Easy shredded chicken tacos get a healthy veggie upgrade when diced zucchini is added in for a fast dinner or lunch any day of the week.
“So, Sara…what’s your mom fixing for dinner tonight?”
It was my running joke with my daughter’s friend when I drove them home from Tuesday night basketball practice.
“Ugh. Taaaccccos, again,” she typically replied. “I’m kind of sick of tacos.” But how one possibly be tired of tacos?
Tacos are fast and easy to pull together as a simple vegetarian meal (these fried avocado tacos are BEYOND!) or with any sort of protein added in: fish tacos, beef tacos, slow cooker pork tacos, and yep, even spaghetti tacos. They’re one of the ultimate what-to-do-with-the-leftovers meal-prep meals.
So while Sara might be tired of Taco Tuesday, it makes a whole lot of sense to me.
How to Make Easy Chicken Tacos
Any weeknight dinner is made a whole lot easier when you have a few basic ingredients ready-to-roll.
I made these chicken tacos on a whim after rummaging through my fridge without a dinner plan. That’s where I found:
- A stash of zucchini in the crisper
- Instant Pot shredded chicken waiting on stand-by
- Pico de gallo at the ready
- A finally-ripe avocado ready to be scooped and sliced for topping
And then this meal came together in just 20 minutes.
see more: 31 Healthy Mexican Recipes to Make Now
Meal prepped chicken is such a time saver on weeknights. Simply cook it, then shred or dice it, and store it in an airtight container for 3-4 days. The beauty is it can be used in any number of dishes.
If you don’t have an Instant Pot, prep your chicken one of my favorite ways:
With all of the ingredients handy, all that’s needed is a hot, non-stick pan and a little extra seasoning of cumin and chile powder.
see more: 70 Cinco de Mayo Recipes to Make Now
Whether it’s soft or hard, corn or flour, any tortilla or shell works well here. I like to spray street taco size flour tortillas with a little cooking spray then crisp it in a non-stick skillet or in the toaster oven for a little crunch.
Toppings are always the best part of the taco with fresh and flavor as the key, like:
- Pico de gallo
- Creamy avocado salsa verde
- Sliced avocado or deliciously chunky guacamole
- Sliced limes
- Cilantro
- Cotija cheese
- Sour cream or plain yogurt
- Chopped onion
- Easy Mexican coleslaw
Tools Needed to Make Shredded Chicken Tacos
- Instant Pot Multi Cooker for the shredded chicken
- Toaster Oven for the taco shells
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Bookmark this recipe and leave a comment below, or take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Easy Shredded Chicken and Zucchini Tacos
Make your own shredded chicken in the Instant Pot, the slow cooker, or use grilled or store-bought rotisserie chicken for an easy taaco dinner ready in minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon canola oil
- 2 cups chopped zucchini
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 teaspoon chile powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 4-inch corn or flour tortillas or hard taco shells (Use 6-inch taco shells if you can't find street taco size)
- Pico de gallo
- Sliced avocado
- Fresh cilantro
- Cotija cheese
- Sliced limes
Instructions
-
Heat the canola oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chopped zucchini and cook until the zucchini softens and begins to brown, stirring occasionally, for about 4-5 minutes. Add the shredded chicken and season with the chile powder, cumin, and kosher salt and cook for 3-4 minutes until the chicken is warmed through.
Spray the tortillas with cooking spray and toast in a toaster oven or in a hot skillet until crisp. Top with the chicken and zucchini and garnish with the pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro and cotija cheese with a squeeze of lime.
More Mexican Dinner Recipe Ideas You’ll Want to Make Too
- Beyond Easy Chicken Mole Enchiladas
- The Best Steak Fajitas
- Chipotle Shrimp Burritos with Simple Avocado Crema
- Quick and Easy Homemade Chile Verde Burritos
- Chipotle Lime Shrimp Bowls
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Sabrina says
September 25, 2018 at 6:56 pmthese definitely work for me, thank you, a very creative way to use up summer zucchini, so much appreciated and works well with my diet
Heidi says
September 26, 2018 at 1:13 pmGreat, and thanks Sabrina! I hope you give them a try. They are definitely a good (and easy) recipe to have on the healthy side of eating.
Ashley Sorenson says
September 26, 2018 at 2:25 pmYou’re going to love them!!
Sunil Ohri says
September 28, 2018 at 12:19 amThank you for sharing the recipe with us.
This all looks so delicious. I love cooking for people, I can’t wait to give it a try! I am also bookmarking this page.
Please share more post:-)
Happy New Year says
October 12, 2018 at 5:57 amAwesome post on tacos… just keep up the good work
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btekarlinx says
January 9, 2019 at 10:43 pmchicken spreader as well as good….