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Melt in your mouth Chicken Birria Tacos using rotisserie chicken as a shortcut. You will love these saucy tacos. Ready in 40 minutes! Change up your taco night and impress the family with these juicy saucy tacos. You will love them!
Why Make These Chicken Birria Tacos
- Quick and easy to make! These are super fast birria style tacos (typically birria takes a few hours and is slow cooked, but using pre shredded rotisserie the time is cut in half!)
- Healthy. This particular Birria is healthier, there is way less oil and fat because we use pre made chicken.
- Delicious. These chicken tacos will make you do a happy dance on the first bite, they are melt in your mouth good!
- Meal Prep Friendly. This recipe is great for prepping ahead of time, it actually gets better when reheated.
Ingredient Notes
All other ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card towards the bottom of this post.
- Shredded Chicken. I use rotisserie chicken and shred it in my stand mixer. You can use leftover grilled chicken or any cooked chicken of choice.
- Dried Peppers. This is the key to making the recipe delicious. I use dried guajillo chiles and dried chiles de arbol. Both of these are found in the spice aisle with the international seasonings. Guajillo chiles are mild and give the sauce a smoky pepper taste. Chiles de arbol give it the spice! So beware.
- Dried Bay Leaves. Just a few for some extra flavor.
- Tomatoes . This makes the base of the sauce. I use hot house or roma tomatoes.
- Broth. I use low sodium chicken broth/stock but of course beef or veggie broth will work well.
- Apple Cider Vinegar & Honey. This adds acidity and a little sweetness to mellow out the spiciness.
- Garlic & Onions. These add a depth of aromatics and flavor to the sauce.
- Seasonings. I use salt, pepper, paprika, cinnamon, nutmeg and cumin.
- Toppings/Add Ins. Corn Tortillas, cheese, I use pepper jack or mozzarella. Pico De Gallo for color and acidity and a little fresh cilantro for garnish.
Steps To Make This Recipe
Step One. Heat 1/2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Next, add the spices and let them toast for another minute in the pan with everything.
Step Two. Next, add the deseeded/stemmed chilies, tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, honey, dried bay leaves. Add 3 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the dried peppers are very soft, stirring occasionally.
Step Three. Once the dried peppers are softened, take the bay leaves out of the mixture and discard. Carefully transfer the mixture to a high-powered blender and puree until smooth, taste the sauce, add more honey & a pinch of salt if desired . Add the shredded rotisserie chicken to the same pan, on low medium heat.
Step Four. Pour half of the sauce over the shredded chicken, bring it all to heat. Save the leftover sauce for dipping and for brushing the tortillas!
Build The Chicken Birria Tacos
Step Five. Working one at a time, heat a cleaned or wiped skillet on medium/low heat. Brush the corn tortilla lightly with the reserved pepper sauce. Place the saucy side down on the skillet, add the shredded cheese and sauced chicken. Gently fold and let the taco toast up for a few minutes on each side.
Step Six. Continue this process until desired amount of tacos are made. Serve with Pico De Gallo and leftover sauce. Store any leftover chicken and sauce in a Tupperware container.
Recipe Pairings
These tacos are so great on their own and very filling. But they pair wonderfully with Avocado Corn Salad, Pineapple Pico De Gallo or Mexican Ceviche.
Make it a Taco night and serve it with Black Bean Crunch Wraps or Crispy Beef Tacos. You can’t go wrong with this tasty meal.
Recipe Tips
- Taste as you go! This sauce is easy to customize the flavor. Add more honey to make it less spicy, salt it as needed and you can also make it extra spicy with more peppers.
- Reserve plenty of sauce. This is my favorite to dip the tacos in. You can thin it out a bit with extra broth if desired.
Other Tacos To Try
Chicken Birria Tacos
Equipment
- large skillet
- High Speed Blender
Ingredients
Chicken
- 3-4 cups shredded chicken Rotisserie or home cooked
Sauce
- ½ tsp olive oil
- 1 medium white onion, quartered
- 2 roma tomatoes, quartered
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp salt
- 3-4 dried guajillo chiles, deseeded
- 2 dried chiles de arbol *use less or more depending on spice level needed.
- 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tsp honey or brown sugar. Use more as needed
- 2 dried bay leaves
- 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
Tacos/Toppings
- 12-15 corn tortillas
- ½ cup Mozzarella cheese pepper jack or Oaxacan will also work
- ½ cup pico de gallo
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped for garnish
- 1 lime, sliced for garnish optional!
Instructions
- Heat 1/2 tsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and sauté until softened. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute. Next, add the spices and let them toast for another minute in the pan with everything.
- Next, add the deseeded/stemmed chilies, tomatoes, apple cider vinegar, honey, dried bay leaves. Add 3 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the dried peppers are very soft, stirring occasionally.
- Once the dried peppers are softened, remove the bay leaves and discard. Carefully transfer the mixture to a high-powered blender and puree until smooth, taste the sauce, add more honey & a pinch of salt if desired. Add the shredded rotisserie chicken to the same pan, on low medium heat.
- Pour half of the sauce over the shredded chicken, bring it all to heat. Save the leftover sauce for dipping and for brushing the tortillas!
- Working one at a time, heat a skillet on medium low heat. Brush the corn tortilla lightly with the reserved sauce. Place the saucy side down on the skillet, add the shredded cheese and sauced chicken. Gently fold and let the taco toast up for a few minutes on each side.
- Continue this process until desired amount of tacos are made. Serve with Pico De Gallo and leftover sauce.
Notes
- Taste as you go! This sauce is easy to customize the flavor. Add more honey to make it less spicy, salt it as needed and you can also make it extra spicy with more peppers.
- Reserve plenty of sauce. This is my favorite to dip the tacos in. You can thin it out a bit with extra broth if desired to thin it out a bit more.
- Store any leftover chicken and sauce in a Tupperware container.
My boyfriend fainted bc it was so good.
Haha I love to hear this! Thanks for the feedback.
Wow this is such an easy delicious recipe!! So good I am making it for a second time this week!
Hi jade I am so happy to hear this! Yay!