MEXICAN CHICKEN ON YOUR TABLE IN 10 MINUTES!
This Mexican chicken will blow you away and change your life. It’s quick, easy, healthy, explodes with flavor and I said it’s already done in LESS than 10 minutes? It is the ideal weekday meal and incredibly versatile. You can make Mexican chicken tacos, burritos, burrito bowls, enchiladas, salads, etc. all with this easy Mexican chicken! It is also frozen and beautifully reheated to prepare the dinners you WANT!
Mexican
Cbhicken Recipes
With Easter coming and going, I’m excited to share some of my easy daily dinners with you like this Mexican chicken. This party favorite has been in great repetition in our house. It’s pretty easy for every day or fabulous to entertain like Cinco de Mayo!
This Mexican chicken
rivals my Mexican chicken Crockpot, chicken salsa verde, chicken Chipotle, chicken with cilantro and lime and chicken fajita, but it’s 10 times faster and easier than all of them, but it’s still just as tasty
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This Mexican chicken is the epitome of great taste with little effort. How could you ask? This recipe starts with shredded chicken, then seasons generously with your favorite Mexican seasonings so you get the juicy party-flavored roast chicken shortcut added. It’s a win-win with an incredibly satisfying payout!
This Mexican chicken belongs to my easy turkey tacos as the answer to all those busy nights, lazy nights, nights I don’t want to cook, “what should I do for dinner?” nights, I need something NOW nights but something everyone will LOVE at night. Check, check, check and check.
I’m so excited for you to try this Mexican chicken recipe! And just one note, my favorite way to serve them is stacked in corn tortillas with Greek yogurt, gravy and hot sauce, SO easy, so I can’t stop eating, I need 5, 10 delicious!
Ingredients for Mexican Shredded Chicken
Aside from chicken, the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples. And you can even have shredded roast chicken on hand in your freezer! This Mexican chicken recipe is an easy mix of
: Chicken:
- Use roast chicken or make your own shredded
- Chicken broth: We use low-sodium chicken broth so we can control the salt
- on the fire: they are tomatoes that have been roasted which gives them a complex smoking and eliminates the acid bite. Fire-roasted tomatoes are located alongside traditional diced tomatoes, just be sure to buy the ones that don’t have extra seasonings. You can use tomatoes cut into simple cubes if you can’t find roasted on the fire.
- Soft green chiles canned in cubes – be sure to buy soft green chiles – I accidentally used hot chilies before and they are HOT! Soft green chilies, however, are more spicy than spicy, so you don’t have to worry about them making your soup spicy.
- Tomato paste: Add concentrated tomato flavor that pairs with chicken broth to create a flavorful sauce
- Chili powder – This is where most of the flavor comes from, so use a quality brand like McCormick. INTERNATIONAL WARNING: American chili powder is a mixture of chili peppers, cumin, garlic powder and herbs with a ratio of one part cayenne to seven parts of the other spices. However, chili powders sold in other parts of the world are 100% chile and 8 times hotter than chili powder. So, please use American-style chili powder to make this recipe or your mouth will be on fire!
- Ground cumin: warm, earthy, nutty, with a sweet and bitter touch.
- Smoked paprika: rich, soft, sweet and smoky made from smoked peppers dried over oak fires.
- Garlic powder: dehydrated garlic for better distribution; it is spicy, aromatic and spicy.
- Onion powder: aromatic with a spicy bite.
- Dried oregano: aromatic, earthy, mentality notes.
- Salt and pepper: enhance all flavors.
- Cayenne pepper: bring the heat! Use more or less to taste.
chicken.
. Diced tomatoes roasted
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Which chicken is better?
You can use roast chicken or
make your own shredded chicken with chicken breasts or chicken thighs
. Roast chicken
- : Shredded roast chicken is my first choice because it’s a mix of light and dark meat, so it’s extra juicy and tasty. It’s also beautifully tender, delicately seasoned and delicious, making it a fabulous starting point for our Mexican chicken recipe.
- thighs: You can make your own shredded chicken with chicken breasts or chicken thighs so you can always make this Mexican chicken with what you have on hand. Chicken thighs will give you a tastier Mexican chicken juicer, but chicken breasts will work too.
Chicken breasts or
How to make Mexican
chicken
now for what you’ve been waiting for! Let’s see how easy it is to make this Mexican
shredded chicken!
