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Chicken birria tacos are a chicken spin on classic Mexican beef birria tacos. This simplified riff incorporates traditional birria flavors but substitutes chicken in place of beef to eliminate 3-4 hours of additional cooking time. It’s a must-try for taco lovers and can be pulled together in about an hour!
Table of Contents
What is Birria?
Birria is a traditional Mexican dish originating from the state of Jalisco. It’s a rich, slow-cooked stew typically made with goat, beef, or lamb. The meat is marinated in a blend of dried chilis, garlic, tomatoes, and spices like cumin, cinnamon, oregano, and cloves, then slow-braised until very tender.
Birria is often served as a stew with its broth (called consomé) and garnished with onions, cilantro, and lime. Birria tacos are made by dipping corn tortillas in the cooking broth, filling them with the tender shredded meat, and pan frying them until crispy, often served with a side of consomé for dipping.
I tried to stick to traditional ingredients as best I could, while using chicken in place of red meat, eliminating the need for extended braising. If you’re looking for an authentic beef birria recipe, check out these beef birria tacos from Adrianna at A Cozy Kitchen. This is where I pulled most of my inspiration.
Also check out my ground turkey stuffed peppers and my baked chicken chimichangas! If you love enchiladas, you must try my easy chicken enchiladas.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
- Chicken: I used chicken breast, but you can also use chicken thighs or bone-in, skin-on chicken for fattier, more flavorful cuts.
- Guajillo, ancho, and árbol chiles: these dried chiles are typically sold dry in US grocery stores. I was able to find them with the other produce.
- White onion: yellow onion works as well.
- Chicken broth: I kept with the chicken theme, but you can optionally use beef stock/broth or water.
- Cinnamon: traditional birria calls for Mexican cinnamon, which is more flavorful and brittle than regular cinnamon. This recipe calls for ground cinnamon, but you can also steep Mexican cinnamon sticks with the chiles and blend them along with the rest of the sauce.
- Oregano: I used Italian oregano because I had it on hand, however, the traditional recipe calls for Mexican oregano, which is more vibrant and citrusy.
- Oaxaca cheese: this is the traditional cheese used in this recipe, however, you can also substitute Mozzarella or Monterey Jack.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities below.
Watch How to Make Chicken Birria Tacos
Expert Tips
- These tacos are best fried in a hot cast-iron skillet or stainless steel pan with oil. A non-stick pan will work as well. I typically fry 1-2 tacos at a time and eat them on demand!
- If making multiple tacos in batches, store finished tacos on a baking sheet in the oven at a low temp to keep warm.
- You will likely need extra oil to help fry/crisp the tortillas. Chicken is much leaner than typical beef used in this recipe. The consomé will likely not contain enough fat floating on the surface required to crisp.
- Build and layer the tacos right in the skillet with cheese, shredded chicken, white onion, cilantro, and more cheese. Fold, sear, and press down with a spatula until golden and crispy on both sides. Flipping usually helps.
More Taco Recipes
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Chicken Birria Tacos
Ingredients
Chicken birria
- 2-3 pounds chicken breast
- 6 guajillo chiles, stemmed/seeded (2oz)
- 5 ancho chiles, stemmed/seeded (2oz)
- 3 árbol chiles, stemmed (optional, did not use)
- 3 roma tomatoes
- ½ large white onion
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons white vinegar
- ½ tablespoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, or Mexican cinnamon (steeped with peppers and blended)
- 1 teaspoon whole or cracked black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano, Mexican or reg
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- oil, for searing/frying
Tacos
- Corn tortillas
- Shredded Oaxaca, Monterey Jack, or Mozzarella cheese
- Diced white onion
- Chopped cilantro
- Limes
Instructions
- Add the dried chiles, halved white onion, and tomatoes in a Dutch oven or large lidded pot (if using Mexican cinnamon, add it now). Fill to cover with cold water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover, reduce heat, and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Strain peppers/onion/tomatoes from the liquid and add to a blender with all spices, cinnamon, salt, pepper, garlic, broth, and vinegar. Blend for 2 minutes or until smooth. You can optionally fine strain afterwards to remove any solids. Add more salt to taste as needed.
- Season chicken liberally with salt. Heat a generous splash of oil in the same Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear the chicken for 2-3 minutes per side. Pour the sauce (consomé) over the chicken. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes or until chicken reaches an internal temp of 165°F.
- Remove chicken and add to a bowl. Finely shred and top with extra sauce to taste. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or pan. Dip the tortillas in the top of the consomé (ideally soaking up the fatty top layer) and sear in the skillet/pan. Top half with cheese, shredded chicken, more cheese, fold over, and flip. Sear until crisp and store in oven at low heat as you prepare the rest.
- Serve with a side of consomé topped with chopped onion and cilantro for dipping.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
