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Taco Stack with Pork Carnitas or Chicken

By:Nagi
37 Comments
Recipe v

How do you make tacos even better? Stack ’em!

Taco Stack - made with Pork Carnitas or Chicken, fast and easy to make, fun and delicious to eat!

I made these scrumptious stacks using leftover frozen Pork Carnitas but I’ve also provided directions for making these with chicken – super quick!. Every time I make tacos this way, I wonder why I bother with the traditional method. There is something about “stacked” food that’s irresistible. It’s so satisfying to cut into the stack and turn a pretty pile into a delicious mess.

Yup. That’s my kind of food. Messy food is always the best. Like wings. Sauce smeared all over your face, sticky hands, and your bib (or shirt) so filthy you look like you were in a food fight.

Messy food is fun. Don’t you think? Gone are the days of wanting to dine gracefully, in a quiet, elegant restaurant where you feel too terrified to laugh out loud for fear of being frowned upon by fellow diners. Where waiters give you a look of scorn if you dare to pick up the wrong fork for your starter (I’m thinking Pretty Woman here, where Julia Roberts had no idea which fork to use for her shrimp cocktail!).

So this is my kind of food. Fun. Scrumptious. Messy. Easy. FAST.

Taco Stack - made with Pork Carnitas or Chicken, fast and easy to make, fun and delicious to eat!

I made these with small tortillas – the ones you can get that are around 6″/12cm wide. But they could be made with tostadas as well (which are just fried tortillas), though the texture is completely different because they are crunchy rather than soft. I bake the tortillas just briefly so they hold their shape better when the stack is put together. But they aren’t crisp like tostadas. Tostadas would be harder to eat, I think. Because you can’t spear the tostadas with a fork, you either need to use a spoon or use the tostadas to scoop up the filling (which would make it nachos-like, I guess!)

I made these with 4 tortillas in each stack – 3 layers of meat / cheese. But you can make the smaller or taller, depending on your appetite / how many people you are feeding!

Let’s-get-messy!

– Nagi

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Taco Stack - made with Pork Carnitas or Chicken, fast and easy to make, fun and delicious to eat!

Taco Stack

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 40 minutes
Mexican - My Way
5 from 11 votes
Servings2 - 4
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Stacked tacos! These are made with layers of tortillas, Pork Carnitas (Mexican Shredded Pork) or Chicken, Corn and Tomato Salsa and melted cheese. Fun, fabulous and easy. If you make this with leftover Pork Carnitas then it's super quick too! Serves 2 very hungry people or 4 dieting people. Note: This stack is made with meat that is juicy and moist so all that is needed is a dollop of sour cream to finish it off. If you are concerned your meat is too dry, I suggest having a side sauce to add moisture.

Ingredients

  • 8 small tortillas , corn or flour (around 6" / 12 cm rounds)
  • 3 cups shredded Pork Carnitas or Quick Mexican Chicken (see below)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups grated cheese (I used Monterey Jack. See Note 1 for other suggestions)

Salsa

  • 1 1/4 cups corn kernels , fresh, frozen or canned (drained) (I used frozen)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 punnet cherry tomatoes , diced (or 2 medium tomatos, deseeded and diced, around 1 1/2 cups (Note 2))
  • 2 shallots / scallions , green part only, sliced
  • 1/2 lime , juice only (add more or less to taste)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Quick Mexican Chicken

  • 1.2 lb / 600g chicken thigh fillets , skinless and boneless, cut into 1cm / 2/5" slices (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp garlic powder (or add 1 minced garlic clove into the oil in the fry pan)
  • 2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • Pinch of cayenne or chili powder (for heat - adjust to taste)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • Black pepper
  • 1 lime , juice only
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Garnish and toppings

  • Sour cream
  • Cilantro / coriander
  • Jalapeños , finely chopped
  • Avocado , diced

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
  • Prepare either the Pork Carnitas or Quick Mexican Chicken.
  • Place the corn tortillas in the oven (I do it directly on the shelf) and bake for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, just to make them a bit stiff but not browned.
  • Place a tortilla on a baking tray. Scatter 1/6th of the Pork Carnitas or Quick Mexican Chicken on the tortilla and top with Salsa (reserve some for Topping) then cheese. Place another tortilla on top and repeat, then again (so you end up with 3 layers of meat. Place the 4th tortilla on top. I don't put anything on it, but you could sprinkle some cheese if you want.
  • Repeat with remaining 4 tortillas.
  • Bake for 10 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted (it does not take long).
  • Remove from oven.
  • Top with remaining Salsa and Toppings of choice (I used sour cream, avocado, jalapeño and coriander/cilantro)

Salsa

  • Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Add the corn and sauté for a couple of minutes until charred to your liking. (This step is optional)
  • Allow to cool slightly, then toss with remaining Salsa ingredients.