First, add the shredded chicken to a pan along with the seasonings and stir to cover evenly
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Add diced tomatoes, chicken broth, tomato paste, and green chili peppers. Chicken broth infuses moisture into the chicken and combines with tomato paste to create a light, spicy layer.
Cook for about 5 minutes or until warm. Add additional chicken broth for wetter chicken if necessary. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cayenne pepper or hot sauce to taste if desired.
That’s it for the easiest Mexican chicken of your life!
TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MAKING MEXICAN CHICKEN
- Roast chicken: I like to buy my roast chicken from Costco because you get almost double the amount of chicken in a bird for the same price. If you have shredded chicken scraps that you won’t use in this recipe, you can freeze it for later.
- Different protein: Although this is called “Mexican chicken,” these seasonings and ingredients work well for ground beef, ground turkey, and ground chicken as well.
- Tomato paste: This Mexican shredded chicken recipe only calls for 2 tablespoons of tomato paste. I often don’t use a whole can of tomato paste in a week, so I always freeze it with a tablespoon. To do this, place parchment paper on a small baking sheet or plate, something that can easily fit in your freezer. Drop the tomato paste by the tablespoon on parchment paper a few inches apart in rows and then freeze until solid, about 1 hour. Cut a rack around the tomato paste so that each tablespoon has its own square of parchment. Wrap the parchment paper around the tomato paste and place it in a plastic bag. Freeze for up to 6 months, taking out a tablespoon of tomato paste as needed.
- Sauce: If you’re in a bind and don’t have tomato paste, you can replace chicken broth and tomato paste with sauce, but you’ll want to use less cayenne pepper and possibly other seasonings so the flavor isn’t too strong/spicy
- Season it. The level of spices as written is not very spicy, just tasty. If your Mexican chicken feels like it’s missing something, it’s probably a depth of heat. You’ll want to try the chicken once it’s made and add hot sauce to taste or people can add hot sauce to their own portions. Personally, I love the extra hot sauce and add it straight to my tacos instead of the chicken, and I really think it makes all the flavors stand out.
- Double Batch: This Mexican chicken is a fabulous recipe for doubling or breaking your Dutch oven and tripling it! Freeze leftovers in portion-sized bags for a quick, hot thawing dinner.
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HOW TO CUSTOMIZE MEXICAN CHICKEN
There are so many variations of recipes when it comes to Mexican chicken. Here are a few ways to make it your own:
- Add beans. Add your favorite beans: some refried beans, blacks, pintos, etc. are all fabulous. You may need to add extra salt to taste.
- Add vegetables. You can add any vegetable your heart desires from corn, peppers, zucchini, sweet potatoes, spinach, etc. You may want to add extra water and tomato paste to cover the vegetables as well.
- : This Mexican chicken recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of soft green chiles diced, but you can add more, even the entire 4-ounce can if you want more acidic
- Add sauce: You can add salsa or salsa verde to your chicken for an even tastier chicken. Just keep in mind that the sauce will make your chicken “wetter,” which will work better in some applications than others.
- Add heat: If you want to spice up your Mexican shredded chicken other than just adding cayenne pepper or hot sauce, try chopped jalapeños! For milder heat, you can add poblano peppers and for FUEGO heat, you can add habaneros.
- Add the enchiladas sauce. Add some enchilada sauce at the end and heat to get a spicy Mexican chicken.
- Add the cheese. Add the grated Mexican cheese, cheddar cheese or Jack pepper mix for the CHEESY Mexican chicken.
- Add rice or quinoa. Add cooked rice or cooked quinoa to add texture. If you do this, you may also want to add extra salt and sauce.
- Coverage! Serve with all your favorite ingredients, from avocados/guacamole to chopped tomatoes, salsa, salsa verde, pico de gallo, chopped lettuce cilantro, hot sauce, etc.
Add more green chiles
chicken.
What to do with Mexican chicken?
The uses of this Mexican chicken are endless! Here are some ideas, but remember, it can be as simple as stacking an omelet with sour cream!
- Mexican chicken tacos: Place tortillas with cheese and melt in the microwave or oven. Top with black beans or pintos, Mexican chicken, lettuce and desired ingredients such as chopped lettuce, pico de gallo, fresh guacamole, salsa, cotija cheese, sour cream and hot sauce.
