Easy Shredded Chicken Enchilada Tacos ·

25 Aug 2024, 00:00

Published: Apr 16, 2019 · Updated: Feb 2, 2024 by Laura Fuentes · This post may contain affiliate links

Everything you love about enchiladas in a taco ready to eat in less than 20 minutes!

5 from 12 votes

It doesn’t get much easier or delicious than shredded chicken tacos and these Chicken Enchilada Tacos are the VERY BEST! I’m going to go ahead and say this will be your new way of serving enchiladas, I know it’s mine.

Epic Enchilada Tacos

Short on time and need dinner on the table FAST? Want to treat yourself but still be healthy? Need a crowd-pleasing tasty meal? These Chicken Enchilada Tacos are the answer to all your dinner needs!

Enchilada shredded chicken, guacamole, sour cream… be still, my heart. This will also make all the “meat and cheese only” type of people super happy.

You can use a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or leftover baked chicken either white or dark meat, completely up to you. I like a mixture of both.

It’d be a good idea to warm the tortilla and assemble the rest of the taco part while the chicken heats up. Maybe do a happy dance while you’re at it, after all, we are pulling dinner off in less than 20 minutes, 10 if you shredded the chicken ahead of time.

Is Enchilada Sauce Good on Tacos?

Yes! Enchilada sauce combines amazingly well with chicken tacos. The meat absorbs the smoky, slightly spicy flavor and tastes delicious!

What you Need

For these enchilada tacos, I usually buy a rotisserie chicken because it yields about 4 cups of shredded chicken, which is perfect for this recipe. You can use 3 poached chicken breasts or 4 to 5 poached chicken thighs, which shred very easily!

Here’s everything you need:

Rotisserie chicken: using cooked chicken is a terrific shortcut for this recipe. You can buy a rotisserie or use poached chicken.
Enchilada sauce: deliciously smoky! Make it at home or use your favorite store-bought sauce.
Cheese: shredded cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheese.
Corn or flour tortillas: store-bought or homemade.
Sour cream: a tangy topping that goes great with these enchilada tacos.
Guacamole: prepare my easy recipe, or use your favorite guacamole.
Olives: I add black olives, but any other works.
Cilantro: a fresh final touch!

You’ll find the measurements in the recipe card below.

How to Make Enchilada Tacos

Heat the chicken and enchilada sauce in a skillet, stir in some shredded cheese and BAM! Just like that, you’re ready to serve!

Combine chicken with sauce
In a large cast iron skillet, combine the already cooked, shredded chicken and enchilada sauce and toss to coat. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring, to heat the chicken through. Remove the pan from heat.

Make it cheesy!
In a medium bowl, combine the cheese. Add 1 ½ cups (180 g) of the cheese to the chicken mixture in the skillet and toss to combine. Cover and set aside for 2 minutes to melt the cheese while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

Taco time!
Assemble each taco by placing a scoop of the enchilada mixture onto a tortilla and topping with cheese, sour cream, guacamole, sliced olives, and cilantro.

How did I pull these chicken enchilada tacos? Watch this video:

Best Toppings

I like to top these enchilada chicken tacos with sour cream, guacamole, black olives, chopped cilantro, and extra cheese. It’s a creamy, fresh, and super delicious combo!

Other great toppings are avocado slices, spicy guacamole, shredded cabbage or lettuce, chopped green onions, and pico de gallo. You choose!

More Shredded Chicken Tacos

Shredded chicken tacos are delicious and totally convenient for any occasion. You can cook the meat in the slow cooker as I do in my Crockpot Chicken Tacos and they’ll be ready to eat by dinner, or use rotisserie chicken to solve dinner with my tasty Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos recipe or these epic BBQ Chicken Tostadas. Yummy!