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This easy shredded chicken tacos recipe is such an easy dinner! They’re fresh, flavorful, and the kind of easy dinner that never feels boring.
They’re a mash-up of two of our most-loved recipes on Inspired Taste: our tender shredded chicken and the creamy cilantro sauce from our veggie tacos. The combination makes every bite fresh, zesty, and absolutely delicious.
These tacos come together fast, making them ideal for busy nights. You can even prepare the chicken and sauce in advance, so dinner practically makes itself. For more like this, see our shredded chicken nachos.
Key Ingredients
- Chicken: Make chicken for this, use leftover chicken, or use a rotisserie chicken. I love making the chicken by gently simmering chicken thighs or breasts with onion, garlic, bay leaf, cumin, salt, and pepper until they are tender and shreddable. You can do this on the stove, like in our stovetop shredded chicken, or in a slow cooker using our crockpot shredded chicken recipe.
- Creamy Cilantro Sauce: I love drizzling our creamy cilantro lime sauce over the tacos, which I make with sour cream, lime juice, jalapeño, and cilantro. You can always substitute your favorite store-bought sauce or dressing, but it really does add a lot to the flavor of these tacos. I also use it for these veggie tacos. For more of a cilantro ranch, try this cilantro lime dressing, which I use for our taco salad.
- Tortillas: Use your favorite tortillas. Corn or flour both work great. When I have the time, I love making my own using our recipes for soft flour tortillas or corn tortillas.
- Extras: Finish your tacos with your favorite toppings. I love adding extra cilantro, chopped tomato, and crumbled queso fresco. You can also top them with guacamole, pico de gallo, or quick pickled onions for even more flavor.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make Shredded Chicken Tacos
Tip 1: The best chicken for tacos. When making shredded chicken for tacos, I love using one of the recipes below. Since the chicken gently cooks in flavorful cooking liquid, it turns out incredibly tender and juicy. Depending on your day, you can choose the quicker stovetop version or the slow cooker option.
Tip 2: Seasoning the chicken. If you use one of the recipes above, the chicken will already be quite flavorful. For even more flavor, consider tossing it with red enchilada sauce or green enchilada sauce. You can buy them (I love Hatch), or make them with one of our recipes:
Tip 3: Make-ahead tips. This is one of those dishes I rely on during busy weeks, as it is incredibly easy to meal prep. The cooked chicken will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to a month. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
Serving Suggestions
I’m happy with just tacos on my plate, but if you’d like to add a few more dishes, consider serving these alongside homemade refried beans and Mexican rice, or try this yellow saffron rice. A bowl of tortilla chips and homemade salsa or queso always goes down well, too!
Easy Shredded Chicken Tacos
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These chicken tacos has been a lifesaver for my family. They are quick, delicious, and you can build your tacos however you want. I highly recommend the cilantro sauce, but feel free to customize your tacos with your favorite toppings.
4 Servings
You Will Need
Chicken Tacos
1 ½ pounds boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts
1 medium onion, peeled and sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed
1 bay leaf
1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 corn tortillas or flour tortillas
1 medium tomato, chopped
Cheese such as queso fresco for serving
1 lime, cut into wedges
Creamy Cilantro Sauce
½ cup sour cream
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
½ jalapeño, seeds and membrane removed
½ cup packed cilantro leaves and tender stems
Salt to taste
Directions
1Cook the chicken: Combine chicken, onion, garlic, bay leaf, salt, cumin, and pepper in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add just enough water to cover the chicken. Turn heat to high, bring to a boil, then remove any foam or scum that floats to the top.
2Adjust the heat so that the water simmers very gently around the chicken. Cook until chicken is very tender, about 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board, and then when it is cool enough to handle, use two forks or your fingers to shred the meat.
3Reduce cooking liquid: After removing the chicken, boil the remaining liquid in the saucepan until it has reduced by one-third or until its flavor has concentrated. Spoon about 1 cup of the concentrated cooking liquid over the shredded chicken and toss to coat. Use within 2 to 3 days or freeze.
4Make the sauce: Add sour cream, lime juice, jalapeño, cilantro, and a pinch of salt to a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste, then add more lime juice or salt if needed. Refrigerate for up to a week.
5Warm tortillas: Wrap tortillas in two stacks with aluminum foil. Place into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until warm.
6Make tacos: Fill each warmed tortilla with chicken and tomatoes. Top with cheese and a drizzle of the cilantro sauce. Serve with extra sauce and lime wedges on the side.
Adam and Joanne’s Tips
- Make-ahead tips: The shredded chicken will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and in the freezer for up to a month. The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about a week.
- Double batch of chicken: To make a double batch, increase the chicken to 3 pounds then add more water to the pot. The onion, garlic, and spices do not need to change.
- Skin-on chicken: We have made this recipe using boneless, skinless chicken thighs and chicken thighs with skin still attached. Both work very well. If you use chicken with skin, just remove and discard the skin before you shred the chicken. You may also find that you need to skim some of the fat from the cooking broth before spooning it over the chicken.
- Leftover cooking liquid: You will have cooking liquid leftover. It is quite delicious on its own as a light soup. You can also use it as broth for other recipes. Or, if you’re keeping the chicken more than a day, add a spoonful or two to add a little moisture.
- Slow cooker shredded chicken: add all the ingredients to the slow cooker then cook on LOW until the chicken is cooked and tender, 3 to 4 hours. Shred the chicken and transfer the broth to a saucepan. Simmer the broth until reduced by a third then spoon over the chicken.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Nutrition Per Serving
Serving Size
3 small tacos
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Calories
313
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Protein
23g
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Carbohydrate
22g
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Dietary Fiber
3g
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Total Sugars
4g
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Total Fat
15g
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Saturated Fat
6g
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Cholesterol
121mg
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Sodium
801mg
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