Chicken Tacos
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Say hello to your new favorite tacos! These family-approved chicken tacos, made with bold spices and tender ground chicken, are a lighter spin on my old-school beef taco recipe — and they’re just as good, if not better.
When my kids were younger, I came up with a few weeknight traditions to make dinnertime feel special (kudos to past me—I was way more ambitious back then!). Taco Tuesday was always a favorite. Every Tuesday, the kids would come home from school all “Yay, it’s taco night!” We made everything from shrimp tacos to Baja fish tacos, but this chicken taco recipe was always a top pick. Even now, as young adults, they still request it! A lighter take on my traditional hard-shell beef taco recipe, these pack just as much flavor and always hit the spot.
Pair this chicken taco recipe with Mexican rice—and round it out with salsa and/or guacamole for a complete Tex-Mex meal.
“I love a delicious ground beef taco but I would choose this over ground beef any day!”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken Tacos
- Olive oil – Used to cook the veggies and adds a little richness to the filling.
- Onions, bell peppers & garlic – These build the flavor base—sweet, savory, and with just a little bite.
- Ground chicken – The star of the filling. I recommend using ground chicken that includes both breast and thigh meat so it stays juicy and flavorful (super lean blends can dry out fast).
- Spices (paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper) – This mix brings warmth, smokiness, and a gentle kick—feel free to adjust the cayenne to suit your heat level.
- Tomato sauce – Helps bring everything together with a little tang and depth.
- Fresh cilantro – Brightens things up and adds color (feel free to skip it if you’re not a fan).
- Hard taco shells – Made from corn tortillas and baked until crisp—perfect for holding the flavorful filling.
- Toppings (shredded lettuce or cabbage, Mexican cheese blend, sour cream, avocado, a squeeze of lime juice, etc.) – Optional, but they add great texture and flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Chop the vegetables. You can do this by hand, but a food processor makes it easier. I like to chop them really fine so my kids don’t notice—that way they eat their veggies without the usual fuss.
Pro Tip: If using a food processor, pulse in short bursts so the veggies don’t turn to mush—you want tiny pieces, not a puree.
Step 2: Cook the veggies. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat, then add the chopped vegetables and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until very soft.
Step 3: Add the chicken and spices. Stir in the ground chicken and spices, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Adding the spices now helps bring out their full flavor.
Step 4: Brown the chicken. Raise the heat to high and keep breaking the meat into small clumps. Let it cook until partially done, about 5 minutes.
Step 5: Simmer with tomato sauce. Pour in the tomato sauce, lower the heat, and simmer gently for 10 to 15 minutes. Stir occasionally and keep breaking up the chicken as it cooks. Once it’s done, stir in some fresh cilantro and adjust the seasoning if needed.
Step 6: Heat the shells and serve. Warm the taco shells in the oven. Fill them with the chicken mixture and top with lettuce and cheese—or skip the shells and serve it with chips for scooping. If you have any remaining chicken, repurpose leftovers into bowls, quesadillas, or salads.
More Tex-Mex Recipes You May Like
Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
- 2 bell peppers, any color, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 2 pounds ground chicken (not extra-lean all breast meat)
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder
- 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1¾ teaspoons salt
- 1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (see note)
- 12 hard taco shells
- 2 cups shredded lettuce or red cabbage (optional), for topping
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend (optional), for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position
- Heat the olive oil in large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and just starting to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Add the chicken, paprika, ancho chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne (if using), and salt. Increase the heat to high; use a wooden spoon to stir and break the chicken into small clumps. Cook until the chicken is partially cooked, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato sauce, then reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally and breaking chicken into smaller clumps, until chicken is cooked through, 12 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- Meanwhile, remove the taco shells from the package and lay sideways on baking sheet. Pull the stack apart, overlapping the edges slightly. Bake for 6 to 7 minutes, or until crisp. Spoon the chicken into the shells and serve with toppings.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I wanted a healthier option for hard tacos besides beef. This was great! My husband couldn’t even tell there were veggies in the tacos or that it was ground chicken. I will say, I omitted the tomato sauce since I felt it was tasty with just the spices and didn’t want to add more liquid to the chicken for fear of sogging the shell. Actually, it was kind a sweet tasting and wonder if that was from veggies. Next time I would add a splash of lime to counter the sweet taste since salt level was fine. Definitely, a keeper and a healthy and easy option during the week. We are also turning this into nacho leftovers. Thank you for an excellent recipe!
Awesome recipe! I make this at a minimum once or twice a month for my girls (6 & 4) who can’t wait for Taco Tuesdays! I can’t seem to find ancho chilli powder in Canadian grocery stores so I usually replace with a Mango Chilpotle spice that I have on hand. I usually halve the recipe for our family. Thanks again and we love your cookbook!
My family loved these chicken tacos, and I love the fact that by mincing the onion and peppers in the food processor, the kids actually get to enjoy the full flavor of the dish without automatically trying to pick out the “weird” vegetables! LOL I reduced the chili powder to a scant teaspoon and omitted the cayenne because I don’t think my young ones could handle that much spice, but even so, these tacos have terrific flavor. To accompany them I also make a version of Jenn’s green sauce from the Peruvian Chicken recipe, omitting jalapeño and adding an avocado, which is a huge hit with every single person who tries it. Thank you for another stellar and family-friendly recipe!
Two of our sons started college a couple weeks ago and are coming home for dinner next week. I texted them some options for a dinner they would love me to make. They texted back “Once Upon a Chef chicken tacos!” This recipe is a huge hit! But, all of your recipes are Jen. Thanks!
Love the cookbook too.
Aww, this makes me so happy, Jenny. Good luck to your boys in college!
This is a good recipe, but I did make some changes…
I don’t really like hard taco shells, so I used soft tortillas instead.
Also, I used black beans instead of beef. I blended the beans in a food processor because I just prefer that texture.
I really liked it. The cabbage also gave a great texture.
These are amazing tacos. I’m never making boring ol’ beef tacos again! My toddler said “no!” to tacos but then proceeded to eat more and more. Haha! Your recipes are always stellar and these are *****!
Personally I found this recipe just ok. I don’t know what it’s missing or how to improve… but something is off
Can this be made using ground beef instead of the chicken?
Sure!
I used ground turkey and it turned out very well! Sadly, I only had extra-lean turkey at hand, so I know I missed out on this recipe’s full flavor profile…but the spice blend was so nice that the meat turned out tasty nonetheless. I served it as a taco salad, topped with avocado, black beans, and “Mexican” cheese blend. iDeliciosa! iGracias!
We do Taco Tuesdays every week and this morning I had the idea of ground chicken with “hidden” veggies and quickly googled something similar to my idea and this site popped up! Feeding 4 picky eaters is a task and glad to see that my wavelength of thinking matches up with an actual recipe out there! Giving 5 stars based on creativity, and I’m sure it will not disappoint. Looking forward to making these tonight!
My family and I love this recipe as is but we’re trying to get an all vegetarian taco recipe. Would it be alright to use black beans instead of ground chicken?
If yes, how many cans of black beans (or cups if it’s best to use soaked black beans) to make this work?
Thanks for all the amazing recipes Jen!!
Can’t wait for the cookbook!!
Hi Beatrice, I think these would work with beans (although they may fall out of the taco shells a bit more readily than the ground chicken, so be sure to lean over your plate when eating them.) 🙂 I’d suggest two cans of beans (and it may be fun to mix them up; using one can of black beans and one can of pinto beans). I don’t think it’s necessary to use soaked/cooked beans. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
They were out of this world!! Definitely going to be doing it more often! Thanks for the suggestions 😀
So glad – thanks for the follow-up!