Crispy Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Taco Meat
Updated Aug 22, 2024
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This smoky and Crispy Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Taco Meat creates tender bites of chicken thigh with the use of lime, cilantro, cumin, chili powder, and more savory spices that are perfect to wrap up in tortillas.
Nothing beats taco Tuesday, am I right? (Okay, perhaps any day with tacos is special and glorious in its own right, too.) This crispy chicken taco meat will be certain to up your festive meals no matter what day of the week it is — that’s for sure. It’s a go-to for us when life gets just a little bit crazy (which is a lot of the time) and I need a fast throw-it-in-the-oven meal (like oven pork chops or oven baked salmon, too).
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Easy Prep: The marinade and chicken all get put into a ziptop bag for a quick marinade then baked.
- Easy Cleanup: Just a sheet pan to clean after dinner makes it super simple.
- Bold Flavors: There’s just something about the combination of lime, chili powder, cumin, paprika, and garlic.
Ingredients
- Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs: The extra fat of thighs keeps them moist
- Olive Oil
- Fresh Lime Juice: you definitely want to use fresh, not bottled, for best flavor
- Minced Garlic
- Chili Powder
- Ground Cumin
- Smoked Paprika
- Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Cilantro
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities
Popular Substitutions and Variations
- Chicken breast for the chicken thighs: Because breast meat is leaner, it may turn out drier. Watch it closely.
- Try different spice mixes like taco seasoning, Cajun seasoning, or even a southwestern seasoning mix instead of the spices if you have them. You might find a new favorite.
How to Make Crispy Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Taco Meat
Step #1. Place the chicken in a gallon zip top bag. Mix the marinade ingredients and add them to bag with the chicken. Add the cilantro to the bag. Move the chicken around so that it is covered in the marinade.
Step #3. Remove the chicken from the marinade and place it on the sheet pan so it’s not touching.
Step #2. Place the bag in the fridge for at least 1 hour. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Step #4. Roast the chicken in the oven for 30 minutes until the bottom and edges are crispy and the meat is cooked through. Let rest 3 minutes before slicing. Serve.
Recipe FAQs
That’s quite flexible. Once you mix up the marinade — super easy, might I add — you throw your chicken thighs in a sealable bag with the marinade for anywhere from 1 to 6 hours. It’s great for those “Oh, shoot, I don’t have dinner figured out and it’s 4:30 p.m.” evenings, or you can get your marinade situated between afternoon errands or during your lunch break.
Some recipes may call for flipping the thighs while they cook, but this recipe really allows them to get nice color and crispy texture around the full exterior of the thighs, so it’s not required.
They’re super easy! Especially if you bake them in the oven. Let the meat marinade between 1 to 6 hours. When the chicken’s all flavored up and ready, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F., and brush a sheet pan with olive oil. Place the marinated thighs on the pan evenly spaced out, and roast until the sides are crisp and golden and the inside is fully cooked, about a half-hour. Slice them up into bite size pieces, and enjoy on tortillas with all your favorite taco toppings!
NO! I hate that thighs have gotten a bad rap over chicken breast just because they’re dark meat. I’m here to proclaim they are healthy and nutritious — although, they do have a higher amount of fat and calories than breast meat. But! They’re still considered a source of lean protein and are considerably low-calorie and -fat compared to some meats. And. They. Taste. So. Good. So, enjoy yourselves and get the thighs, friends.
Expert Tips
- Use a meat thermometer to take the guess work out of figuring out if the chicken is done. The thickest part should be 165 degrees when cooked.
- If one part of your chicken is significantly thicker than the other, consider flattening it a bit with a meat mallet before placing it in the marinade so that it cooks evenly.
What to Serve with Crispy Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Taco Meat
- Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing (Great on Tacos)
- Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice
- Easy Mexican Black Beans for Tacos
- Cafe Rio Black Beans
- Slow Cooker Refried Beans Recipe
- Homemade Hard Corn Taco Shells
- Simple Salsa Verde Recipe
- The Best Blender Salsa Ever
- Chunky Fresh Tomato Salsa
- Restaurant-Style Salsa
- Homemade Mango Salsa
More Easy Dinner Recipes to Consider
From Scratch Recipes
Slow Cooker Recipes For Spring
Beef Recipes
Julia Child’s Beef Bourguignon
Pasta Dishes
Easy Slow Cooker Vegetable Lasagna
Did you make this recipe? Leave a ⭐️ review and share it on Instagram, Facebook, or Pinterest!
Crispy Sheet Pan Baked Chicken Taco Meat
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon garlic, about 3 cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
For serving
- 12 six-inch corn tortillas, heated
- Chopped salsa, tomatoes, bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, lime juice, and salt to taste
- Additional toppings, like sour cream, hot sauce, lettuce, or diced tomatoes, optional
Instructions
- Place the chicken in a large (gallon) resealable bag.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper.
- Pour the mixture over the chicken in the bag. Work the chicken a bit so that it is all evenly covered.
- Add the cilantro to the bag, and seal the top of the bag, removing as much air from the bag as you can. Rub the marinade all over the chicken.
- Place the bag in the the fridge, and let the chicken marinade for 1 to 6 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brush a rimmed large baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
- Remove the chicken from the marinade, and place it on the baking sheet, spacing it evenly apart.
- Roast in the hot oven, until the bottom and sides are golden and crisp, and the thickest parts of the chicken are cooked through, about 30 minutes.
- Let the chicken rest for 3 minutes before slicing into strips.
- Serve in warm tortillas with your toppings of choice.
Notes
- You can use boneless skinless chicken leg and thigh meat for this recipe — just adjust the cooking time as needed (the smaller cuts of meat will cook faster).
- Don’t overcook your chicken. Check for doneness with an cheap instant read thermometer. Avoiding overcooking the chicken is the key to not drying it out.
- If you love the crispiness of this chicken, change the flavor up by using a different spice mix for the marinade such as Cajun or Southwestern. You’ll get a whole arsenal of dinners from one easy recipe!
- Some chicken pieces will be very thick in one part and very thin in others. Don’t be afraid to use a meat mallet to even them out before you put them in the marinade mixture so that they cook evenly.
We made this for Cinco de Mayo and my husband loved it! He wants to grill the chicken next time! Packed with flavor!
Yessss grilling it is so good too! Thanks for the review Ginny!
I made the recipe as written except I cooked the chicken on my big flat top griddle, sliced it up and served it over lime cilantro rice with various toppings and everyone raved. Absolutely delicious, thank you!!
This was a winner! I almost didn’t have time to marinate the chicken (>1 hr), but it turned out delicious anyway. I even put almost 1 tablespoon of chili powder in (thought it said 2T vs 2t…), but that was still great. I boiled the leftover marinade and kept it for a sauce.
That sounds so amazing!
Want to try this! Is it spicy with Chile pepper? Want my kids to eat. Thx!!
It’s not very spicy at all, just flavorful. Let me know if you make it and how your kids like it!
Uh, thank you for making taco night EVEN easier. I am definitely saving this for my next taco tuesday.