Easy Chicken Tacos
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Make easy chicken tacos at home with juicy chicken thighs, a bold spice rub, and all your favorite toppings like pico de gallo, avocado, and lime wedges. This chicken tacos recipe is quick, flavorful, and perfect for weeknight taco night.
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 Easy Chicken Tacos Recipe
- Truly the easiest weeknight chicken tacos ever (also great for lazy weekends)
- Includes a simple make-ahead spice rub using pantry ingredients already on hand (chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano and garlic powder), no marinade involved here
- So customizable – can be served in warm tortillas as tacos or burritos, and leftovers can be served as bowls, quesadillas or salads – the sky is the limit!
Tips for Perfect Easy Chicken Tacos Every Time
- Use a cast iron skillet for the best sear and juicy chicken. High, even heat locks in flavor so your easy chicken tacos cook fast and stay tender. Allowing for even cooking and a better sear. For the juiciest chicken taco recipe, use chicken thighs. They stay moist and flavorful compared to breasts, making this the best chicken taco choice for weeknights.
- Grill outdoors. When the weather permits, use an outdoor grill for even more smoky, charred flavors.
- Mix a bigger batch of the homemade spice rub and store it as your go-to chicken taco seasoning. It cuts prep for taco night and guarantees consistent flavor in every chicken tacos recipe. Prepped and stored in an airtight container ahead of time, cutting prep time even more. Season the chicken with the spice mixture when ready to cook. The spice mix doubles as homemade chicken taco seasoning, so you can prep jars in advance for faster taco night.
- Let your meat rest. For the juiciest chicken taco recipe, choose thighs and rest 5 minutes before dicing. The spice rub + cast iron skillet combo keeps every bite tender.
- 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.
- 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.
How to Make Chicken Tacos at Home
Making chicken tacos at home is simple: season chicken with a quick spice rub, cook in a cast iron skillet, and serve in tortillas with toppings like pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro, and lime. This easy chicken tacos recipe is ready in 30 minutes and works with either chicken thighs or breasts.
Best Sides to Serve with Chicken Tacos
Tools For This Recipe
Cast iron skillet — essential for quick, even heat and that golden sear. Also handy: tongs for flipping, a sharp knife for slicing, and a cutting board for toppings.
Large cast iron skillet
Easy Chicken Tacos: Frequently Asked Questions
How long to cook chicken for tacos? About 4–5 minutes per side in a hot cast iron skillet until 165°F.
How do you make chicken tacos at home? Just season, cook, and serve in tortillas with toppings.
Yes, chicken breasts can be used in this chicken tacos recipe, but thighs make juicier, more flavorful easy chicken tacos.
Keep but optimize: Yes! For quicker prep, try our Instant Pot chicken tacos recipe linked here.
Yes, we have a recipe for that here.
Leftover chicken can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Classic chicken taco toppings include pico de gallo, avocado, cilantro, cotija cheese, salsa verde, and lime wedges.
Season the chicken with spice rub, cook, and store for 2–3 days. Reheat and assemble tacos just before serving.
Chicken tacos use small tortillas with simple toppings, while burritos are larger, wrapped, and loaded with rice and beans.
Easy Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 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
- 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
Equipment
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
- Season chicken with chili powder mixture.
- 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.
Video
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VERY GOOD!!! I doubled the recipe for my family of 5. Cooked in my skillet….we ate like kings!!!!
I’ve made this recipe several times and the kids and I love it. We add shredded cheese, tomatoes, onions and sour cream as toppings. I bake my chicken in cut up pieces on 350 though with the seasonings, it’s still delicious.
This is a bomb recipe !!
I love the combination of the spices–a perfect blend. I used chicken breasts and this dish turned out delightful. I am sure I will use this recipe often.
This was the easiest thing to make…my husband and kids loved it! I’m a vegetarian so after I removed the chicken I added chopped mushrooms, peppers, and onions to the skillet and sautéed them up in the remaining oil and spices. Absolutely delish!
I have been making these for years! LOVE them!
This was a very good recipe to find! I had everything I needed so I put it all together. My dad, whose not a fan of chicken, went back for more THREE TIMES!!! Thank you very much for sharing. Will definitely be making this again.
Very nice recipe, the chicken tasted delicious, the taco’s turned out very good. Thank you for the recipe
This was a hit! Just enough for my daughter and husband and myself though. Followed the recipe, just cut up the chicken before cooking and used chicken breasts instead. Very good. Will make this again. Might try it with shrimp too.
I’ve made this recipe at least 5 times now for family and friends and each time has been so delicious! I like to use thinly sliced chicken breast and they always come out juicy and not dry with this rub. I 100% recommend this!!!
Thank you so much! This has helped me a lot more! The chicken was not dry at all! Was perfect!
Been looking for a delicious chicken taco recipe. This one is super easy and quick and my kids loved it! Will make again.
Made these tacos tonight my husband keeps raving how good they were! Definitely going to make them again:)
how many people does it serve? I am a working mother of 23 kids and I need to feed all! Please.
six servings!
Just tried and it was a hit with the fam. Cut up the pieces before cooking might try the other way around to see if any flavor difference. But my bf loved them! Also cooked the chicken with some chopped up white onions!! I’m not much of a cooker and pretty impatient so fast meals like this is a dream! And who doesnt love taco leftovers!!!!
Third time making these tacos and each time they are a hit!!!! They remind me of a tacos from a food truck in Napa, 20 years ago!!
Easy and delicious. I have prepared this recipe 3 times and it’s a hit every time.
To save time for a busy weeknight I took another reviewer’s advice and chopped the chicken before cooking. IT WAS AMAZING! Plenty of flavor, nice and crispy. No leftovers at all. Thank you!
I made this last night. Soo good. I chopped the chicken into small pieces and fried them that way. Got some nice crunchy bits that really made it delicious.
It was easy!! I added some corn to the mix just for color and texture.
I made this tonight to put on nachos and it was perfection. My oldest (5) was picking at the chicken faster than I could put it on the chips. Thank you!