Chicken Birria Tacos Recipe

These slow cooker Chicken Birria Tacos are made with melt-in-your-mouth shredded chicken inside crispy pan-fried tortillas with melted cheese and a rich and savory birria consomme for dipping. This is a fun and flavorful tex-mex dinner the whole family will love.

For a beef version, try our reader-favorite Easy Birria Tacos recipe. Or, if you’re looking for even more taco recipes, you can try my Blackened Salmon Tacos, Chicken Tacos, or Shredded Beef Tacos.

A hand dipping a chicken birria taco into sauce.

Chicken Birria Tacos

Birria tacos are one of those food trends that you try once and immediately get it. They are just so good. In fact, my recipe for easy beef birria tacos is currently my most-viewed recipe.

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In case you’ve never had them before, birria tacos are typically made with beef (or goat) that has been slow cooked in a rich, savory, smokey, and spicy broth. Once cooked for hours and hours, tortillas are dunked into the broth before pan-frying and adding cheese and the shredded meat. And just like an Italian dip sandwich, they are served with a side of consomme for dipping your tacos in.

Because I am officially obsessed, I figured why not make them with chicken? I wanted to try and keep them as savory as possible so I went with chicken thighs, rather than chicken breasts. The result is melt-in-your-mouth delicious and arguably just as good as the beef version.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Unbelievably delicious. This is hands-down reason number one—these tacos are out-of-this-world delicious. As in, can’t stop eating them delicious.
Easy to make! As with most slow cooker recipes, there isn’t a whole lot of prep involved. You really just need to toss the ingredients in, shred the chicken, and assemble the tacos.
Freeze for later. Both the chicken and the sauce freeze well, so don’t be afraid to make plenty.

Hands pulling apart a birria chicken taco.

Key Ingredients You Will Need

Chicken – chicken thighs are great for slow cooking because they are super flavorful and stay incredibly moist. With that being said, chicken breasts or even chicken tenders would also work great.
Onions – cut the onion into large chunks that will be easy to strain out later.
Seasoning – so much of the classic birria flavor is in the seasoning. For this recipe I use garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, dried Mexican oregano, and salt. You could also add chili flakes.
Chipotle Sauce – use the sauce from canned chipotles. If you like it a little extra hot, you can also add a few chipotle peppers.
Corn Tortillas – 6” corn tortillas are a perfect size for these tacos.
Shredded Cheese – I like to use Monterey Jack cheese. You could also use mozzarella cheese, Oaxaca cheese, or Chihuahua cheese.
Pico de Gallo – any kind of store bought or homemade Pico de Gallo or salsa will taste great.
Limes – serve with fresh lime wedges if desired.

A slow cooker with chicken thighs and spices.

How to Make Chicken Birria Tacos

Slow cook the chicken birria. Add the chicken thighs, onion, garlic, bay leaves, and spices to a slow cooker. Top with the chipotle sauce and chicken broth, then cover and cook on high for 3 hours, or on low for 5 hours.
Shred the chicken. Once the chicken is easy to shred, remove it from the slow cooker and shred using two forks.

Birria chicken in a slow cooker with shredded chicken.

Strain the sauce. Strain the onions and garlic cloves from the consomme and transfer to a bowl.
Assemble the tacos. Preheat a griddle or cast iron skillet and add a thin layer of avocado oil. Dip each corn tortilla into the chipotle chicken broth mixture and place on the griddle. Let the tortilla cook until slightly crispy, then flip over. Add about 1/4 cup shredded cheese and a few tablespoons of shredded chicken. Fold the taco in half and continue to cook until both sides of the taco are crispy. Remove from the heat and assemble the remaining tacos.
Serve. Open the prepared taco and add 1-2 tablespoons of pico de gallo, a few sprigs of cilantro, and a spritz of fresh lime juice. Dip the chicken taco into the remaining chipotle consomme. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

Frequently Asked Questions

What does birria taste like?

Birria is a rich, warm, and flavorful stock made from slow cooking meat in broth, spices, and chilis. Birria tacos are usually made with either beef or goat meat, but in this case I used chicken. The tortillas are usually dipped in the birria consomme before warming on a hot griddle with the meat, cheese, and any other fillings.

Birria tacos are also served with a side of birria consomme for dipping so that every bite is completely loaded with flavor.

What’s the best chicken to use?

I recommend using chicken thighs because they are more flavorful and less expensive than chicken breasts. However, you can really use any kind of chicken, including the breasts, tenders, or even drumsticks.

Can you freeze chicken birria?

Yes! You can freeze the meat and the sauce separately, storing in freezer bags or another airtight container for up to 2 months.

Recipe Tips

This is the perfect make-ahead meal that can be stored in the fridge or frozen for later.
Experiment with using different kinds of chiles in the sauce. Both dried guajilo chiles and chiles de arbol are easy to find at the grocery store and will add different layers of flavor to the sauce.
To make this over the stovetop, you can sear the chicken first, then simmer everything in a Dutch oven until the chicken is shreddable and the sauce is super rich.

Storage Instructions

Storing leftovers: store leftover chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can store any extra sauce separately for the same amount of time.
Freezing: to store for longer, you can freeze the shredded chicken and sauce separately for up to 2 months. To thaw, transfer to the fridge overnight.
To reheat: pull your shredded chicken and sauce out of the fridge about 30 minutes-1 hour before you plan to serve and spoon any hardened fat off of the top. Place in a pot or skillet and simmer on low until warmed through.