Mexican shredded chicken

Posted: September 7, 2025 Last modified: September 9, 2025

Today, I have another delicious Mexican dish for you: tender pulled chicken! As you can see from the number of Mexican recipes on Laura’s Bakery, I really love this cuisine.

Serve this chicken with fresh guacamole, sliced tomatoes, cucumber, corn, red onion, black beans, and/or lettuce on a homemade tortilla. It’s delicious and quick to make, especially if you’ve already prepared the chicken.

It’s the perfect comfort food, and it’s great for serving to friends or family. Put all the tortilla ingredients on the table and let everyone make their own. It’s so much fun!

If you want to serve a starter and dessert with your dinner, try these delicious oven-baked tortilla chips for the starter and tres leches cake for dessert. Your guests will be impressed!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Perfect comfort food – whether you’re eating this all on your own or with friends, it’s such a comforting dish.
Great for sharing – I love using this Mexican shredded chicken dish to serve with tortilla and all the accompaniments. That way, people can easily make their own version. Perfect for taco Tuesday!

Recipe Ingredients

Chicken – you can use either chicken thighs or boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Which one you prefer is a personal choice. The thighs will retain more moisture as they are fattier, so it doesn’t get dry.
Spice mix – check the recipe card below what ingredients go into my Mexican spice mix. It’s super simple to make and can serve as homemade taco seasoning as well. But – that said – if you want you can also use your favorite Mexican store-bought spice mix.
Tomato – for this easy recipe, I’ve used tomato cubes and tomato paste.

Check full recipe ingredients and quantities in the recipe card below. I’ve prepared this recipe in a large skillet (Dutch oven would work as well) but you can also make this easily in an instant pot or slow cooker. If you do stick to around 4-5 hours for the slow cooker setting.

How To Make Mexican Shredded Chicken

Step 1: Make the spice mix

If not using a ready-made blend, mix your spices now. You will need only 1 tablespoon for this recipe, so you can save the rest for future use. Make sure to store it in a small airtight container.

Step 2: Prepare the chicken

I’ve used chicken thighs here. You start by making the tomato mixture in a large skillet and add the chicken to it. Make sure that the chicken is completely covered with liquid. If necessary, add a bit of extra water.

The cooking time might vary a bit since the size of the chicken can vary too. Cover the pand and let it simmer for about 25 minutes and turn the chicken half way. Remove the chicken from the sauce and place on a cutting board. Using two forks, pull apart the chicken.

Before you add the chicken back to the pan remove about half of the sauce. If you don’t do this the chicken will be too wet. But ultimately it also depends on how you’re going to use your Mexican shredded chicken. It is delicious in burrito bowls or make chicken tacos out of it.

Storing The Shredded Chicken

You can store the Mexican shredded chicken for up to two days in the fridge. Or use a freezer bag and store in the freezer for up to three months.

What’s the best cut of chicken to use for pulled chicken?

Boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs work best. Thighs are juicier and more forgiving if you accidentally overcook, while breasts are leaner.

Can I use frozen chicken?

Yes, but you’ll need to add extra cooking time. If using a slow cooker or Instant Pot, you can put it in frozen. If cooking on the stove, thaw it first for even cooking.

How do I make it more flavorful?

Season the chicken generously before cooking and use a mix of spices like chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, and oregano. Adding a bit of lime juice at the end brightens the flavor of the pulled chicken.

Can I make it in a slow cooker or Instant Pot?

Absolutely.

Slow cooker: 4–5 hours on low or 2–3 hours on high.
Instant Pot: 12–15 minutes on high pressure, natural release for 5 minutes.
Both methods make shredding much easier.

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Mexican Shredded Chicken

This delicious Mexican pulled chicken can be used in many dishes, from empanadas to tortillas to sandwiches. Try it in an empanada, tortilla, or sandwich.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Servings: people

Ingredients

Metric | US Customary

2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp. garlic cloves finely chopped
400 grams diced tomatoes 400 grams diced tomatoes
70 grams tomato paste small can
1 tbsp Mexican spice mix
400 grams chicken thighs or chicken breast
1 tbsp brown sugar

Mexican Spice Mix:

2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chili powder or ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
½ tsp oregano

Instructions

If you don’t have a ready-made spice mix, prepare the mix using the ingredients listed above. You will only need 1 tablespoon, but you can store the rest in a jar until you want to make another Mexican dish.
In a large frying pan, add olive oil and finely chopped garlic. Fry briefly, then add the diced tomatoes, tomato purée, and Mexican spice mix. Mix well.
Add the chicken thighs to the sauce. Make sure they are completely covered with the sauce. Add a dash of water if necessary. Cover the pan and simmer on low-medium heat for 25 minutes. Turn the chicken thighs halfway through.
Remove the chicken thighs from the sauce and pull them apart with two forks to make pulled chicken. Remove at least half of the sauce from the pan; otherwise, the pulled chicken will be too wet.
Add the pulled chicken back to the sauce in the pan along with a tablespoon of brown sugar. Fry everything together for another five minutes on high heat. Your pulled chicken is now ready! Taste it and add a little extra salt, chili powder, or brown sugar if you’d like. Then, use your Mexican pulled chicken in a dish.

Tips

I store leftover sauce in a sealed container in the refrigerator or freezer once it has cooled down. You can add it to minced meat, for example, along with some vegetables. Cook some rice to go with it, and you have a complete meal for the next day. Or, if you like extra sauce on your wrap, you can use the sauce for that, too.

Vary the spice mix by adding a teaspoon of smoked paprika powder.

How to store

You can store the pulled chicken in the refrigerator for up to two days. It's often even better the next day because the flavors have had time to develop. You can freeze the pulled chicken for up to three months.

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Mexican shredded chicken

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Recipe Ingredients