GROUND CHICKEN BAKED TACOS
We're a house divided when it comes to Mexican food dishes. I seriously can't get enough of it, my husband eats it but he'd rather be having a steak & potatoes, my 6 year old LOVES rice only, the other two refuse to go anywhere near rice & beans but they will eat the meat parts, and the baby shoves anything he can into his mouth 🙂
Because of this I am always on the look out for new Mexican food dinner recipes that don't have rice or beans in it.
That's why these baked ground chicken tacos are a favorite of ours. Just ground chicken, chicken broth, and some spices. Stuff that into some crispy corn taco shells and top with cheese.
The trick that makes these tacos so amazingly yummy is that you bake them in the oven!
The cheese gets melty and the taco shells get nice and crispy. You can have them all ready at the same time so people can just grab their own taco and load it up with what they want.
One of my favorite ways to make recipes "healthier" is to use ground chicken or ground turkey. It's lower in fat and I think it tastes much better than ground beef. Especially when you bake it with cheese and top it with all the toppings.
I used my homemade DIY taco seasoning + some chicken broth to make this ground chicken super flavorful and not spicy! It has flavor but it's not spicy for the little kids.
It can be a bit tricky to get the shells to stay up in the baking dish but just maneuver the shells, lean them up against each other so that they stay upright. You will be able to fit all 12 shells in the baking dish.
By the time the oven is heated up the ground chicken taco meat will be ready to go. Stuff that meat filling into each corn taco shell and then sprinkle cheese into each taco. Bake up the tacos until they're nice and crispy.
While the tacos are cooking, load up bowls with all your favorite taco toppings. We love shredded lettuce (I buy the pre-shredded bagged lettuce), salsa or pico de gallo, avocado, guacamole, sour cream, chopped cilantro. The options are endless!
What to serve with chicken tacos
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Instant Pot Mexican Rice
- The Best Mexican Rice
- Southwestern Corn
- Fiesta Avocado Salad
Baked Ground Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon coriander
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 12 corn taco shells
- 1-2 cups shredded cheese
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine all the spices into a small bowl so they are ready to go when needed (this makes it much easier!). If wanted, you can substitute all the spices/seasonings with a packet of chicken taco seasoning or taco seasoning.
- Cook olive oil and ground chicken in a skillet pan over medium-high heat and cook until no longer pink. Crumble and break up the chicken as it cooks. Drain if needed (ground chicken does produce some liquid. Like water).
- Add the seasonings and chicken broth. Stir together and let it simmer for 2-3 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
- Arrange the 12 corn tortillas in a 9x13 baking dish. Divide the ground chicken mixture evenly between the 12 tortillas. Add shredded cheese to each taco. Cook for 6-8 minutes or until desired crispiness.
- Sprinkle with chopped cilantro (if wanted) and top with all your favorite taco toppings.
Notes
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This recipe is a cinch to make. I mixed the seasonings together and added it to the cooked meat. It was far less salty than store bought taco seasoning 🙂 Preparing the shells in advance saved so much time at the dinner table. Rather than passing the meat and cheese around the table, the shells were prepared so that everyone could personalize it with toppings. The recipe came together quickly and did not disappoint. We will definitely make it again!
We enjoyed these. The spice mix was very good. I sautéed some red onions and diced jalapeños with a small clove of pressed garlic and a mix of chopped cilantro and parsley. When it was lightly browned I added it to the chicken.
The only fail for me was that my shells browned on the top but were chewy on the bottom. I like the idea though.
This is the first time I have ever left a recipe review. This was so good and so easy to make! Followed recipe exactly except I didn’t have coriander, so it was omitted, and I only had 6 corn taco shells, so I also used 6 crispy flour shells. My family loved it! My husband kept saying how great it was to have the meat & cheese already baked in the shell, as it helped keep everything from falling out as you’re eating it. Topped it with sour cream and shredded lettuce and it was perfect! Thank you for such a yummy, easy to follow recipe!
Well thank YOU for leaving a comment and review. I really do appreciate it so much. And yes I agree, I love tacos baked because it's all right there in the shell ready to go.
What type of cheese do you use?
I mostly use Colby Jack cheese for everything. It's our favorite but any cheese will work. Cheddar, Pepper Jack for some spice, Monterey Jack, are all good cheeses to use. Or of course the Colby Jack cheese. Hope that helps 🙂
Made this tonight with ground turkey. Love the mix of spices! Definitely recommend taking the extra step to make it vs. using the store-bought mix. Delish!
I love mixing my own spices! So glad you liked it!