New Recipe

Crispy Chicken Tacos

Name: Crispy Chicken Tacos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast; 1 cup salsa verde; 2 tablespoons taco seasoning; ¾ cup sour cream; 10 6-inch yellow corn tortillas; 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil; ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese; ¾ cup shredded medium cheddar cheese; 1 small avocado; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon garlic powder; ½ teaspoon kosher salt; ¼ cup cilantro, packed; 1 jalapeno, seeded; ¼ cup fresh lime juice (from 2-3 limes); 1 cup shredded iceberg lettuce; Hot sauce, for serving (optional)

Flavorful shredded chicken tacos with crispy, lacy edges that develop when the tacos are baking in the oven. Serve these tacos with a spicy avocado sauce and plenty of shrettuce.

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crispy chicken tacos on a plate topped with hot sauce and shredded lettuce, served with lime wedges and avocado sauce

Photography by Gayle McLeod

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Homemade Crispy Chicken Tacos

We’re submitting our petition to make Taco Tuesday every night of the week, and we’re starting now with these Crispy Chicken Tacos. We’ll also be adding our Crispy Carnitas Tacos, Lamb Tacos, and Beef Birria Tacos to the rotation. To round out our dinner plans, you can find us whipping up a batch of scratch Corn Tortillas and Restaurant-Style Mexican Rice. Quick cooking shredded chicken stuffed in a corn tortilla and baked until crispy, and topped with an awesome avocado sauce make these homemade crispy tacos tastier than anything you can order at Taco Bell.

raw chicken breast, cheese, sour cream, salsa verde, spices, corn tortillas, olive oil, avocado and lettuce in prep bowls

Ingredients You’ll Need For A Full On Taco Night At Home

Corn Tortillas, either homemade from our Homemade Corn Tortilla recipe, or store-bought
Shredded Chicken spiced up with our favorite Taco Seasoning and Salsa Verde, and made super duper rich and creamy with sour cream stirred in
Avocado Crema made with tender avocado, sour cream, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice
Shrettuce, aka shredded lettuce, to add crunch and add freshness

chicken, salsa and taco seasoning in an Instant pot

chicken cooked in taco seasoning and salsa in an Instant pot

cooked shredded chicken in a large glass mixing bowl with sour cream

10 corn tortillas folded in half, filled with chicken, sour cream and cheese brushed with olive oil on a baking sheet

How to Make Crispy Chicken Tacos

Our full instructions for cooking up crispy chicken tacos can be found below in the Method section of our recipe, and here’s a short guideline of how to get dinner going in less than an hour.

Cook the chicken. We press fast forward on this recipe by cooking our chicken breasts in an Instant Pot on high for ten minutes with salsa and taco seasoning
Shred the chicken. We use the double fork method. Using the tines of the forks, pull the forks in opposite directions to pull the fibers of the chicken breasts into bite-sized shreds. Stir in the sour cream.
Fill the tacos. Load up the tortillas with shredded chicken and cheese, fold the tortillas over the filling, and pop into the oven for twenty minutes. You’ll be looking for crispy cooked tortillas and delightfully melted cheese.
Meanwhile, make the avocado crema. Blend up a creamy avocado-based sauce in a food processor or high-speed blender.
Top the tacos. Fill each taco with shredded lettuce, and top with avocado sauce and hot sauce (if you like it spicy!) to serve.

sour cream, avocado, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice in a food processor

avocado sauce made with sour cream, avocado, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime juice

Tips For Serving And Storing Crispy Chicken Tacos

Can you freeze crispy chicken tacos? You can easily freeze the shredded chicken once it cools to room temperature. Corn tortillas also freeze well when wrapped tightly in plastic wrap. We wouldn’t freeze the tacos once they are composed, but they will hold up in the fridge for a few days.
We think this recipe would also be pretty darn delicious with our Slow Cooker Crispy Carnitas used instead of shredded chicken.
Got leftover shredded chicken? Throw it into a pot of 5-Ingredient Chicken Tortilla Soup.
You can also serve these crispy tacos with our Perfect Guacamole instead of the avocado sauce.

10 warm crispy chicken tacos on a baking sheet next to a bowl of shredded lettuce for topping

4 crispy chicken tacos on a plate topped with hot sauce and shredded lettuce, served with lime wedges and avocado sauce

More Great Taco Recipes

Keep the good times going with our round-up of our Best Taco Recipes, or check out these highlights:

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