These Baked Chicken Tacos are sure to be a hit on Taco Tuesday! Flavorful tacos loaded with flavor, crunch, and melted cheese. Yes, please! Ground chicken, homemade chicken taco seasoning, and all your favorite taco toppings make up this delicious, easy weeknight dinner.
Recipe Video
You'll Love This Chicken Taco Recipe
"Baked chicken tacos are one of my family's favorite recipes! They are easy, cheesy, and baked in the oven until golden and crispy. Add all your favorite toppings for the ultimate chicken taco!" -Kori
If you love chicken tacos be sure to make this 7 Can Taco Soup Recipe with chicken and Chicken Tinga Tostadas. They're delish!
- Homemade. I love making my own seasoning blends because I know what is in them; nothing is artificial, and I can adjust the spice level for our family to exactly what we want.
- Baked. These chicken tacos are baked in the oven instead of fried in oil on the stovetop. They are just as delicious as the original and can save you a lot of fat from frying in oil. You could also air fry them if you'd like to try that!
- Healthy. Taco recipes are great because you can adapt them in any way you need to fit your dietary needs. For example, use low carb flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas to reduce carbs. Use corn tortillas for gluten free.
Ingredients Needed for Chicken Tacos
For exact ingredient quantities, please see the recipe card below!
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Ground Chicken - you could substitute shredded chicken breasts if you prefer!
- Onion - white, yellow, or red onions can be used.
- Chicken Taco Seasoning Mix - my homemade mix is quick, easy, and healthy! You can also use a store-bought taco seasoning packet.
- Canned Diced Tomatoes - you can use fresh tomatoes if you'd like to.
- Canned Sliced Black Olives - omit these if you'd prefer.
- Stand and Stuff Taco Shells - or any variety of taco shells you like. Stand and stuff style shells are great because they are easy to line up and fill with your mixture.
- Shredded Cheddar Cheese - grate your own or buy pre-shredded for convenience. You could also try a Mexican cheese blend or even pepper jack if you love spice.
Substitutions and Variations
- Substitute the ground chicken with ground beef or ground turkey. You could also use shredded chicken breast, chicken thighs, or pork.
- Add refried beans to the taco mixture if desired.
- If you prefer soft taco shells, you can use them! Put some meat mixture in the middle and some shredded cheese. Roll them up and place them in a greased casserole dish. Top with some more cheese and bake for about 20 minutes in the oven until the tacos are heated, and the cheese is melted.
- Add additional spice to your taco mixture, such as freshly ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, or cayenne. You could also just add your favorite hot sauce as well!
How To Make Baked Chicken Tacos
Follow these simple steps to make the best crab dip– no cooking required!
Printable recipe card below.
- Place taco shells standing up in the baking dish.
- Crisp the taco shells in the oven.
- Cook the chicken taco meat and onion in a skillet.
- Add in the taco seasoning mix, drained diced tomatoes, and olives to the cooked chicken.
- Fill the taco shells and top with shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake the tacos until cheese is melted.
How To Serve
- Top with your favorite taco toppings such as shredded lettuce, sliced green onion, fresh diced tomato, avocado slices, fresh lime, sour cream, salsa, pico de gallo, or even fresh cilantro!
- Serve alongside your favorite Mexican or Spanish rice. My favorite is cilantro lime rice. You could substitute rice with cauliflower rice to reduce the carbs!
- Make this Chipotle Crema sauce to add a delicious zesty touch to your tacos.
- Roasted Chili Corn Salsa or this Mango Peach Salsa would pair well with these chicken tacos!
Kori's Tips
- Thoroughly drain the canned tomatoes to prevent soggy bottom tacos.
- Buy the taco shells that stand up, they are easier to fill and bake.
- Adjust any seasoning to your taste preferences.
FAQs
In this chicken tacos recipe, we use ground chicken, but many recipes use boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs seasoned, cooked, and shredded. Hard or soft corn tortilla shells or soft flour tortillas are used, stuffed with various taco toppings such as cheese, tomato, onion, salsa, etc.
A few of the most popular sides that pair with chicken tacos are refried beans, chips and salsa, rice, black beans, pico de gallo, and Mexican Street Corn Salad.
Store your chicken taco filling separately from your tortillas in an air-tight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat in the oven or an air fryer at 375 degrees F until warmed through for best results.
Prepared and baked chicken tacos do not freeze well. You can cook and freeze the filling separately, however. Assemble the tacos when you are ready to bake.
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📖 The recipe.
Baked Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken (shredded)
- 1 small onion (finely chopped)
- 1 recipe chicken taco seasoning mix (or (1) 1.25 oz package taco seasoning mix)
- 1 16 ounce can diced tomatoes (drained)
- 1 4 ounce can sliced black olives (drained)
- 8 stand and stuff taco shells
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.
- Place taco shells standing up in the baking dish.
- Preheat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add ground chicken and onion. Cook until chicken is done and onion is tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove any excess grease and liquids.
- Add taco seasoning mix, drained diced tomatoes, and olives to the skillet. Stir to combine with the chicken. Continue to cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- While the taco meat is cooking, place the shells in the oven and bake for 5 minutes to warm and crisp.
- Remove the shells from the oven and fill each one with the chicken taco meat mixture, dividing evenly between each of the shells. Top with shredded cheese.
- Bake for 5 to 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the shells are turning golden brown.
Kori's Tips
- Don't miss all of our helpful hints, substitution ideas, cooking tips, and other delicious recipes that can be found in our post. Check it out!
- VARIATIONS: Use ground beef or turkey. Use any favorite cheese. Substitute soft taco shells and wrap the meat mixture with a little cheese, place in casserole dish, top with cheese and bake about 20 minutes or until tacos are heated through and cheese is melted.
- SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Top with your favorite taco fillings such as shredded lettuce, sliced green onion, fresh diced tomato, avocado slices, sour cream, salsa, and fresh cilantro.
Nutrition
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