Some dinners just understand the assignment, and these chicken walking tacos are one of them. You get BBQ shredded chicken, crunchy chips, melty cheese, fresh toppings, and a meal everyone can eat straight from the bag, which means fewer plates and a whole lot less cleanup.
This is the recipe I'd pull out for summer cookouts, pool nights, birthday parties, tailgates, or those weeknights when you want dinner to feel fun without making it complicated. Everyone can build their own bag, which means the picky eater, the spice lover, and the person who adds sour cream to everything can all be happy at the same table.
As a dietitian and mom, I love that you can keep them playful with chips while adding color, crunch, and fiber from toppings like lettuce, tomatoes, corn, and black beans!
Go all out with your fiesta dinner spread and serve these walking tacos with my frozen strawberry watermelon margaritas and black bean corn salsa!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Low-effort cleanup: Individual chip bags keep serving simple and help you avoid a sink full of dinner dishes.
- Built for summer hosting: These are perfect for pool nights, backyard BBQs, picnics, game day, and casual dinners on the porch.
- Everyone gets what they want: Each person can pile on their favorite toppings, skip what they do not love, and make their own version.
- Fun but still filling: Every bite has smoky chicken, crisp chips and fresh veggies to make each bag colorful, satisfying, and full of texture!
Ingredients for Chicken Walking Tacos
These walking chicken tacos use simple ingredients, but the topping options make them feel fun, colorful, and totally customizable.
- Pulled chicken: I like using shredded chicken because it soaks up the BBQ sauce and makes these walking tacos easy to eat with a fork. You can use homemade shredded chicken, rotisserie chicken, or leftover grilled chicken.
- BBQ sauce: BBQ sauce gives this version a sweet, smoky, Southern-style spin that works so well for summer parties and cookouts. Use your favorite bottled sauce or one of my homemade BBQ sauce recipes, like peach BBQ sauce or cherry cola BBQ sauce!
- Snack-size chip bags: Fritos, Doritos, Sunchips, tortilla chips, or corn chips all work well. Choose individual bags for the easiest party setup.
- Shredded cheese: Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack, or a Mexican-style blend all melt slightly into the warm chicken.
- Lettuce: Shredded romaine or iceberg adds crunch and freshness.
- Tomatoes: Diced tomatoes add color and juiciness, especially in the summer when tomatoes are at their best.
- Black beans: Black beans make each bag more filling and add fiber.
- Corn: Corn adds sweetness, crunch, and that summer cookout feel.
- Sour cream: A little sour cream cools everything down and adds creaminess.
- Pickled jalapeños: These add tangy heat without having to chop fresh peppers.
See the recipe card below for the full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
These chicken walking tacos are easy to change based on what you have, what your family likes, or what kind of party spread you're making.
- Swap the BBQ sauce for salsa and taco seasoning to make salsa chicken walking tacos with a more classic taco-night flavor.
- Toss the shredded chicken with buffalo sauce and top it with lettuce, cheese, and ranch for buffalo chicken walking tacos.
- Drizzle ranch over the chicken to make ranch BBQ chicken walking tacos that taste creamy, smoky, and kid-friendly.
- Shred a store-bought bird for rotisserie chicken walking tacos when you need dinner to come together fast.
- Stir hot sauce, chipotle peppers, or pickled jalapeño juice into the chicken for a little extra heat.
- Build vegetarian walking tacos with black beans, corn, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and your favorite sauce instead of chicken.
- Spoon a little ranch slaw, pineapple slaw, or Cajun slaw on top for added crunch and a little Southern-style twist.
How to Make a Walking Taco
These chicken walking tacos come together fast once your toppings are chopped and ready to go.
Step 1: Prep your toppings by shredding the lettuce, dicing the tomatoes, draining the black beans, draining the corn, and setting everything out in bowls.
Step 2: If needed, warm the shredded chicken in a skillet over medium-low heat with the BBQ sauce, stirring until the chicken is fully coated and heated through.
Step 3: Cut each chip bag open across the top or lengthwise down the side, depending on how you want to serve them. I recommend cutting them lengthwise so there is more room for toppings.
Step 4: Gently crush each chip bag with your hands so the chips break into smaller pieces, but do not crush them into crumbs.
Step 5: Add warm BBQ chicken to each bag, then layer on your desired toppings.
Step 6: Serve right away with forks while the chips are still crunchy.
