I agree! My freezer is LOADED!
Excited to try this recipe! I had a hack or two that your other readers already mentioned. I always like to make my Instant or Crock Pot meals extra big so I have plenty to freeze for later. I’ve got two busy little ones at home so anything to make dinner easier is a blessing!
Patti, It’s wonderful having freezer back ups!
AHH! This was delicious! Thank you for a healthy version! I too have shied away from crack chicken until now. And it was so tasty it hardly needs the cheeses! Is there any way to add the black beans in to cook from dried?
Tara, Isn’t it awesome!? We’ve had it just about every way possible. Just scooping it up with whole grain tortilla chips is about my favorite right now. I bet it would still be awesome without the cheese. I’ve never tried dried beans. You’d probably at least have to use soaked beans for it to work and I imagine it would need a lot more liquid. If you try it, let me know!
Hi Marci, I’m going to try this recipe but when you say natural release after 20 minutes on high pressure, are you suggesting to do a natural release until the pin drops? Or natural release for a certain amount of time, then quick release for the rest? thanks!
Stephanie, I like to plan ahead enough that the pressure can release completely naturally. If I’m in a rush, I’ll let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes then slowly let the rest of the pressure release through the valve.