The Best Chicken Tacos Ever
Introducing the best chicken tacos ever. An easy chicken taco recipe made with chicken thighs, plus a simple onion & cilantro topping. This is our all-time favorite chicken taco recipe. They taste like they just came off a food truck!
Servings: 4
Equipment
- shallow baking dish I love using these because they double as little dishes and small serving dishes!
Ingredients
For the chicken:
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the topping:
- 1/3 cup finely chopped red or sweet onion
- 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1 finely chopped jalapeño
- Juice of 1 lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lime cut into 8 pieces
- 16 small corn tortillas for serving
Instructions
- In a large zipper-topped plastic baggie or in shallow dish, add the chicken, all of the spices, lime juice, and oil. Close the bag and use your hands to mix everything together. If you are using a shallow dish, use tongs to work the spices evenly into the chicken. You can let this rest for up to a half-hour or work with it right away. I like to let it rest a minute to increase the flavor.
- Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add a tablespoon of oil to the pan and then add the chicken. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest for 10 minutes. If you have an extra-large chicken thigh, you'll need to cook them longer, so turn down the heat to medium and cook them until no longer pink (could take up to 25 minutes or 12 minutes per side).
- While the chicken cooks, stir together the chicken taco topping by placing the chopped onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and the juice of one lime in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper, and stir to combine.
- While the chicken rests, wipe your skillet clean with a warm rag or paper towels, and place the skillet back on the heat over medium-high to high heat. Place two tortillas (still stacked together) on the skillet and cook until the underside starts to char. Flip over and cook the other side (so the middle of each tortilla won't be cooked against the skillet but it will get warm all the way though). Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Chop the rested chicken into small pieces.
- To serve, place 1/8 of the chopped chicken in each set of tortillas (still two stacked together) and top with 1/8 of your onion mixture. Serve each taco with a wedge of lime to squeeze over the taco just before serving.
Video
Notes
- Two tortillas aren't a must, but they help keep everything in. When you use just one tortilla, it seems to break and fall apart.
- If you don't want the topping too spicy, you can remove the seeds from the jalapeño or leave it out altogether.
- The lime for serving isn't optional; it makes the dish!
- You can also bake or grill the chicken for this recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 4 of 16 small tacos | Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 591mg | Potassium: 549mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 332IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 111mg | Iron: 3mg
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