These ground chicken tacos are stuffed with perfectly seasoned chicken and shredded cheese and then baked to crispy perfection for a leveled up version of the classic. Garnished with chopped tomatoes, fresh onion, cilantro, and an easy 3-ingredient ranch-style sauce, these tacos are about to change your Taco Tuesday game!
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This recipe is…
Crispy. Baked. Tacos. Three words that belong together, am I right? These crispy chicken tacos are what taco dreams are made of. Stuffed with seasoned ground chicken and shredded cheese, baked to actual perfection, and then topped with fresh tomatoes, onions, cilantro, and a creamy, dreamy, EASY ranch-style sauce, I feel confident that this recipe is the missing link in your weeknight dinner game.
Serve these bad boys alongside a side of rice and beans or all on their own – either way, they’ll be gobbled up in record time and have your family begging for them week after week!
Looking for more taco inspo? You’re on the right site – we have no shortage of excellent taco recipes! A few reader favorites include: crispy black bean tacos, shredded chicken tacos, and easy chicken tinga tacos!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It’s easy – brown the meat, spoon in to tortillas, fold, and bake – that’s it! This recipe is really easy to pull off.
- It’s different – we love a classic taco just as much as the next guy, but there is something so deliciously fun and different about these baked tacos! The crunch, the toppings, all of it!
- It’s family-friendly – this is such a fun meal to serve family-style – set down the whole tray of tacos and let everybody grab and dig in as they please!
Recipe Ingredients
You’ll need a couple of ingredients for the tacos themselves, a handful for the ranch-style sauce, and then a couple of fresh toppers. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and swaps) below.
- Corn tortillas – though any corn tortillas will work here, we’ve found that white corn tortillas are slightly more pliable than yellow corn.
- Taco seasoning – when it comes to taco seasoning, you can use any store-bought taco seasoning or make your own (our homemade taco seasoning is a great, easy recipe for this!).
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations and Modifications
- Use any ground meat – we used ground chicken here, but ground turkey, beef, or pork would all work great too!
- Make it dairy-free – the only dairy in this recipe is the shredded cheese, so if you’d like a dairy free version of these tacos, simply sub in a dairy-free shredded cheese.
- Change the toppings – we used fresh chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, and our homemade ranch-style sauce as toppings here, but you can absolutely use ANY toppings you love! Guacamole, pico de gallo, or creamy jalapeño ranch would all be delicious here.
How to Make Chicken Tacos
These baked chicken tacos are really easy to pull together! Follow along below for a full how-to.
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Brown the ground chicken in a skillet for 10-15 minutes, until the moisture has evaporated off of the meat. Once cooked through, add the taco seasoning and lime juice and stir.
Step 2: Wrap the tortillas in a towel and microwave on high for 60 seconds. Then, lay the tortillas out on a sheet pan and spray or brush 1 side of the tortillas with olive oil. Flip the tortillas so the olive oil side is down.
Step 3: Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cheese on half of each tortilla. Top the cheese with 2 tablespoons of the ground chicken mixture.
Step 4: Add another tablespoon of cheese on top of the ground chicken mixture.
Step 5: Place the tacos in the oven (open) to bake for 5 minutes, then pull the tacos out, fold them over, and put them back in the oven to finish baking for 15 minutes.
Step 6: While the tacos are baking, make the ranch-style sauce by adding the mayonnaise, dill, and lemon juice to a bowl and whisking until smooth.
Step 7: Garnish the tacos with chopped onion, tomato, and cilantro, and serve alongside the ranch dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Recipe Tip
Microwave the tortillas before assembling the tacos – heating the tortillas in the microwave before assembling the tacos makes them more pliable.
Use white corn tortillas – while yellow corn tortillas *will* work, we found that white corn tortillas are slightly more pliable and do not break as easily when baking.
How to Serve
Serve these crispy chicken tacos topped with tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and homemade ranch-style dipping sauce. They’re a delicious complete meal all on their own, but if you’d like to serve them alongside a few sides, black beans and/or white rice would make great accompaniments.
How to Store and Reheat
Store any leftover tacos in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. If you’d like a longer storage option, you can freeze your leftovers for up to 3 months in advance.
To reheat your tacos, simply pop them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes (they’ll lose some of their crisp this way), in a 350°F oven for 8-10 minutes (this is a great way to keep the crisp on your tacos), or in an air fryer for 4-5 minutes (air frying will also make for a nice, crispy reheated taco).
