Mexican Shredded Chicken
Jazz up your weeknights with this quick and easy Mexican Shredded Chicken – eat it plain, with beans or rice, or use it as a base for any Mexican-inspired meal!
Far and away, Mexican-inspired foods are our favorite. We eat some variation at least once a week, whether it’s tacos or enchiladas, or a casserole. And I realized that I’ve never shared my favorite way to prepare the shredded chicken I often use as a base to get things started.
In the summertime, I love having the Tall Boy cook the chicken on the charcoal grill. But as I’m typing this post, I’m sitting in front of our fireplace shivering, as our wind chill is currently minus 3 degrees. Needless to say, I used my indoor grill pan to make this chicken today. 😉
The secret in this recipe is a super quick marinade of only three ingredients: lime juice, red wine vinegar, and minced garlic. Sometimes I’ll add in some chopped cilantro as well. The marinade literally takes 5 minutes to make, and I can pop it in the fridge on my way out the door in the morning.
When you’re ready to grill your chicken, liberally rub homemade taco seasoning all over it. Get your hands messy and really press the spices into the meat. I highly recommend using my version of taco seasoning – the spices in this rub really add a great smoky, spicy flavor. That orange powder stuff you can buy in packets? Don’t use it here. You won’t get the same results, and believe me, this is worth a bit of extra work.
You can easily double (or triple, whatever) the recipe, and freeze the leftovers to have at the ready in your freezer. We love using this for chicken tacos in homemade flour tortillas.
What’s your favorite way to use shredded chicken?
- 1 pound boneless chicken (breasts or thighs)
- 2-3 limes, juiced
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning
- 1 tablespoon olive oil or butter
- Place chicken in a large ziploc bag or a tupperware container with a lid. Squeeze the juice of the limes over the chicken, and add minced garlic and red wine vinegar. Toss to coat and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
- When you're ready to cook your chicken, melt 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil in a heavy bottomed pan over medium-high heat. Rub taco seasoning over chicken pieces and place chicken in pan. Cook chicken until browned, about 7-10 minutes. Remove chicken and shred.
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Interestingly enough, I didn’t grow up with an interest in cooking.  In fact, I informed my mother on multiple occasions that I was not getting an advanced education so I could spend my evenings preparing meals.
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It’s cold outside, and all things Mexican are what I want to eat! I love how versatile this chicken recipe is! I’m new to your lovely site and will be exploring more of your recipes!
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I love all things Mexican food!! This looks like a must make recipe! I need all of the spice I can get right now. It’s so cold outside!
This is going on our super bowl menu, FOR SURE!!!
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Looks delicious! have you ever made the chicken in the crock pot?
This looks FANTASTIC!
Being a huge fan of Mexican food, this is a must try. And what an easy weeknight recipe. I really like those quick marinade ingredients and with some warm tortillas…. I’m smitten.
Yum this chicken sounds so good and could be used in so many different ways!
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