These Instant Pot chicken taquitos are easy to make and perfect for a quick weeknight dinner or a last minute party snack! They are crispy, chewy, cheesy, and filled with juicy, shredded chicken.
Preheat the oven to 425°F and prepare a sheet pan lined with parchment paper.
Combine the boneless, skinless chicken thighs, orange and lime juice, diced onion, garlic cloves, spices, and salt and pepper into your pressure cooker.Cover and twist lid into lock position and make sure the valve is on SEALED. Set the pressure cooker to PRESSURE COOK on HIGH for 10 minutes then let it naturally release for 5 minutes.
While waiting for the chicken to cook in the pressure cooker, prepare the pepper jack cheese by cutting it into 12 even sticks, long ways. Set aside until needed.
Once the chicken is cooked and 5 minute natural release time is up, QUICK RELEASE the remaining pressure by turning the valve to VENTING. *DO be careful when releasing the pressure. The steam will be very hot!*When the float valve drops, you can open the lid.
Transfer the chicken thighs into a bowl and shred them with forks. Using an immersion blender, blend the cooking liquid from the chicken until smooth. This is optional and can be done in a regular blender as well.Add about ⅓ to ½ cup of the cooking liquid to the shredded chicken and toss to distribute.
Working with one tortilla at a time, spoon on to it about 2 to 3 Tablespoons of the shredded chicken. Spread the chicken across the middle of the tortilla in a line, about 1 inch wide, and place a stick of the pepper jack cheese on top of it.
Tightly roll up the tortilla and place the rolled taquitos seam side down onto the parchment lined sheet pan. Repeat with rest and place each taquitos about ½ to 1 inch apart.Bake the taquitos for about 10-15 minutes or until the tortillas are crispy and starts to brown.
While the taquitos are baking, transfer the remaining cooking liquid from the chicken into a saucepan. Add the tomato sauce and bring everything to a high simmer. Let the sauce reduce about ½ way or until it becomes thicker and looks a little syrupy, about 5 minutes.
Enjoy the chicken taquitos drizzled with sauce or dipped in sauce! You can also serve them some sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo.
Notes
If using boned-in chicken thighs, remove the skin and increase the pressure cook time to 15 minutes but keep the natural release time at 5 minutes.
Feel free to use mozzarella instead of pepper jack. We just love the extra flavor and kick pepper jack added.