Crispy Baked Chicken Tacos
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OH-SO-CRISP, crunchy, cheesy chicken tacos completely baked to absolute PERFECTION. A super easy weeknight meal!
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reasons to make crispy baked chicken tacos
- Gets dinner on the table fast. With an easy chicken filling and the most fragrant spices, cilantro and a little bit of cheese, these tacos come together very quickly.
- Crowd favorite. Crispy tacos are loved by all – toddlers, kids, teens and grown ups. And with minimal prep and hands off time, these baked tacos are great for family dinners, big get togethers, holiday parties, baby showers and game day.
- Completely baked start to finish. Super crispy, crunchy, cheesy chicken tacos that do not require any kind of deep-frying. And that little brush of oil prior to baking helps these bad boys crisp up in the oven oh-so-perfectly.
Ingredients
Ground chicken
Ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey are all great options.
Onion
Yellow or white can be substituted for sweet onion.
Garlic
Garlic puree is one of our favorite swaps to cut down on prep time even more.
Green chiles
Adds a subtle kick of heat, but can be omitted for mild flavors.
Chili powder, paprika, oregano and cumin
An easy homemade taco seasoning!
Cilantro
Adds bright, fresh flavors but can be skipped if needed.
Lime juice
Freshly squeezed is best but bottled lime juice will also work.
Mexican cheese blend
You can also use cheddar, colby jack, monterey jack or pepper jack.
Tortilla
6-inch flour or corn tortillas can be used depending on personal preference.
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite meat. Ground beef, pork, chicken or turkey will all work very well here.
- Make them mini. Use smaller corn or flour tortillas to make them bite-sized, perfect to serve as a party appetizer or after school snack.
- Warm the tortillas. Warming the tortillas in the microwave for about 15-30 seconds will allow them to be more pliable and easy to work with, preventing cracks when assembling.
- Do not overstuff. Size matters! Overstuffing may sound like a good idea since the filling is the best part, but this can result in ripped tortilla and overspill.
- Brush with oil. Brush the tacos with oil prior to baking – this is key for that favorited crispy texture and golden brown color.
- Reheat in the oven. Leftover tacos can be soggy when reheated in the microwave. For best results with leftovers, reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
what to serve with crispy baked chicken tacos
Crispy Baked Chicken Tacos: Frequently Asked Questions
Not at all! Ground beef or ground pork can be used instead of ground chicken.
We recommend warming the tortillas prior to assembly, about 15-30 seconds in the microwave, or until pliable.
You can serve with some of your favorite toppings – pico de gallo, avocado or guacamole, queso fresco or cotija cheese, shredded lettuce, jalapenos, lime wedges, or cilantro.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Crispy Baked Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 ½ tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 1 pound ground chicken
- ½ medium sweet onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
- 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided
- 8 flour or corn tortillas, warmed
For serving
- Pico de gallo
- Guacamole
- Shredded lettuce
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
- Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add ground chicken, onion and garlic, and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the chicken as it cooks; drain excess fat.
- Stir in green chiles, chili powder, paprika, oregano and cumin until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from heat. Stir in cilantro and lime juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir in 1 cup cheese until well combined.
- Working one at a time, spread chicken mixture on half of the tortilla; top with 1 tablespoon cheese, folding over to seal. Repeat with remaining tortillas to make 8 tacos.
- Place tacos in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Brush tops with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil.
- Place into oven and bake until toasted and crispy, about 12-15 minutes.
- Serve immediately with desired toppings.
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Love this recipe! A few more steps than opening a packet of taco seasoning on top of ground meat but so much more delicious and about the same time to prep. I now have a new go-to weeknight taco recipe.
These are super easy and delicious! They reheat nicely and are super good cold! Ive tried so many of your recipes and they really all are so so good!
These tacos are delicious. They are crispy enough to pick them up to eat them. I thought I’d have to eat them with a fork, but my husband picked one up and shoved guacamole inside of it, and ate with his hands. I used half beef and half chicken. I wish I had made these for my kid when they were home for the holidays. I think a soy chorizo would work well for those of my crew who are vegetarian. I did take the advice of the person who posted a review and suggested putting the tacos in the oven for 1 or 2 minutes, and then taking them out and folding them. They folded nicely, and I painted on a little olive oil, and they turned out perfect. I did use less cheese, because we don’t eat much dairy. Very tasty. I will make them again. I did get 12 tacos out of the meat.
Fantastic recipe – a family favorite. Thank you!
These were amazing! Thanks for posting the recipe. Healthy and delicious!
We love these!!!! I thought I thawed out ground chicken but it was ground beef so I used that instead and they were delicious!!! It’s one of my favorite recipes!!! I’m just wondering if you have any idea what the calorie content would be? Thank you so much
Delish! I used corn tortillas. I brushed them with oil and baked them flat on cookie sheet for about 4 minutes then added the meat and folded them over. No tearing.
I did not have any green chilies in my dish. I did use 1/2 corn tortillas and 1/2 flour tortillas. To prep the corn tortillas, I put 5 of them on a plate in the microwave for 30 seconds, and they did not crack. I also flipped all the tacos over after their initial 12 minute oven cooking time, because the underside was a bit under-done. I still think the flour tortillas tasted better with this recipe. I paired with guacamole and mild salsa. Appreciate the quick and easy dish.
We only had ground beef. This was super delicious and we will definitely be eating it again. Very versatile.
Crispy baked chikan tacos are a delightful twist on traditional tacos. The golden, crunchy chicken adds a satisfying texture to every bite. A must-try recipe!
Outstanding. We have added this to our meal rotation and make it often!
Any idea how many calories in one taco?
These tacos were Damn Delicious and my family loved them. Very easy and a tasty twist on good old tacos. I made mine with beef and prepared the meat mixture the night before, then next day heated it and added cilantro and lime before stuffing the tacos. Served with fresh guacamole, mmmmm cant wait for leftovers tonight. Thanks!
To make them crispy, fry each corn tortilla in oil for a few minutes, don’t let get hard, just until pliable. Then they will fold easy and crisp when baked.
Loved these! We used ground turkey, pepper jack cheese and flour tortillas and they were delicious. There’s only two of us so we just made 6 tacos and plan on using the extra turkey mixture in omelets for breakfast!
My family really liked these- EVEN though they did not look anything like the photos. I would be interested to know what tortilla type was used. I used corn tortillas. Some split when filled, none of them got this beautiful brown like the website pictures. I put less filling in after the first couple split. I had a lot of meat mixture left over so I made the rest as tostados. This worked much better. However, I can make this easier with a taco mix. Due to how mine turned out, I would not make this again.
YUMMY!! Will def make again.
Very tasty recipe. I also had trouble getting the corn tortillas to fold. I should have read the other reviews before I started. Anyway, I will definitely make these again.
Corn tortillas didn’t work at all, even after warming up. They wouldn’t stay folded. We ended up with tasty tostadas.
I used some inexpensive ground turkey that came out a little dry so I added a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce. That was the only variation to the recipe I made and overall the taste was fantastic.
I had to bake in batches and my first batch all split along the seam so for the second batch I baked 1 min open faced, then removed from oven and folded the tortilla, brushed with oil and put back in the oven for approx 10 more min. None of my second batch split 🙂
Everyone loved it and it was an easy meal prep
Thank you for this tip! Worked great and so good!
We loved these. We had trouble using corn tortillas, but flour did the job.
Any hints on how to use corn tortillas? Ours just crumbled, even tried steaming them a bit in the microwave before using. Thank you!