Baked Chicken Tacos

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Make these nostalgic soft shell baked chicken tacos for an easy dinner for two with leftovers or scale up the recipe for hosting a crowd.

A dish of baked chicken tacos made with flour tortillas, shredded chicken, and cheese

We’re bringing a little nostalgia to February’s Taco of the Month with our recipe for easy baked chicken tacos! Made with flour tortillas for that soft shell texture we all know and love, every bite of these simple oven baked chicken tacos will make you feel like a kid again. They’re super soft, super cheesy, and super saucy – and perfect for an easy taco dinner!

What This Recipe Entails

We love oven baked recipes because it means you can do something else with that time, even if it’s just pouring yourself a drink to enjoy with your dinner! This recipe takes about 50 minutes to put together, with 30-ish minutes of baking “free time.”

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 30 minutes

To simplify the recipe, you can skip baking the chicken by using leftovers or a rotisserie chicken from the store. See the Ingredients section below for more details on this.

Baked Chicken Tacos Ingredients

  • Flour tortillas – 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. 4-inch tortillas are the perfect size here.
  • Shredded chicken – Marinated in oil, lime juice, and flavorful spices and then baked in the oven. Alternatively, use a rotisserie chicken from the store or leftover grilled chicken to save yourself some time. You can also prep the chicken earlier in the day to break up the cooking.
  • Refried beans – Creamy refried beans give some moisture to baked tacos. Use canned beans from the store for ease.
  • Enchilada sauce – Store-bought enchilada sauce works great. Sometimes we like to use homemade ranchero sauce instead for a spicy kick (we like to prep this in big batches and freeze portions in our Souper Cubes for easy use in recipes like this one!)
  • Cheese – Classic shredded Mexican cheese melts beautifully over the tacos and adds extra comfort to this dish! Sub with cheddar jack, Monterey jack, or even pepper jack for a spicy alternative.

How To Make Baked Chicken Tacos

All it takes to make this recipe is 3 simple steps – and you can even prepare the chicken ahead of time if you want to simplify day-of prep.

  1. Make the chicken. Combine the chicken, oil, lime juice, and seasonings in a bowl and marinate at room temperature. Then, bake the chicken until it’s fully cooked through. Transfer to a cutting board, shred, and 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 refried beans and shredded chicken, then top with the enchilada sauce and shredded cheese.
  3. Bake and serve. Bake the tacos until the cheese is melted and the tortillas are lightly crisped around the edges. Optionally garnish with 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 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 cooking time by about 5 minutes or so to ensure the chicken is fully warmed through – 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.
A soft shell chicken taco on a plate with an oven baked dish of tacos in the background

Serving Suggestions

These oven baked chicken tacos are perfect for an easy taco night whether you’re eating for 2 or 12! You can easily scale it up to make a big batch for parties – just use a larger baking dish or one of those grocery store foil trays to fill up.

Here are some of our favorite things to serve with baked tacos:

FAQs

We wouldn’t recommend making the baked tacos ahead of time, but you can absolutely make the chicken ahead of time to simplify the prep for this recipe. Then once you’re ready to cook dinner, all you have to do is assemble and bake.

Store baked tacos in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. (Note: if you used pre-made chicken that was a few days old, the tacos won’t keep as long).

Reheat baked tacos in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes. These oven-safe taco holders make it easy to reheat individual tacos in the oven without making a mess – just put them on a baking sheet to easily get them in and out of the oven. Be careful if you’re eating right out of the taco holders since the metal will be hot.

Try our easy recipe for oven baked chicken tacos and leave a rating and comment to let us know what you think! We hope you love this family-style Taco Tuesday recipe as much as we do. Don’t forget to sign up for our email list here to stay up to date on all our latest recipes!

Expert Tips

  • Tortillas – Flour tortillas work best for baked tacos since they’ll stay mostly soft, but get a nice crisp around the edges. They won’t shatter when you bite into them (like corn tortillas would after baking), which means less taco filling on your plate, and more in your mouth!
  • Time saving tips – Make the chicken ahead of time to simplify things when it’s time to make dinner. Or, use a rotisserie chicken (or even leftover grilled chicken) for an even easier swap.
  • Reheating leftovers – Since these tacos are pre-assembled, reheat them standing up in these handy taco holders.

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A Staub casserole dish full of baked chicken tacos with flour tortillas and cheese garnished with cilantro

Baked Chicken Tacos

Nicole Langdon
Make these nostalgic soft shell baked chicken tacos for an easy dinner for two with leftovers or scale up the recipe for hosting a crowd.
5 from 2 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine American, Mexican
Servings 10 tacos
Calories 112 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Shredded Chicken

  • ¾ pound chicken breast
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or avocado oil
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon paprika
  • ¼ teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon cumin
  • 1 pinch salt

Taco Ingredients

  • 10 4-inch flour tortillas
  • cup refried beans
  • cup enchilada sauce
  • 1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
  • Fresh cilantro chopped (optional garnish)

Instructions
 

  • First, make the chicken:
    Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil.
    Combine the chicken, oil, lime juice, paprika, cayenne pepper, cumin, and salt in a bowl and marinate for 15 minutes at room temperature.
    Transfer the chicken to the baking sheet and bake to an internal temperature of 155 degrees F, about 12 to 18 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and shred.
  • Assemble the tacos:
    Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
    Lightly grease a baking dish with cooking spray, then fill it with the flour tortillas, snuggling them into the pan so they stand upright in the classic "taco shell" shape.
    Fill each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon of refried beans, then distribute the shredded chicken amongst the tortillas. Drizzle each taco with about 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce. Then, top each taco with shredded cheese.
  • Bake the tacos in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 to 12 minutes, until warmed through and the cheese is melted.
  • Optionally garnish tacos with freshly chopped cilantro and serve immediately.

Notes

Chicken: You can make the chicken ahead of time if you want to simplify dinner prep. Store it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Just make sure to bake the tacos a bit longer (5 minutes more or so) to ensure the chicken is warm enough if it’s going in the tacos straight from the fridge. Or, heat the chicken in a frying pan briefly over medium-low heat to warm it up before assembling the tacos.
Alternatively, you can use a rotisserie chicken or leftover grilled chicken for an even easier swap!
Enchilada sauce: Store-bought enchilada sauce works great, but sometimes we like to use homemade ranchero sauce instead for a spicy kick!
Serving suggestions: Pair baked tacos with classic appetizers and sides like chips and salsa, guac, Mexican bean dip, sheet pan nachos, or cilantro lime rice and a margarita!
Storing and reheating: Store baked tacos in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat baked tacos in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes. These oven-safe taco holders make it easy to reheat individual tacos in the oven without making a mess – just put them on a baking sheet to easily get them in and out of the oven. Be careful if you’re eating right out of the taco holders since the metal will be hot.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tacoCalories: 112kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 11gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.004gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 350mgPotassium: 141mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 234IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 83mgIron: 1mg
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Keyword cayenne, chicken breast, cilantro, cinco de mayo, cumin, enchilada sauce, flour tortillas, lime juice, mexican cheese, paprika, party, refried beans

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5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

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Recipe Rating




One Comment

  1. 5 stars
    This is a great, easy recipe when we need to make a large number of tacos, or pre-made tacos are easier to serve than build your own. The baked flour tortillas get soft and fluffy and make for a great taco.