These low-and-slow-cooked Shredded Chicken Tacos put the comfort in comfort food. Tequila and beer combine with broth, tomatoes, and spices to yield an unctuous, decadent braised chicken taco filling. It will skyrocket your tacos to another dimension of flavor.
(This recipe was originally published in March 2018, but was updated with new photos and content in 2024).
Taco Tuesday is my favorite non-holiday. I sometimes even celebrate it when it's not Tuesday! There are so many styles of tacos to enjoy in honor of the occasion. Whether you make the basic, tried and true ground beef tacos, or something more complex and time consuming, it's bound to be delicious.
Although I love a quick taco fix, sometimes it's worth a slower approach to build tons of flavor. That's why I love braised taco fillings. They're hands off for most of process and get more delicious over time.
This particular shredded chicken taco recipe uses dried chipotle and ancho chiles as well as beer, tequila, and tomatoes. It's hard to describe the flavor intensity of the sauce. I just highly recommend trying it yourself!
Ingredient notes
- Chicken: Whether you use chicken breasts, tenders, or thighs, keep an eye on the chicken and sauce for the perfect shredding consistency as white meat will cook faster than dark. Any of these options will work!
- Chiles: You'll need two kinds of dried chiles for these shredded chicken tacos: ancho (which is a dried poblano chile) and chipotle (which is a dried smoked jalapeno chile). Both of these types of dried chiles are fairly common and should be easy to find in well-stocked supermarkets and online. Wear kitchen safe gloves to carefully remove the stem and seeds (the oils from the seeds can stay on your fingers and burn your eyes if you touch them later).
- Beer: Use your favorite beer, preferably something light like a lager. An obvious choice here would be a Mexican cerveza, but I also enjoy the results using a fruity and refreshing wheat beer like the Blue Moon I used in the photos. The alcohol itself will cook off, but if you need to cut out the alcohol entirely you could replace this with additional chicken broth.
- Tequila: Use whatever tequila you have on hand and/or enjoy. No need to get fancy here as it's going to cook into the sauce. If you need to remove the alcohol, just omit the tequila since it's such a small amount.
- Tomatoes: Use canned tomatoes such as diced or crushed tomatoes. It doesn't matter too much since the sauce is going to be pureed in the blender.
How to make it
Toast the ancho and chipotle chiles in a dry Dutch over medium heat, turning once until fragrant, taking care that they don't burn. Remove and set aside.
Add oil to the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When it's hot, working in batches (I did 3 batches for 3 pounds of chicken), add the chicken and cook, turning once, until lightly browned. As the pieces of chicken are ready, transfer them to a plate and set aside.
Add chopped onion and sauté over medium-low heat until the onion starts to soften.
Add minced garlic and sauté for a couple minutes. Then add the toasted chiles, beer, tequila, chicken broth, canned diced or crushed tomatoes, salt, ground cumin, and dried Mexican oregano. Simmer uncovered until the chiles have completely softened. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
Pour the chile mixture into a blender and puree until almost completely smooth.
Return the seared chicken to the pot and pour the pureed sauce evenly over the top.
Cover the pot, place in a 325°F oven, and cook for 1 ½ hours for chicken tenders or breasts, or 2 hours for chicken thighs. Remove the lid and continue to cook, stirring if necessary to prevent sticking, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is fork tender and the sauce has thickened and reduced significantly.
Remove from the oven and use tongs or a fork to loosely shred the chicken, leaving it in the sauce.
Serve shredded chicken tacos with warmed corn tortillas, chopped onion, cilantro, and lime.
Please scroll to the bottom of the post for the full recipe (in a printable recipe card) including ingredient amounts and detailed instructions.
Expert tips
You can easily make this filling ahead of time and either freeze or refrigerate it. Then gently reheat it the day you want to serve it. I've done this multiple times with various braised and shredded taco fillings, and it works great! This will save time when hosting game day, Cinco de Mayo, or any taco-eating occasion.
This recipe makes A LOT of taco filling which is great for feeding a crowd, or even enjoying half and then freezing the rest. You could also use it to fill burritos, top nachos, and so much more.
Other recipes you may like
- Achiote Grilled Chicken Tacos
- Adobo Chicken Tacos
- Guajillo-Braised Short Rib Tacos
- Sweet Potato Tacos
- Grilled Fish Tacos
Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also follow me on social media on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Shot-and-a-Beer Shredded Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 3 ancho chiles stemmed and seeded
- 2 dried chipotle chiles stemmed and seeded
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or more as needed
- 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, tenders, or breasts (for breasts, slice horizontally in half into 2 thin cutlets each)
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 (12-ounce) can or bottle favorite beer
- 1 shot (1 ½ ounces / 3 tablespoons) favorite tequila
- 1 cup chicken broth preferably low-sodium
- 1 cup canned diced or crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt or as needed (preferably Diamond Crystal brand)
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried Mexican oregano (or regular dried oregano)
- 24 corn tortillas warmed, for serving
- Chopped white onion, chopped fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and salsa of your choice for serving
Instructions
- Toast the ancho and chipotle chiles in a dry Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot with a lid over medium heat, turning once, for about 30 seconds on each side, until fragrant but not blackened. Take care they don't burn. Remove and set aside.
- Add the oil to the Dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, working in batches (I did 3 batches for 3 pounds of chicken), add the chicken and cook, turning once, for about 2 to 3 minutes per side, until lightly browned. Add an extra drizzle of oil if needed to prevent sticking. As the pieces of chicken are ready, transfer them to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onion to the oil remaining in the pot (add another drizzle of oil if needed) and sauté over medium-low to medium heat for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the onion starts to soften. A cast iron Dutch oven will retain a lot of heat so moderate the heat as needed so nothing burns.
- Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 to 2 minutes. Add the toasted chiles, beer, tequila, broth, tomatoes, salt, cumin, and oregano. Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for about 12 to 15 minutes until the chiles have completely softened. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. While the oven is heating, pour the chile mixture into a blender and process until almost completely smooth (a little texture is fine). Return the chicken to the pot and pour the pureed sauce evenly over the top.
- Cover the pot, place in the oven, and cook for 1 ½ hours for chicken tenders or breasts, or 2 hours for chicken thighs. Remove the lid and continue to cook, stirring if necessary to prevent sticking, for 20 to 30 minutes, until the chicken is fork tender and the sauce has thickened and reduced significantly. If the sauce starts to reduce too much and the chicken begins to stick, add a little water or broth. Remove from the oven and use tongs or a fork to loosely shred the chicken, leaving it in the sauce.
- Serve with warmed corn tortillas, onion, cilantro, and lime.
Notes
- You can easily make this filling ahead of time and either freeze or refrigerate it. Then gently reheat it the day you want to serve it. I've done this multiple times with various braised and shredded taco fillings, and it works great! This will save time when hosting game day, Cinco de Mayo, or any taco-eating occasion.
- This recipe makes A LOT of taco filling which is great for feeding a crowd, or even enjoying half and then freezing the rest. You could also use it to fill burritos, top nachos, and so much more.
- The nutritional information below was calculated using chicken breasts and does not include any toppings or garnishes. As always, consider it an estimate.
- Adapted from Tacolicious
Nutrition
*All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.*
LRobertson says
This recipe sound amazing. I can not wait to try. My girls will love Iโm sure.