Make taco night extra special with these crispy chicken tacos, filled with shredded chicken and melted cheese in a crunchy baked taco shell. It’s an easy weeknight meal the whole family will love.
These tacos are as fun to eat as they are delicious. You can pack a ton of flavor into the shredded chicken using chicken taco seasoning. Start by sprinkling the chicken with taco seasoning, then cook the chicken with onions and peppers. Shred the chicken and stir in the vegetables and more taco seasoning. Finally, fill corn tortillas with the chicken and vegetable mixture along with shredded cheese, and bake on a sheet pan until crispy. Serve with your favorite toppings, like shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, lime wedges and cilantro. And while you are at it, serve these crispy chicken tacos with our Easy Guacamole with Homemade Pico de Gallo Recipe.
Ingredients that matter
This recipe is all about building flavor with basic ingredients, but we’ll show you how to make it even more simple if time is tight:
- Chicken. We like to use chicken thighs for this recipe, especially bone-in, skin-on thighs. Here’s why: The skin and bone build flavor and help retain moisture, meaning the chicken won’t dry out in the oven. And since the chicken is heated again after cooked, we want to ensure our chicken isn’t dry! But this will require removing the bone and skin after cooking, which is more work, but certainly effort we encourage. As an alternative, you can use boneless, skinless chicken breasts, but be sure to pull the chicken out of the oven when it hits 160°F and let the residual heat carry over until the chicken gets to 165°F for food safety. Want to save even more time? Use rotisserie chicken and simply add sautéed onions, peppers and chicken taco seasoning. This is a great option if you are in a hurry, but we strongly suggest starting with bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs for best flavor and moisture (and if you like eating chicken skin, chop it up and add it to your filling or enjoy it separately as a bonus snack)!
- Chicken Taco Seasoning. Use a store-bought taco seasoning or make your own with chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder, dried oregano, ground cumin and ground coriander. Tip: If making your own, omit added salt so you can control the sodium level of the final dish. You can use more spice blend without adding more sodium!
- Shredded Cheese. We leave the type of cheese up to your preference, but we recommend something that melts well. We love Colby, Monterey jack, pepper jack or a pre-shredded Mexican blend.
- Corn Tortilla. Buy soft white or yellow 6-inch corn tortillas. You can use flour tortillas if you prefer, but we tend to like corn over flour since a lot of flour tortillas have added ingredients and corn tortillas are typically just corn, water and salt.
- Peppers and Onions. A cup each of red pepper and sweet onion is enough to add aromatics to the filling and also more moisture (no boring dry filling here). You can certainly use more vegetables like zucchini, mushrooms or sweet potatoes.
How To Assemble the Tacos
Once you have the chicken and vegetables cooked, and the rest of your mise en place ready, you can begin the assembly process. Here’s how it works:
- Briefly warm the tortillas. I like to wrap the stack of tortillas in foil and place in the oven until just warmed through, about three minutes. Warm tortillas are more flexible and easier to work with.
- Brush both sides of tortillas with oil. This layer of oil helps the ingredients stick inside and also helps make the exterior crispy and crunchy!
- Add a thin layer of cheese. Start by placing a thin layer of cheese on one half of the tortilla, top with chicken, then add more cheese on the chicken. Fold the tortilla in half so there’s cheese on the top and bottom with the chicken in the middle. That cheese isn’t just delicious, it also helps the tortilla hold its shape when cooked.
- Optional Tip: If your tortillas aren’t staying shut when folded in half, you can place a plate on top or, better yet, another baking sheet on top. This will keep all 8 tortillas folded shut. You can even bake the tacos with the baking sheet on top!
- Bake and flip. They are now ready to cook. Simply bake for about 10 minutes, until crispy on one side, then flip and cook another 8 to 10 minutes until crispy on the other side. They will continue to get crispy as they sit at room temperature. We recommend eating the tacos while still hot.
What to serve with the tacos
Crispy chicken tacos are perfect for family taco night, just be sure to bring along some tasty toppings. Here are some suggested toppings:
- Shredded lettuce (or cabbage)
- Chopped Tomatoes
- Finely Chopped Sweet Onions
- Chopped Fresh Cilantro
- Sour Cream
- Hot Sauce
- Salsa
- Our Easy Guacamole with Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Jalapeño or Pickled Jalapeño
Video: Watch it come together
Recipe
Baked Crispy Chicken Tacos
- Total Time: 50
- Yield: 8 tacos 1x
Description
Elevate taco night with these baked crispy chicken tacos. They are filled with shredded chicken, vegetables and melty cheese.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for brushing
- 2 lbs. bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (see note)
- 4 tsp. chicken taco seasoning (see note), divided
- ¾ tsp. salt, divided
- 1 cup chopped sweet or white onion
- 1 cup chopped red bell pepper
- 8 (6-inch) corn tortillas (see note)
- 8 oz. (about 2 cups) shredded Colby, Monterey Jack or Mexican Blend cheese
- shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, salsa, hot sauce and our Easy Guacamole with Homemade Pico de Gallo for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large oven-safe skillet or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Pat chicken dry and sprinkle with 2 teaspoons of the taco seasoning and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Rub seasoning all over chicken. When oil is shimmering, add chicken, skin-side down, and cook until golden grown, about 3 minutes. Flip and move the chicken to the side of the skillet. Add the onions and peppers to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until starting to soften, about 2 minutes. Nestle chicken on top of the vegetables then transfer skillet to the oven. Cook until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 165°F, about 20 minutes. Transfer chicken to a clean cutting board and cool at room temperature until safe to handle, about 5 minutes.
- Shred chicken (remove and discard bone and skin) and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add cooked vegetables and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons taco seasoning.
- To assemble tacos, warm tortillas in a microwave for 15 to 30 seconds or wrap in foil and heat in the oven for about 3 minutes. Brush tortillas with oil then place about 2 tablespoons of cheese on one half of each tortilla. Top with about ½ cup of the chicken mixture then another 2 tablespoons cheese. Press shut to seal. If needed, place a plate on top of tortillas to seal shut (see note). Bake in preheated oven until crispy on one side, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and carefully flip. Cook until the other side is crispy, another 8 to 10 minutes. If any filling falls out from the tortilla during cooking, simply scoop it up and return to the taco. Serve tacos hot with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, hot sauce and guacamole.
Notes
- To save time, skip cooking chicken thighs and instead use rotisserie chicken and add sautéed vegetables. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts (use about 1 ½ lbs.) and be sure to cook to 160°F then remove from oven and let residual heat carry over, cooking the chicken to food safe temp of 165 °F.
- Pick salt-free chicken taco seasoning to control sodium levels. Or, make your own by mixing together chili powder, smoked paprika, dried oregano, garlic powder, ground cumin and ground coriander.
- If you prefer, use 6-inch flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas. Just be sure they are warmed and flexible before filling.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 45
- Category: Main
- Method: Sear and Bake
- Cuisine: American
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