Baked Chicken Tacos

These crispy Baked Chicken Tacos only take 30 minutes. They’re a perfect weeknight meal, and your family will love them.

Let’s Make Taco Night the Best Night!

We’re big fans of taco night in this house, and for the longest time these Instant Pot Ground Turkey Tacos have been our go-to.

But these baked chicken tacos are creating quite the stir, because now we just can’t choose!

Soft tortillas are stuffed with shredded chicken, cheese, veggies, and spices, then baked until the edges are perfectly crisp. And because they’re ready in 30 minutes, you can add these tacos to your weeknight rotation.

Wash These Beauties Down With a Refreshing Margarita!

Easy Ingredients Go Into These Baked Chicken Tacos.

Easy and accessible ingredients are always my goal. Even when I’m bringing you something that might be considered new and exciting to your table.

This recipe will please everyone with very little effort!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Soft taco shells
• Cooked shredded chicken
• Shredded Mexican cheese blend
• Cumin
• Chili powder
• Chipotle powder
• OR Taco Seasoning (instead of cumin, chili, and chipotle powder)
• Minced onion
• Chopped tomatoes
• Jarred chunky salsa
• Fresh jalapeño
• Plain Greek yogurt or Sour cream
• Sea salt
• Olive oil

How to Make Baked Chicken Tacos.

I love how easy these are. It’s essentially a sheet pan dinner, and who doesn’t love those for busy, or even lazy, weeknights?

Here’s what you’ll do:

1. Preheat the oven to 425º F and arrange a rack in the middle of the oven.
2. If you’re using precooked shredded chicken, skip on to Step 4. If you’re cooking the chicken, season it with a simple pinch of salt and pepper and pan fry it in olive oil until cooked, flipping it halfway through. The cooking time with the chicken will depend on the cut. I like to use chicken tenderloins as they cook quickly and shred easily. Breasts or thighs will take a little longer. Once cooked, transfer the chicken to a cutting board and blot it with some paper towels.
3. Shred the chicken with two forks.
4. Place the shredded chicken, cheese, spices, onions, tomatoes, salsa, jalapeño, Greek yogurt, and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl, then mix everything up until the ingredients are well blended.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush some olive oil over it with a pastry brush.
6. Place a soft taco shell onto the parchment and scoop a heaping tablespoon or two of the filling onto one side of the shell. Gently press the filling down a bit and fold the shell over. Press down lightly.
7. Repeat the same steps for the other tacos.
8. Lightly brush the tops of the folded taco shells with olive oil.
9. Pop the tacos into the oven for about 15 minutes, or until the tortillas are lightly golden and crisped at the edges.
10. When done, remove the tacos from the oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes to cool.
11. Serve with salsa, guac, queso, and/or Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.

Useful Tools for This Recipe:

• Sheet pan
• Parchment paper
• Sharp knife
• Cutting Board
• Mixing bowl
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Meat thermometer
• Tongs
• Mixing Spoon or spatula
• Pastry brush

Recipe Tips + Tricks.

1. You can get yourself a precooked rotisserie chicken at the supermarket and shred or roughly chop that instead of cooking your own chicken.
2. If cooking your own chicken, I suggest using chicken tenderloin strips since they cook much quicker than breasts. But you can use breast or thighs in this recipe, just keep in mind that cooking times will vary.
3. If you want to ease up on the spice, omit the jalapeño, or swap it for chopped bell pepper.
4. You can use 1.5 teaspoons of taco seasoning instead of the cumin, chili, and chipotle powder.
5. Have leftovers? I suggest reheating them in the air fryer for 1-2 minutes, if you have one! If not, pop them in the oven until heated through. I don’t recommend microwaving them as they’ll be soggy. If that’s your only option, fork and knife it :)

Have You Made This Recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR rating & commenting below with feedback!

You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme

Other Fantastic Recipes for Taco Night:

• Instant Pot Ground Turkey Tacos
• Easy Taco Dip With Cream Cheese
• Grilled Mahi-Mahi Tacos 
• Healthy Breakfast Tacos
• Crispy Chipotle Chickpea Tacos
• Shrimp Tacos with Mango Habanero Salsa

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5 from 21 votes

Baked Chicken Tacos

By: Dana Sandonato

These crispy Baked Chicken Tacos only take 30 minutes. They're a perfect weeknight meal, and your family will love them.

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 8 tacos

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 8 soft shell tortillas
• ▢ 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
• ▢ 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• ▢ 1/2 tsp cumin
• ▢ 1/2 tsp chili powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp chipotle powder
• ▢ 1/2 cup minced white onion
• ▢ 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
• ▢ 1/2 cup chunky salsa
• ▢ 1 fresh jalapeño, diced
• ▢ 2 TBSP plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
• ▢ Sea salt
• ▢ Olive oil

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Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 425º F and arrange a rack in the middle of the oven.

If you're using pre-cooked chicken, skip to Step 3.

• Heat about 1 TBSP of olive oil in a skillet. Season the chicken with a pinch of salt and pepper, and add it to the pan, cooking it until it's fully cooked (with an internal temperature of 165º F), flipping it halfway through. Cooking time will vary depending on the cut of the chicken. I like to use chicken tenderloins since they cook quickly and shred easily; breasts or thighs will take a little longer.
• Once the chicken is fully cooked, transfer it to a cutting board and dab it with some paper towels to remove excess oil. Then, with two forks, shred the chicken.
• Transfer the shredded chicken, cheese, spices, onions, tomatoes, salsa, jalapeño, Greek yogurt, and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl, then mix everything up until the ingredients are well blended.
• Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly brush some olive oil over it with a pastry brush.
• Put a soft taco shell onto the parchment and scoop a heaping tablespoon or two of the chicken filling onto one side of the shell. Gently press the filling down to spread it a bit over half the shell and fold the shell over. Press down on it lightly to secure it; repeat the same steps for the other tacos.
• Lightly brush the tops of the folded taco shells with olive oil.
• Place the tacos into the oven for about 15 minutes or until the tortillas are lightly golden and crisped at the edges.
• When done, remove the tacos from the oven and let them sit for about 5 minutes to cool; serve them with salsa, guacamole, queso, and/or Plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.

Notes

You can omit the cuminm, chili, and chipotle powder and use 1.5 teaspoons of taco seasoning instead.

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