Who doesn’t love a delicious Mexican chicken recipe? Super easy and quick, this flavorful, tender Mexican shredded chicken is ready to enjoy in 30 minutes. Mexican chicken is a flavorful and easy-to-make dish that is perfect for a weeknight dinner.
This shredded chicken is a fantastic filling for burritos, tacos, Mexican chicken casserole, quesadillas, rice skillet, tamales, and taquitos, or just pilling on top of nachos or your favorite salad.
About This Recipe for Shredded Mexican Chicken
Flavorful and tender, Mexican style shredded chicken is ideal for spicing up your favorite Tex-Mex and Mexican dishes.
Method for cooking: Combines searing and poaching the chicken to ensure you get the absolute best flavor while keeping all the savory juiciness of the chicken meat to deliver the super-tender, Mexican shredded chicken. Instant Pot shredded chicken is another great option because when you pressure cook meat, it’s extra tender. Instant Pot chicken is a quick and easy dinner option, and Instant Pot Mexican chicken with adobo sauce makes dinner time easy.
Easy and quick: This recipe, from start to finish, only takes about 30 minutes on the stovetop, which makes it perfect for any busy weeknight when you don’t have time to make Crock Pot or slow cooker shredded chicken.
Full of delicious flavor: By combining poaching and spices, every bite of chicken is bursting with delicious flavor.
Needed Ingredients for This Mexican Shredded Chicken Recipe
You need these basic ingredients to make shredded Mexican chicken.
Oil: Avocado and extra virgin olive oil are great options.
Making Mexican Chicken Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1: Mix together all of the ingredients for your taco seasoning.
Step 2: Next, coat your chicken with the taco seasoning, being sure to press the spices into your chicken thoroughly using your hands.
Step 3: Sear the chicken on both sides in a hot skillet using only a small amount of oil. Add some chicken broth, then put the lid on the skillet and allow the chicken to finish cooking until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F, and you can shred chicken easily using a fork. You can also shred chicken using the meat-shredding claws found on Amazon.
Step 4: Returning the chicken to the skillet, stir in the remaining broth you used while cooking to give the meat even more flavor.
You can also use this recipe to make slow cooker shredded chicken (Crock Pot shredded chicken) or Instant Pot shredded chicken. Instant pot shredded chicken cooks up beautifully because it’s so tender.
Expert Mexican Chicken Tips
Shredding the chicken: It’s a lot easier to shred the chicken when the meat is warm, which is why it’s best to shred it just after it’s finished cooking.
Temperature: It’s always recommended to check your chicken’s internal temperature to ensure it reaches at least 165°F. You can get an accurate reading using an instant-read thermometer.
Coating the chicken once it’s cooked: Don’t forget to add the shredded chicken back into the skillet so you can fully coat it in the juices and spices used to cook the meat. This really makes a big difference, adding a ton of flavor and moisture.
Grilled chicken: If you prefer cooking your Mexican chicken outside, you can modify this recipe to make grilled chicken. Grilling chicken is a great chance to make tasty Mexican recipes such as chicken fajita. Serve with tortilla chips, fresh lime juice, grilled bell pepper, and sliced avocado.
Mexican Chicken Recipes FAQs
What type of chicken is the best for making shredded chicken?
To create Mexican shredded chicken, you can either use chicken thighs or chicken breast. If you want to make Crockpot Mexican chicken, you can use this recipe for that.
How do you make the best shredded chicken super fine?
Using two forks, it’s very easy to pull your chicken apart. You can also put your cooked chicken into a big bowl or inside one attached to a stand mixer. You can use a hand mixer or stand mixer on low speed to break your chicken apart.
How should you store shredded chicken?
The meat stores well in a refrigerator or freezer. You can store it in a refrigerator for three to four days and in a freezer for up to two months.
