Chili Lime Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cream Sauce

I tried this recipe from Mels tonight for the first time and really liked it.  I used my instant pot pressure cooker instead of marinading which made it so much easier.  My chicken wasn't quite thawed so I cooked it with the marinade sauce for 10.  I should have done 9 for a little less dry chicken I think. It was still good and I have tons of leftovers.  I love when I find good, easy, pressure cooker recipes. I didn't marinade it. I just threw it in the pressure cooker. I didn't bother with the salsa and didn't miss it. I love finding healthy recipes like this. Score!! 

Chili Lime Tacos with Mango Salsa {Grilled or Pressure Cooker}

Yield: Serves 6-8

This recipe is so dreamy because all of the components can be prepped ahead of time. The chicken can sit in the marinade for up to 8 hours (conversely, I've also been pressed for time/lazy before and forgot to marinade and thrown all the chicken/marinade ingredients in the pressure cooker without marinading beforehand). The mango salsa can be prepped a day or so in advance and refrigerated, and the avocado cream can be made a couple hours ahead of time, too (even a couple days ahead of time if you don't mind the color darkening a bit).

UPDATE: I forgot to mention in the recipe instructions below that if using the pressure cooker (stovetop or electric), you'll need to add a bit of extra liquid. Some people will tell you this isn't necessary but for safety reasons, a pressure cooker needs a certain amount of liquid to operate safely. I've updated the directions below.

Ingredients

Chili Lime Chicken:
• 2-3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts(Beth used 3)
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 2-3 limes) (beth used bottled)
Mango Salsa:
• 1-2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and diced (for about 1-2 cups chopped mango)(Beth only had one)
• 1/2 cup small diced red pepper
• 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion(beth only had a white onion)
• 1 jalapeno, seeds and membraned removed, finely diced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Pinch of salt and pepper
Avocado Cream Sauce:
• 2 avocados (pitted and flesh scooped out)(Beth didn't have any avocados so she pulled out some frozen guacomole she had) 
• 1/2 cup sour cream (Beth used greek yogurt)
• 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Handful of fresh cilantro leaves (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup)
• Milk for consistency
Extras:
• Tortillas for serving OR turn it into a main dish salad with romaine in place of the tortillas

Directions

1. For the chicken, place the chicken in a ziploc bag or in a dish. Combine all the marinade ingredients (chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne and lime juice) and pour over the chicken. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (up to 8 hours). Grill the chicken until cooked through (about 6-7 minutes per side on a grill preheated to medium-high heat). Alternately, the chicken can be pressure cooked at high pressure for 8 minutes; on an InstantPot, add the chicken and marinade ingredients PLUS 1/2 CUP LOW-SODIUM CHICKEN BROTH OR WATER, secure the lid and press manual --> 7 minutes (let the pressure cooker naturally release pressure when finished cooking). Let the chicken rest for 5 or so minutes before slicing into strips or shredding.
2. For the mango salsa, combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and give it a good stir. Refrigerate until ready to serve; can be made a day or so in advance if you have the willpower not to eat it all before you serve it with the tacos.
3. For the avocado cream, combine all the ingredients except the milk in a blender and process until smooth. Add milk, a tablespoon at at time, until the sauce is at the right consistency for drizzling (not too thin!).
4. To serve, top each tortilla with chicken, mango salsa, and avocado cream. You can also transition this very easily into a main dish salad by swapping out the tortillas for romaine lettuce.

Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (chili lime chicken from a recipe my sister has made for years – I just converted it to grilling/InstantPot, mango salsa just like I make it day after day during the summer, creamy avocado lime sauce similar to the version I instagrammed months ago – we eat it on everything) http://www.melskitchencafe.com/chili-lime-tacos-with-mango-salsa-grilled-or-pressure-cooker/