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Chipotle Chicken Tacos start with tender, flavorful chicken thighs, gently simmered in a homemade chipotle sauce that adds a smoky flavor. Ready in just over an hour and a serious upgrade to your taco night!
Are you obsessed with tacos like we are? Try my Carne Asada Street Tacos or Grilled Fish Tacos next!
Why We Love This Recipe
- Homemade Chipotle Sauce – With a quick blend in your food processor or blender, this sauce comes together super fast and adds so much flavor to the chicken.
- Tender, Shredded Chicken – By using chicken thighs and letting them slowly simmer in the sauce, the results are super moist and tender.
- Endless Toppings and Serving Ideas – Grab your favorite toppings like shredded cheese, cabbage, pineapple salsa, mango salsa, or pico de gallo – the possibilities are endless! In addition to tacos, use the leftovers to make burrito bowls or nachos.
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
How To Make Chipotle Chicken Tacos
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
The bulk of the recipe time is hands-off while the chicken simmers in the chipotle sauce on the stove. This recipe is a quick start with super flavorful results.
Blend up Sauce – In a food processor or blender combine the chipotle sauce ingredients and puree until smooth.
Brown Chicken – Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat with the oil and cook the chicken until browned on both sides.
Add Sauce and Simmer – Add the chipotle sauce to the same pot and scrape any bits from the bottom. Add the browned chicken back to the pot and simmer the chicken, covered with just a small slit open for excess steam to escape, and cook on low for 40-45 minutes until chicken is tender.
Cilantro Lime Crema – While the chicken is cooking, combine cilantro lime sour cream ingredients in a small bowl, and store covered in the fridge until ready to serve. This is a great time to prep any other taco toppings.
Shred Chicken – Remove the pot from heat and shred the chicken using 2 forks and toss with the sauce.
Serve – Serve in warmed tortillas with your favorite toppings!
Serving Suggestions
In addition to piling the shredded chicken into tacos, try these other serving ideas:
- Baked Chicken Tacos – This recipe is also great placed in taco-sized tortillas with shredded Monterey jack cheese and baked until crispy in a hot oven.
- Use for Nachos – Try adding the shredded chicken to your sheet pan nachos – like in this recipe for Nachos Supreme.
- Burrito Bowls – Cook up some authentic Mexican rice and make burrito bowls.
- Quesadillas – Grab some large tortillas and swap in the chicken in my Chipotle Steak Quesadillas.
- Taco Salad – For a lighter lunch, use the shredded chicken in my Chicken Taco Salad.
Storage Tips
What to Do With Leftovers
Storage: Leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
Reheating: You can easily reheat in the microwave or in a saucepan or skillet on the stove. If chicken seems dry, add a small amount of chicken broth to rehydrate.
Using up leftovers: Reuse leftover chipotle chicken in burritos, lettuce wraps, burrito bowls, taco salad, or as a topping for nachos.
Recipe Tips
- Have fun with the toppings – You can add any taco toppings you like to these. Shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, and guacamole are all excellent additions.
- Try using an authentic Mexican cheese – Oaxaca cheese is a great Mexican cheese to use if it’s in your grocery store.
- Chicken breasts vs thighs – Boneless skinless chicken breasts can be used in place of the chicken thighs, but the cooking time will be less (closer to 20-30 minutes) and they are less forgiving if overcooked and tend to be drier.
- Slow cooker variation – You could make this in a slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 2-4, depending on your slow cooker.
More Taco Recipes
- BBQ Chicken Tacos
- Slow Cooker Chicken Ranch Tacos
- Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos
- Chicken Street Tacos
- Air Fryer Tacos
Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
For the Chipotle Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds Boneless skinless chicken thighs trimmed
- 2 tablespoons Canola oil or vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup Diced white onion half of a medium sized onion
- ¾ cup Chicken broth
- 2 Chipotle chiles in adobo + 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- 2 cloves Garlic
- 2 tablespoons Cilantro
- 2 teaspoons Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Dried oregano
- 1 ½ teaspoons Salt
For the Cilantro Lime Sour Cream
- ½ cup Sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Lime juice
- 1 tablespoon Cilantro chopped fine
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
For serving
- 8 Warm flour or corn tortillas
- 1 cup Fresh Pineapple Salsa more or less as needed
- 1 cup Pico de gallo more or less as needed
- Optional toppings: finely shredded purple cabbage, queso fresco or cotija cheese, shredded lettuce
Instructions
- In the bowl of a food processor or blender, combine diced onion, chicken broth, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, garlic, 2 tablespoons cilantro, cumin, oregano and salt. Blend until smooth.
- Heat a large cast iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Cooking in batches, brown chicken for 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate. Add the other tablespoon of oil to brown the second batch of chicken.
- Add the sauce to the pot, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a boil. Nestle the chicken pieces into the sauce and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pot, leaving just a small slit open for excess steam to escape. Cook on low for 40-45 minutes or until chicken is tender and can be shredded. Stir once or twice to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- While chicken is cooking, make the Cilantro Lime Sour Cream sauce. Combine sour cream, lime juice, cilantro, and salt in a small bowl. Store covered in the fridge until ready to serve.
- Remove pot from heat and shred chicken using 2 forks. If the sauce seems too thin, remove the chicken and boil the sauce until it thickens enough to coat the chicken. Return the shredded chicken to sauce and toss to coat.
- Serve in warmed tortillas or taco shells with shredded cabbage, fruit salsa, cotija cheese and cilantro lime sour cream sauce.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
