Seasoned Chicken Tacos are ready in 20 minutes & perfect for busy weeknights! Top them any way you like and watch everyone clean their plates!
These chicken tacos have become a staple at our house. Seasoned chicken breasts are the start of these tasty tacos. Then it’s all about grabbing your favorite toppings and piling them on. We like to set up dinner as a taco bar so everyone can assemble their own tacos. Picky eaters love choosing for themselves. I love that there are never leftovers and that this whole meal comes together in about 20 minutes. It’s a total lifesaver when I work late and everyone is staring at me like they haven’t eaten in a week. As much as I love crock pot recipes, I end up stuck for dinner if I don’t plan ahead. 20-minute dinner for the win people!
I first whipped up these tacos at my sister-in-law’s house in Minnesota. It was a “grab what’s in the pantry and make it work” kind of night. The resulting meal was better than I had planned. This seasoning mix became my go-to for chicken tacos, burritos, and nachos. My family loves these tacos and the seasoning even worked out great on my SIL’s “fake” chicken. This chicken taco seasoning has all kinds of possibilities.
Chicken Taco Seasoning Ingredients
SPICES: From the spice cabinet, grab the chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, ground cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper.
TACOS: You’ll need some chicken – either boneless skinless breasts or boneless skinless thighs – and small flour tortillas.
TOPPINGS: This is really up to you based on what you like on your taco. My family usually goes with lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, avocado, and sour cream with some salsa on the side.
How to Make Chicken Tacos
- In a small bowl, stir together chili powder, paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne.
- Preheat the grill (or heat a large skillet) to medium-high heat. Season chicken liberally on both sides.
- Cook chicken until no longer pink, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest.
- Cook tortillas until just beginning to brown on each side. Set aside.
- Chop or shred the chicken and prep toppings. Assemble tacos – add the chicken to a cooked tortilla and add any desired toppings. Serve immediately.
Tips & Tricks
- I like to grill my chicken for this chicken taco recipe. However, you could cook this recipe on the stovetop or bake it if needed. But the grill and stovetop options keep this dinner under 30 minutes. If you choose to bake the chicken, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 165 degrees F and the juice run clear.
Yummy Chicken Recipes
- Chicken Parmesan Roll Ups
- Spinach & Chicken Alfredo Ravioli Bake
- Huli Huli Chicken
- Hot Wing Dip
- Grilled Cajun Chicken Wings
More Easy Weeknight Dinners
- Pizza Muffins Recipe
- Crock Pot Chicken Alfredo
- Easy Beef Burrito Skillet
- Easy Chicken Cordon Bleu
- Shrimp Alfredo
Easy Seasoned Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
Seasoned Chicken:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- ½ tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoons cayenne pepper
- 8 taco-sized corn tortillas (or flour)
Taco Toppings:
- Shredded lettuce
- Diced tomato
- Diced avocado
- Shredded Colby-Jack cheese
Instructions
- In a small bow, stir together the chili powder, paprika, salt, black pepper cumin, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper until combined.
- For grilling: Preheat grill. Brush chicken breasts with oil and then season liberally on both sides.For stove top: place a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan and season chicken liberally on both sides.
- Place chicken on hot grill/skillet. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until no longer pink in the center, flipping once.
- Remove from heat and transfer to a cutting board to rest.
- Cook tortillas on grill or in cleaned skillet until beginning to brown, but still flexible. (Do this for corn or flour tortillas.)
- Chop or shred chicken. Mix together to help distribute seasoning to inside parts of chicken.
- Add a few tablespoons of chicken along with some cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and avocado to a taco shell. Repeat with remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.
Notes
- I usually get enough chicken to make 8 tacos from 2 chicken breasts. (4 servings = 2 tacos per serving) The yield will vary if you’re using thin cut breasts, and based on how big your tortillas are and how much you load them up.
- Save prep time by chopping your taco toppings while the chicken is cooking.
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods and portion sizes per household.
If you’re a taco addict like me, you do not want to miss these tasty taco recipes! There’s a flavor for everyone. The hard part is deciding which one to make first! Grab the full printable recipe for any of these tacos by clicking the recipe name below.
2pots2cook says
This is great ! 20 minutes only for this beauty while the heat wave is on makes it our favourite ! Thank you so much !
Karen says
Hi Julie- My family loved these tacos. As I was looking through the rest of your blog I saved a lot of recipes to make in the future. I was smiling the whole time reading your :About” page. I can’t wait for your next post. Thank you for sharing.
Julie Espy says
You just made my day Karen! I’m so happy you loved these tacos. They’re pretty popular with my SIL’s family and a few of my friends too. 🙂