Crispy Chicken Tacos

5 from 31 votes
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The best salsa verde crispy chicken tacos. Fully loaded in flavor and texture. Up your taco night game with this fun switch up.

Crispy Chicken tacos on a white plate with avocado.
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Why Make These Crispy Chicken Tacos

The flavor in these tacos will blow you away. Pick any one of your favorite green/verde salsas and enjoy the flavor explosion in every bite. You can also use any cheese of choice, cheddar, mexican blend or even the spanish cheese manchego will work beautifully with the flavors of these crispy chicken tacos.

These tacos are great to make ahead for meal prep. Just simple wait until you are ready to enjoy before building your tacos for the oven crisp. The corn and beans give it a lovely texture. Behold my NEW favorite taco, until next week of course when I invent another new favorite. Try my Chicken Crunch Wrap Supreme for another yummy meal.

Ingredients Needed

Crispy Chicken Taco ingredients  on a counter.

Shredded Chicken. Homemade or Rotisserie will work great.

Salsa Verde. This is the big flavor component here so choose one that you love. This is our favorite

Olive Oil.

Onions. White onions are best.

Garlic. Fresh is best.

Seasoning. Salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, cayenne pepper.

Corn. Frozen or fresh.

Black Beans. I did canned.

Cream Cheese. Vegan cream cheese will also work.

Corn Tortillas. Small taco sized.

Shredded Cheese. Cheddar, mexican blend or manchego are my favorite style of cheese for this.

Cilantro. For garnish.

Avocado. For garnish or dipping (optional).

Steps To Make This Recipe

Steps to make crispy chicken tacos in a cast iron pan.

Step One. Preheat oven to 400º Heat the oil in a skillet and add chopped onions. Sauté the onions for about 3 minutes, add in the garlic, seasoning, thawed corn, black beans and chicken. Sauté for another 4 minutes and then add in the salsa verde.

Step Two. Bring the chicken mixture to temperature, a low simmer. add in the cream cheese and stir it in well. Once the cream cheese is nice and melted into the mixture, turn off the heat.

Steps to make crispy chicken tacos on a cooking sheet.

Step Three. Wrap the corn tortillas (6-8 at a time) in a damp paper towel on a plate and microwave them for 45 seconds. While they are hot, spray with a little oil one at a time, place about 2-3 tbsp of shredded cheese on one half of the tortilla, then place 3-4 tbsp of the chicken mixture on top of the cheese. Fold the tortilla in half and pop into the oven for about 10 minutes or until the exterior of the tortillas browns and gets crispy, cheeses melt.

Step Five. Use a spatula to lift tacos to a plate, add garnish and toppings of choice and enjoy immediately or place in the microwave on a plate to keep warm while you cook the next batch. Enjoy!

Crispy Chicken Tacos up close on a white plate.

Recipe FAQ’s

Can thee be made dairy free?

Yes, just use a plant based cheese and plant based cream cheese.

Will flour tortillas work for this recipe?

Yes, small flour tortillas will work great in place of corn tortillas. The corn tortillas do crisp up a bit better.

Topping and side suggestions?

We like to top with Guacamole, cilantro, sour cream. As far as sides go for these tacos, mexican rice or refried beans make a great side, or you can make a small side salad to enjoy with the tacos.

Other Dinner Recipes To Try

If you loved this recipe let me know! Also, follow me on Instagram & Pinterest for even more fun recipes to make you feel good from the inside out. Thanks for being here.

