Bottom Line: The Shredded Chicken Crunchy Tacos from El Pollo Loco deliver some tasty tacos that pair up perfectly with their spicy Salsa Roja.
El Pollo Loco is a West Coast-based fast food chain that focuses on fire-grilled chicken and other Mexican-inspired items like tacos, burritos, tostadas and more. They have had two soft tacos on their regular menu–Chicken Taco Al Carbon and Chicken Avocado Taco–and they previously offered for a limited time the Shredded Chicken Crunchy Taco. That proved quite popular, and now it is back on the menu, possibly as a permanent item.
Following is the official description for the returning favorite:
The Crunchy Taco is made with a new double layer of crunchy, fried corn tortillas filled with tender, juicy, shredded fire-grilled chicken topped with a mild roasted tomato salsa, crisp shredded lettuce, and melty Jack cheese.
As you would expect from a place with chicken in its name, the poultry inside the taco is quite good. This is shredded after being flame-grilled and it is plenty tender and seasoned well with just a hint of smokiness. Doubling up on the taco shells is unexpected, but it works well to bring plenty of crunch, and the shells are not greasy at all. The shredded Monterey Jack is mild and creamy and pairs well with the chicken, while the lettuce adds some nice freshness. The mild roasted salsa was missing from my tacos, but I made up for that with offerings from their salsa bar (see below). Warning that these are kind of messy, with bits of the taco shells breaking off and the juices from the chicken dripping out, so have plenty of napkins on hand. And don’t try eating these while driving!
Heat-wise, these tacos have pretty much no burn. They are well-seasoned, but they bring no fire by themselves as they don’t even reach the Mild level on my scale. But as with many tacos, these are crying out for some salsa, and El Pollo Loco has you covered there at their salsa bar. The Pico de Gallo adds some nice freshness to the taco and brings it up to about the Mild level. But it is the Salsa Roja that pairs perfectly with the mild shredded chicken. That is an earthy and rich salsa made from dried chilis and it brings quite a kick. It bumps the heat up to Medium on my scale and turns these into first-rate tacos. Take note Taco Bell, this is how to do Mexican fast food right!
Calorie-wise, the tacos are only 200 cals each which means you can get two of them and still be doing quite well for a trip to the drive thru. And if you get a side of chips (200 cals) to scarf up some more of that salsa (which does not add too many calories), you are still doing okay. The tacos run $2.99 each in my area or $9.19 for a combo with chips and a drink, which is an okay price for a fast food joint these days.
As mentioned above, Shredded Chicken Crunchy Tacos were here for a limited time a while back and they proved popular enough to rejoin the menu. The announcements I have seen on their return have not referred to these as permanent items yet, but they are not threatening to send them back to Limited-Time-Only-Ville either. If they continue to sell well, perhaps they will stick around this time. But I recommend trying them pretty soon just in case. You can check for an El Pollo Loco near you at their website.
Nutrition Info:
Serving Size: One Taco
Calories: 200
Fat: 8g (3.5g Sat/0g Trans)
Protein: 13g
Carbs: 18g
Sodium: 400mg