I’m always amazed at how evenly and quickly my Instant Pot cooks meals. It is one gadget that I seriously can’t say enough good things about! It’s been a year with my IP, I should just get used to it…


If you don’t have an IP, you could still cook this on your stove top. Just bake your spaghetti squash separately (it’ll probably take at least 30-40 min, depending on the size) or microwave it , for a quicker cook…then add it to your chicken taco sauce. Still easy, it will just take a bit more time and you’ll have to keep an eye on that pot. That’s probably my favorite part of the Instant Pot, I can set it and not pay any attention to it until the timer goes off and it’s basically ready! I can’t complain about that aspect a bit!

This “pasta” is made with spaghetti squash – so it’s totally guilt-free! If you’re a taco lover, this is a nice change from your typical tortillas, meat, and veggies. I use my jalapeño crema on top of this too! Love the bright, spiciness it adds!


Switch things up on your next Taco Tuesday …or Taco Thursday, Friday, or Saturday, and whip up this guilt-free “pasta”!

Print Recipe

Quick Instant Pot Chicken Taco "Pasta"

Course

Dinner, Instant Pot, Main Dish

Cuisine

Mexican

Prep Time

20 minutes

Cook Time

8 minutes

Servings

Ingredients

• 1 Onion large, chopped
• 1 1/2 - 2 lb Chicken breast chopped
• 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast optional
• 2 tsp Garlic powder
• 2 tsp Adobo seasoning
• 2 tsp Cumin
• 2 tsp Onion powder
• 2 tsp Chipotle powder
• 2 tsp Oregano
• 1 tsp Salt I use Himalayan Pink Salt
• 1 tsp Black pepper
• 1 13.5 oz can Coconut milk unsweetened (you can sub. almond/cashew milk)
• 1 8 oz. can Tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup Lime juice fresh, not from concentrate
• 2 tbsp Arrowroot powder
• 3-4 tbsp Almond milk/water

Toppings ~ Optional

• Green onions
• Cilantro
• Grass-fed cheddar
• Jalapeño crema

Course Dinner, Instant Pot, Main Dish Cuisine Mexican Prep Time 20 minutes Cook Time 8 minutes Servings Ingredients 1 Onion large, chopped 1 1/2 - 2 lb Chicken breast chopped 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast optional 2 tsp Garlic powder 2 tsp Adobo seasoning 2 tsp Cumin 2 tsp Onion powder 2 tsp Chipotle powder 2 tsp Oregano 1 tsp Salt I use Himalayan Pink Salt 1 tsp Black pepper 1 13.5 oz can Coconut milk unsweetened (you can sub. almond/cashew milk) 1 8 oz. can Tomato sauce 1/4 cup Lime juice fresh, not from concentrate 2 tbsp Arrowroot powder 3-4 tbsp Almond milk/water Toppings ~ Optional Green onions Cilantro Grass-fed cheddar Jalapeño crema

Instructions

1. To your Instant Pot, add your onions, chicken, seasonings, coconut milk*, tomato sauce, and lime juice. *(if you don't have coconut milk, use 1 1/2 cups of whatever milk you want!)
2. Wash and cut spaghetti squash in half - I do it the short ways, around the middle section - so you're left with two "cups."
3. Line the pot with a double layer of tinfoil. You can use your trivet, if it fits. For the spaghetti squash I used, the handles of the trivet wouldn't allow the lid to close. If you can fit it all in there with the trivet, by all means, use it. It'd work the same.
4. Place your halved squash on top of the tinfoil layer. Close the lid, seal the valve, press the "Manual" button*, then press the "+" button until the screen reads 8. The pot will switch to "On" while it preheats. *Make sure it's on High Pressure (if it is on Low Pressure, just press the "pressure" button to get it to High)
5. Your pot will take about 15 minutes to come to pressure. If you want to speed this up, you could sauté the onions and chicken for a few minutes before adding the other ingredients. For me, this cuts the preheat time in half or more, also you could reduce the cooking time as well. However, then you have to stir and watch the pot more than before. So, do whatever YOU feel like doing. Experiment! When it comes to such a quick cooking time, if something isn't done enough to your liking, it's easy to add a couple extra minutes!
6. When the timer goes off, do a QR (quick release), and open the lid. Remove your squash and divider.
7. Make a slurry with the arrowroot powder and almond milk or water and add that to your sauce and stir. Your sauce should thicken in seconds. Personally, we like our pasta saucyyyy. If you want a thicken sauce, you can always make more slurry and add it. Once it's thickened, turn the pot off by pressing "Keep Warm/Cancel."
8. Remove the inside of your squash, shred, and squeeze excess water out of it. If you don't do this, you will have a VERY saucy pasta - not necessarily bad - but definitely on the "wet" side.
9. Add your squash to your pot and stir. Serve it up!