This 3-Ingredient Mexican Shredded Chicken recipe is full of great flavor, easy to make in the Instant Pot or Crock-Pot, and perfect for tacos, burritos, quesadillas, salads and more!
With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, I feel the need to tell you about the most delicious Mexican shredded chicken hack I recently discovered.
Seriously. It’s the perfect back pocket recipe that you can whip out when you’re short on time but craving a winner winner chicken dinner. Because as ultra-simple as this recipe is, it is equally big on flavor, and yields the most tender, juicy, irresistible chicken every time. Perfect for serving with chicken tacos, burritos, quesadillas, tamales, chilaquiles, nachos, or whatever else you may be craving.
And best of all?
All you need are 3 easy ingredients, about 3 minutes of prep time, and either an Instant Pot or a Crock-Pot to do the rest of the work for you. Can you guess the ingredients? (Drumroll please…)
Easy Mexican Shredded Chicken Ingredients:
Ta da! So simple, right? To make this Mexican Shredded Chicken, you will need:
- Chicken: I recommend boneless chicken breasts or thighs, you pick.
- Salsa: Whatever your favorite kind may be! I have made this with my favorite homemade salsa and my favorite store-bought salsa, and both were total winners.
- McCormick Original Taco Seasoning: Turns out, not all store-bought taco seasonings are created equal. I’ve become a big fan of this one over the past few years because:
- It tastes great. Especially in this recipe.
- I love the ingredient label. No preservatives, no MSG, no artificial flavors, no dairy…no hesitations.
- It’s super easy and convenient, and makes this 3 minutes of prep time possible.
How To Make Instant Pot Shredded Chicken:
To make this recipe in the Instant Pot pressure cooker, simply…
- Add your ingredients: Combine the chicken, salsa and taco seasoning together in the bowl of your Instant Pot, and briefly toss to combine.
- Pressure cook: Then pressure cook on high for about 30 minutes. Quick release the pressure, then remove the lid.
- Shred: Use two forks to shred the chicken. Then give the shredded chicken a good toss in all of those juices to soak them up. (The juices will thicken a bit into a sauce as it cools.)
- Serve! Then dig in!
How To Make Crock-Pot Shredded Chicken:
Other option that’s just as easy, but will take a bit more time? Slow cooking. In a 4-quart or 6-quart Crock-Pot, simply…
- Add your ingredients: Combine the chicken, salsa and taco seasoning together in the bowl of your slow cooker, and briefly toss to combine.
- Slow cook: Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours, until the chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Shred: Use two forks to shred the chicken. Then give the shredded chicken a good toss in all of those juices to soak them up. (The juices will thicken a bit into a sauce as it cools.)
- Serve! Then dig in!
Uses For Mexican Shredded Chicken:
There are countless ways you could serve this Mexican shredded chicken recipe. But I would especially recommend using it in:
- tacos (these Mexican chicken tacos below are topped with Pico de Gallo, so easy!)
- quesadillas
- enchiladas
- burritos (or burrito bowls)
- nachos
- tostadas
- salads
- tamales
- chilaquiles
- huevos rancheros
Also, if you are looking for some side dish ideas, these are some of my go-to faves:
As always, feel free to check out our Mexican Recipes archives here on the blog for more ideas. And also, McCormick has lots of fun fiesta-worthy Cinco de Mayo recipes on their site right now too. (I’m especially eyeing their Taco-Spiced Michelada!)
However you decide to serve this chicken, hope that you enjoy it, everyone!
3-Ingredient Mexican Shredded Chicken
Ingredients
- 2.5 to 3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs)
- 2 cups (16 ounces) salsa*, homemade or store-bought
- 1 packet McCormick Original Taco Seasoning
Instructions
- Instant Pot Method: Add chicken, salsa and taco seasoning to the bowl of your Instant Pot, and toss briefly to combine. Close lid securely and set vent to “Sealing”. Press “Manual”, then press “Pressure” until the light on “High Pressure” lights up, then adjust the +/- buttons until time reads 30 minutes. Cook. Then very carefully, turn the vent to “Venting” for quick release, and wait until all of the steam has released and the valve has dropped. Remove the lid. Continue with step 3 below.
- Crock-Pot Method: Add chicken, salsa and taco seasoning to the bowl of your slow cooker, and toss briefly to combine. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8 hours until the chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Shred the chicken with two forks, then give the chicken a good toss with the remaining juices.
- Serve immediately. Or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!This post is sponsored by McCormick, whose spices and seasonings I use regularly in my kitchen. Thank you so much as always for supporting the brands who help to make this site possible. ♡
For the burn message I added half a cup of water and scraped the bottom with a wooden spatula until it stopped happening. Took about 2 times for me
Can I make this in the oven? If I can, at what temperature and for how long do I bake?
This came out amazing. It was sooooooooo good. I will definitely be making this again. However because you only gave directions for Crock Pot and Instant Pot, which I have neither of, I added olive oil to sear the chicken stove top. While you recommended store bought McCormick’s Taco Seasoning, I used my own homemade dry mix rather than the processed high calorie version. This dish is only as good as the salsa you use and I bought it fresh from the deli department at my local Mexican grocery store.
I’m looking forward to making this recipe. Your ingredients sound very very appetizing. Would be great for my Chicken Enchilada Zucchini Boats. Unfortunately I don’t have a crock pot, slow cooker or instant pot.
I plan on making this for a party that I’m throwing this weekend. I’m going to have approximately 20 adults. How many chicken breasts should I use? Thanks!
What if I wanted to use half the amount of chicken? What would your recommended cook time be?
What is the cook time for 1 lb of chicken?
I do this all the time, I thought it was my own secret! Lol. Tip: it works on the stove top, too. Usually I cut boneless skinless chicken breasts into smaller pieces (4-5 inches each) to make it cook a little faster and shred easier. Then just put the chicken, taco seasoning and salsa into a pan with a lid and cook it on low for 2-3 hours. One packet of taco seasoning and half a jar of salsa usually works for 1.5- 2 lbs of meat. Voila! Even less cleanup.
Super easy & delish !! I cut the recipe in half since there is only 2 of us. Will probably add some green peppers to recipe next time I make it.
I’ll admit, I was a little skeptical of making this, but I did and IT WAS GREAT!!! Never used one, but I went out and purchased a pressure cooker. I added two breast (about 1.75lbs), 16oz container of salsa, and about 3Tb of HOMEMADE taco seasoning(the store purchased packets contained unnecessary crap like MSG, maltodextrin, soybean oil, and silicon dioxide) . Was not dry at all. There was enough juices to soak in after the shredding! Went great with my cilantro lime pilaf.
I agree with you on the unnecessary crap in purchased seasonings … except for MSG. MSG is not bad for us, it just got a really bad reputation in the U.S. starting back in the 1960s when someone coined the phrase “Chinese restaurant syndrome”. There was much racism toward Asian people at that time in the U.S., and that helped fuel the spread of the incorrect information. Today we’ve heard it most of our lives, and even Chinese restaurants and packaged products advertise “No MSG” because so many people believe the old rumor, but researchers have never found any link between MSG and the symptoms that we have long attributed to it. MSG is actually found naturally in some foods, including tomatoes and cheese.