Frequently Asked Questions
We just used a shredded Mexican-blend here, but Monterey jack and cheddar would also be great.
If your tacos aren’t crispy, there’s a good chance you either forgot to brush the tortillas with olive oil or forgot to flip the tortillas after brushing them with olive oil. You’ll want to make sure that you brush each tortilla, then flip them (so the olive oil-ed side is touching the baking sheet), and then fill them up!
You can absolutely use any taco seasoning you’d usually use for ground beef with your ground chicken. Our homemade taco seasoning is delicious, easy to make, and great with either protein.
More Favorite Taco Recipes
If you tried this Ground Chicken Taco recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Ground Chicken Taco Recipe
Ingredients
For the Tacos
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, store-bought or homemade taco seasoning
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2¼ cups shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- 12 corn tortillas
- Olive oil, for brushing each tortilla (approx. ½ teaspoon per tortilla)
For the Ranch-Style Dipping Sauce
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon dried dill
- ¼ cup lemon juice
Optional Garnish
- Fresh chopped tomatoes
- Fresh chopped white onion
- Fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (or 375°F if your oven typically runs hot).*
- Brown the ground chicken in a skillet for 10-15 minutes, until the moisture has evaporated off of the meat. Once cooked through, add the taco seasoning and lime juice and stir.
- Wrap the tortillas in a towel and microwave on high for 60 seconds. Then, lay the tortillas out on a sheet pan and spray or brush 1 side of the tortillas with olive oil. Flip the tortillas so the olive oil side is down.
- Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of cheese on half of each tortilla. Top the cheese with 2 tablespoons of the ground chicken mixture.
- Add another tablespoon of cheese on top of the ground chicken mixture.
- Place the tacos in the oven (open) to bake at 425°F for 5 minutes, then pull the tacos out, fold them over, and put them back in the oven to finish baking for 15 minutes.
- While the tacos are baking, make the ranch-style sauce by adding the mayonnaise, dill, and lemon juice to a bowl and whisking until smooth.
- Garnish the tacos with chopped onion, tomato, and cilantro, and serve alongside the ranch dipping sauce. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Use any ground meat – we used ground chicken here, but ground turkey, beef, or pork would all work great too!
- Make it dairy-free – the only dairy in this recipe is the shredded cheese, so if you’d like a dairy free version of these tacos, simply sub in a dairy-free shredded cheese.
- Change the toppings – we used fresh chopped onion, tomato, cilantro, and our homemade ranch-style sauce as toppings here, but you can absolutely use ANY toppings you love! Guacamole, pico de gallo, or creamy jalapeño ranch would all be delicious here.
Nutrition
LOVED THESE TACOS!!! *picky husband approved* these were super good and the ranch dip makes them refreshing. i found the recipe easy to follow and the video helpful. will be making again 🙂
YAY! We are SO happy y’all loved them, Gabby!
These tacos were amazing! So crispy, and easy to make. This is definitely a great springboard for more ad ones inside the taco: chopped chilies and onions to name a few. Will definitely make again!
Woohoo!! We are so so excited you enjoyed them, Karen!!
So dry. Definitely wouldn’t make again. Waste of time and ingredients
Awe man! We are so sorry you had a bad experience, Katie!
I made these and followed the recipe. I was multiplexing and didn’t monitor the progress of the tacos while they were in the oven…and they were very over done. I sampled anyway. I knew I had to try again! I went back and watched the video on Instagram and it is NOT the same as the recipe!!! It shows placing the tacos in the oven open until the cheese is melty and THEN folding them in half. They definitely should still be closely watched so as not to over bake them.
A few tips here because this recipe is flawed on its own. Use white corn tortillas if you don’t want them to split in half (alternatively, fry yellow corn tortillas in some oil for a few seconds before adding the filling). Shred your own cheese because it will melt better than pre-shredded. Start the tortillas off flat on the baking sheet, and then fold after the cheese has started to melt in the oven. Cut the baking time in half and keep a close eye on the tacos as they finish; they crisp up very quickly. And if you like flavor, use way more seasoning or even taco sauce because these were bland on their own. I added ground chipotle pepper to the ranch because even that wasn’t very flavorful. A real miss from F&F because usually their Tex Mex recipes are top notch.