These Shredded Chicken Tacos are a quick, easy, and flavorful weeknight dinner perfect for kids and adults alike. Warm tortillas are loaded with juicy, deliciously seasoned shredded chicken and topped with your favorite toppings, like homemade salsa, crunchy lettuce, and cheese.
The recipe starts with precooked shredded or rotisserie chicken for a super fast, convenient, and overall nutritious meal. It’s the perfect dish for Taco Tuesday, and kids love it!
If you’re looking for a quick and easy dinner (with fantastic leftovers), then you’ve found the right recipe. These shredded chicken tacos (aka pulled chicken tacos) are a real sanity saver and one of my favorite last-minute, 30-minute (or less!) dinners. Use it to make super-loaded tacos with all the toppings or simple street tacos filled with fresh onion and cilantro (as I’ve done here).
Why This Recipe Works
- Pre-cooked, shredded chicken (or rotisserie) saves time and is ideal for last-minute dinners or busy weeknights. It can be prepared on the stovetop, slow cooker, or Instant Pot. Make it in large quantities ahead of time and save for meals throughout the week.
- Tacos are insanely customizable. Starting with how the shredded chicken is seasoned and flavored, along with the many topping options, there’s a perfect taco for everyone.
- Reheating the shredded chicken in chicken broth, taco seasoning, onion, and garlic infuses the chicken with flavor and adds moisture.
- Enjoy leftovers for 4-5 days. Enjoy the leftover pulled chicken in a burrito bowl or taco salad.
Shredded Chicken Taco Ingredients
Below are descriptions of the key ingredients for shredded chicken tacos, including possible substitutions. You can find the printable recipe with measurements for each ingredient in the recipe card below.
- Shredded Chicken: This recipe calls for plain, shredded chicken. I recommend meal-prepping a big batch of shredded chicken for the week, as leftovers can be frozen. Rotisserie chicken also works.
- Seasoning: The (plain) shredded chicken is reheated and rehydrated with a simple combination of cooked onion and garlic with chicken broth, taco seasoning, and salt. The result is mild yet flavorful shredded chicken. For some spice/heat, consider adding a couple of teaspoons of dried chipotle seasoning or a pinch of cayenne pepper.
- Tortillas: Use corn tortillas warmed in a dry skillet for shredded chicken street tacos. For more substantial tacos with various toppings, use flour tortillas, as they are less likely to fall apart.
- Toppings: Your choice! See the section below for inspiration.
How to Make Shredded Chicken Tacos
1. Cook and shred the chicken: If your chicken isn’t cooked and shredded already, there are several ways to do it. I prefer cooking chicken on the stovetop, but the Instant Pot is great at cooking frozen chicken. The slow cooker is another option. Shred the chicken while it is still warm using two forks, an electric mixer, or your hands. Find more information in my post about how to make shredded chicken.
2. Soften the aromatics: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of the finely diced onion and cook until softened, about 5-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for one minute or until fragrant.
3. Season the shredded chicken: Stir in the chicken broth, taco seasoning, and salt and gently simmer. Add the shredded chicken and mix well. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring once or twice to distribute the seasoning evenly.
4. Serve: Serve in warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.
Popular Toppings for Shredded Chicken Tacos
The final step in making shredded chicken tacos is to topping them! We all know about basic toppings like shredded lettuce or green cabbage, chopped tomatoes and onion, and usually chopped cilantro, but what are some other ideas?
- Guacamole or sliced avocado: Use your favorite store-bought guac or try my homemade guacamole (SO yummy!)
- Cheese: Shredded cheddar, Monterrey Jack, and Pepper Jack are perfect for melting onto the tortilla. Crumbly cheese, like Cotija cheese, is ideal for topping.
- Pickled onion or jalapeños: The vinegary punch perfectly complements the seasoned meat. Check out this post to make super-quick pickled red onions.
- Sour cream: Use regular sour cream, or try this punchy chipotle crema.
- Hot sauce or hot peppers: I like adding thinly sliced jalapeño or serrano peppers.
