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?
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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!
don’t use any of those too high in Omega 6 oils! Coconut oil or butter is safer/best for our bodies. Otherwise, I love your recipes! Omega 6s cause extreme inflammation.
Do you seriously think 1 Tablespoon of Canola oil is going to cause “extreme inflammation.” Your comment is ridiculous.
Yes it does. Why not use avocado oil instead? It won’t cause inflammation.
I use olive oil rather than canola. A hit every time!
So tasty! Will fix again for sure!
These were delicious!!! I will definitely be making these again!
Delicious! Good flavor and very easy prep. I will use again.
My husband stated that these are the best tacos he has ever had !! AMAZING ( and unbelievably easy ). Will take this on our camping trip for an excellent dinner. Thank you.
This was absolutely delicious! I will make this again.
Sooo good
Amazing. So easy to make. We used chicken tenderloins and cut them into bite size pieces after cooking them up. Super fresh snd so tasty!! My whole family raved about how delicious the chicken was. Squeezing the lime on the top of the tacos was definitely a key for all of us. I also added some finely sliced red onions for me, shredded Mexican cheese and cut up small grape tomatoes since my youngest doesn’t like pico de gallo .
These chicken tacos are fantastic. I didn’t change a thing and the whole family loved them. This will be my go to recipe from now on.
Made these with chicken thighs. Let the dry rub sit for about 2 hours, then put them on the grill which added great flavor. Everyone loved the flavor and complimented on the recipe. Will definitely make this again. We used a bunch of other “toppings” for the tacos, including a red cabbage slaw, corn salsa, crema, cotija, cilantro, guac, cheese, and made a taco bar so everyone could make their own. It was a hit!
Been looking for a better and easier chicken taco recipe and I found it here. Thank you
I used chicken breasts because that’s what I had on hand. It was delicious! I’ll never use ground beef for tacos again!
Most of the recipes I’ve tried from this site are winners with the family.
The easy chicken tacos recipe was not among them.
Realizing that fast and easy recipes can sacrifice flavor for convenience, these types of recipes can be more challenging to pull off.
This particular recipe uses few ingredients as fillers for the taco. So, it leaves the tacos with shallow flavors. And despite all the spices used for the meat, our family found the chickens rather bland.
pretty darn good
So delicious! I was a bit sceptical, but so, so good! Put the tortillas on the cast iron pan for about 30 seconds each side. So much better than the microwave. Will definitely be a staple.
awsome