Crispy Chicken Tacos
5 from 31 votes

Crispy Chicken Tacos

The best salsa verde crispy chicken tacos. Fully loaded in flavor and texture. Up your taco night game with this fun switch up. 
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 27 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients 

  • cups shredded chicken , *rotisserie or homemade
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small white onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1 cup corn
  • 1 15 oz canned black beans, drained
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp cracked pepper
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
  • 15-24 oz salsa verde, *use as needed start with 1-2 cups
  • cup cream cheese
  • ¾ cup shredded cheese
  • 3 tbsp cilantro
  • 8-16 corn tortillas

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 400º Heat the oil in a skillet and add chopped onions. Sauté the onions for about 3 minutes, add in the garlic, seasoning, thawed corn, black beans and chicken. Sauté for another 4 minutes and then add in the salsa verde. 
  • Bring the chicken mixture to temperature, a low simmer. add in the cream cheese and stir it in well. Once the cream cheese is nice and melted into the mixture, turn off the heat. 
  • Wrap the corn tortillas (6-8 at a time) in a damp paper towel on a plate and microwave them for 45 seconds. While they are hot, spray with a little oil one at a time, place about 2-3 tbsp of shredded cheese on one half of the tortilla, then place 3-4 tbsp of the chicken mixture on top of the cheese. Fold the tortilla in half and pop into the oven for about 10 minutes or until the exterior of the tortillas browns and gets crispy, cheeses melt. 
  • Use a spatula to lift tacos to a plate, add garnish and toppings of choice and enjoy immediately or place in the microwave on a plate to keep warm while you cook the next batch. Enjoy! 

Notes

*use any shredded cheese of choice. 
*use plant based cheese and cream cheese to make these dairy free. 

Nutrition

Calories: 561kcal | Carbohydrates: 48g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 107mg | Sodium: 1782mg | Potassium: 936mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 15g | Vitamin A: 1392IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 379mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Author: Bailey
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 27 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Servings: 4
Calories: 561
Keyword: Mexican, Tacos
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39 Comments

  1. These look so good and I want to make them – but have never tried salsa verde. What brand(s) do you recommend? ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Any brand is usually delicious, but I do love Safeway Select brand salsa verde the most! Newmans Own also makes a tasty one found at Walmart and most retailers :). Happy Eating!

  2. 5 stars
    These were amazing! Definitely going into the rotation.

    1. So happy to hear this! We love them too ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. 5 stars
    Even my three boys loved these! I had to use shredded chuck roast that I had slow-cooked the day before and I accidentally bought green enchilada sauce but they were perfect! (I canโ€™t believe I did that!)

  4. Hi, a question — when you say to spray the corn tortillas with a little oil when they are warm, do you mean outside or the inside or both? thanks in advance! The recipe looks great and I’m making it tonight!

    1. Hi Barb! Great question, I would spray both sides, if they are older tortillas they can tend to crack easily so warming them and then oil helps a lot. Enjoy!

  5. 5 stars
    I made these for my family and they were so easy and so good! Will be making these again.

  6. 5 stars
    Seriously a new family favorite. We love them SO much! We love making a huge batch and reheating the next day. They disappear fast! We have been crisping these on the Blackstone. Restaurant quality for sure!

    1. Hi Lori!
      Thanks so much for the great feedback, thrilled to hear you enjoy them as much as we do! I will try it on the Blackstone this is a great idea.

  7. 5 stars
    Followed recipe to the letter but found that 24 ounces of salsa verde was way too much and subsequently made the taco filling very loose. Flavor was still delicious but next time I will add much less salsa.

    1. Hi Jeff, we had the same issue! That amount of salsa verde was way too much. We thought it must have been a typo, as 3oz would have been enough but the recipe called for 24oz ?!?

      1. Hi Lauren! We have made this recipe several times with great success and others have as well following the amount of salsa, I think it depends on if you are using a chunky version or a well blended, more watery version. I updated the recipe a bit to reflect different amounts just in case others have an issue ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. I saw your post on Instagram yesterday. I went to the store and made these today. DELICIOUS! Ready for leftovers! Thank you!

  9. Is there a way to do this if you donโ€™t have a microwave?

  10. 5 stars
    My boyfriend and I absolutely love this recipe! I make it every time we go on vacation as an extra treat and it makes our trip and night! Thank you for another wonderful recipe! Yum!

    1. Hi Jessica,
      I am so happy to hear, this makes me happy! Thanks for the feedback.