Baked Ground Chicken Tacos Recipe
This Baked Ground Chicken Tacos Recipe will spice up your Taco Tuesday! These ground chicken tacos are a delicious twist on a classic recipe. Juicy ground chicken, zesty Mexican spices, and a crispy baked shell, these tacos will be loved by the whole family and can be made in less than 30 minutes!
What you’ll love about this recipe:
RECIPE INGREDIENTS
You’ll need the following ingredients to make these delicious Ground Chicken Tacos:
INGREDIENT NOTES
Ground Chicken: I like using lean ground chicken breast, if you can find it. Lean is best so there’s no need to drain off any grease #timesaver 🙂
Taco Shells: You can use any hard taco shells but the big Stand and Stuff kind work best.
Toppings: I usually opt for shredded iceberg lettuce and chopped tomatoes or pico de gallo, but feel free to use your favorite taco toppings!
HOW TO MAKE GROUND CHICKEN TACOS: STEP BY STEP
Here are some quick visual instructions. Remember that full instructions with exact ingredients will be in the recipe card below!
Step 1: Brown up your ground chicken.
Step 2: Add seasonings, beans and salsa. Simmer for 6-8 minutes. While chicken taco meat is simmering, pre-bake yur empty taco shells for 3-4 minutes.
Step 3: Stir in cheese.
Step 4 & 5: Stuff taco shells with meat mixture and top with remaining cheese. Bake 5 minutes more until cheese is fully melted. Top with your favorite taco toppings!
RECIPE TIPS & TRICKS
- Pre-Bake Taco Shells: Avoid soggy baked tacos! Always pre-bake empty, unfilled taco shells for at least 3-5 minutes to allow them to crisp up before adding the ground chicken taco filling.
- Shred Your Own Cheese: In a pinch, pre shredded cheese is fine, but cheese shredded straight off the block melts sooooo much better!
Confidence Tip
For best results, use flat-bottomed taco shells like this “Stand and Stuff” version. This allows you to add more taco meat and goodies into the shell and they stand up nicely when baking!
STORAGE & REHEATING
- Storage: Already-baked and filled tacos don’t store well. For best results, store the ground chicken taco filling-only in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. Fill and bake taco shells when you are ready to enjoy the dish again.
- Reheating: Reheat taco filling in a skillet over medium heat for 3-4 minutes until warmed through. Add a little splash of water to loosen up the mixture if needed.
- Freezing: This ground chicken taco filling freezes well! Cool cooked meat completely. Then place in a freezer bag or airtight, freezer-safe container. Freeze for 3-6 months.
Additions & Substitutions
ADDITIONS:
- Spice it Up: Add hot sauce, a sprinkle of cayenne pepper or chopped jalapeños to your taco meat for a little kick!
- Veggies: Feel free to add veggies to this delicious taco meat! Red onions, bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms are a few of my faves.
SUBSTITUTIONS:
- Ground Meat: This recipe works with any type of ground meat! Substitute the chicken for ground beef, ground turkey, or ground pork. Look for lean versions of these meats, if possible.
- Taco Seasoning: In place of the dry spices (cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt/pepper), you can replace it with 1 packet (4 tbsp) store-bought tacos seasoning or 4 tbsp of homemade taco seasoning.
YUMMY RECIPE VARIATIONS
Try some of these delicious variations:
Burrito Bowls: Ditch the hard taco shells and make a yummy bowl from the ground chicken taco meat! In a bowl, layer rice, taco filling and your favorite fresh toppings: lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, red onions and fresh cilantro!
Taco Salad: This taco filling is also great for making taco salads! To a bowl, add lettuce, taco meat and fresh toppings! Use guacamole, salsa and sour cream for the “dressing!” This is a great low carb option.
Lettuce Wraps: Another great low carb option- pile this ground chicken taco meat into lettuce cups and top with cheese, salsa and sour cream!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
To ensure crispy taco shells, pre-bake the empty, non-filled shells for -5 minutes at 375°F. Then, fill the shells, and bake about 5 minutes more.
Serve these delicious tacos with: chips and pico de Gallo, some yummy cilantro lime rice or these tasty, healthy fajita veggies!
Yes! This taco meat is great for meal prep. Simply prepare the filling ahead of time. Then, when you’re ready to enjoy, you can stuff and bake your tacos in a matter of minutes!
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TOOLS FOR THIS RECIPE
Check out all of my kitchen essentials in my Amazon store!
Large Skillet: My absolute favorite LARGE skillet!
Potato Masher: Gets your ground meat broken up nice and fine!
The Best Garlic Chopper: I use this baby at least 3x a week!
TRY THESE NEXT…
I hope you love this Baked Ground Chicken Tacos! If you make it be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked it. Enjoy, xo!
Baked Ground Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground chicken
- 2-3 tsp garlic, miced the best garlic chopper!
- 1/2 tsp cumin* See Note 1
- 1/2 tsp chili powder*
- 1 tsp oregano*
- 1 tsp garlic powder*
- salt and pepper to taste*
- 1 cup salsa use your favorite brand
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups shredded cheese We love sharp cheddar cheese or colby jack! I always recommend shredding your cheese right off the block– it melts so much better!
- 10 hard taco shells the "Stand and Stuff" ones work best
- Your favorite toppings: lettuce, tomatoes/pico de gallo, sour cream, red onions, avocado
Instructions
- Prep: Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cook Meat: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground chicken. Cook chicken until no longer pink, breaking it into small pieces with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Pro Tip: Use a potato masher during the last minute of cooking to get the meat broken up nice and fine! Note: If you are not using lean ground chicken breast, drain off any excess grease, if necessary.
- Add: To the cooked meat, add in garlic plus all of the spices (cumin, chili powder, oregano, garlic powder, salt/pepper–or use your own taco seasoning blend). Mix well.
- Add & Simmer: Add salsa, beans and water to the mixture. Stir well and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. While taco meat is cooking, place empty taco shells in a 9×13 (or similar) baking dish. Bake unfilled shells for 3-5 minutes until crisp. Remove from oven.
- Add Cheese: Turn heat on the skillet to low and stir half the cheese into the taco mixture, reserving the other half for garnishing.
- Stuff Shells & Bake: Spoon ground chicken taco meat into the pre-baked shells – fill about 2/3 full. Top tacos with the reserved cheese and bake for about 5 minutes more until cheese is fully melted.
- Finish: Top baked tacos with your favorite taco toppings!
Loving these easy to make ground chicken tacos. They have great flavors and textures and are perfect for my family.
These healthy tacos were so tasty and satisfying!! They were the perfect easy dinner for our family!
Love the recipe!!! my family loves tacos and will be making this recipe really soon, for a taco night, thanks for sharing 🙂
These chicken tacos look incredible! Definitely going to try them this weekend.
I love all the spices you added. so tasty.