Shredded chicken tacos check all the boxes: delicious, easy to make, healthy, hearty, and budget-friendly. This meal is a home run with everyone in my family, which gives this mom the feel-goods! Great for Taco Tuesday (or Wednesday, or Thursday, or really ANY day!)

4 shredded chicken tacos with cut avocados, salsa, and lettuce around it.

When I make shredded chicken for tacos, I know that my week is about to get a whole lot easier. That’s because this chicken is also perfect for burritos, tostadas, enchiladas, rice bowls, and taco salad. This is truly one of the most versatile recipes I know. It can be made fresh, or made ahead and frozen for those nights when you’re short on time.

By using chicken instead of beef or pork, you get a meal that’s both lean and high in protein. The flavor, however, is still incredible, thanks to this recipe’s signature spice blend.

Colorful shredded chicken tacos on a marbled countertop.

Shredded chicken for tacos can be made quickly in an Instant Pot, or slowly in a crockpot. With a house full of kiddos, I need this kind of versatility in my life. It’s also a great make-ahead meal for the freezer. More options!

Sometimes I’ll make a double-batch of the chicken and plan for “fresh leftovers” later in the week. Tacos on Tuesday, burritos on Thursday, and Mexican rice bowls on Saturday. Squeezing three dinners out of one recipe is a great way to save money and time, but still keep things interesting (and delicious).

A green bowl of cooked shredded chicken with cut avocados, salsa, tomatoes, lettuce, and taco seasoning mix around it.

INGREDIENTS

Easy Shredded Chicken Tacos are made with boneless/skinless chicken breasts, corn tortillas, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, homemade taco seasoning, sour cream, salsa (and other taco toppings you like), and oil (olive, vegetable, or canola).

HOW TO MAKE SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS

Place chicken breasts in slow cooker with 1 cup water or chicken broth.

Prepare the taco seasoning.

A glass jar with spices in it with 4 silver measuring spoons with spices filling them.

Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken and into the surrounding liquid, as well.

Cover and cook for 6 hours on low or 4 hours on high.

A black crockpot with cooked whole chicken breasts in it.

Remove chicken breasts from crockpot and place on cutting board. Leave the juices in the crockpot.

Remove chicken and shred on a cutting board with two forks (do not discard juices in crockpot). Return meat to the slow cooker.

TORTILLAS

Add oil to small frying pan (about 1/4 inch). Heat to medium-high.
Put the tortilla in the oil, it should sizzle and cook very quickly.
When it is golden or crispish, flip it over and fold in half. Then hold up the top half of the tortilla out of the oil.
After that side is golden, flip it up where the golden side is up out of the oil and the other side is cooking.
When that side is done, place and let drain on paper towels.

TO SERVE:

Once the meat and tortillas are ready, it’s time for the fun part. Use a fork or thongs to add chicken inside the taco shell, then fill with your favorite toppings in any order you choose. We like to set up an “assembly line” on our kitchen counter and let everyone build their own tacos. Cheese, lettuce, sour cream, salsa – whatever you like, however you like. Enjoy!

4 shredded chicken tacos with cut avocados, salsa, lettuce, and a green bowl of spiced chicken around it.

HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS IN THE INSTANT POT?

Place thawed chicken breasts in Instant Pot.
Cover with taco seasoning.
Add 1 cup chicken broth or water.
Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.
Allow 10 minutes of natural release.
Remove chicken and shred on a cutting board with two forks.
Return meat to the Instant Pot.

CAN YOU FREEZE SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS?

Cook chicken following either recipe (slow cooker or Instant Pot). Allow to cool, then pour or spoon everything into a gallon-sized freezer bag. Freeze up to 6 months. To serve, thaw in the bag overnight (in your fridge), then pour contents into a covered saucepan or frying pan. Heat until warm.

HOW TO MAKE SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS

Make these easy pulled chicken tacos in a slow cooker or an Instant Pot. No matter which method you choose, the concept is the same: EASY. The machine does all the heavy lifting! The only mixing and measuring required is when you make your homemade taco seasoning (which you can make in advance).

Some other outstanding chicken recipes include Sesame Chicken Lettuce Wraps and Oven Baked Chicken Strips.

CAN I MAKE SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS IN A CROCK POT?

If you have the time, slow-cooking is a nice way to prepare healthy shredded chicken tacos. Just add the chicken to your crockpot at lunchtime, and it’s ready by dinnertime.

4 shredded chicken tacos with cut avocados, a glass cup of salsa, and lettuce around it.

CAN I MAKE SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS IN AN INSTANT POT?

I love my Instant Pot. It lets me serve fantastic meals like this one in less than 30 minutes. A real timesaver (and a lifesaver) when dinnertime approaches and the crew is getting restless. A great option for making shredded chicken tacos.

CAN YOU FREEZE SHREDDED CHICKEN TACOS?

Yes! Cook the chicken according to the recipe. Once it has cooled, transfer the chicken and juices to a gallon-sized freezer bag. Freeze for up to six months. When you’re ready to enjoy shredded chicken tacos, thaw overnight in the fridge and warm it up on low heat in a frying pan or crockpot. Or simply heat it from frozen (allow some extra heating time for this).

A single taco held by a hand with avocados, salsa, and lettuce faded around it.

PRO TIPS/RECIPE NOTES

Easily shred your chicken by using the dough hook on a mixer 🙂

If you fry your tortillas, the best time to do it is while the chicken is cooking. They’ll be ready and waiting when the meat is done. NOTE: Cooking in hot oil requires a few extra steps to keep things safe. For starters, you’ll want to wear an apron to protect your clothes from any splatter. Be sure to use thongs for handling the tortillas, and possibly even thin gloves to protect your hands. A splash of hot oil doesn’t feel good! And during the cooking process, make sure you have a distraction-free environment. Kids underfoot, a phone chiming or a knock at the door can easily split your attention, which I would not recommend when cooking with oil.

If you need to save some time, use store-bought flour tortillas or taco shells.

There are no hard-fast rules about the cheese, but some of my favorites for tacos are cheddar, Monterey jack, and cotija.

If cooking the chicken from frozen, add 5 minutes extra cooking time in the Instant Pot, and 60 minutes extra cooking time in the slow cooker.

4 shredded chicken tacos with shredded lettuce around it.

WHAT OTHER MEXICAN RECIPES CAN YOU MAKE?

Make these delicious Easy Nacho Cups
Make this Tex Mex Dip
Create this Frito Bandito
Prepare this Instant Pot Pork Chili Verde
Make this Quick and Easy Restaurant Style Salsa

The next time you make these tacos, I would love to see it! Snap a picture and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #happymoneysaver and tagging me @happymoneysaver!

This recipe was first posted November 8, 2010, but has been updated with new photos and better-detailed instructions on Oct 14h, 2021.

About Karrie

Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...

Easy Shredded Chicken Tacos

INGREDIENTS