Crispy oven baked chicken tacos are made with seasoned ground chicken, crunchy taco shells, salsa, refried beans and melted cheese, five simple ingredients that bake into crispy, chewy, cheesy perfection!
If you're looking for an easy recipe to change up taco night at your house, baked chicken tacos are the answer!
Crispy oven baked chicken tacos taste like nachos baked into individual handheld servings. The outside is crispy and crunchy and the middle is filled with warm melty cheese, seasoned meat and salsa, plus all your favorite toppings - shredded cabbage, green onion, cilantro, sour cream and avocado. Hungry yet?
Looking for more easy chicken recipes with lots of flavor? Try Instant Pot shredded Jerk chicken or slow cooker green chile chicken or Instant Pot chicken adobo.
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Ingredients & Substitutions
Ground chicken: Ground meat is really convenient and cooks fast. The meat is seasoned with salt and spices and a generous scoop of salsa.
You can substitute any type of ground meat. If using ground beef or pork, make sure to drain off excess grease after the meat cooks.
Hard taco shells: This recipe uses old school hard taco shells for the perfect chewy, crunchy texture.
Refried beans: A layer of refried beans spread across the bottom of the baking dish holds the hard taco shells up straight, making it easy to arrange and fill the tacos. You can use refried pinto beans or black beans.
Grated cheese: This is not the time to skimp on cheese! A generous amount of grated cheddar, Monterrey Jack or shredded taco blend gives these tacos the ideal texture and flavor.
Seasoning: A blend of spices is essential to flavor the meat - chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and salt.
You can substitute a tablespoon of taco seasoning if you have a favorite brand.
Salsa: Salsa flavors the ground meat and you'll have enough leftover to spoon over the baked tacos.
Taco Toppings: You know what to do here - prep all of your favorite taco toppings! Sour cream, salsa, avocado, green onion, shredded lettuce or crunchy cabbage slaw, etc. etc.
Recipe Tip
If you've ever bought hard tacos shells, you know that they break easily and are really hard to arrange in a baking pan. This recipe solves that problem with a genius solution!
First, a layer of refried beans is spread over the bottom of the baking dish. The hard taco shells easily sit up perfectly straight when pressed gently into the beans. Genius! This makes it easy to arrange and fill the hard corn tortillas without the shells falling over and breaking.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Oven Baked Chicken Tacos
For more detailed instructions and ingredient amounts, see the recipe card below.
Step 1: Cook the ground chicken with seasonings and salsa for flavor.
Step 2: Spread refried beans across the bottom of two 9x9 baking pans. The hard taco shells will stick into the beans and sit up straight, making it easy to arrange and fill the shells. Put the pans in the oven and bake the shells for 5 minutes.
Step 3: Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of grated cheese into the bottom of each shell. Next, spoon chicken taco meat over the cheese. Scatter the remaining grated cheese over the meat in each taco shell and over the refried beans in the pan.
Step 4: Bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is completely melted and the taco shells are warm, crispy and chewy.
The last step is adding all of your favorite taco toppings, then digging in while the tacos are still hot and crispy!
More Recipes for Taco Lovers
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Crispy oven baked chicken tacos
Crispy oven baked chicken tacos are made with seasoned ground chicken, crunchy taco shells, salsa, refried beans and melted cheese, five simple ingredients that bake into crispy, chewy, cheesy perfection!
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 small tacos
- Category: Chicken Recipes
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: Tex Mex
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 12 hard taco shells
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup salsa (mild or hot)
- 2 16-oz cans refried beans
- 4 to 5 cups (¾ to 1 pound) grated cheddar or Monterey Jack or shredded taco cheese blend
Baking Dishes: Two 9x9 square baking pans
Instructions
- Heat oven to 400F.
- In a wide skillet over medium-high heat, warm about a tablespoon of oil. Add the ground chicken and press it evenly into the skillet. Let the meat cook for 3 minutes without stirring so the bottom browns.
- Season the chicken with chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, cumin and salt. Break the ground chicken up into small pieces as it continues to cook. Cook until the outside is lightly browned and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 more minutes.
- Mix in the salsa. Turn off heat.
- Set out two 9x9 square baking pans. Evenly spread one can of refried beans over the bottom of each square baking pan.
- Gently arrange 6 hard taco shells in each pan, nestling them into the refried beans so the shells stand up straight. To make the shells fit, line up 4 in a row horizontally on one side of the pan then arrange two more vertically on the other side of the pan.
- Put the pan in the oven and bake the shells for 5 minutes.
- Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle about 2 tablespoons of grated cheese into the bottom of each shell.
- Add two spoonfuls of chicken taco meat into each shell, dividing it up evenly among the shells until you’ve used up all of the meat. If some of the meat spills out of the shells onto the refried beans, don’t worry about it.
- Scatter the remaining cheese over the meat in each taco shell and over the refried beans.
- Bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is completely melted.
- Serve immediately with taco toppings like salsa, cilantro, green onion, shredded lettuce or cabbage, avocado, sour cream, etc.
Notes
You can substitute ground beef, pork or turkey. If using beef or pork, drain off excess grease after cooking the meat.
Jen says
I love the crispy, chewy texture of the taco shells with the melted cheese. These tacos remind me of the tacos of my childhood! Make sure to pile on the toppings.
Anonymous says