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These Whole30 Instant Pot Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes with chicken are the perfect Whole30 dinner: insanely full of flavor, filling, and full of protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Your new go-to Whole30 Mexican recipe! A great anytime paleo Mexican dinner, too. Comes together so easily and quickly in the Instant Pot. Crockpot option included.
Check out more fiesta inspiration to liven up your spring and summer by clicking here. I seriously can’t get over how creative my fellow food bloggers are! #girlcrushes all around.
I’m always a little wary of trends, of gadgets or diets that pop up on social media. I was a paleo diet hater back when it first came to public awareness, and last year I rolled my eyes at the absolute must-have gadget that seemed to take over my Facebook mom groups: the Instant Pot.
We don’t eat all that many slow cooker recipes, and I don’t erm, make a lot of rice? So how useful could this thing even possibly be? But my friends continued to gush over this life-changing device, and I eventually gave in to the curiosity. I gathered a little bit of “play money” I’d gotten for my birthday, and ordered it on Amazon Prime.
Ding dong is right.
I started slowly, making terrible, watery curries and hating it. But then, all of a sudden, it kind of clicked. The weather was getting warmer, and I stopped obsessing over how long it took to get to manual pressure. I improvised a garlic-rosemary pork tenderloin in the IP, and what resulted was better than any filet I’d ever had. The kitchen didn’t heat up, there was one dish to clean, and best of all… I could quite literally set it and forget it.
Consider me fully converted, join the cult, sign me up, where’s the Kool-Aid, DONE.
But, of course, you all already know this, right? Because I’m always late to the party, always showing up in 2001 wearing jelly sandals asking, “What? Just me?” Always “discovering” sweet potato toast like 300,000 pins late. That’s just my style, and I’m trying to embrace it.
So, of course, after my fashionably late arrival to the Instant Pot rave, I knew I had to convert one of my very favorite slow cooker recipes: my embarrassingly photographed but intensely tender and delicious Crockpot chicken tacos recipe. I wanted to be able to throw a midweek fiesta without having to remember to load the Crockpot at noon, wanted to load up on flavor and dial down the time and effort to make a delish and healthy dinner.
I headed to Walmart to pick up a couple cans of RO*TEL and got back down to business.
Chicken + taco seasoning + a can of RO*TEL + Instant Pot = perfection.
Like I mentioned in my Whole30 Instant Pot chicken tortilla-less soup post, it doesn’t take much for me to want to fiesta the entire month of May. Think about it: we start with a full week of every blogger everywhere sharing their best margaritas, salsas, and burritos. Why end things there? I’m no quitter!
So when the craving for queso (paleo, of course) and guac and salsa and all things spicy strikes, I’m ready. I threw these sweet potatoes in the Instant Pot and cooked them in 16 minutes (what!), then replaced them with chicken breasts, a bit of taco seasoning, and a can of RO*TEL. 20 minutes later? Perfection 👌 If you’ve ever done a Whole30, you know just how much time you end up spending in the kitchen. So Whole30 Instant Pot recipes that are also delicious? Kind of a lifesaver.
I blended together a few of my favorite ingredients–avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, garlic–to make a 30-second sauce that you use for a flavorful, super quick, no-chopping-here guac. There’s seriously about 5 minutes of active cooking in this recipe, but the resulting dish is so flavorful and filling without being heavy. I could basically drink the avocado-cilantro sauce, and there’s something beautiful and magical that happens when it all comes together on a fork: the sweet potato, the tender chicken, the creamy guac, the delish sauce. Oh! Oh oh oh. So good.
I topped the whole thing with more RO*TEL, which was the perfect way to add loads of flavor without more chopping or adding another mini recipe to the recipe. And Whole30 complaint – I mean, really! Such a perfect weeknight fiesta meal, y’all. Ol-é indeed.
Whole30 Instant Pot Mexican Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
These Whole30 Instant Pot Mexican stuffed sweet potatoes with chicken are the perfect Whole30 dinner: a Whole30 Instant Pot recipe that is insanely full of flavor, filling, and full of protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Your new go-to Whole30 Mexican recipe!
Ingredients
SWEET POTATOES
- 4 medium sweet potatoes , scrubbed
- 1 1/2 cups water
CHICKEN
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 can RO*TEL , undrained, any variety
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
AVOCADO-JALAPEÑO SAUCE
- 1 avocado , peeled and seeded
- 1 jalapeño , stemmed
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
QUICK GUACAMOLE
- 2 avocados
- 1/4 cup avocado-jalapeño sauce
- salt
GARNISHES
- jalapeños , sliced thin
- fresh cilantro
- RO*TEL , drained
- red onion , chopped
Instructions
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See Notes for sweet potato and chicken cooking instructions if you do not have an Instant Pot. You can also bake your sweet potatoes in the oven while you cook the chicken in the Instant Pot to save time, if you like.
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Cook your sweet potatoes: Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Place steaming trivet in bottom of Instant Pot pot then pour 1 1/2 cups water in pot. Place sweet potatoes on trivet then secure lid and cook on Manual, high pressure for 16 minutes. Quick release pressure and remove sweet potatoes from trivet. Set aside. Discard steaming water and rinse cooking pot, making sure outside is very dry.
