Taco of the Month: Baked Chicken Tacos

Make these nostalgic soft shell baked chicken tacos for an easy family dinner or scale up the recipe for serving a crowd.

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. As Amazon Associates and through other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a link – at no extra cost to you. We only promote products we actually use and truly love!

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 or family party.

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

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!

A baking dish full of cheesy oven baked chicken tacos

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.

A soft shell chicken taco on a plate with an oven baked dish of tacos in the background

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.

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

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 be the first to know what next month’s Taco of the Month will be! 


Love this recipe? You may enjoy these recipes, too:

To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.

Like this recipe? Don’t forget to share it and follow us on Pinterest!

5 from 1 vote

Baked Chicken Tacos

Make these nostalgic soft shell baked chicken tacos for an easy family dinner or scale up the recipe for serving a crowd.
Servings 10 tacos
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

Shredded Chicken

  • ¾ lb chicken breast
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil or vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • ½ tsp paprika
  • ¼ tsp ground red cayenne pepper
  • ¼ tsp 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, prepare the shredded chicken. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil. In the meantime, combine 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 cooked chicken to a cutting board and shred.
  • Next, prepare to bake the tacos. 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. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Assemble the tacos: First, fill each tortilla with about 1 tablespoon of refried beans. Next, evenly distribute the shredded chicken amongst the tortillas. Next, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of enchilada sauce over each taco. Finally, sprinkle the tacos evenly 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.
Want more?Sign up for our newsletter here and never miss a new recipe!
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a rating and a comment below, and don’t forget to share with your friends and family if you loved it!
Share with us on Instagram!Post a picture of what you made and mention @candidcooksblog or tag #thecandidcooks!
Follow us on Pinterest!Visit our profile @thecandidcooks and don’t forget to pin this recipe!
Author: Nicole
Calories: 112kcal
Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Mexican
Keyword: cayenne, chicken breast, cilantro, cinco de mayo, cumin, enchilada sauce, flour tortillas, lime juice, mexican cheese, paprika, party, refried beans

Nutrition

Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.004g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 350mg | Potassium: 141mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 234IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 83mg | Iron: 1mg

If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

Looking for kitchen inspiration? Head over to our shop to see what we cook with every day, plus recommendations for foodie gifts and eco-friendly products.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Close
The Candid Cooks © Copyright 2021
Close