How to Set Up a Walking Taco Bar
A chicken walking taco bar is one of the easiest ways to feed a group without making a million individual plates.
Set out the warm BBQ chicken in a slow cooker or covered serving dish, then place the chip bags in a basket or tray. Add toppings in small bowls with serving spoons so everyone can build their own bag.
For parties, I like to group toppings by type so the setup feels simple:
- Fresh toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, corn, cilantro, green onions, or diced avocado.
- Creamy toppings: sour cream, ranch, Greek yogurt ranch, or queso.
- Filling toppings: black beans, pinto beans, extra chicken, or rice.
- Spicy toppings: pickled jalapeños, hot sauce, buffalo sauce, or sliced fresh jalapeños.
- Crunchy toppings: crushed tortilla chips, slaw, diced onion, or extra corn chips.
For the easiest flow, put the chips first, then the chicken, then cheese, then cold toppings. This keeps everyone moving in the same direction and helps the line go faster!
Tips for Best Taco in a Bag
A few simple tips make these chicken walking tacos easier to serve and even better to eat.
- Serve warm chicken in each bag so it slightly melts the cheese and makes every bite delicious!
- Leave enough space in each bag and do not overfill so you can stir their toppings without making a mess.
- Drain beans, corn, salsa, and tomatoes well because wet toppings can make the chips soften too quickly.
- Choose snack-size bags for parties because they are easy to hold, easy to serve, and already portioned.
Storage
Chicken walking tacos taste best right after they are assembled, but the chicken and toppings are easy to prep ahead.
- Chicken: Store leftover BBQ chicken in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Keep fresh items like lettuce, tomatoes, corn, beans, cheese, and sauces separately so everything stays fresh.
- Make ahead: Cook the chicken and prep the toppings ahead of time, then assemble the walking tacos right before eating.
FAQ
Shredded chicken works best because it mixes easily with the sauce and fits well inside the chip bags. You can use homemade shredded chicken, rotisserie chicken, leftover grilled chicken, or slow cooker chicken.
The chicken is best served warm, while the toppings are usually served cold or room temperature. That mix of warm chicken, cool toppings, and crunchy chips is what makes them so good.
Drain wet toppings well, keep the chips unopened until serving, and assemble the walking tacos right before eating. Lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, and salsa can all soften the chips if they sit too long.
Plan on ⅓ to ½ cup of shredded chicken per person. Use the smaller amount for parties with lots of sides and the larger amount if the walking tacos are the main dinner.
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Jessie
BBQ Chicken Walking Tacos Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 snack-size bags of chips such as corn chips, tortilla chips, Fritos, Doritos, Sunchips
- 3 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1 cup BBQ sauce plus more as needed
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or Mexican-style cheese blend
- 1 ½ cups shredded lettuce
- 1 cup diced tomatoes
- 1 cup black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn drained
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup pickled jalapeños
- Optional toppings: ranch, salsa, cilantro, green onions, avocado, hot sauce, queso, or lime wedges
Instructions
- Prep your toppings by shredding the lettuce, dicing the tomatoes, draining the black beans, draining the corn, and setting everything out in bowls.
- If needed, warm the shredded chicken in a skillet over medium-low heat with the BBQ sauce, stirring until the chicken is fully coated and heated through.
- Cut each chip bag open across the top or lengthwise down the side, depending on how you want to serve them. I recommend cutting them lengthwise so there is more room for toppings.
- Gently crush each chip bag with your hands so the chips break into smaller pieces, but do not crush them into crumbs.
- Add warm BBQ chicken to each bag, then layer on your desired toppings.
- Serve right away with forks while the chips are still crunchy.
Notes
- Rotisserie chicken, meal-prepped shredded chicken, leftover grilled chicken, or slow cooker chicken all work well.
- For a party, keep the BBQ chicken warm in a slow cooker and set the toppings out in bowls so guests can build their own bags.
- Assemble the walking tacos right before serving so the chips stay crunchy.
- Store leftover chicken and toppings separately in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Nutrition information will vary depending on the type of chips, BBQ sauce, cheese, and toppings used.
- Nutrition analysis provided is for: 1 snack-sized bag of Sunchips, ½ cup of shredded chicken, 2 tablespoons of bbq sauce, ¼ cup black beans, ¼ cup corn, ⅛ cup shredded cheese, ½ cup shredded lettuce, and 1 tablespoon of sour cream.
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