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Make your shredded chicken: combine chicken breasts, taco seasoning, and RO*TEL (undrained) in the pot of an Instant Pot. Do not add water. Secure lid and cook on Manual, high pressure for 20 minutes. Quick release pressure and remove chicken breasts from pot. Shred with two forks then return to pot. Stir on Sauté mode a few minutes until sauce is absorbed.
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Meanwhile, make your sauce: combine all avocado-jalapeño sauce ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth.
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To make guacamole, mash avocados and stir in avocado-jalapeño sauce.
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To serve: with a knife, make a slit down the top of each sweet potato and press sweet potatoes ends toward center to push open. Top with shredded chicken, guacamole, avocado-jalapeño sauce, more RO*TEL, and garnishes. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes
If you don't have an Instant Pot, follow these instructions to bake your sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 400º F. Prick sweet potatoes all over with a fork then place directly on oven rack in middle position. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until easily pierced with a fork. Remove sweet potatoes from oven and set aside.
To make chicken in a slow cooker instead of an Instant Pot: In the pot of a slow-cooker, combine all ingredients. Do not add water. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours, or cook on high for 4 to 6 hours. After about 3/4 of the time, shred the chicken breasts with two forks and leave in the slow-cooker for the rest of the time.
Do you dump out the water used to cook the sweet potatoes before putting the chicken in? Or does the chicken cook in the sweet potato water?
Oh, good catch! Yes, you do dump out the water used to steam the sweet potatoes before cooking the chicken.
Could you possibly cook the sweet potatoes on a trivet above the chicken? So they can cook at the same time? I’m new to instant pot, so not sure if 20mins might be too long for the potatoes.
I think that could work, Melany! My only concern would be making sure the sweet potatoes are very, very well scrubbed first. And they might taste a bit like RO*TEL after, but since you’re covering them with chicken anyway, I don’t think it’ll matter much! Let me know if you try it and how it goes 🙂
Made these tonight as my first instapot recipe. Delicious!!! Not only did my husband keep saying “so good” after every bite, but my kids also ate them. Win!
Yay! Husband AND kid approved? That’s near miracle status, Randi! I’m so, so glad you liked them, and thank you so much for coming back to let me know 🙂 Enjoy your Instant Pot – I’m positively obsessed with mine!
Hi, what size is the RO*TEL can?
Hi Mary, the standard 10-ounce RO*TEL can is great!
My husband is sensitive to red tomatoes, although he’s usually ok with yellow tomatoes. I’d like to make this, so thinking of just using fresh yellow tomatoes in place of the Ro-Tel. Do you think they would produce enough liquid for the insta pot (I actually have a Breville slow/fast cooker)?
I made mine with rabbit. I went out back, butchered a rabbit, threw it in the instant pot on high pressure for 45 minutes. I opened it, picked out the bones, stirred in seasoning and then put the steamer over the meat and put the sweet potatoes in and did another 16 minutes. Everything else I did according to the recipe. Rabbit is healthier than chicken and easier to digest. Took a healthy recipe and made it healthier.
Wow! That’s very interesting, Hannah. I’m so glad it worked for you! <3
I think I love you! This dish was AMAZ-A-LICIOUS! My new word…it totally fits here. I didn’t use my IP as I had leftover Sam’s chicken. Nuked the potatoes, made the avocado jalapeno sauce. Didnt have fresh cilantro. Tray of frozen worked perfectly! How did you come up with this? And then made the guac. Then I combined the chicken, rotel and taco seasoning and nuked it for 5 minutes. So, so, so good. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you SO much Terri! I think I love you too! I’m loving hearing about all your awesome shortcuts that still came out beautifully. I’m so glad you liked it, and thank you for coming back to let me know! 😀
I made these the other night with slow cooker and oven since I didn’t have an instant pot and they were amazing! I got an instant pot today and tried it. The potatoes didn’t cook all the way through though. I’m new to instant-potting, how do you gauge how much longer to throw them in for?
Yay! Try adding 2 minutes on to the cooking time of your sweet potatoes – they vary so widely in size but 18 minutes has worked for even my largest sweet potatoes. I’m so glad you liked it, and congrats on the Instant Pot, ha!
I made these and I have to say it’s filling, tasty, and quick to make. I don’t have an instapot (yet) but the crockpot is just as good for times like these.
I’m so glad you liked them! And great to know it worked well in the slow cooker for you 🙂
So good!! Thanks for the recipe! One question though.. what do you do with the leftover sauce since you are only using 1/4 cup for the guacamole? Can you freeze it?
Thanks!
I’m so glad you liked it! Drizzle the rest of the sauce on top of the sweet potatoes 🙂 It’s amazing!
Just wondering what kind of taco seasoning you use. I haven’t seen any commercially available that would be Whole 30 compliant.
I always make my own and love this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/46653/taco-seasoning-i/
Awesome. I have everything on hand to make the taco seasoning and plan to make the stuffed sweet potato recipe tomorrow. Thank you for your swift reply!
Happy to help! I hope you like them!
My wife and I have been on Whole30 using the Instapot a lot. This was the most delicious recipe we’ve tried so far. Thank you!
I am SO glad to hear that!!
I’ve included your rockin recipe in some links on additional ways to use sweet potatoes in my sweet potato fries post! Thanks!
Thank you Tessa!