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
Did you make this recipe?
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Super simple, really tasty and my wife has asked me to make them again!
I’ve made them with chicken breast and they are fine. Love the flavor!
Delicious. My family enjoyed them.
Can these be made with chicken tenders or would they be too dry
How spicy are these? Is there a way to make them less spicy if they are? I have a family who does not like real spicy food.
The best tacos I’ve made!!
The preparation was simple, and the end result was delicious! I might try it with shrimp next time.
These are so easy and so, so good! We have them every couple of weeks!
mexican food is the thing i miss most after moving from london to nyc and this recipe has saved me! followed it to a tee and got some nice blackened moist chicken thighs. wouldn’t change a thing. thank you thank you!!!
This is my new favorite recipe! I found your recipe last summer and I’ve been making it like this ever since 😀
Sooooo yummy!! I bought cilantro lime dressing to top it off. Definetly gonna make again! Awesome recipe good job!
These tacos are delicious! We will never go back to ground beef tacos after having these. I didn’t have chicken thighs, so I used breasts instead. Thank you for this recipe!
i always loved all your recipes, especially panda copy cat recipes.
your recipes are easy to prepare. more power to you.
Great spice flavour on the chicken. Very easy recipe to make.
We made several variations in an attempt to improve the recipe. We added sliced jalapeños, small amount of sour cream and a spicy tangy mustard on top. Game changer for sure! Highly recommend.
This was a quick easy and tasty dinner. My six year old gives it two thumbs up. We will definitely make again. Entire family enjoyed! Thank you
Super easy and quick. I made it with chicken breasts instead of thighs (personal preference). I cooked them in a skillet and sliced after they cooled, as directed in the recipe. However, next time I may dice them first before coating in the seasoning and cooking since it would be faster. I served with homemade guacamole, lime slices, and shredded Mexican cheese. Delicious.
its damn delish
I mixed the spices, let it sit for 15 min. Then cooked it. The chicken was delicious. The flavors were smooth, and flavorful. No one spice overpowered the other.
This recipe was delicious. It reminded me of my favorite local Mexican restaurant that has a lime chicken taco. I used thin sliced chicken breast and it was very tender. I loved the smoky flavor with lots of lime. Thank you for the recipe!
Can you marinate it overnight for better flavor?
I put the rub on the night before i cooked them
Also cooked the chicken on the grill and used boneless breasts instead
Will definitely make again!
Very tasty and easy!
super tasty!!
Family favorite!
These tacos were beyond delicious!! I cut my chicken into pieces before seasoning and cooking. From start to finish was less than 15 minutes. Perfect for busy nights. Thank you so much!