best chicken carnitas

Healthy Chicken Carnitas- cook these in an Instant Pot, on the stove top, or bake in a Dutch Oven with only 15 minutes of hands on time! Great for meal prepping -make ahead on Sunday then turn these into tacos, quesadillas, breakfast skillets, burrito bowls or nachos during the workweek!

 Chicken Carnitas Recipe (Instant Pot, Stove Top, Dutch Oven) 

onion- diced

garlic cloves- rough chopped

cumin

coriander

chili powder

salt

chipotle powder (optional-

water

soy sauce

apple cider vinegar (or lime juice)

oregano

green chilies (optional)

lbs chicken- boneless, skinless chicken breast

If baking, preheat oven to 400F (See notes for instant pot)

Heat oil in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, saute 2 minutes, stirring. Add garlic, turn heat to medium, saute 4-5 minutes until fragrant and golden and onions are tender. Add spices and salt, toasting for 1-2 minutes

Add water, soy and vinegar. Add oregano and optional green chilies. Stir.

Place chicken in the liquid. At this point, you could place all in your instant pot (see notes below).

Bring to a simmer. Cover and either simmer on the stove on med-low for 45 minutes or place in the hot oven.

 If cooking breasts, check at 35-40 minutes, they may be done depending on thickness and size. Thighs will need the whole 45 minutes, perhaps a little more, again, depending on size.

You&#8217;ll know if the meat is done when it&#8217;s 165-170F, or when it is tender and shreds easily with two forks. Shred the meat, then simmer gently on the stove until some of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 -10 more minutes.

If you like very crispy carnitas, simmer until all the liquid is gone, and/ or drain well, then pan sear in oil to crisp, or place on a sheet pan and broil in the oven.

This sounds amazing and  is so simple and easily will ibecome a new favorite! Thanj you very much for sharing this recipe :)

Super delicious. Loved the crispiness by searing with a bacon press.

Delicious and easy - high protein, low fat. The chicken is a great base for salads. I think it would make a good sandwich with spicy chipotle mayo.

Fabulous flavor. This is a new family favorite.   Can't wait to try it in a Dutch oven over the fire next time we go camping.

Made this tonight in an Instant Pot using pork shoulder cut in cubes. Doubled the green chilies. Served with cilantro lime rice, sliced spinach, tomatoes, black beans and grilled corn. Hubs went back for seconds! Such an adaptable recipe and so flavorful! Sylvia, your recipes are all fantastic!

These chicken carnitas were AMAZING! My family could not stop eating them, so there will only be enough for lunches tomorrow. Huge hit!!
I used boneless skinless thighs and made them in the IP in the morning, put the pot in the fridge and reheated in a DO on the stovetop.
This recipe is a keeper.

My family loved this recipe. I cooked it on our gas range in a Dutch oven and the chicken was perfect - juicy and just fell apart. I did short the salt by a half teaspoon and added the optional chilies. Delicious!

Quick and tasty dinner, with plenty of leftovers.  The chicken comes out very moist and tender, perfectly seasoned.   I made it on the stove top and served it as fajitas.  Avocados, bell peppers, cilantro, tomatoes, black beans, red onion and fire roasted salsa.

This was SO good! We made tacos paired with a simple slaw of cabbage, carrots, jalapeno, red onion, lots of lime juice and a wonderful dollop of guac! I'll definitely be making this in regular rotation. Your recipes are always so amazing. Thank you for having this site and sharing them with us.

I made this tonight using the Instant Pot; it was delicious.   The chicken had great flavor.  
I have tried a few of your other recipes as well and everything has been spot on, fresh and super tasty!

Easy and great tasting! I do mine in a slow cooker.

We made this in our new Morso Dutch oven yesterday. Very tasty and we will make it again. Looking forward to trying some of your other recipes.

loved it!!!!!
It was to perfection. Absolutely delicious. I used my Le Creuset, put it in the oven and the chicken was juicy and tender.
Thank you :)

We’re not huge lovers of pork in our home so I had a pork roast lingering in the freezer that I was avoiding.  I subbed it for the chicken in this recipe and it was delicious!  Definitely the best use for that dreaded pork roast.   We made tacos the first night (I did crisp up the carnitas with a few jalapeños in a pan) and we all ate a little too much. But we had enough leftover for some carnitas pizzas a few nights later.  I’m going to make this again with chicken just so I can do the breakfast idea above.  It really is such a versatile ingredient.  I’m having another baby soon and I plan to make a big batch to divide and put in the freezer for easy meals post baby.

Phenomenal. We have made this 4x already in my family in the last month. We omit the green chilis because we are in Switzerland and you cant find those here. The flavor is excellent and great for a Keto Family like us!

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The most viewed best chicken carnitas recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Chicken Carnitas Recipe (Instant P...

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