When I want to make an easy dinner for my family, I always turn to these baked chicken tacos. They’re a favorite with my kids, and I love that they involve minimal clean up and are super easy.
Made in less than 30 minutes, the spicy shredded chicken filling bakes up in the crispy taco shells so fast. I developed this recipe in 2015 and it’s been the ultimate recipe for serving a crowd on game day, Cinco de Mayo, or taco night ever since. Over 2400 home cooks have ranked this recipe a 5-star favorite. I’m so proud of this recipe!
What’s in This Baked Chicken Taco Recipe?
- Shredded Chicken: Use fully cooked, shredded chicken for the taco filling. I often use rotisserie chicken for a quick and easy option.
- Taco Seasoning: This blend of spices (chili powder, paprika, garlic and onion powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes) is perfect for any taco recipe and adds so much flavor.
- Taco Shells: Use hard taco shells since they bake up nice and crispy in the oven!
- Cheese: I used Mexican blend shredded cheese, but any blend of melting cheeses will work. Freshly grated cheese gets beautifully melty!
- Green Chiles: Use a can of chopped green chiles for the chicken mixture. It adds a little bit of heat, and it’s really delicious. Just be sure to fully drain them.
- Refried Beans: The creamy texture of refried beans adds a nice layer of texture and flavor beneath the chicken. Use about half a can.
- Tomatoes: A can of diced tomatoes adds more texture to the mix. Again, be sure to fully drain these so you don’t end up with too much liquid in the chicken taco filling.
- Onion: Adds more texture and some aromatics. White, sweet, or red onions all work.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ pound shredded cooked chicken We used Rotisserie chicken
- 1 ounce taco seasoning (click for recipe!)
- ½ cup diced onion
- 14.5 ounces diced tomatoes fully drained (1 can)
- 4.5 ounces diced green chiles fully drained (1 can)
- 10 hard taco shells We used Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff
- 8 ounces refried beans (½ can)
- 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
Optional Toppings
- Sliced jalapeños
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Shredded lettuce
- Chopped fresh cilantro
Instructions
-
Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
-
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet.1 tablespoon olive oil
-
Add onion to skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent and fragrant.½ cup diced onion
-
Stir in the chicken, taco seasoning, tomatoes (fully drained), and green chiles (fully drained). Stir to combine fully. Reduce to simmer and allow to cook for 5-8 minutes.½ pound shredded cooked chicken,1 ounce taco seasoning,14.5 ounces diced tomatoes,4.5 ounces diced green chiles
-
Place the taco shells in the baking dish, standing up. We were able to fit 10 taco shells in the dish by adding 2 on each side.10 hard taco shells
-
Bake the taco shells for 5 minutes by themselves to allow them to crisp up. Remove from the oven.
-
Spoon 1 tablespoon of beans into the bottom of each taco shell. Top with the chicken mixture, almost to the top of each shell.8 ounces refried beans
-
Sprinkle each shell generously with shredded cheese, the more the better!2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
-
Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted and the edges of the shells are browned.
-
Remove from the oven and top with your favorite items such as jalapenos, sour cream, shredded lettuce, cilantro, and salsa.Sliced jalapeños,Sour cream,Salsa,Chopped fresh cilantro,Shredded lettuce
