Easy Chicken Tacos
by Chungah
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Weeknight chicken tacos! A 30-min dinner with an easy make-ahead spice rub, packed with so much flavor. Quick, speedy, and a family-favorite!
Featured Comment
I think this will be my go-to weeknight meal for the next few weeks. No, wait, months probably. Because, guys, we just brought home a little baby corgi brother for Butters. So to say my hands will be full with these two little buggers is clearly an understatement.
Why You’ll Love This Chicken Taco Recipe
- Makes weeknight dinners so effortless. These are truly the easiest weeknight chicken tacos ever (also great for lazy weekends).
- Make-ahead friendly. The recipe includes a simple make-ahead spice rub using pantry ingredients already on hand (chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, and garlic powder), meaning there is no marinade involved here!
- So customizable. The seasoned chicken can be served in warm tortillas as tacos or burritos, and leftovers can be repurposed for bowls, quesadillas or salads – the sky is the limit!
How to make easy chicken tacos
- Make the spice rub. Combine the chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Pro tip: double or triple the batch as needed to keep on hand for later, storing in an airtight container.
- Season the chicken. Pat the chicken dry and season with the spice rub thoroughly in an even layer.
- Cook the chicken. Cook the chicken in a cast iron skillet until golden brown and cooked through (165°F), working in batches to avoid an overcrowded pan.
- Let cool. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, dice the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Letting the chicken cool first ensures that the meat stays juicy and prevents it from tearing.
- Assemble the tacos. Warm the tortilla (instructions below), add the diced chicken and top with pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro, and lime juice.
How to warm tortillas
Stovetop
Heat each tortilla on a hot cast iron skillet over medium high heat (not using any oil) until puffed and toasted, about 15-30 seconds on each side.
Microwave
Wrap 4-5 tortillas in a stack in a damp paper towel or kitchen towel, heating for 20-30 seconds.
Oven
Wrap 5-8 tortillas in a stack in aluminum foil, baking for 8-10 minutes at 350°F until warmed through.
Best Sides to Serve with Chicken Tacos
Tools For This Recipe
Large cast iron skillet
Easy Chicken Tacos: Frequently Asked Questions
The ideal homemade seasoning should be savory, smoky and salty, using a blend of chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
Chicken breasts can absolutely be used here but chicken thighs have more dark meat and a higher fat content, which will yield juicier, more flavorful chicken tacos.
Yes! Repurposing rotisserie chicken is one of the best and easiest shortcuts for making chicken tacos. Shred or chop the chicken, heating in a cast iron skillet over medium heat with the spice rub and a splash of chicken broth (to keep it moist).
Both flour and corn tortillas are solid options. Flour tortillas are more pliable, great for heavy tacos, whereas corn tortillas are more traditional for street tacos, offering more rustic, earthy flavors.
The tortillas can be warmed on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in the oven (instructions above) to make them soft and pliable, preventing them from tearing when assembling into tacos.
We have a recipe for that here!
Absolutely! When the weather permits, use an outdoor grill for even more smoky, charred flavors, warming the tortillas directly on the grill grates until pliable and slightly charred, about 30 seconds on each side.
Leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Easy Chicken Tacos
Video
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 12 mini flour tortillas, warmed
- 1 cup pico de gallo, homemade or store-bought
- 1 avocado, halved, peeled, seeded and diced
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
For the spice rub
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Pat the chicken dry with paper towels; season with spice rub.
- Heat canola oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Working in batches, add chicken to the skillet in a single layer and cook until golden brown and cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 4-5 minutes per side. Let cool before dicing into bite-size pieces.
- Serve chicken in tortillas, topped with pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro and lime.
For the spice rub
- In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Equipment
Notes
- Chicken thighs are juicier. For the juiciest chicken tacos, opt for chicken thighs instead of breasts. Because of their higher fat content, the chicken thighs are juicier, more flavorful, and much more forgiving if overcooked.
- Use a cast iron skillet. A cast iron skillet offers unmatched heat retention and distribution for the best sear while keeping the chicken incredibly juicy and moist on the inside.
- Neutral oils with a high smoke point is ideal. Use a neutral oil such as avocado, peanut, canola or vegetable oil, offering the ability to withstand high heat without smoking, burning, or changing the flavor of the chicken while producing a perfectly golden-brown sear.
- Cook in batches. Cook the seasoned chicken thighs in batches for a proper sear and to prevent the pan from overcrowding. An overcrowded pan will inevitably steam the chicken instead.
- Let the chicken cool before dicing. Let the chicken rest and cool prior to dicing, allowing the juices to redistribute – this will allow for maximum flavor and juiciness without tearing when dicing.
- Grill outdoors. When the weather permits, use an outdoor grill for even more smoky, charred flavors.
- Double the spice rub and store for later. Double or triple the batch of the homemade spice mixture and store it as your go-to chicken taco seasoning in an airtight container. It cuts down prep time even further for taco night, and guarantees consistent flavor in every chicken taco recipe!