Other Mexican Shredded Chicken Recipes
Once you have a batch of shredded Mexican chicken, try some of these delicious recipe ideas with your leftover chicken. We love making chicken chili with shredded cheese on top, chicken tortilla soup with cream cheese, chicken chimichanga with cheese, a burrito bowl topped with fire roasted tomatoes, and Buffalo chicken. You can also use your shredded chicken (Mexican pulled chicken) just as you would use pulled pork.
Having a batch of shredded chicken in the freezer is as easy as serving a rotisserie chicken for dinner. For example, how does a chicken quesadilla dinner sound?
You can also stuff up a chicken burrito with all of the delicious Mexican food fixings, including avocado, diced tomatoes, and more. When made with boneless chicken breast, this type of meal is also super healthy. For a rich flavor, you can also make shredded chicken thighs.
Mexican Chicken Soup: If you have leftover slow cooker Mexican chicken, you can use it for other Mexican shredded chicken recipes such as this savory, spicy chicken soup are perfect for cold nights.
Zesty Shredded Chicken Tacos: It’s hard to have a list of Mexican shredded chicken recipes without mentioning tacos. You can make amazing chicken tacos using avocados, fresh cilantro, lime, garlic cloves, dried oregano, red onion, sweet onion, fire-roasted canned tomatoes, chicken stock, chipotle peppers, olive oil, kosher salt, ground cumin, corn tortillas, crumbled cotija.
Take taco Tuesdays to the next level with this fantastic recipe that really allows your Mexican shredded chicken to shine. You can also add your favorite toppings like jalapeno slices, sour cream, roasted corn, salsa, and more!
Mexican Chicken Pot Pie: If you love chicken pot pie, Mexican shredded chicken recipes like this allow you to make a savory Mexican chicken pot pie that will knock your socks off! You can save time by using a store-bought crust or making it from scratch.
Pan-Sheet Shredded Chicken Nachos: Pan-sheet shredded chicken nachos are perfect for an easy dinner.
Bacon and Chicken Taco Stuffed Potatoes: With a name like bacon and chicken taco stuffed potatoes, how can this dish be anything but a winner? You can transform your seasoned Mexican shredded chicken into baked potatoes stuffed with melty cheese.
Easy Mexican Shredded Chicken Recipe
Super-easy and quick, this flavorful, tender Mexican shredded chicken is ready to enjoy in 30 minutes thanks to a creative cooking method that combines poaching and searing your chicken to create the most tender and flavorful meat you've ever tasted. Seasoned with a blend of savory herbs and spices, this chicken is fabulous in burritos, tacos, and nachos.
2poundsboneless skinless chicken thighs or boneless skinless chicken breast
1cupwater or chicken broth
2Tbsp.of tomato sauceoptional
Instructions
Combine all the spices in a small bowl to create your taco seasoning mix.
Thoroughly coat the skillet chicken on both sides with your taco seasoning.
Add your olive oil and tomato sauce to a large pan over medium heat.
Place your chicken mixture in the pan and allow it to cook on each side for 2 to 3 minutes. Add your chicken broth or water. Cover the pan and allow the chicken to cook in the liquid for between 15 and 20 minutes or until the chicken's internal temperature reaches 165°F and is cooked through.
Extract the chicken from the pan, then shred the pieces using a fork. Return the shredded chicken to the pan. Coat the shredded chicken in the Mexican chicken marinade. Warm the pan on low heat for 3 to 5 minutes to allow all the juice and spices to marinate the chicken meat.
Notes
Chicken broth: You'll need this to poach your chicken. If you don't have chicken broth, you can use water instead. Chicken: You can make this recipe using either thighs or breasts. Just make sure you use skinless, boneless chicken since it will be shredded. Oil: Avocado oil and extra virgin olive oil are great options. Storage: You can store this Mexican shredded chicken in a refrigerator for three to four days and in a freezer for up to two months.
Cassie brings decades of experience to the Kitchen Community. She is a noted chef and avid gardener. Her new book "Healthy Eating Through the Garden" will be released shortly. When not writing or speaking about food and gardens Cassie can be found puttering around farmer's markets and greenhouses looking for the next great idea.
