Chicken Tacos
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These Chicken Tacos are loaded with flavor and perfect for everyone. Paired with cucumber salsa and your favorite taco sauce and toppings.
We love tacos and these chicken tacos are a fun twist on the traditional ground beef tacos. We use street tacos a fresh salsa and you can either go Middle Eastern with a hummus drizzle or keep it Mexican with some taco sauce. This recipe is super versatile and bound to please anyone for taco night!
Recipe ingredient notes
- Skinless Boneless Chicken Thighs – Chicken thighs are nice and juicy, but you could also go for chicken breast.
- Street Tacos – We like using smaller tacos, but you can use larger as well. It will change the serving size though.
- Fresh Salsa – We do a combo of cucumber, tomato and onion, to make a quick cucumber salsa, but you could also use Pico de Gallo.
- Hummus or Taco Sauce – To make it Middle Eastern we go for a drizzle of tahini or thinned hummus. To make it Mexican we go with taco sauce.
Step-by-step instructions
For the full ingredient amount and full instructions on how to make chicken tacos see the recipe card below.
Season the chicken with taco seasonings and avocado oil.
Place the chicken into a container to marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.
After marinating heat up your cast iron on medium heat and cook chicken on both sides for 5-6 minutes per side.
The chicken should be 165 degrees F so you know it’s fully cooked. Chicken thighs can go a bit higher than chicken breast so don’t worry if it’s higher.
Warm up the tortillas in the microwave. Chop the chicken place onto the tacos along with the cucumber salsa and your desired sauce.
Recipe tips and variations
- Add your favorite toppings like cheese, sour cream, salsa, guacamole, or keep it simple.
- We also like to make this as burritos and add cilantro lime rice or yellow rice.
- You can use chicken breast instead of thighs, just make sure you cook them thoroughly as they need to cook longer.
- This recipe makes enough for 4 people to have 3 tacos.
- Make these chicken tacos in the air fryer by just changing the cooking method.
Storage and reheating tips
- Refrigerate: Store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and enjoy within 3-4 days..
- Reheat: To reheat the chicken you can chop up it up and warm in an oiled skillet or use the microwave for about 30-60 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Yes! We prefer making that like our ground taco meat so we would refer to that for cooking.
Yes! Add any and all of your favorite taco toppings.
Absolutely, instead of using the cast iron skillet place the chicken thighs in your air fryer for 10 mins at 350 degrees F and then flip and cook for another 10 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F.
more taco ideas
Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
Chicken Tacos
- 8 skinless boneless chicken thighs
- 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/2 tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspopon smoked paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 12 street taco tortillas
Cucumber Salsa
- 1 English cucumber
- 3 Roma tomatoes
- 1 small yellow onion or red
- 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon parsley chopped
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Add chicken breast to a Ziploc bag with avocado oil and taco seasoning. Seal and massage to coat the chicken evenly.
- Place the chicken into the refrigerator and allow it to marinate for at least 4 hours.
- After marinating heat up your cast iron on medium heat with a little more oil if needed and cook chicken on both sides for 5-6 minutes per side.
- The chicken should be 165 degrees F so you know it's fully cooked.
- While the chicken is marinating chop up the cucumber, tomato, and onion. Place it into a bowl.
- Add the lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkle of salt, and some chopped parsley. Stir to combine.
- Warm up the tortillas in the microwave. Chop the chicken place onto the tacos along with the salsa and your desired sauce.
- To make thinned out hummus just add a bit of cold water to storebought hummus and mix. Drizzle using a spoon or cutting the tip off a Ziploc bag.
Air Fryer Chicken Taco method
- Instead of using the cast iron skillet place the chicken thighs in your air fryer for 10 mins at 350 degrees F and then flip and cook for another 10 minutes or until the thickest part of the chicken reaches 165 degrees F.
Notes
Nutrition
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