Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas recipe is an easy one pot and go time saving meal. Made with basic pantry stables and fresh or frozen chicken.
Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas
These Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas are perfect for those days that you didn’t plan dinner because you are too busy or rushed.
It’s a super easy dish to make in your Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker. You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry right now. This recipe is adapted from Wolfgang Puck and Deb Murray.
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Can I use Frozen Chicken for Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas?
- Yes. This is the beauty of this recipe. Frozen chicken will work in this recipe, so there is not much planning.
- It is great for busy people, or if you forgot to defrost chicken. You can use fresh or thawed chicken, as well, which actually is even better.
Cast of Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas
I know this recipe will make it to your dinner rotation. Why? Because it is easy and so delicious. You can even freeze everything together and keep already mixes in your freezer! Here are some more Freezer Meals.
Ingredients for Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas?
- Kidney Beans
- Chicken Broth, Enchilada Sauce
- Onions, Green Peppers, Fresh Cilantro, Green Chiles
- Taco Seasoning
- Frozen Corn, Sour Cream or Yogurt
- Tortilla Chips
Chicken Broth and Enchilada Sauce!
Frozen Chicken Broth or Chicken Stock?
- Both work. If you are short on time and don’t have fresh Homemade Chicken Stock/Broth, no worries. Use a container of frozen Chicken Broth. Heat up the pressure cooker and simple, defrost the broth. Then continue on with the recipe.
- Another option is to mix up some broth. I always have a jar of Better than Bouillon Chicken Base in the fridge.
Frozen or Fresh Chicken Can Be Used
This recipe is so easy. It doesn’t matter if you use big pieces of chicken or cut them up into bite sized pieces.
We have done this both ways and prefer to cut the chicken in advance. However, there are so many times when I haven’t planned dinner and just toss in frozen tenders or breasts.
Pro Tip: If larger frozen pieces are used, then they will need to be cut up after cooking.
Dice up Onions and Peppers
Any kind of peppers can be used. To make the Instant Pot Chicken Enchiladas more colorful, red, orange and yellow peppers can be used too.
The vegetables will break a part somewhat, so it is not important to chop evenly.
My favorite wooden spatula is the Cilio Olivewood Spatula.
Toss in all the Veggies and Chicken
Make Your Own Taco Seasoning
- It is just as easy to make a big batch of your own Homemade Taco Seasoning and use it in place of an envelope of prepared taco seasoning. We always have a supply of taco seasoning.
- To store the Taco Seasoning, grab a set of these small airtight containers and then use the taco seasoning as needed.
I bet you already have all the individual spices in your pantry. it is always nice to know exactly what is in your seasoning mix.
Place Pan on Top of Trivet
Turn this Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas recipe into a one pot meal by cooking your rice at the same time and in the same pot!
Making Rice at the Same Time
- Instant Pot Enchiladas has only a short cooking time, so rice is perfect to make pot in pot. Please see my Pressure Cooker Perfectly Cooked Pot In Pot Rice recipe for more details.
- All you will need is a pressure cooker flat bottom insert pan and a tall legged trivet.
Pressure Cooker Perfectly Cooked Pot In Pot Rice
Rice makes a nice side dish and it is fantastic to cook it in the same pot as the chicken enchiladas. Refried Beans is wonderful with rice!
Slicing the chicken is optional. I like chicken in each bite, while others prefer to have large chunks.
If you have used frozen chicken in large pieces, you will need to remove them from the pot and chop them up. Chop it up however you like; in strips, shredded, chunks. Then return the chicken back into the pot.
Another delicious enchilada recipe to make is my Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas Suizas and my Apple Pie Enchiladas with Caramel Sauce for dessert!
Type of Cheese for Chicken Enchiladas
- Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Oaxaca, and Asiago are all good choices.
We buy blocks of cheese and make a shredded cheese blend. While you can use bags of Mexican-blend shredded cheese, we recommend buying cheese in a block and using a cheese shredder and shredding the cheese yourself. The packages of cheese have a layer of cornstarch and don’t melt as well. Plus, it adds more junk that is not needed.