- Use flour or corn tortillas. Tacos are traditionally made with corn tortillas but small flour or corn tortillas can be used depending on personal preference. Always warm the tortillas first to prevent tearing (stovetop, microwave and oven instructions above).
- Double up the tortilla. Street tacos are typically served on two tortillas, known as la copia or “the copy”. This practice helps keep the filling together, and if the first tortilla breaks, the back up tortilla can be used for the rest of the filling.
- Serve with your favorite toppings. Serve with pico de gallo, salsa verde, guacamole, avocado, cilantro, cotija cheese or lime.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Wow my name Kassidy and I love this so much
Me like chicken taco
This reciepe is amazing!! My sister and I make this every week! The flavor of the spices was unlike anything we had ever eaten before. THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS RECIPE!!!
I made these tacos for dinner and they were very good. I had a pack of thinly sliced chicken breast and cut them up and mixed the spices with them. Left for half hour in fridge. Followed recipe. Everybody liked them!
Trying now, looks delicious! Do you cover the chicken when cooking stovetop or not? Thank you!
I’m sorry if this says it on this website but… does anyone know how many people this serves??? I would rate it but I haven’t made it yet.
6 servings
These tacos are a weekday favorite! The chicken is so easy to make and tastes delicious with the rest of the ingredients.
Totally agree, Diya! These were wonderful and the seasoning made it lots better. We used breasts instead of thighs and it still worked super well! Glad we tried this! 🙂
This recipe has quickly become one of my go-to’s for dinner, I love the flavor of the marinade! Thank you for sharing
We made this for dinner tonight & just got done eating. This recipe is wonderful! I also cut the chicken before cooking like others have stated. This is going to be one of my go-to recipes now!
My family loved this quick and easy recipe. Even my 5- year old, who eats absolutely nothing, loved them! It will definitely be a “go to” on weeknights!
Being stuck home for almost 3 months due to the outbreak in NY, we have grown tired of making the same old food. I had boneless chicken and no idea what to do with it. I googled chicken recipe ideas and this came up.
Wasn’t planning on making tacos but I am so glad I did!! I used boneless chicken breasts and sliced them very thin and cooked them after letting them sit in the spice rub for a couple hours. I didn’t have fresh pico but salsa was good as well. My younger son even tried them and ate 2 tacos himself, which is highly unusual because he eats almost nothing new even though we try! These will be made again and again! Thank you!
Made this tonight on my Blackstone Griddle. It was so easy since I could cook it all at once. I took another reviewer’s idea and cut the chicken up before cooking it. Simple and delicious recipe. My son doesn’t like avocado so he added shredded cheese. My family loved it! This will be my new chicken taco recipe now. Thank you so much.
I don’t write reviews very often, but I felt like I needed to because these tacos were THAT good! I did use chicken breasts instead of thighs and my husband grilled the chicken and tortillas. My husband, kids, and I loved them. This will be our go to recipe from now on!
I know when I come across your recipes on Pinterest, that it’ll be good!
They were great. Will make again.
Super tasty! I will definitely make this again. I like your
tortilla shells they look way better than mine did!
This was a fabulous Saturday night taco and a few beers
Covid-19 date night! Thanks
Haven’t tried these yet but they look fantastic. My question is how do you warm your taco shells. I noticed the char marks on them which look great. In the oven or in a fry pan?
the best way to warm tortillas is to put them directly over your burner. I have a gas stove and I just pop those bad boys on for a couple seconds each side. Let the flame toast them so you get a nice little char
Wow! These tacos were “Damn Delicious”!! Not only do we live in So California where good Mexican food is prevalent, but my college-age boys are 1/2 Hispanic and very picky about their taco meat. I have bought similar pre-marinated taco meat at the Hispanic market that wasn’t very good. I could tell by reading the recipe and reviews that these were going to be good. I made them tonight and my sons gave them their seal of approval and gobbled up a double batch. I loved them too. I diced the chicken first and then coated them in the seasoning in a bowl and let it sit for about 20 mins. I think dicing the chicken first really allows all the pieces to be well-coated in seasoning. We ate them with corn tortillas that I lightly warm/lightly brown in an ungreased skillet with avaocado and homemade pico de gallo. Mmmm! This will now be my go-to taco recipe. Thank you!
Trying to figure out how to “char” tortillas on an electric stove, and noticed you said you don’t grease the skillet. Is there an advantage to not using oil to do this?
Amazingly good chicken tacos! I like to add some cilantro lime ranch dressing to the mix and I fry my tortillas in oil to get a bit of crunch, which is my personal preference. Thank you for the recipe!
So quick and easy! Love this recipe! My kids love it too! So thankful this website and these incredible recipes!
Omg! This chicken taco recipe is very very delicious! Definitely be making again!
Very tasty!