Shredded Chicken Tacos

Need dinner on the table in 10 minutes?

Confession: I almost didn’t post this recipe! At first I thought it was just too simple…hardly a recipe at all, really. But then I realized that because I am all about simple recipes, and because my family legitimately eats this meal every single week, it was something I wanted to share.

The key to this being a quick meal is having the chicken already cooked. Here’s how I make mine. I make a batch about every other weekend and freeze it into the portions I need for one meal. Then when I’m planning to make tacos, I’ll defrost one of the containers (ideally in the fridge overnight but often in the microwave if I forget) and the rest is just a matter of slicing up a few veggies and heating the tortillas.

Because we eat tacos so often, I bought a dedicated container for serving the fixings. The benefits are threefold:

1. If I have time/remember, I’ll chop these the night before and snap on the lid until serving time.
2. I can just plop this whole container on the table come dinnertime and let my diners serve themselves (okay, my husband serves himself. I still help out the toddler.)
3. If we have leftover toppings, I’ll pop the lid back on and throw the leftovers in something like scrambled eggs next time I make them.

Here’s a similar option from Amazon.com (affiliate link). As for the toppings, my personal go-tos are cilantro, sliced onion and sliced tomatoes with sour cream and hot sauce on the side. But we switch it up depending on what I have on hand and what’s in season.

Now, how to offer a toddler a taco, you ask? I recently received a comment on my Facebook page asking if I knew about any magical taco glue that would prevent a toddler’s taco from falling apart (and the subsequent meltdown from ensuing…) We’d generally been offering our daughter “deconstructed” tacos to avoid this issue. But I recently tried preparing a taco that was mostly sour cream and chicken with a few tiny bits of the other toppings and it worked pretty well! The sour cream served as the taco glue, although what she ate was really a lot more like a quesadilla.

And honestly, she took a few bites and then went back to devouring her plate of cherry tomatoes… Still, since I’m not giving up tacos any time soon, I took it as a positive sign.

Are tacos a go-to in your house? How does your child like to eat them? Please share your tips!

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Shredded Chicken Tacos

Course Dinner

Cuisine Mexican

Ingredients

• 1-2 cups seasoned shredded chicken
• 4-6 6- inch soft corn tortillas
• 1 bunch cilantro
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 small onion
• Sour cream optional
• Hot sauce optional

Instructions

1. Chop the cilantro, onions and tomatoes (do this the night before if you remember and have time).
2. Warm the shredded chicken, either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
3. Heat a dry cast iron or stainless steel pan on the stovetop. Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds on each side. Alternatively, warm the tortillas using the microwave or oven.
4. Set everything out on the table and let your diners build their own tacos (assisting toddlers when necessary, of course!)

Recipe Notes

I usually heat up six tortillas. My husband eats three tacos, I eat two and the toddler eats one.

Note that nutrition facts may very widely based on cooking methods, seasonings and portion sizes.