Tacos are one of our top go-to dinner recipes during the week, so we like to mix it up when it comes to flavor. This easy dinner recipe (which is also another great Instant Pot chicken recipe, by the way) definitely accomplishes that.
With the absolutely delicious Hawaiian taste of the pineapple, mixed with the sweetness of the brown sugar and BBQ sauce, this chicken dinner recipe is unbeatable. Even our pickiest eater loves it.
Plus, using your Instant Pot helps infuse those wonderful ingredients into every aspect of the chicken. And did I mention it cooks it faster, too?
Recipe Ingredient Notes
To make our Hawaiian BBQ chicken tacos, you need the following ingredients:
- Boneless skinless chicken breasts
- Can of pineapple tidbits
- BBQ sauce
- Brown sugar
- Liquid smoke
- Red onion
- Jalapenos (fresh or canned will work!)
- Chili powder
- Garlic
- Yellow mustard
- Shredded cabbage coleslaw mix
- Purple cabbage
- Shredded carrot
- Mayonnaise (this can be substituted for plain Greek yogurt)
- White vinegar
- Celery seed
- Granulated sugar
- Corn tortillas
- Fresh cilantro (optional)
- Fresh pineapple (optional)
Equipment Needed
For this recipe, you only need a few simple kitchen tools. We recommend using the following equipment:
How To Make Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Tacos
- Get out your Instant Pot and plug it in! Then place your chicken breast in the bottom of the Instant Pot.
- Add literally all of the other ingredients for the chicken on top of it. Yep, that’s right dump it on. Don’t even drain the can of pineapple tidbits.
- Place the lid on the Instant Pot and press MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK button and set the timer for 12 minutes and 22 minutes if you are using frozen chicken.
- When the timer is done, switch the valve on top from SEALING to VENTING also know as doing a quick release.
- Once the Instant Pot has released all the pressure, remove the chicken breasts from the pot and shred them in a separate bowl or plate.
- After shredding the chicken, add it back into the Instant Pot and mix it into the sauce until it is completely covered.
- Now, prepare the coleslaw by taking a large mixing bowl and adding in the coleslaw mix, purple cabbage, and shredded carrots.
- Add the mayonnaise, vinegar, celery seed, and sugar in a smaller mixing bowl. Mix everything until well combined.
- Then, pour the mayonnaise dressing over the coleslaw mixture and toss it until it is completely covered. Season it with salt and pepper to your preferred taste.
- Now, serve each taco with a tortilla with seasoned shredded chicken, coleslaw, fresh pineapple, cilantro, and onions. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
This recipe calls for liquid smoke. Have you used it in other recipes before? Do you even know what it is? Is it safe? If you have been wondering these things yourself, take a look at this very informative article on how liquid smoke is made by Epicurious.
Freezer-Friendly Tips
Place chicken, pineapple, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, liquid smoke, red onion, jalapenos, chili powder, garlic, and yellow mustard in a gallon-sized freezer bag. The bag will last up to 90 days in the freezer.
When ready to use, dump the ingredients from the bag into the Instant Pot and add .5 cup of water along with the frozen food. Place the lid on top, move the valve to SEALING, and press the MANUAL button. Set the timer for 25 minutes. When the timer is done, do a 5-minute NATURAL RELEASE. Follow the rest of the instructions as written.
Enjoy More Delicious Chicken Main Dishes
Chicken is an all-time favorite for weeknight dinners, but so many of us end up making the same few dishes over and over again. Explore our comprehensive collection of chicken recipes.
- Cheesy Chicken Meatballs
- Chicken Piccata
- Chicken Sausage Stir Fry
- Crispy Fried Chicken
- Grilled Huli Huli Chicken
- Juicy Baked Chicken Legs
- One Pot Chicken and Rice
- Sheet Pan Gnocchi and Chicken Sausage
- Sheet Pan Honey Lemon Chicken and Broccoli
- Slow Cooker Chili Lime Chicken
Instant Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
Taco
- 12 6 inch corn tortillas, for serving
- fresh cilantro, optional garnish
- fresh chopped pineapple, optional garnish
- sliced red onion, optional garnish
Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 20 ounces pineapple tidbits, do not drain
- 1 cup BBQ sauce
- 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon liquid smoke
- ½ cup red onion
- 2 Tablespoons diced jalapenos
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoons yellow mustard
- ½ cup water
Coleslaw
- 3 cups shredded cabbage coleslaw mix
- 1 cup purple cabbage, sliced thin
- ½ cup shredded carrot
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 2 Tablespoons white vinegar
- ½ teaspoon celery seed
- 1 Tablespoon sugar
- to taste salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in the bottom of the Instant Pot. Put all remaining chicken ingredients on top of chicken in the Instant Pot.
- Place lid on Instant Pot. Press MANUAL or PRESSURE COOK button and set timer for 12 minutes (if chicken breasts are frozen, set timer for 22 minutes).
- Once cooking time is complete, switch the valve on top to “venting” (i.e. do a quick pressure release).
- Remove chicken breasts from the Instant pot and shred using two forks. Add shredded chicken back into the pot and mix with sauce in the pot until all the chicken is covered.
- Prepare the coleslaw by combining the coleslaw mix, purple cabbage, and shredded carrot in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix mayonnaise, vinegar, celery seed, and sugar together.
- Toss dressing with cabbage mix until cabbage is covered in dressing. Season with salt and pepper.
- Serve each taco with a tortilla topped with shredded chicken, coleslaw, fresh pineapple, cilantro, and onion slices.
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
We’re having this for dinner tomorrow and I cannot wait! My mouth is watering thinking about it. I accidentally bought chicken thighs instead of breasts. Do I need to adjust the cooking time at all?? Thank you!
This recipes sounds delicious. If you wanted to make this using a slow cooker, what would be the cooking time?
Made this for my family of 4 last night. It was SO GOOD and came together very quickly!
Also interested in the slow cooker version . I noticed it was asked, but no one answered with the time conversion 😞
You could adapt this to the slow cooker. What you would could in the Instant Pot, will take most of the day in the slow cooker(as far as cooking the meat goes) Then just kind of follow the directions from there and adapt the recipe. Should come together pretty easily.
Excellent flavor. Next time, I would cut down on the liquid and sugar by eliminating the brown sugar and water. My chicken breasts were large and frozen, so I cooked the dish for 25 minutes.
The flavor of this dish was amazing! We will definitely be making it again.
Do you drain the pineapple?
No, do not drain the pineapple.
Great, unique recipe! Very tasty! I made it on the stove top as I don’t have an Instant Pot. It was really watery so I’d reduce the liquid doing it there. As a vegetarian with a meat eating husband, I made two pots – one with regular chicken, one with morning star chicken. Served it with homemade guac and chips, and cilantro lime rice. My husband wasn’t hungry and then after smelling it, said he had to eat. Proceeded to eat 3 tacos and said he it was so amazing, and couldn’t get over the great taste. It’ll be a staple in our home. Thank you!