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Southwestern shredded chicken tacos made with Picante sauce and tossed with diced red peppers, super sweet corn, and black beans. Served on street tortillas and garnished with cheddar cheese and fresh avocado.
Southwestern Chicken Tacos
These southwestern shredded chicken tacos made with Pace® Medium Picante Sauce create a bold kick of flavor with very little effort.
Perfect for any busy weeknight meal, these tacos are flavorful, easy to make, and enough to feed the whole family! Click on the image below to learn more about Medium Picante Sauce and Chunky Salsa and where to get it!
To make this recipe even easier, the seasoning blend can be substituted with a taco seasoning packet. With the use of a seasoning packet, this meal takes less than 7 ingredients to make, easy enough to through together any night!
These tacos are served on street tortillas, small but packed with delicious and bold flavors.
Adding the garnishments of shredded cheese, freshly diced avocado, and a dollop of sour cream create a mouthwatering combination of flavors perfect for Taco Tuesday!
Picante Sauce Shredded Tacos
In this recipe, I used Pace® Medium Picante for the extra kick vs. using Pace® Chunky Salsa. They are interchangeable in this recipe depending on flavor and heat preference. Either one you choose, it will give this recipe a bold kick of flavor!
I pick up both the Picante and the Chunky Salsa made by Pace® at Walmart for our taco night.
I use the Picante sauce for southwestern tacos and I use the Chunky Salsa as a tortilla chip dip. From appetizer to the main course, Pace® is America's favorite salsa for tacos!
There are so many other recipes that can be made using Pace® - check out this page for inspiration!
Instant Pot Southwestern Shredded Chicken Tacos
I often use my Instant Pot to make shredded chicken tacos because it's easy, convenient, and can be done in a pinch. I have made this chicken using both fresh and frozen chicken in my Instant Pot.
For last-minute meal ideas, using frozen chicken breasts, a jar of Picante sauce, broth, some seasonings, and some veggies, makes a spur of the moment delicious meal that the family loves.
Making these tacos in the Instant Pot is so simple and takes less than 30 minutes to serve.
Chicken is added to the Instant Pot (fresh or frozen!), it's topped with the seasoning blend, or if you prefer, a taco seasoning packet, the Picante sauce, and chicken broth.
RELATED: Cheesy Chicken Fajita Quesadillas
After closing the lid, the pot is set to Pressure Cook for 6 minutes and allowed to naturally release for 10 minutes. Once the lid is removed, the pot is returned to saute and the diced red peppers, super sweet corn, and black beans are added and stirred.
Setting the Instant Pot back to SAUTE allows some of the liquid to cook off and for the veggies to become tender-crisp.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
These tacos can be slow-cooked as well. Simply layer all of the ingredients into the slow cooker. Add the chicken, seasonings, and veggies.
Omit the broth as there is no additional liquid needed in the slow cooker.
Can Be Made on the Stovetop, too!
You don't need an Instant Pot or Slow Cooker to make this recipe, it can be made in a skillet on the stovetop as well! Cooking oil will be needed to sear and cook the chicken.
After the chicken is cooked, the Picante sauce and other ingredients are added to the skillet and stirred. Everything is added except for the chicken broth in the stovetop version.
Serving Southwestern Shredded Chicken Tacos
These tacos are served on street tortillas. These tacos may be small, but they can hold a lot of substance! Some toppings that go great with these tacos are freshly diced avocado, shredded cheddar cheese, and sour cream.
Other great options to serve these tacos are pico de gallo, lettuce, and even diced jalapenos!
📖 Recipe
Southwestern Shredded Tacos (Instant Pot or Crock Pot)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lbs chicken breast
- ½ cup Pace® Medium Picante Sauce
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 15 oz black beans drained, rinsed
- 10 oz super sweet corn
- 1 red pepper diced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
Garnish
- sour cream
- cheddar cheese
- avocado diced
- street tortillas
Instructions
- Combine the chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, red pepper flakes, and oregano in a bowl.
- Add the chicken breasts into the Instant Pot and top with the seasoning mix.
- Pour in the ½ cup of water, and pour the Pace® Medium Picante Sauce over top of the chicken.
- Add in the ½ cup of chicken broth and close the lid.
- Set the Instant Pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK for 6 minutes.
- Allow the Instant Pot to naturally release pressure for 10 minutes.
- Shred the chicken using two forks or using a hand blender.
- Remove the lid and set the Instant Pot to SAUTE. Add in the diced red peppers, the super sweet corn, and black beans.
- Serve on street tortillas and top with sour cream, cheddar cheese, and avocado.
Crock Pot Instructions
- Add the chicken into the Crock Pot and top with the seasoning mix, Pace® Medium Picante Sauce, black beans, red diced peppers, and super sweet corn.
- Close the lid and set the Crock Pot to 6 hours on low.
- Shred the chicken using forks.
Nutrition
Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
Claire says
These were such a hit with the whole family!
The kids all had seconds and I used the leftovers in a rice bowl for my lunch the following day.
Thank you 😀
Claire says
These were such a hit with the whole family!
The kids all had seconds and I used the leftovers in a rice bowl for my lunch the following day.
Thank you 😀
Dana says
So happy to hear that your family enjoyed these! 🙂