Pro Tip: Make sure to you cheese that melts well. Sharp cheddar is not recommended as it can be gritty at times.
Can Tortillas Be Used in Place of Tortilla Chips?
- No. For this recipe, soft tortillas are not a replacement for the crispy deep fried chips. As the chips are fried, they take the place of frying or warming tortillas on the griddle before using them for enchiladas.
- In addition, they add a bit of saltiness and wonderful flavor. Try it yourself and you will see. Tortilla chips which have softened in the moist heat are fantastic.
Pro Tip: The corn tortilla chips will absorb the liquid and become soft, like enchiladas. It’s so yummy!
Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas
Top with sour cream, or with your own homemade Instant Pot Greek Yogurt, and a garnish of cilantro and enjoy!
Storing Leftover Chicken Enchiladas
- The chicken enchiladas freeze well and are so simple to heat up in an Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker.
- We like to store the leftovers in 24 ounce Reditainers Extreme Freezer Containers as they are BPA-free.
- They hold up well and are perfect for two servings each. Plus, they are inexpensive and we don’t mind sending home guests with a big container of Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas.
More Instant Pot Quick and Easy Recipes.
- Pressure Cooker Creamy Baked Ziti
- Pressure Cooker Balsamic Ginger Chicken
- Pressure Cooker Orange Glazed Pork Chops
- Instant Pot Chicken and Rice + Video
Kitchen Equipment and Esssentials
- Instant Pot, Ninja Foodi or Pressure Cooker
- J.A. Henckels Classic 7-inch Hollow Edge Santoku Knife
- Cilio Olivewood Spatula
- My FANTASTIC Teak Cutting & Charcuterie Board & Compartments
- Microplane Artisan Ribbon Grater
- Reditainer Extreme Freezer Containers and Freezer Labels
- OXO Stainless Steel Tongs
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Here is the handy printable recipe:
Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas
Print Pin Save RateIngredients
- 1 can Kidney Beans drained (15 ounces)
- 2 cups Chicken Stock/Broth (or 2 cups water + 2 tsp Better than Bouillon Chicken Base)
- 10 oz Enchilada Sauce hot or medium
- 2 pounds Chicken Tenders or breasts
- 1 Yellow/Brown Onion
- 1 cup Green Pepper diced
- 1 packet Taco Seasoning regular or cheesy
- 2 oz Green Chiles seeds removed, minced (Optional)
- 1 cup Frozen Corn
- 3 cups Taco Chips
- 2 cups Mexican flavored shredded cheese mix
- 1 tablespoon Fresh Cilantro minced
Garnish
- Sour cream to garnish
- Scallions to garnish (optional)
Optional Rice
- 2 "rice" cups Jasmine Rice See my Pressure Cooker Perfectly Cooked Pot in Pot Rice recipe
- 2 cups Fresh Water
Recommended Products
Instructions
- Add kidney beans, chicken broth, enchilada sauce, chicken, onions, peppers, taco seasoning, green chilis and corn to pressure cooker cooking pot.
- If making rice at the same time, place tall legged trivet into cooking pot.
- Rinse rice well and place into stainless steel flat bottomed insert pan.
- Place rice pan on top of trivet.
- Pour in two cups of fresh water (or chicken broth) and cover with lid (only if the lid has steam holes).
- Lock on lid and close pressure valve. Cook at high pressure for 4 minutes.
- When beep sounds, wait 10 minutes and then release the rest of the pressure.
- Remove pan of rice and trivet from cooking pot. Fluff the rice and set aside.
- If large pieces of chicken were used, remove them and cut them up and place back into pot, otherwise, continue with the next step.
- Add shredded cheese, a handful at a time and mix through.
- Add cilantro and taco chips and mix through until cheese is all melted.
- Serve with a dollop of sour cream and scallions on top.
Notes
For a little less spice, use mild enchilada sauce or ½ mild and ½ medium.
If your chicken is not frozen, increase stock by 1/8 cup.
If desired, before adding cheese and tortillas, remove cooked chicken, lightly fork shred and put back in pot. Originally posted January 21, 2016. Republished on August 12, 2020.
