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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
Mexican Pulled Chicken is easy to make, super flavorful and the basis for so many delicious meals!
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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Heerlijk! Ik heb de kip gegaard op het vuur in bouillon omdat ik niet veel tijd had en het was ook heel lekker! Wij zullen dit nog vaak klaarmaken want het smaakte superlekker!
Thank you!
This has been my go-to Mexican chicken recipe for years now. It’s simple and delicious and can be added to everything. I almost always have small frozen containers On hand for an easy ready-to-go meal. I’ve made several of your recipes and they’ve always been delicious. Thank you so much!
Thank YOU Penny – glad you are enjoying the recipes!
This is the third time I am making this recipe, I like this a lot super easy to make and have ready for the next day. I use it to make quesadillas. Super moist and soft tender chicken and the onions and peppers get nice and soft too.
Thanks Marie!
Hi Martha! This is a trusted and beloved recipe in my household. It’s perfect every time I make it. I’m writing to let you know that I usually make a double batch of the peppers, onions and braising liquid. I use the second batch for making rice. It’s stellar!
Great idea Heather!
Absolutely the BEST pulled chicken recipe! I make the white sauce from the “Chicken Enchiladas and White Sauce recipe and serve the chicken & sauce over rice … DELISH!
Thank you Mickey!
Never mind …watched the video! The liquid gets tossed.
I just want to ask before making…
On this step, am I putting the liquid or the mixture back into the baking dish? Does something get tossed out then?
“Pour remaining mixture from baking dish into a strainer and strain out most of the liquid then place back into baking dish.”
Thanks for your help!
Thanks for the quick reply! I ended up using yellow mustard because my Dijon was expired! Anyway I just wanted to say it turned out exactly like the chicken I love inside chicken chimichangas! I have added the meat to a can of black beans and chicken broth for a perfect soup… I put it in dog tortillas for tacos … I ate it in salad! This recipe was mild and sweet to me so anyone could eat it! If your looking for spice anyone could add later! So I will be spreading the word on this find! Thank you so much!
You’re very welcome Lisa!
Can I use whole grain Dijon as that or regular mustard is all I have?
Sure Lisa – I’d go with the whole grain Dijon
I don’t know if cooking changes the calories, but, adding up all of the ingredients as listed, except the last one “rocket fuel,” lol, and I come up with a grand total of 4044 calories, so if this makes 8 servings, it would be about 505 calories per serving, plus whatever you add for hot sauce, tortillas, and other accoutrements like sour cream or guac. 😉
Thanks Ezlyamused – I just ran the recipe through Nutrifox, which is what we’re using now to calculate nutritional information. (It now appears at the bottom of the recipe card.) They calculate the calories to be 272 per serving assuming 8 portions – but I suppose every calculator is a little different and can only be used as a guide.