These chicken tacos are warm flour tortillas filled with diced marinated chicken, lettuce, pico de gallo, avocado and cheese. A quick and easy dinner option that’s easy to customize to your tastes, and is perfect for feeding a crowd.
You can never go wrong with tacos, whether it’s shrimp tacos with mango salsa, savory steak tacos, or these simple yet totally satisfying chicken tacos.
Chicken tacos are a popular recipe for good reason – the combination of warm and zesty chicken and tortillas with fresh toppings just can’t be beat. This is the ultimate speedy dinner for those nights where you just don’t know what to make!
How do you make chicken tacos?
Start by preparing the marinade for the chicken, which is a blend of taco seasoning, olive oil and lime juice. After the chicken soaks in the marinade, cook it then dice it into bite sized pieces. Place the chicken into warm tortillas along with shredded lettuce, grated cheese, pico de gallo and slices of avocado. Serve immediately and enjoy.
Tips for the perfect tacos
- The chicken should sit in the marinade for at least 10 minutes, but if you have the time, it’s even better to let the chicken marinate for a longer period of time. You can keep your chicken in the marinade for up to 24 hours.
- I like to use my homemade taco seasoning for this recipe instead of the kind that comes in a packet. It takes just minutes to make and is full of flavor.
- You can saute, grill or broil your chicken thighs. I typically grill my chicken, either outdoors in the summer, or indoors on a grill pan during the colder months.
- Leftover cooked chicken stays fresh in the refrigerator for up to 4 day.
- You can freeze the chicken for later use. Either freeze the raw chicken in a bag of marinade, then thaw and cook, or freeze the cooked chicken.
- I love the fresh flavor that the pico de gallo adds to these tacos. You can buy pre-made pico de gallo at the store, or make your own.
- Serve your tacos with a side of pinto beans and rice for a complete meal.
Chicken Taco variations
There are many ways you can switch up the ingredients in this recipe to suit your preferences.
- Protein: Instead of chicken thighs, try chicken breast, ground chicken, ground turkey, shrimp or steak.
- Tortillas: Swap out the flour tortillas for corn tortillas or crispy taco shells.
- Cheese: I typically use a blend of cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses. Other great options include cotija cheese, a Mexican style cheese blend or colby jack.
- Spicy: If you prefer your tacos with a kick, add some crushed red pepper flakes or ground chipotle pepper to the marinade.
What can you add to tacos?
The toppings listed in this recipe are just a suggestion. You can add as many toppings as you like to customize these tacos to your tastes.
- Refried Beans
- Pickled Jalapenos
- Cilantro
- Green onions
- Black Beans
- Corn
- Sauteed Peppers
- Red Onions
- Sour Cream
- Olives
- Pinto Beans
- Cabbage
How much chicken do you need for tacos?
You can count on needing approximately 3 ounces of cooked chicken per person that you’re planning to feed. The chicken can be diced or shredded, depending on the formulation that you’re using. This assumes that each person will eat 2-3 tacos on average.
Once you try these tacos, you’ll find them making their way onto your regular dinner rotation. They’re just that good!
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Chicken Tacos Video
Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning homemade or store bought
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- salt and pepper to taste
For the tacos
- 8 small flour tortillas warmed
- 1/2 cup shredded lettuce
- 1 cup pico de gallo
- 3/4 cup shredded cheese
- 1 avocado peeled, pitted and sliced
Instructions
For the chicken
- Place the taco seasoning, olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk to combine.
- Add the chicken thighs to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 10 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade. Heat a grill, grill pan or skillet over medium heat. Place the chicken on the grill or in the pan and cook for 4-5 minutes per side or until cooked through.
- Let the chicken cool slightly then chop into bite sized pieces.
For the tacos
- Place 1 tablespoon of lettuce into the bottom of each tortilla. Divide the chicken evenly among the tortillas, then top with pico de gallo, cheese and avocado. Serve immediately.
Lee says
I have the pan on medium and it’s 35 minutes later and these chicken breasts are still not cooked all the way through. What did I do wrong?
Sara says
Are you using thighs or breasts? The recipe calls for thighs, and breasts can sometimes take longer to cook if they’re very large or thick.
Susan says
I accidentally (didn’t read the recipe well enough) cut the chicken up before marinating . Then just coked the cut up pieces in a skillet. It worked just fine. (Reduced the amount of olive oil)
This is now the only recipe I use for chicken tacos.
Kristin says
This was a huge hit in our house tonight! Definitely adding to regular rotation! Thank you for a delicious and easy dinner!
Giovanni says
Hi Sara and thank you for so many wonderful recipes. Quick question for these chicken tacos. Can these chicken tacos be made like your beef taco recipe? That is, chop up chicken thigh or breast and then season chicken while it’s cooking in a pan with 1/2 the seasoning used above? I’m mentioning 1/2 the seasoning because I noticed that for 1 pound of beef in your beef tacos, you’re using half the seasoning listed above.
Thank you for your time.
Sara says
Yes that’s totally fine!
Amy says
This was really good. I marinated the chicken for 4 hours, will do over night next time. I served with boxed taco shells and tortillas for my husband and heated up some black beans to make a taco/bean bowl for myself. Topped with sour cream, I also made the pico de gallo in the link, it was good too.
JTeam5 says
I only have lemons could I use that instead of lime juice??
Sara says
That’s fine!
Terri says
The tortilla looks delicious. Is it homemade?
Is that recipe available?
Sara says
They’re La Tortilla brand handmade style tortillas that were charred on a gas range!
Jacque Hooper says
Served this for dinner last night and they have easily become a family favorite recipe for taco Tuesday! Couldn’t be easier either!
Matt Taylor says
I LOVE homemade tacos. These look so easy to make too. Thanks!
Stephanie says
Excellent recipe! I never thought to use taco seasoning for my chicken but it was so delicious!
Chris Collins says
I’m always craving tacos so these chicken tacos are going straight on the menu this week!!
Colleen says
Craving tacos over here! These look amazing and I now know what we’re having for dinner tonight!
Sisley White says
These look absolutely incredible. I love tacos and these are calling to me. I will have to make it this week.
Cate says
YUM! These pics look mouthwatering. Beautiful and can’t wait to try it!
Emily Liao says
These tacos are a weekday favorite! The chicken is so easy to make and tastes delicious with the rest of the ingredients.
Mason says
Thighs??
I’ll try..
Sara says
You can use chicken breasts if you need to!