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I’m making Thursday Night Tacos a thing, with these Instant Pot Spicy Pineapple Chicken Tacos.
Watch the How to Video Here:
On Tuesday I shared my favorite Tamale Chili, which I plan to serve up this New Year’s Eve, but it would not be a Mexican New Year’s Eve feast without some tacos. Enter these sweet and spicy pineapple chicken tacos.
Oh my gosh, they’re my favorite.
With pomegranate pineapple salsa…of course. Because I am obsessed with all the in season winter fruits (as you will soon find out in all the upcoming healthy January recipes).
Oh these tacos, they are easy, healthy, and delicious. Throw everything in the crockpot, go out and do something fun, and come home to dinner!
YES. PLEASE.
I know I’ve said this over and over, but we always do a ton of Mexican over the holidays. Knowing that I would be in need of some super easy and quick dinners while all my family is in town, I turned to slow cooker and instant pot recipes.
Tacos are probably one of the most loved foods among the crew, so again, Mexican was also an obvious choice. These are kind of a knock off of an al paster style taco. I swapped the pork for chicken, and cooked everything in the instant pot (also have made in the slow cooker) and added a pomegranate pineapple salsa, which, if I’m being completely honest, is my favorite part of the whole meal. All I really need are tortillas and salsa and I’m good.
I love using chicken in place of pork because it’s a little leaner and my family usually prefers it over pork. I also incorporated some poblano peppers for a little smoky flavor and extra vegetables.
I haven’t shared these tacos with the family yet, but I’m hoping to make them for New Year’s Eve on Sunday. Feeling pretty confident they’re going to love them, seeing as they contain all of their favorites.
Speaking of the family, I feel like I need to catch you guys up on our family Christmas. Winter finally arrived, just in time for Christmas, and we spent most of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day outside playing in the backyard. Well, let me rephrase that, all of the boys spent most of Christmas outside, while the girls and I cooked and made more cocktails than I could ever count. Christmas Eve was actually pretty mellow as we headed to a friend’s house for a party that night. I was still in the kitchen all day, but just ended up making a giant pot of my brother’s favorite gumbo, beer bread from the cookbook, this blue cheese appetizer, these brie rolls, and a GIANT batch of chex mix.
Christmas morning we woke up to a very white Christmas with about three feet or so of snow. It was pretty much what you see in the movies, and it was perfect. We spent the morning opening gifts, unpacking our stockings, and eating monkey bread. Even though most of us kids are all grown adults, my mom continues to make Christmas the BEST every single year. Giving her a HUGE shout out for not only making all seven of her kids Christmas amazing, but also my three cousins who spend Christmas with us every single year. She also shopped for four girlfriends and one boyfriend, making her grand total of people to gift for at fifteen. And that does not include my dad, because he’s literally the Grinch and hates Christmas…wish I was joking, but it’s the honest truth, at least he goes along with it though.
Once gifts had been opened most everyone made their way outside and then eventually back to my house for a lunch of grilled cheese, leftover gumbo, leftover tamale chili, and um yes, more cocktails. For dinner, I unexpectedly found out (at like 5 o’Clock) that I’d be cooking for not only my family, but also my brother’s girlfriend’s family, and my brother’s friend’s family, making a grand total of twenty-seven people. The more the merrier, right? Yup, my mom has ingrained this into me.
I ended up making the simplest dinner of beef tenderloin, cheesy potatoes, pasta dish from the cookbook, a giant lasagna, and a giant salad. And then, I made my brother Red homemade sushi, because one, he’s been requesting it for over a month, and two, this was the only day I actually had time to make sushi. It’s turned out OK, but my sushi skills could definitely use some sharpening.
SIDE NOTE: I made the sushi before I knew about all the extra people coming for dinner, so Red’s lucky it actually happened.
And that’s our Gerard family Christmas! The family has been spending these days after Christmas, and leading up to New Years, playing outside. They’ve been hiking, snowboarding, snowmobiling, and just playing in the backyard. I’ve been mixing in work with a little chill family time too, so it’s been nice. Still cooking a ton, but what’s new there?
And now that I’ve written a story book about our family Christmas, I think we should all head to the kitchen and start cooking dinner, because Taco Thursday is sounding pretty delicious right about now.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
PS. don’t forget a side of guacamole, chips, and margaritas. DUH.
Can I use chicken thighs instead?
Hey Karina! Thighs will be great. Add 3-4 minutes to the cooking time. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Easy to prepare and exploding with flavor which I find instant pot recipes lack. This was all delicious. Will make again
Love to hear that Veronica! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I loved the smoky flavor of these tacos. I added a can of black beans and about a tbsp of brown sugar for a touch of sweetness.
Love that! I am so glad it turned out well for you Kristie! xTieghan
I loved this recipe! Sweet from the pineapple, smoky from the adobo chili peppers!!! Perfect balance! Love, love, love this recipe!!!
Thank you so much Rachel! xTieghan
I’m going to make these but can’t handle much heat from peppers. Should I just omit the chipotles? Maybe only do 1/2 of one? Use a small amount of chipotle powder instead of the ones in adobo sauce? I’m good with the poblanos as they don’t really have heat but the Chipotle’s typically set my mouth on fire! Any ideas to tone it down are appreciated!
Hi Amy!! Try using 1 teaspoon chili powder or chipotle chili powder. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Love love loved it! Thanks so much Tieghan.
Thank you!! xTieghan
If I’m making for a party and want to double the recipe, do I need to increase the time in my pressure cooker at all? Looks delicious – can’t wait to try!
HI! I would add 2-3 minutes onto the cooking time. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
These are so very good!! I made a few adjustments based on what I had on hand, (but nothing major). The biggest addition I made was to add red onion to the salsa.
I am so glad you loved these tacos Penny! Thank you!
Really good! Wish the tacos had a little bit more heat though. Next time I’ll add an extra pepper
Thank you so much Rachel!
I made these tonight for dinner and the texture of the chicken was perfect! Your cooking directions were spot on! My chicken and sauce were more of a pale color compared to your photos. I ended up thickening the sauce slightly with a little cornstarch too. Next time I’d add twice the seasonings/chipotle/pineapple but will definitely make it again!
Thank you so much Ashley! I am so glad you loved these tacos!
Can you use frozen chicken breasts instead? If so, how would that affect the timing?
Hey John, I have not tested this with frozen chicken, but I would cook an addition 10 minutes to make up for the chicken being frozen. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
Excited to make these this weekend! Will the salsa hold if made in advance? And do you think these turn out better in the instant pot vs the crock pot? I have both so just wondering!
HI! Yes, you can make the salsa in advance. Up to 3 days ahead! Either the slow cooker or instant pot is great! It really doesn’t matter. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! xTieghan
what size is the instant pot you use? (how many qts?)
I have an 8 quart instant pot. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much! x Tieghan
These tacos sound delicious! 2 pounds of chicken is way too much for just my fiancé and I – if I were to cut the recipe in half, should I keep the amount of pineapple juice the same, when using the instant pot?
HI! I would also reduce the pineapple juice by half. should be great! Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
Hi, great video. Saw you added water to the instant pot but in the recipe you don’t list it or mention how much? Is water critical?
Thanks!
Love your recipes.
I used about 1/4 cup of water. It’s only needed if you want more saucy tacos. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