Simple and quick chicken tacos made with chicken thighs, a simple onion and cilantro topping, and served on a corn tortilla. These are our all-time favorite taco recipe that taste like they just came off a food truck.
Taco Tuesday holds a strong place in my heart and in the hearts of my kids, but we have been in a major taco slump lately. The only thing I’ve been making is standard ground beef tacos and while those are fine, they just aren’t all that exciting after eating for them the the millionth time.
I decided to get a little creative in the taco department and go for some amazingly flavorful but simple food truck-style chicken taco recipes. You guys, they turned out amazing! It only took about 12 minutes to get the chicken cooked, a few more minutes to get the tortillas hot, and then we just threw them together.
These tacos are super simple in the fact that they are only made with some chicken meat (that is super delicious and full of flavor) and a simple onion/cilantro topping on corn tortillas. Give the whole thing a squeeze of lime before you eat them, and that’s a wrap! I feel like keeping them simple is what makes them taste like they are straight off of a food truck (you might also call them a street taco), because you’ll just pick them up and eat two. They aren’t fussy, they don’t have a lot of layers, and they are so full of flavor. You could add a bit of avocado or a sprinkle of cotija cheese, but those aren’t really needed. Keep it simple, friends!
I’ve posted a few recipes using boneless skinless chicken thighs here on Bless this Mess, but I wanted to tell you a bit more about them and why I think that you should use them for this chicken tacos recipe.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs are the moist and flavor-packed version of their chicken breast counterparts. They don’t dry out and I LOVE using them.
- They tend to be a lot less expensive than chicken breasts, which is always a win.
- Boneless skinless chicken thighs do have a bit more fat on them, but you can trim any visible fat before using and they’ll still be moist when cooked.
- This homemade orange chicken recipe is one of my other favorite uses for the chicken thigh.
- Here’s a hilarious article from Epicurious about their love of all things chicken thigh, if you need further convincing.
- Instant Pot Lovers: Here’s my favorite Instant Pot Chipotle Chicken Taco Meat recipe for you. SO good.
Have I convinced you yet to try them? Seriously, just get a pound (for a couple of bucks) to make this recipe, and that will be enough to get you on team chicken thigh. So easy to use and full of flavor!
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The Best Chicken Tacos Ever
Simple and quick chicken tacos made with chicken thighs, a simple onion and cilantro topping, and served on a corn tortilla. These are our all-time favorite taco recipe that taste like they just came off a food truck.
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: serves 4
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
For the topping
- 1/3 cup finely chopped red or sweet onion
- 1/3 cup finely chopped cilantro
- 1 finely chopped jalapeño
- Juice of one lime
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lime, cut into 8 pieces
16 small corn tortillas for serving
Instructions
- In a large zipper-topped plastic baggie or in shallow dish, add the chicken, all of the spices, lime juice, and oil. Close the bag and use your hands to mix everything together. If you are using a shallow dish, use tongs to work the spices evenly into the chicken. You can let this rest for up to a half hour or work with it right away. I like to let it rest a minute to increase the flavor.
- Heat a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When the skillet is hot, add the chicken. Cook for 12-14 minutes, turning once, until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- While the chicken cooks, stir together the chicken taco topping by placing the chopped onion, cilantro, jalapeño, and the juice of one lime in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- While the chicken rests, wipe your skillet clean with a warm rag or paper towels and place the skillet back on the heat over medium-high to high heat. Place two tortillas (still stacked together) on the skillet and cook until the underside starts to char. Flip over and cook the other side (so the middle of each tortilla won’t be cooked against the skillet but it will get warm all the way though). Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Chop the rested chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- To serve, place 1/8 of the chopped chicken in each set of tortillas (still two stacked together) and top with 1/8 of your onion mixture. Serve each taco with a wedge of lime to squeeze over the taco just before serving.
Notes
- The two tortillas aren’t a must, but it helps to keep everything in. When you just use one tortilla they seem to break and fall apart.
- If you don’t want the topping too spicy, you can remove the seeds from the jalapeño or omit it all together.
- The lime for serving isn’t optional, it really makes the dish!
Because these chicken tacos are so simple and easy to make, feel free to add a side of chips and salsa and guacamole plus some fun drinks (I recommend some fresh homemade lemonade for this recipe!). You’re going to feel like you are eating out while sitting in your own kitchen.
I can’t wait for you to make these tacos, try boneless skinless chicken thighs (if you aren’t already using them), and to thank me after you make this awesome meal. Enjoy, from my kitchen to yours!
This looks great. Wrapping food in a tortilla is a great way to get kids trying new flavors! I also saw you have some new features on your home page. Looking good!
Tortillas are magic with kids aren’t they. And yes, I just got a new design and site built and I’m really happy with it! You’ll have to check it out on a desk top, it looks so good 🙂
I would take chicken thighs over breasts even if they cost twice as much. Juicier, more flavour – just better. Love this!
I absolutely love chicken tacos! I could eat these for dinner every day! YUM!
★★★★★
Do I cut the chicken before or after cooking?!
Cook them whole and cut them after they rest a bit!
Terrible instructions. Great dish! I cut after cooking.
I’m all about improving… what’s so terrible about the instructions?
These tacos are awesome!
Not quite as good as our favorite taco truck, but they definitely held their own!
Only thing for me was that, I trippled the recipe (for 3 pounds of chicken) ; for me there was a bit much like juice incorporated… Although I did let the chicken marinate for the full 30 minutes, so maybe that’s why?
Anyways! Great recipe none the less..
ALSO if you’re a bit on the broke side , as am I .. try checking out the Hispanic is in your grocery store for spices! You can usually find bagged spices for as little as a dollar a pack, that’s what I always do (:
Definitely a recipe worth tr
★★★★★
This was good.. very lime tasting
I did not love these tacos. I think it was cumin. Very middle eastern taste and was not the vibe I was going for 🙁
★★
Can I use ground chicken for this? Thanks
★★★★★
Yep, that would work just fine.
Seriously fabulous… Didn’t change a thing and loved every last bite. Thank you for adding a great recipe into our Taco Tuesday rotation!
★★★★★
Wayyyyyy too much lime in this recipe. Ruined family taco
Night. Lime, lime,lime. Over powers the whole thing. I would suggest no lime in the marinade or in the onion and cilantro mix. If you want lime just use a quartered lime at the end to flavor as needed. Gonna have to think of a way to season the rest of the chicken to cut the lime taste or else ill just toss it. Ill try another recipe next time.
★
This was freaking bomb! We added some Diced Roma tomato to the topping and left out the jalapeño. We also used warmed pita bread as it’s all we had. But I’m sure tortillas are just as good maybe better? I don’t know. The topping was fresh and it paired nicely with the warm chicken and the spices along with it. Delicious!!!
★★★★★
Thanks for the recipe. I don’t have garlic and onion powder, can i use fresh ingredients? Quantity?
This was easy and delicious!
★★★★★
Love this recipe! Hubs is always going to local curbside taco stand for these authentic but simple taco, without all the other stuff he doesn’t want on his taco, thanks again.. Hubs says thanks too!!!
So glad you liked them! That’s the perk of using really flavorful meat, you don’t have to cover it with much else for it to taste great!
These are the best. My 7-year-old great niece ate 6 in one sitting. Now when ever she visits. This is what she asks for. Thanks to this recipe, my taco prowess has spread to the rest of the family
Can we omit the paprika? I don’t have any
Yes, should be fine!
My family loved this! Thank you
★★★★★
Oh my goodness! I loved it and so did my family. So delicious!!!
★★★★★
Horray for a successful dinner! And thank you so much for coming back to leave a great review, I appreciate that.