Instant Pot Cinco de Mayo Recipes
We’re rounding up the best Instant Pot recipes for Cinco de Mayo with Mexican and Tex-Mex flavors to celebrate this May.
These easy Instant Pot / pressure cooker Cinco de Mayo recipes are great for your holiday menu. And during rest of the year, these are our favorite dishes to add to the dinner spread on Taco Tuesday.
From side dishes to entrees, this list is full of Mexican flavors you’ll love.
What Is Cinco de Mayo?
Cinco de Mayo was first celebrated after the Mexican army beat the French in the 1800s. It stayed a small regional holiday until the 1960s, when activists encouraged a day to celebrate Mexican culture with parties, parades, and delicious food here in the United States.
This year, we are celebrating Cinco de Mayo and Mexican culture with a homemade feast. And as always, we like to make our dishes simple and faster with an Instant Pot so we can spend more time with family and friends.
What Do You Eat on Cinco de Mayo?
We recommend making Mexican favorites like fresh salsas, tacos, tostadas, and more. The Instant Pot recipes below are a combination of quick Tex-Mex favorites and our spin on more traditional Mexican dishes.
Instant Pot Cinco de Mayo Recipes
Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with these delicious Instant Pot recipes featuring Mexican and Tex-Mex flavors. (Also great for Taco Tuesdays!)
Cinco de Mayo Entree Recipes
Easy Pressure Cooker Chile Colorado Smothered Burritos
Savory Chile Colorado Burritos are smothered with enchilada sauce and topped with melted cheese to make this easy Instant Pot Mexican meal.
Instant Pot Chili Verde
Instant Pot Chili Verde with pulled pork in a spicy Mexican chili verde sauce is a savory, just-spicy-enough weeknight dinner for the whole family.
Instant Pot Pork Tamales
Doughy masa surrounds a pocket of spiced pork filling in these easy homemade pressure cooker pork tamales.
Sweet Pork Tostadas
Instant Pot Sweet Pork Tostadas are an easy Cafe Rio copy cat recipe, made with juicy, sweet shredded pork covered in enchilada sauce and melty cheese.
Pork Carnitas in the Pressure Cooker
Cubed pork cooked in orange juice, with onion, garlic, jalapenos, and spices until its fork tender and mildly spicy with a fresh citrus flavor, and ready to eat in about an hour.
Instant Pot Red Mexican Barbacoa (Authentic Barbacoa Recipe)
This authentic Mexican barbacoa recipe from Mely of Mexico in My Kitchen is a the real deal and full of bold, meaty flavor.
Salsa Lime Chicken with Melted Mozzarella
Top tender Instant Pot chicken breasts with a tomato-salsa sauce and melty mozzarella or Mexican cheese.
Instant Pot Creamy Chipotle Chicken
This Instant Pot Creamy Chipotle Chicken is an easy Mexican weeknight chicken breast recipe with a creamy chipotle sauce and corn, served over white rice.
Pressure Cooker Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers with Chipotle Lime Sauce
Fill sweet bell peppers with a meaty filling and a topping of spicy chipotle lime dressing.
Pressure Cooker Green Chile Pork Carnitas
This recipe for Instant Pot pork carnitas has spicy, vibrant flavor from green chiles.
Pressure Cooker Chicken Tinga Enchilada
Fill tortillas with tender, shredded chicken tinga made in the pressure cooker and add your favorite Mexican sides.
Chicken Enchilada Pasta
Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Pasta is a delicious fusion of Tex-Mex and Italian flavors. It’s a quick one-pot meal perfect for a busy weeknight
Walking Tacos
Have fun with your tacos and take them to go in a bag of Fritos in this all-American take on a Mexican favorite.
Instant Pot Ground Beef Tacos
Flavor-packed Instant Pot Ground Beef Tacos with kid-approved seasoning is the one-pot dinner you need on busy nights! Use fresh or frozen ground beef for this foolproof recipe.
Instant Pot/ Pressure Cooker Arroz con Pollo
Arroz con pollo is a flavor-packed one-pot rice dish with peas, chicken and bell pepper.
Pressure Cooker Shredded Beef Enchiladas
These juicy beef enchiladas are full of tender shredded meat and topped with melty, gooey cheese.
Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker Chicken Taco Filling
This Pressure Cooker / Instant Pot chicken taco filling is so versatile! It's great for taco salads, enchiladas, burritos, and more! And it's SO convenient for busy nights—you don't even have to remember thaw the frozen chicken!
Instant Pot Chili Pasta
Instant Pot Chili Pasta is a fast and savory one-pot dinner with ground sausage, tomato sauce and Tex Mex flavors.
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Chicken Taco Salad
Tender cubed chicken adds protein to a crunchy salad of greens and tortilla chips, topped with avocado and chopped tomato.
Instant Pot Chili, Soup and Stew Recipes for Cinco de Mayo
Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili Recipe
This thick and hearty Instant Pot Ground Beef Chili is medium heat and packed with flavor from dried spices, tomatoes, tender beef, and tortilla chips.
Pressure Cooker Spicy Chicken Soup
Make this bright chicken soup as spicy or as mild as you like and top it with mild cheese and sour cream to balance the spice.
Pork and Hominy Stew
To make this recipe, cook pork shoulder in a spicy broth until it’s fork-tender, then shred and combine with hominy to make a hearty stew.
Instant Pot Quick & Easy Chicken Enchilada Soup
This quick and easy Instant Pot Chicken Enchilada Soup is a delicious dump-everything, one-pot recipe that’s ready in under 30 minutes.
Mexican Pinto Bean Soup
This pressure cooker / Instant Pot Mexican Pinto Bean Soup recipe packs just the right amount of heat, plus protein-packed beans, onion, and garlic in a tomato-based broth.
Pressure Cooker Spicy Black Beans and Hearty Greens
Black beans make a creamy, thick and flavorful soup base to your favorite Mexican toppings.
Pressure Cooker Chorizo, Chicken and Kale Soup
Smoky chorizo sausage is the star of this hearty Mexican soup with tender kale and hominy.
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili
Instant Pot White Chicken Chili with tender, juicy chicken in a spicy green chili sauce is one of the best pressure cooking soup recipes—great any time of year!
Beef and Bean Instant Pot Chili
This thick, hearty chili is filled with bite-size pieces of beef, red beans, and green chilies. If you're a chili fan, this is a must-try recipe!
Pressure Cooker Asopado
This classic stew is full of juicy chicken and a flavorful broth made in minutes in an Instant Pot.
Pressure Cooker Creamy Enchilada Soup
Add a creamy touch to this enchilada soup with crunchy fresh corn and tender chicken.
Side Dish Recipes for Cinco de Mayo
Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
Fluffy white rice, bright lime juice, and cilantro make Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice better than Chipotle! It’s the perfect Mexican side dish.
Shortcut Instant Pot Spanish Rice
Easy Shortcut Spanish Rice in an Instant Pot is a five-ingredient side dish to pair with all of your favorite Spanish or Mexican meals.
Pressure Cooker Mexican Green Rice
This fun green rice is the perfect filling side dish to your favorite Cinco de Mayo entrees.
Instant Pot Taco Rice
Instant Pot Taco Rice is full of chili powder, ground beef, and jalapenos for a fast and flavorful weeknight dinner recipe.
Cinco de Mayo Desserts
How to Make Churros
Homemade Churros are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a sandy cinnamon and sugar coating! An amusement park favorite that’s fun to make at home.
Churro Cookies
These cookies are incredibly soft, chewy and fluffy, topped with a unique cinnamon-sugar buttercream.
Churro Cream Puffs
A crisp cinnamon-sugar shell filled with a light and airy cinnamon whipped cream. If you’re a churro lover, you’ll love these baked not fried Churro cream puffs.
Pineapple Empanadas
Though not technically an Instant Pot recipe, these pineapple-filled empanadas are a great way to upgrade dessert for Cinco de Mayo.
Fresas con Crema (Mexican Strawberries & Cream)
Enjoy this classic Mexican dessert of "strawberries two ways" that tastes like strawberry shortcake!
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Pingback: Cinco de Mayo Recipe Roundup
Oh my god — Almost all of these pictures made my mouth water. What a tasty roundup. I’m particularly fond of the burritos. Thank you for sharing this!
-Jim
Thanks Jim! Hope you’ve got something yummy planned for Monday.