Twelve ingredients and forty-five minutes for eight tacos.
The green sauce is blended from avocado, sour cream and lime — there is no herb in it.
Why This Recipe Works
- Thighs shred easily and stay moist in a taco where breast would dry.
- Chilli powder and cumin season the meat before it is pulled.
- Avocado gives the crema its body and its colour without any herb.
- Warming the tortillas lightly keeps them pliable rather than crisping them.
- Corn and beans give substance so the taco is not only meat and sauce.
Ingredient Notes
- Sweet corn and red kidney beans
- A cup of each. Substantial components of the filling, and the title names neither.
- Crumbled cotija
- Half a cup. A dry salty crumbling cheese rather than a melting one — it stays in pieces on top.
- Avocado, sour cream and lime
- One avocado, a third of a cup of sour cream and the juice of one lime, blended. This is the whole green crema.
- Purple cabbage
- A cup, shredded. It gives the crunch a soft filling otherwise lacks.
How to Make It
Chicken spiced, cooked to 165°F, shredded
Season the chicken with chilli powder and cumin and cook until 165°F and tender; shred it.
The green crema blended
Blend avocado, sour cream, and lime juice into a pale green crema.
Tortillas warmed lightly
Warm the corn tortillas lightly on a skillet.
Chicken, corn, beans and cabbage in
Fill with pulled chicken, corn, kidney beans, and purple cabbage.
Cotija, coriander and the crema over
Top with cotija, coriander, and green crema.
Served straight away
Serve immediately.
What Goes Into One Taco
The name promises spicy pulled chicken. Five of the things in the finished taco are not in that name at all, and together they are most of what you are eating. Here is one of the eight.
What goes into one taco
A corn tortilla, warmed LIGHTLY
One of 8, warmed on a skillet. Lightly is the distinction that matters: these are not tortillas dipped in chilli fat and griddled to a crisp red edge. These stay SOFT and pliable.
An eighth of the pulled chicken
1 1/2 lb of boneless THIGHS seasoned with 1 tsp chilli powder and 1/2 tsp cumin, cooked UNTIL 165F AND TENDER, then SHREDDED. Thighs rather than breast for the usual reason in a pulled preparation - they take the cook to tender without going stringy. The spice goes on before cooking so it seasons the meat rather than sitting on the outside of the shred.
Sweet CORN and red KIDNEY BEANS
1 cup of each across the eight. Two components the title names neither of, and between them they carry a real share of the filling - this is not a taco of meat and sauce. The beans are drained so they do not water down the tortilla.
Shredded PURPLE CABBAGE - the crunch
1 cup. Everything else in the filling is soft: shredded chicken, corn, beans, and a crema over the top. The cabbage is the only thing with any resistance in it, which is why it is there and why it goes in raw.
Crumbled COTIJA, not a melting cheese
1/2 cup. Cotija is dry and salty and crumbles rather than melting, so it stays as distinct white pieces on top. A melting cheese would disappear into the warm filling.
The GREEN CREMA - and no herb in it
1 avocado blended with 1/3 cup sour cream and the juice of 1 lime. Worth stating plainly because a pale green sauce on a taco is usually a herb crema: this one gets its colour and its body from AVOCADO. The sour cream loosens it and the lime keeps the avocado from browning as well as seasoning it.
1/3 cup of coriander over the top, then SERVED IMMEDIATELY - soft warmed tortillas do not wait, and the cabbage loses its crunch under a wet filling. Two serving elements go alongside: LIME WEDGES and a BOWL OF THE GREEN CREMA for anyone who wants more.
Success Tips
- Shred the chicken while it is still warm; it pulls apart far more easily.
- Warm the tortillas only lightly — these are soft tacos, not crisp ones.
- Blend the crema until genuinely smooth so it drizzles rather than dolloping.
Serving Ideas
Eight tacos on speckled plates, warmed corn tortillas filled with spiced pulled chicken, corn, kidney beans and purple cabbage under crumbled cotija, coriander and green crema, with lime wedges and a bowl of extra crema alongside.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the sauce green?
Avocado. It is blended with sour cream and lime juice — there is no herb in the crema at all.
Corn and beans in a chicken taco?
Yes — a cup of each. They are substantial components of the filling even though the title names neither.
How is this different from the birria-style tacos here?
Those tortillas are dipped in chilli fat and griddled crisp with melted cheese, onion and coriander only. These are lightly warmed and carry corn, beans, cabbage, cotija and a green crema.
