Easy Baked Chicken Tacos

Easy baked chicken tacos are a crispy, crowd-pleasing meal made by filling taco shells with seasoned chicken, tomatoes and cheese, then baking until golden and melty. Easy to prepare and full of bold flavor, they’re perfect for busy weeknights or casual family dinners.

We love Mexican-style food. And this dish delivers! This is one of our favorite quick weeknight meals. I love that it involves minimal clean up and is ready in less than 30 minutes. The spicy shredded chicken filling bakes up in the crispy taco shells so fast.

There are a lot of recipes out there, all using the same ingredients. This easy baked chicken taco recipe has a twist. Instead of using refried beans I use Spanish rice. The Spanish rice brings a savory, slightly smokey flavor that complements the chicken mixture in this dish. We also like our tacos a little on the spicy side, so I use Rotel Fire Roasted diced tomatoes instead of plain diced tomatoes.

• It’s quick and easy to make. Ready in less than 30 minutes.
• It’s versatile. Change the level of spiciness by using different tomatoes and more or less taco seasoning.
• It’s easily personalized. Top with your favorite topping: sour cream, guacamole, cilantro, fresh chopped onions, salsa, and/or lime juice.
• It’s kid friendly. Your kids will love this easy baked chicken taco recipe. They will ask you to make it again and again.
• Make Taco Tuesday a snap. They’re quick to prep for Cinco de Mayo and make a delicious game day food.

Shredded chicken: Use fully cooked, shredded chicken for the taco filling. To speed things up, I love using leftover rotisserie chicken.

Taco seasoning: While you can certainly make your own seasoning using cumin, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and chili powder, to speed things up try using prepackaged seasoning like Old El Paso or Spice Islands Taco Seasoning.

Taco shells: Use hard taco shells since they bake up nice and crispy in the oven and they are easy to fill. Of course you can use any kind of taco shell you prefer.

Cheese: I like to use Mexican blend shredded cheese, but any blend of melting cheese will work. Freshly grated cheese works well too.

Tomatoes: I like to use 2 cans of Rotel Fire Roasted tomatoes (with green chilies) but one can will do as well. The tomatoes add more texture and flavor. Be sure to fully drain to prevent soggy shells. If you want your tacos less spicy, you can use original Rotel or regular diced tomatoes (no green chilies).

Green chilies: Use a can of chopped green chilies for the chicken mixture. It adds a little bit of heat, and it’s really delicious. Once again be sure to fully drain to prevent soggy shells.

Onion: Adds more texture and some aromatics. I like to use sweet onions. They enhance flavor without taking over and they never make me cry. I use one small sweet onion (about 1 cup). If using white or red onions use just half the onion (about 1/2 cup).

Spanish rice: Use one package of Knorr Spanish rice. The rice adds savory, slightly smoky flavor. It’s the perfect accompaniment to Mexican-inspired meals.

Taco Shells: Using Old El Paso Stand ‘N Stuff taco shells make it easy to fill the shells and keeps the filling inside the shell.

To ensure the shells don’t get soggy:

• Fully drain all canned ingredients to keep the level of liquid down in the filling.
• Bake the shells by themselves for 5-8 minutes before filling them.
• Layer the Spanish rice on the bottom. Place the chicken mixture on top of the rice. The rice acts as a barrier and helps the shells hold up better.

If making these for a crowd: Keep them warm in the oven as you serve. Turn the oven down to about 250 degrees F, and keep them in a baking dish covered with foil.

Storage: Store the individual components in a separate airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Don’t store as completed tacos, they might get soggy.

This recipe is adapted from oldelpaso.com.

This easy chicken taco is one of my family’s meals to make on busy nights. It’s a great way to use leftover rotisserie chicken. I hope you love it as much as we do.

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