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Mexican Pulled Chicken is easy to make, super flavorful and the basis for so many delicious meals!
Jack recently prepared a wonderful Mexican-themed dinner for us, and this Mexican Pulled Chicken recipe played a starring role in several of the dishes he made. This chicken is perfectly flavored with a spicy blend of tomatoes and peppers as well as other seasonings. It’s cooked in the oven until fork-tender, then shredded. Scroll down to the recipe card below to watch a video to see how it’s made.
A good Mexican pulled chicken is a great recipe to have in your go-to recipe collection! It can be eaten as-is or as part of a sandwich, or it can be used in many other recipes! In fact, several of our other very popular recipes here on A Family Feast use this recipe including our enchiladas, Mexican lasagna, and our chicken chimichangas!
The key is to use a mix of white and dark meat in this recipe (we used a combination of boneless chicken thighs and breasts) – because the thigh meat lends so much more flavor and juiciness to the finished dish than using the breast meat alone.
Since originally posting this recipe back in February 2013, this Mexican Pulled Chicken has become one of our most popular recipes of all time. We’ve updated the photos and created a video (scroll down below to watch it) since our original post.
Can I make Mexican Pulled Chicken in the slow cooker?
Over the years, we’ve been asked if this Mexican Pulled Chicken recipe can be made in the slow cooker. The answer is YES!
While we haven’t cooked it in the slow cooker ourselves, several of our readers have posted in the comment section below that they saw great results making this recipe in their crock pot. Enjoy!
Interested in more chicken recipes?
Click here for our 100+ Best Chicken Recipes.
You may also like these other recipes made with this Mexican Pulled Chicken:
- Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce
- Chicken Chimichangas
- Pulled Chicken Chilaquiles
- Pulled Chicken Tacos
We love seeing what you made! Tag us on Instagram at @afamilyfeast or hashtag #afamilyfeast so we can see your creations!
Mexican Pulled Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 sweet red pepper, stemmed and seeded and cut into large rings
- 1 large onion, trimmed and cut into large rings
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, trimmed
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
- 4 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 4 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 tablespoons Agave Nectar
- 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano (leaves)
- 1 tablespoon coriander
- 2 tablespoons Rocket Fuel (or your favorite hot sauce)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.
- Spray a pan or glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and lay pepper and onion rings on the bottom.
- Lay chicken over onions and peppers.
- In a medium sauce pan, place all other ingredients and heat to a boil. Stir to combine ingredients and remove from heat.
- Pour the tomato mixture over the chicken. Cover with parchment paper then foil. (The parchment paper will prevent the tomato acids from reacting with the foil.)
- Place in oven for three hours.
- Remove the pan from oven and peel off parchment paper and foil.
- Place chicken on a cutting board and shred with two forks.
- Pour remaining mixture from baking dish into a strainer and strain out most of the liquid then place back into baking dish
- Place pulled chicken meat back in with tomato mixture in baking dish and mix to combine.
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Alice says
Excellent recipe! I had a party, and so many ladies commented about the flavor of the chicken. I doubled the recipe because I had 30 people, and I had enough to send seconds home with my guests and extra for my family the next day.
Although, the recipe is extensive with season-type ingredients, the dish is “fuss free” and delicious.
Jack says
Thanks Alice! So glad you all enjoyed the recipe!
Cindy says
This sounds delicious!! Does the timing differ when cooking with stoneware?
Martha says
Hi Cindy – Possibly…although we’ve only made this recipe as written, I have noticed that some other recipes cook more quickly in a cast iron dutch oven so stoneware or other cooking vessels can definitely impact the timing if they retain heat more so than the baking pan we used. Feel free to check on the chicken sooner and if it’s tender enough to shred, it’s probably done. Hope that helps!
Cynthia says
Made this last night and it was fabulous. Followed the recipe exactly but did add some canned green chiles and jalapenos. Then used this in the chimichanga recipe here. They were equally as good. I’ve been on the lookout for a great mexican chicken and I’ve finally found it. Thank you.
Martha says
You’re very welcome Cynthia! Sounds like some great additions. We’re so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Mary Anne says
My sister and I have both made this recipe as the centerpiece of loaded nachos and everyone just went crazy for it. Thanks for sharing…it’s super yummy!
Martha says
Thank you taking the time to write to us Mary Anne! So glad the recipe was a hit!
John says
I stumbled across this recipe while looking for a base for shredded chicken. I had 20# of chicken to make for a work function. Everyone loved it! Thanks for the excellent recipe. I did use Siracha in place of the Rocket Fuel. I think next time I will stir in a can of diced green chiles and substitute fresh squeezed lime juice for the vinegar. I just wanted a little more spice and acid.
Also, I used my Kitchen Aid to shred the chicken. So quick and easy using the flat beater and doing it while it was hot. Speed 2 and a minute later you have perfectly shredded chicken!
Martha says
Great suggestions John! So glad you liked the recipe!
Alison Garfinkel says
This was DELICIOUS. I’m making it again today (we tried it for the first time last week), and I’m making the pulled beef as well. My son (who is 21) must have polished off 1/2 of it. We scooped it into tortillas adding brown rice and avocado. Huge hit! I’m so glad I found this, thank you SO much for posting it!!
Martha says
We’re glad you found us too Alison! We also glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Lauren says
I cooked this in my crockpot on high for 3.5 hours (it was still pink after just 3) and it turned out fantastic! It tastes just like my favorite Mexican taco spot in Southern California.
Serving it in home fried corn tortillas with pico de gallo, cheese and guac was perfection.
Martha says
Wow – Thanks Lauren! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Phil says
I have to say that I was a bit underwhelmed by this recipe. I am a big fan of the taco ground beef recipe from this site, which to me tastes like it could stand up to any taqueria, so I was anticipating something similar with this one. However, I found the chicken to taste tomato-ey and quite bland. It seemed to be missing salt for one thing, but I wonder if the ingredients could have been doubled for more flavor. I could not taste the cumin, chile, or anything really other than the slightly-sour tomato flavor. Has anyone else had a similar result?
Martha says
Hi Phil – Thanks for taking the time to write to us with your feedback, and I’m sorry you were disappointed with the recipe. Most of the comments left here previously have been positive but perhaps another reader will see your comment here chime in!
nikki says
We have missed the Edgewater Cafe, and have tried so many Chimichangas in other restaraunts that have always left us disappointed. I was so happy to have come across this recipe. I made it tonight and it was sooo good! Thank you so much for posting.
Martha says
Thanks Nikki! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I miss the Edgewater too! 🙂
Kris says
So if I cut this recipe in half, since there is only 2 of us, how long would I then cook it for??
Martha says
Hi Kris – Sorry for not responding sooner. The cooking time will probably be similar (you’ll still want to cook the chicken until fork tender). You could try checking it around 2 hours to see if it shreds but you might end up going the full 3 hours for the full batch. Hope that helps!