I am firmly of the opinion that tacos are not just for Tuesdays. In fact, I think I could eat tacos most days of the week and never tire of them, but luckily there’s more than one way to eat a taco. Much more. Take these easy-to-make Baked Chicken Tacos, for instance. They’re a great option any day of the week, because they’re quick, impossibly crispy, zesty, and generous in the ooey-gooey melty cheese department.
If you’re using crispy taco shells, you have to go ahead and bake them anyway, but in this method you just go ahead and bake the filling in them, which leads to a whole lot of crispy greatness.
And that filling? Well, while you could technically use whatever you want, I highly recommend you go with this one because it happens to be incredibly delicious. It’s onion, taco seasoning, diced tomatoes, green chiles, and shredded chicken that you simmer together briefly.
And then you layer it in the shells with some refried beans and plenty of cheese. You want to use the stand-and-stuff type of taco shells – the ones with the flat bottom – so you can plenty of room to stuff that filling in without anything cracking.
It all heads into the oven just long enough for the beans to get heated through and the cheese to get nice and melty…
… and then you’re ready to top them however you see fit! These are seriously such a yummy way to do tacos – they’re crunchy, they’re cheesy, they’re hearty – they’re tacos taken to the next level.
Baked Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1/2 white onion, diced
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chiles, drained
- 10 flat-bottom taco shells
- 1 can refried beans
- 2 cups Mexican blend shredded cheese
- Lettuce, shredded, for topping
- Sour cream, for topping
- Salsa, for topping
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 400°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in chicken, taco seasoning, tomatoes, and green chiles. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook about 5 minutes.
- Place taco shells in baking dish and transfer to oven. Bake 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and fill taco shells. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons of beans in each shell, topped with chicken, and then cheese.
- Bake until cheese has melted, 8-10 minutes.
- Remove from oven, top with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from The Cookie Rookie.