- Baked Mexican Chicken Tacos: Line a 9×13 baking dish with hard taco shells and fill each shell with 2 tablespoons of refried beans (optional), followed by chicken and cheese (like this recipe). Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes or until cheese is completely melted. Top chicken tacos with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, etc.
- Mexican Chicken Salad: Add Mexican shredded chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, fresh corn, black beans, cheese (pepper jack, Mexican cheese mix or cotija), sunflower seeds or seeds to the large bowl. Serve with Tomatillo Avocado Ranch or Cilantro Lime Dressing.
- Mexican Chicken Burrito Bowls: Place cilantro and lime rice with cheese, black beans or pinto beans, chicken, chopped lettuce, and your favorite ingredients, including crushed tortilla chips and sour cream/Greek yogurt or I highly recommend Tomatillo Avocado Ranch or Cilantro Lime Dressing.
- Burritos Mexican chicken: Place a burrito-sized tortilla with cilantro and lime rice or Mexican rice, black beans or pintos, cheese, Mexican chicken, guacamole, sour cream, and lettuce. Serve with additional sour cream and pico de gallo or homemade sauce.
- Suffocated Mexican Chicken Burritos: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and add a baking rack on top. Make burritos by adding 1/2 cup of Mexican chicken to each burrito-sized tortilla, top with the desired amount of cheese, and roll the burrito-style. Place burritos on the baking rack and brush both sides lightly with olive oil or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Cook for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Roast to the desired crisp, turn and roast the other side until golden brown. Remove the baking rack and cover the burritos with your favorite enchilada sauce and cheese and bake until the cheese melts as described in my wet burritos or my popular green chili sour cream sauce with cheese like in my choking mud pot burritos.
- Mexican Chicken Enchiladas: Stuff tortillas with layers of cheese and chicken and a generous amount of sour cream. Roll up and place in a lightly oiled 9×13 baking dish. Top with red or green enchilada sauce and cheese and bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F.
- Chicken Quesadillas: Place a burrito-sized tortilla with Mexican cheese and Mexican shredded chicken and grill until golden brown and cheesey. Serve with your favorites of sour cream, salsa, chopped lettuce, guacamole, etc.
- Mexican Chicken Nachos: Pile thick restaurant-style tortilla chips with cheese and beans and bake. Top with chicken and toppings like jalapeños, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, etc.
- Mexican chicken fajitas: The last few minutes of cooking, add the sliced peppers and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. You may want to add additional seasonings for added peppers. Add an omelet and top with sour cream, guacamole, lemon juice and cilantro.
Mexican
WHAT SIDE DISHES SHOULD I SERVE WITH MEXICAN CHICKEN?
The Mexica chicken will probably be the main attraction and you’ll want some easy sides to go with it. I like to serve it with beans, whether it’s Mexican rice or cilantro and lime rice (both can be made in the rice cooker), a great green salad or corn salad or southwest salad and perfect fruit salad or piña colada fruit salad. For a full Mexican feast, serve with homemade churros for dessert!
HOW TO FREEZE MEXICAN CHICKEN
This Mexican chicken is great for frozen meals! To freeze:
- Prepare Mexican chicken according to instructions
- Cool to room temperature
- Add chicken to a freezer-sized plastic bag OR portion in smaller sandwich bags
- Press the flat bag, squeeze out excess air to avoid frostbite burns
- Seal, label and freeze for up to 3 months. How to
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Reheat
Mexican Chicken
- When ready to use, thaw the chicken in the refrigerator overnight.
- Remove the chicken and heat it back in a pan or microwave-safe container in the microwave.
- If your chicken looks dry, add some sauce.
Looking for more Mexican dinners?
- Slow cooker Carnitas
- Beef Barbecue
- Tortilla Creamy Chile Green
- Chicken enchiladas
- Cilantro & Lime Chicken Tacos Tacos
- Al Pastor
- Taco Soup with CheeseWANT
Chicken
Soup
TO TRY THIS MEXICAN CHICKEN RECIPE?
PUT IT ON YOUR CHICKEN BOARD, MEXICAN OR EASY TO SAVE FOR
LATER!
FIND ME ON PINTEREST FOR MORE COOL RECIPES! I’M ALWAYS PINNING :)!
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