Chicken Tacos

Here at Delish, we can’t get enough of tacos in every shape and form. When we’re looking for something simple to load up with all of our favorite toppings, we turn to these simple chicken tacos. While far from being authentic, these Americanized tacos load up corn tortillas with seasoned chicken and any variety of toppings to make your perfect taco. Pair with a classic margarita, and your Taco Tuesday (or Wednesday, or Thursday…) will be more than complete. 

The chicken.
While some recipes use chicken thighs, we used boneless skinless chicken breasts in this recipe for a couple of reasons: they’re easy to cook, and we usually always have some on hand. Simply cook your chicken breasts on a skillet for around 6 minutes before adding all of your delicious spices.

The best seasoning for chicken tacos.
Our homemade spice mix for these chicken tacos only requires 5 ingredients: chili powder, ground cumin, garlic powder, paprika, and cayenne for a bit of heat. Put the premade packet away—trust us, it’s worth it to make your spice mix from scratch. Tip: To help the spices coat the chicken, add a little bit of oil or water to your spice mix before coating your chicken. 

Want to marinate your tacos? Add the sliced chicken to a large resealable bag and pour in olive oil, fresh lime juice, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Refrigerate chicken for at least 30 minutes. When ready to cook, remove chicken from marinade and heat a little more oil in a skillet. Add the chicken and cook until cooked through! 

The tortillas.
We love corn tortillas for this recipe, but if you're more of a flour tortilla person, feel free to sub those in instead! As far as heating your tortillas, you’ve got a few options. If you’ve got a gas burner, turn it to medium low and place your tortillas directly on the burner. Let toast a few seconds (you can always peek using some tongs) flip, and toast some more. Not only will this give your tortillas some nice smoky flavor, it'll also make them more pliable. Never walk away from the stove when you're toasting tortillas on an open flame, no one wants to deal with a flaming tortilla!

If you have an electric burner, heat a cast iron skillet over high heat and add your tortillas in a single layer. Toast, flipping occasionally, until warm and pliable.

How should I serve my tacos?
We say the more toppings, the merrier. We like our chicken tacos topped with red onion (pickled onions would be great too), avocado, cilantro, and cheese. Pico de gallo, salsa, crema, or some crushed corn chips would also be delicious. Really anything goes with these tacos. 

Made these? Let us know how they went in the comment section below!