- Salsa: I love loading my shredded chicken tacos with various types of salsa—classics like pico de gallo, salsa verde, or this (restaurant-style) salsa recipe. I also love fruit salsas, like fresh pineapple salsa and mango salsa.
What to Serve with Pulled Chicken Tacos
Admittedly, tacos are a solid meal all on their own. But if you’re looking for some fun (and yummy!) side dishes, here’s what I’d recommend:
- Rice and beans: Offer family or guests the option of rice and beans with their tacos. They can enjoy them as a side or topping! Try this Mexican-style rice, cilantro lime rice, refried beans, or Mexican black beans.
- Chips and dip: Who doesn’t love a big basket of salty tortilla chips with fresh salsa, guacamole, black bean dip, or homemade cheese sauce?
- Other (less obvious) Mexican favorites: I love fresh shrimp or fish ceviche, arroz con leche (the best dessert), and pozole rojo.
Storage and Reheating
Shredded chicken tacos make great leftovers. Use the leftover shredded chicken to make (more!) tacos, burrito bowls, sandwiches, or salads! Here are some tips on how to store them.
- Store leftover shredded chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months. Store any leftover toppings or salsa in separate containers for up to one week in the refrigerator.
- Reheat the leftover shredded chicken in the microwave or stovetop until warmed through. Add additional broth if necessary to rehydrate the chicken.
RECIPE CARD
Shredded Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large white onion - finely diced and divided*
- 3 cloves garlic - minced
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth - plus more if needed
- 2 tablespoon taco seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt - plus more to taste
- 2 cups shredded chicken - rotisserie or homemade
- 8 corn tortillas - heated in a dry pan, see notes*
- Freshly minced cilantro and cotija cheese - for topping
Instructions
- Cook and shred the chicken (skip this step if you already have shredded chicken): Fill a large pot with water (the pot should be large enough to completely submerge the chicken in water (or broth) by 1-2 inches). Bring just to a simmer. Add the chicken. Return the liquid to a gentle simmer and cook, uncovered, for 1-2 minutes, then remove the pot from the heat and cover immediately with a lid. Allow the chicken to rest for 15-20 minutes or until internal temperature registers 160°F as measured with a digital meat thermometer. Let the chicken rest for 5-10 minutes, shred, and set aside (you will need about 2 cups of shredded chicken for the rest of this recipe).
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of the the finely diced onion and cook until softened about, 5-7 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook for one minute or until fragrant.
- Stir in the chicken broth, taco seasoning, and salt and gently simmer. Add the shredded chicken and mix well. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring once or twice to distribute the seasoning evenly.
- Serve in warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.
Jessica’s Notes
- Cooking time: The total prep and cooking time for this recipe assumes you already have cooked shredded chicken. If you’re starting with raw chicken, add 30ish minutes to cook and shred it.
- How much chicken? To get approximately 2 cups of shredded chicken, you will need about 12 ounces of raw, boneless, skinless chicken breast, which yields approximately 8 ounces of shredded chicken once cooked. Four ounces of shredded cooked chicken equals approximately one cup.
- Starting with frozen chicken breasts? If you’re starting with whole frozen uncooked chicken breasts, I suggest cooking them in the pressure cooker.
- What type of tortilla should you use? For street-style chicken tacos, use corn tortillas warmed in a dry skillet (double them if needed). Flour tortillas are less likely to fall apart, making them more suitable for tacos with heavy toppings.
- Nutritional information is for four servings, two tacos each serving.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Prepare the Instant Pot. Set the metal trivet in the bottom of the Instant Pot and add one cup of water or chicken broth.
- Add the chicken and cook. Arrange the (frozen) chicken on the trivet, close the lid, and set the valve to the sealing position. Press to “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” and cook the chicken breasts on high pressure for 12-15 minutes for medium chicken breasts (about 6-8 ounces).
- Natural Release. Release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then turn the valve to the venting position to release any remaining steam.
- Check for doneness. Using a digital meat thermometer.
Nutritional Information
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific brands of ingredients used.)
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