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Chipotle Spiced Chicken Tacos with a cheese-filled tortilla and topped with fresh salsa. These easy chicken tacos are made in less than 20 minutes and are so popular!
These Easy Chicken Tacos are my new obsession.
My goal for 2023 is to share more easy, flavorful, and crowd-pleasing dinners that we make in our home that are kid, teenager, and adult approved.
These Chipotle Chicken Tacos check all of those boxes. You can whip these up in less than 20 minutes from start to finish. No long list of crazy ingredients is needed.
Why do I love these Easy Chipotle Chicken Tacos?
- First of all, they are fast. They are easy. You just toss the chicken in some spices and throw it in the pan to saute in some oil. It takes like 5 minutes because the chicken is cut small.
- They are super flavorful! Since you are combining chipotle-seasoned chicken with Mexican cheese and fresh cilantro, onion, and jalapeno…you have layers upon layers of flavor. We love that.
- These chicken tacos are super versatile. Want to change up the flavors? Change up the salsa? Pair it with a creamy cilantro jalapeno dressing or a homemade sweet green salsa. Dip it in guac or sour cream. The variations are endless!
Chipotle Chicken Taco Ingredients:
- Chicken — I suggest using boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs and cutting into small diced pieces.
- Chipotle Chile Powder — this is what gives it that smoky flavor and subtle heat.
- Taco Seasoning or Chili Powder — taco seasoning is a mix of chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and other spices and adds a lot of flavor to the chicken.
- Oil — this is an important ingredient as it keeps the chicken moist and helps the spices to coat the chicken.
- Tortillas — use corn tortillas, flour tortillas, or 50/50 corn flour tortillas in this recipe.
- Cheese — use pepper jack, monterey jack cheese, oaxaca cheese, cheddar, or queso asadero.
- Cilantro — adds freshness to the chicken tacos.
- Red Onion — adds crunch, freshness, and flavor to the tacos.
- Jalapeno — adds some heat and freshness.
Optional Toppings: Fresh Homemade Guacamole, Fresh Mango Salsa, easy Restaurant Style Salsa, or Chuy’s Creamy Cilantro Jalapeno Dip.
How to make Easy Chicken Tacos:
- Start by cutting the chicken into small bite-size pieces. Place in a bowl and toss with spices. If you don’t use taco seasoning, I suggest using salt and pepper as well.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Once the oil is heated, add the chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Add more oil if needed.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and leave any remaining oil. Place tortillas in the skillet and sprinkle cheese into the center of each tortilla. If you want the tortillas to be slightly crispy, drizzle more oil in the pan. Top with chicken. Heat until cheese is melted and fold over.
- For the topping, stir together chopped cilantro, red onion, and jalapeno, or make homemade guacamole, salsa, or cilantro jalapeno dip.
- Serve with homemade salsa, guacamole, or sour cream.
If you like unique tacos, check out my original Mexican Street Corn Chicken Tacos with street corn. If you are looking for steak tacos, check out my Grilled Steak Tacos Recipe.
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Easy Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Chicken Breast (cut into small pieces)
- 2 teaspoons Chipotle Chile Powder
- 2 teaspoons Taco Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 3 to 4 Tablespoons Oil
- 8 small Corn or Flour Tortillas
- 2 cups Grated Cheese *
- Cilantro (chopped)
- 1/2 Jalapeno (diced)
- Red Onion (finely diced)
Instructions
- Start by cutting the chicken into small bite-size pieces. Place in a bowl and toss with chipotle chile powder, taco seasoning, and garlic powder.
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil. Once the oil is heated, add the chicken. Cook for about 5 minutes, or until fully cooked through. Add more oil if needed. For extra flavor, add more taco seasoning, if so desired. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper, if needed.
- Remove the cooked chicken from the skillet and leave any remaining oil. Place tortillas in the skillet and sprinkle cheese into the center of each tortilla. If you want the tortillas to be slightly crispy, drizzle more oil in the pan. Top with chicken. Heat until cheese is melted and fold over.
- For the topping, stir together chopped cilantro, red onion, and jalapeno, or make homemade guacamole, salsa, or cilantro jalapeno dip. Serve with homemade salsa, guacamole, or sour cream. Carefully open the tacos and sprinkle or drizzle the topping inside the taco.
Notes
- Chicken -- I suggest using boneless skinless chicken breast or chicken thighs and cutting into small diced pieces.
- Chipotle Chile Powder -- this is what gives it that smoky flavor and subtle heat.
- Taco Seasoning or Chili Powder -- taco seasoning is a mix of chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, and other spices and adds a lot of flavor to the chicken.
- Oil -- this is an important ingredient as it keeps the chicken moist and helps the spices to coat the chicken.
- Tortillas -- use corn tortillas, flour tortillas, or 50/50 corn flour tortillas in this recipe.
- Cheese -- use pepper jack, monterey jack cheese, oaxaca cheese, cheddar, or queso asadero.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hey Melissa, this is one of your most flavor packed easy recipes that any one can make. I always use a little more oil in my pan, and make sure I have enough of my homemade taco seasoning on my chicken plus a little extra and I make my own Chipotle Powder. These have to be some of the BEST TACOS ever.
My go to lunch! Love how fast these are to make 🙂
This is the EASIEST recipe! and it was so flavorful will def be making again
The yummiest lunch! I love how easy and tasty this recipe is!
Family approved!! We LOVED these tacos. I loved them because they were so easy to make, and my kids loved the taste. Definitely adding it to the rotation!
Such a yummy recipe!
Delicious and quick to make!
Made this recipe for my family tonight… delicious and easy! I made the Chuy’s sauce too and that was a hit as well; will definitely make this again. For the taco seasoning called for in the recipe, I used the “Kinder‘s“ brand and it was yummy. We loved the chicken cut into very small pieces and made sure to cook in batches rather than all the chicken at once resulting in crowding the pan. Seasoning was really good and so was the sauce. Thanks so much Melissa for such excellent recipes!
Thank you so much, Karen, for trying the taco recipe and for sharing your awesome tips! I appreciate it!