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Instant Pot Pressure Cooker Chicken Enchiladas
Hi there! I just wanted to verify that it is 4 minutes for the high pressure. I’m writing the directions down for my grandma that I just purchased an instant pot for. Thanks!
Hi Jill,
Learning low carb eating — easy!
Learning paleo low carb – a bit more challenging.
The easy part is avoiding single ingredients that are not paleo like legumes.
The hard part is finding other substitutes for commercially prepared foods with ingredients not compatible with a healthy paleo lifestyle that also avoids seed oils and GMO grains.
I’ve tried this recipe twice now. The first go at it went against your advice to an earlier commenter who asked if she could use tortillas. Being somewhat of a rebel I said hmmmph and tried anyway. But I did fry my gluten free tortillas first in a combo of palm shortening and a tiny bit of leaf lard. The did get crisp. That wasn’t the problem. This was supposed to be a quick easy InstantPot dinner not an afternoon ordeal of smoky shortening and hot grease splattered forearms. Looking at an air fryer very closely now. RV living means less appliances, not more.
For round two, I bought a non gmo non gluten seed oil free brand of chips and used them. They fell apart but who cares. That’s what chewing does, right?
In years past when I was unaware of the dangers of canola and other solvent processed oils, I bought the Trader Joe’s corn and some sort of seed chips (I honestly forget what they were) and I bought Trader Joe’s Enchilada Sauce which I adore, and mixed up a huge batch of shredded chicken, shredded cheese and those mystery chips plus the sauce and called it chillaquilles. Not the authentic version by any stretch but they sure were fast and tasty. I know you’ve been moving in the direction of a lower carb lifestyle while not going whole hog into a Whole 30 compliance (aren’t I clever, LOL?!?) but I thought I’d throw out a clean chillaquilles challenge.
I also wanted to know that I’ve unsubscribed from innumerable blogs due to insufferable amounts of exceedingly annoying advertising so, while I needed a new cookbook like I need a hole in my head, I went ahead and bought yours. First because I love the book, it’s layout, the graphics and the southern charm only a California transplant can convey, tehe, but also and more importantly I want to support your site and additionally any kitchen good I need I’ll go via your amazon site. Rather than a trip to Sur La Table or Williams Sonoma.
I’d be happy to share what I’ve learned about how bad for us that seed oils are if you write to me.
So perfect! We skipped the broth and just added a giant can of enchilada sauce, also added a peeled, sliced potato since I was a little short on chicken. Oh and we’re out of onions, chili & peppers. Still amazing! Absolutely making it again!
Hi Crystal. That sounds wonderful. I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. Jill
I can’t find Cheesy Taco Mix packets at the store, is there an alternative?
Regular Taco is fine. Jill
This was delicious! I made this for dinner and my husband instantly agreed, “It’s a keeper!” Thank you for sharing a simple, easy, TASTY dish! I followed the ingredient list with the exception of no green chiles or red pepper flakes, only because we didn’t have them. My chicken breasts probably should’ve been cut in half because they weren’t quite done in the specified cook time. Just a few extra mins and it was totally worth the wait!
OMG!! I will never make enchiladas the old way again!!!!! I made a few changes, such as black beans instead of red, green enchilada sauce and I didn’t have prepackage taco seasoning so I just improvised with what I had. I also cooked the rice in with the meal instead of separate. I made tortilla chips using flour tortillas I had too. Everyone loved it and I ate at as my evening snack while everyone else ate cookies! LOL
This is absolutely delish! It’s on the regular rotation in our house.
My 14 year old and I made this tonight. The taste was fantastic the whole family loved it.
Can you make this using ground beef
My boys loved this…in the “keeper/make again” pile!
We used 4 oz of medium green chilies and it was GREAT, and subbed black beans for the red (because that’s what we had) and it was great! 6 fill-your-belly servings. Avocado slices for garnish!
Hi Lisa~
I am so glad you like this recipe. Thanks for letting me know. 🙂 Avocado is great on this enchiladas.
Jill