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These simple yet flavorful chicken tacos are easy to make and filled with super juicy and delicious chicken! Perfect for weeknight meals and makes great leftovers!
If there’s a recipe that I make at least once a week, it’s definitely these easy chicken tacos!
Hands down, without a doubt, some version of this chicken taco recipe is on my plate every week. I also love to use this chicken for burritos, quesadillas, tostadas, taco salads or cheesy nachos.
This is one of my most popular recipes and a personal favorite of mine. Here’s how you make THE BEST chicken tacos ever!
What cut of chicken do you recommend for chicken tacos?
For the juiciest chicken tacos that you can make easily and quickly at home, I highly recommend using chicken thighs. They have a good white meat to dark meat ratio, which makes them a little fattier than chicken breasts and way more moist and tender.
To cut down on excess fat, I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
The best part about these chicken tacos is that you only need to marinate the chicken for 30 minutes, making it perfect for a quick weeknight dinner!
Chicken Taco Marinade
The marinade is made with olive oil, white wine vinegar and dried spices that are common in most kitchens (onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, chili powder).
Once the marinade is mixed together, simply add the chicken thighs to the marinade, toss them together to coat, cover the marinated chicken and refrigerate it for 30 minutes.
How to make chicken tacos
- Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken thighs to the skillet with tongs and cook 5-7 minutes per side, until fully cooked through. Discard the used marinade.
- Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for 5 minutes. While the chicken is resting, warm up the tortillas on the stovetop or in the microwave.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks and serve in warm tortillas with your favorite toppings.
Topping Ideas
I served these tacos with some smashed avocado, red onion and fresh cilantro, but you can top them with your favorite toppings! Here are some more ideas for inspiration:
- diced avocados
- guacamole
- your favorite salsa
- sour cream
- pickled jalapenos
- pico de gallo
- crumbled queso fresco or shredded cheese
- shredded lettuce
- diced tomatoes
Storing, Freezing, and Reheating
To store: Place the chicken in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to a week
To freeze: Let the chicken cool completely in the fridge, then transfer it to a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and freeze.
To reheat: Microwave the chicken for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every minute, until full heated through. Alternatively, heat in a medium-hot skillet for 3-5 minutes until fully heated through.
More Taco Recipes
Easy Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
For the marinade
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ancho chili powder*
- 1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons lime juice (about 2 limes)
For the tacos
- 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 24 corn tortillas (or flour tortillas)
- pico de gallo or your favorite salsa (optional)
- queso fresco or your favorite cheese (optional)
Instructions
- In a large bowl, baking dish or freezer bag, add all the ingredients for the marinade. Mix together to fully combine.
- Add chicken thighs to marinade and toss together to coat. Cover chicken and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the marinated chicken to the skillet with tongs and cook 5-7 minutes per side, until fully cooked through. Discard the used marinade.
- Transfer chicken to cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes. While chicken is resting, warm up the corn tortillas on a hot griddle or in the microwave.
- Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks and serve in warm tortillas with salsa and cheese.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were so speedy to make and very tasty! I will definitely make them again.
I love this recipe, thank you so much my first time making chicken tacos (I looovvveee them), and they came out gggrreeatttt!!! OMG! I was on a time limit with 4 yr old twins and I made this so fast even when I let it marinade. This is a go to.
Amazing!!! I loved it. I used real onions bc I couldn’t find my onion powder to use for the marinade. None the less, the meat was so juicy & so flavorful! I used your pico de gallo recipe in the highlighted link, truly blessed!! Everything was sooo amazing. My husband was hesitant about the chicken, he prefers beef, but I said no.. I’m using chicken bc I wanted chicken plus I’m the one cooking. If your questioning the meat choice, don’t!! Just trust Isabel. I’m so happy I found your site!
These chicken tacos were so flavorful after only marinading for 40 minutes. I topped them with cotija and I made pico de gallo and rice while the chicken was marinading. It was a perfect weeknight meal!
This tacos were delicious and most importantly super easy and quick to make, great for when you have a newborn at home and don’t have much time!
This tacos were delicious and most importantly super easy and quick to make, great for when you have a newborn at home and don’t have much time!
My boyfriend LOVED this recipe. He liked the chicken on its own, but really loved it when it was paired with the pico and queso fresco.
OH MY!! Isabel’s recipes don’t let me down- what a huge hit these easy chicken tacos were for dinner!!! Delicious- I forgot to buy limes, and I used the some lime juice in my fridge and it was still fabulous!! Just enough spice to make you happy:)
They were easy to make and packed with flavor. It was perfect for “Taco Tuesday”. I made fresh Pico de Gallo to go with it. My family loved it! Thank you!
This was so good and so easy to make! The lime juice and vinegar definitely kick up the chicken to another level. I made these tacos keto friendly by using a cheese shell instead of a corn tortilla. Can’t wait to make it again!
This marinade has so much flavor and is so versatile! We ate the meat in taco salad and also made tacos using low carb tortillas to keep it keto friendly! I highly recommend this delicious and easy recipe!
These were the best tacos I’ve ever made! The meat had such amazing flavor and is so versatile. We made taco salads with them and also ate them with low carb tortillas to keep them keto friendly! Yum!