Taco of the Month: Baked Chicken Tacos

Baked Chicken Tacos Ingredients

These baked chicken tacos are filled with shredded chicken marinated in lime juice and spices, refried beans, enchilada sauce, and cheese. We make our oven baked chicken tacos with flour tortillas for a delicious, soft shell texture that has a little bit of crisp around the edges. Compared to using corn tortillas, the soft shells won’t shatter when you bite into them. Meaning less taco filling on your plate, and more in your mouth!

Here’s the full list of ingredients you’ll need to make soft shell baked chicken tacos:

• 4-inch flour tortillas
• Chicken breast
• Avocado oil or vegetable oil
• Lime juice
• Paprika
• Ground red cayenne pepper
• Cumin
• Salt
• Refried beans
• Enchilada sauce
• Shredded Mexican-blend cheese
• Fresh cilantro

To make things easy, use canned refried beans and enchilada sauce from the grocery store. Or, you can use our homemade ranchero sauce (recipe here) instead of enchilada sauce for a spicy kick to these baked tacos if you have some extra time on your hands!

How To Make Baked Chicken Tacos

All it takes to make this recipe is 3 simple steps: marinate, bake, and shred the chicken; assemble the tacos; and bake the tacos. That’s it! You can even prepare the chicken ahead of time to simplify day-of prep (more on this below).

Here’s a full breakdown of how to make these easy baked chicken tacos:

1. Marinate, bake, and shred the chicken. Combine the chicken, oil, lime juice, and seasonings in a bowl and marinate at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Then bake in the oven at 400 degrees F until cooked to an internal temperature of about 155 degrees F. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and shred, then set aside.
2. Assemble the tacos. Next, lightly grease a baking dish with cooking spray and line it with the flour tortillas, snuggling them into the pan so they’re standing upright. Fill each tortilla with about a spoonful of refried beans. Then, fill each taco with the shredded chicken, evenly distributing it among the tortillas. Finally, drizzle each taco with a spoonful or two of enchilada sauce and then top with shredded cheese.
3. Bake the tacos. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are lightly crisped around the edges. Garnish with freshly chopped cilantro and serve with a side of chips, salsa, and guac.

Make-Ahead Tips

You can easily prepare the shredded chicken for these baked tacos ahead of time. This works great if you’re planning on making a large batch of baked tacos (like for a party) and want to simplify the prep work that goes into them before they go in the oven! Simply follow the recipe instructions for marinating, baking, and shredding the chicken, then store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

When baking the chicken tacos, we recommend increasing the cook time by about 5 minutes or so to ensure the chicken is fully warmed through since it’ll be cold from the fridge. Alternatively, you can quickly warm the chicken in a frying pan over medium-low heat before adding to the tacos and baking.

Storing & Reheating Leftovers

If you happen to have any leftover baked tacos, you can store them in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. To reheat, warm in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes. Tip: These oven-safe taco holders make it easy to reheat individual tacos in the oven without making a mess! Put the tacos in the slots and put the taco holder on a baking sheet for easy transport. Just be careful when you take it out of the oven – the metal taco holder will be hot.

Baked Chicken Tacos Serving Suggestions

These oven baked chicken tacos are perfect for an easy taco night with your family, or for serving a large crowd! The recipe is super easy to scale if you want to make a big batch for parties. Just grab a few of those large foil trays, fill them up, and enjoy a tasty taco Tuesday with your whole crew.

We recommend serving baked tacos with tortilla chips, salsa, and guacamole (get our easy recipe here!). For larger parties, make a batch of our restaurant-style Mexican bean dip as an appetizer or side dish.