Pork Carnitas

  • Defrost (if using frozen), then heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large fry pan over high heat.
  • Add Pork Carnitas and cooking until the underside is golden brown (do not flip - Note 4).
  • Remove from pan (scrape up all the brown bits) and set aside.

Quick Mexican Chicken

  • Combine all ingredients other than the oil in a bowl and toss to combine.
  • Heat the oil in a large fry pan over high heat.
  • Add the chicken and sauté until browned and cooked through.
  • Remove chicken from the fry pan. Allow to cool then either roughly chop into smaller pieces or use a fork to "shred".

Recipe Notes:

1. Cheddar, tasty, gruyere, provolone dolce and other flavoured melting cheeses are also great. Mozzarella doesn't have enough flavour for my taste.
2. I scoop the juice out of the tomatoes so the salsa is not too watery. Otherwise the tortillas get rather soggy while baking. To deseed the tomatoes, just cut in half and use a teaspoon to scoop out the watery inside. Just roughly is fine.
3. I use chicken thigh fillets because I find breast too dry for this type of recipe. If you use a salsa dip style sauce to add "juiciness" to the recipe then you can definitely use chicken breast instead. But I suggest serving the salsa sauce after baking, otherwise it will make the tortillas too soggy when baking.
4. Don't flip the pork carnitas when browning it. That way you get crunchy as well as retaining the juiciness of the pork.
5. Nutrition per serving.
Taco Stack Nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 380gCalories: 622cal (31%)Carbohydrates: 37.5g (13%)Protein: 53g (106%)Fat: 31.1g (48%)Saturated Fat: 12.9g (81%)Cholesterol: 192mg (64%)Sodium: 1279mg (56%)Potassium: 765mg (22%)Fiber: 5.8g (24%)Sugar: 4.1g (5%)Vitamin A: 1450IU (29%)Vitamin C: 23.1mg (28%)Calcium: 380mg (38%)Iron: 4.5mg (25%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

 

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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37 Comments

  1. Tami Vickery says

    Hi Nagi,

    Love your recipes! I wanted to make your Brown Sugar Garlic Roast Pork but will have leftovers….do you think I can use the rest for the Taco Stacks or will the flavors not work?

    I will have leftovers so just want to make 2 meals out of one pork if possible?

    Thoughts….suggestions?

    Reply

  6. Maggie says

    5 stars
    I admit my first instinct was how to eat it? But then I realized it doesn’t matter at all! Yep, messy food is the best 🙂
    Love the avocado and tomato toppings!

    Reply

    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      Exactly!! And actually, this is made with soft tortillas so you can cut into it. Like a huge savoury cake!!

      Reply

  13. Kathleen | HapaNom says

    5 stars
    This looks fabulous! I totally agree – messy food IS fun food. Ha, can you imagine Julia Roberts/Pretty Woman eating this while in her black cocktail dress…. I can, and it’s a great mental image. Personally, I’d much rather eat without judgement 😉

    I love all of the colors and flavors in this dish! It’s like a savory three-layered cake. Now that would be my kind of birthday cake!

    Reply

  14. Allie | Baking a Moment says

    Oh my gosh this is too funny because I recently made tostadas (after seeing them all over the internet), and I found them so hard to eat! I thought for sure I had done something wrong 😛 This is sooooo much better! I would love to dive in and and make a big ol’ mess!

    Reply

    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      Allie, you make me smile with a comment like that!! I’m so glad I’m not weird for thinking about practical things like whether something is easy or hard to shovel into my mouth 🙂

      Reply

    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      Aw, you pretty much made me blush / smile with pleasure!! I am a long way off GT. But that’s what I’m aiming for!! Thank you so much for your lovely compliment! 🙂

      Reply

    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      Aw, thanks Marissa for your sweet comment! Looking at it again, I want to dive into that stack too! 🙂

      Reply