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Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe

Delicious and easy cheesy shredded chicken tacos with BIG flavors! These shredded chicken tacos with homemade taco seasoning is easy and delicious! Top these chicken tacos off with my homemade habanero chunky salsa. These shredded chicken tacos are so easy and delicious!

Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe

I’ve been craving shredded chicken tacos for the longest time. The last time I had chicken tacos was about a year ago. I don’t know why it took me so long to make these shredded chicken tacos but I recently made them and my family and I loved them so much that they requested that I make them again this week. I think I’ve had these cheesy chicken tacos about five times in the past two weeks.

I like to make a large serving of these chicken tacos so that my family and I can have something that tastes fantastic and quick to eat for lunch or even dinner. My teen loves eating a lot of different variations of chicken tacos and so far he says these are the best ones yet, so leftover shredded chicken is always a great option for making tacos.

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Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe

The tacos, habanero salsa and the homemade taco seasoning for my shredded chicken taco or any Mexican style recipe are all simple to make.  The ingredients in this  homemade taco seasoning are onion powder, garlic powder, red pepper, smoked paprika, Mexican chili powder, pepper. Mix all the seasonings together.

Season the boneless skinless chicken thighs liberally with 2 tablespoons of the homemade taco seasoning. I like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs for my tacos because chicken thighs have so much more flavor than chicken breast. Juicy tender chicken tacos is a good thing!
Cook the chicken for about 3-4 minutes on each side. While the chicken is cooking, chop up the onions and mince the garlic. I used canned diced tomatoes and one small habanero minced.

Cook the onions until they’re soft then add the other vegetables. Using a wooden spoon smash the chunks of salsa as it cooks. Add a bit of sugar about 1-2 teaspoons to get rid of the bitter taste  of the tomatoes. Lastly, add about 1 tablespoon of lime juice to the homemade salsa then season the homemade habanero salsa with salt and pepper. With two forks, shred the chicken thighs leaving some bigger pieces of shredded chicken.

Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray a bit of vegetable oil on the parchment paper. Place about 3 small soft tacos on the baking sheet (you may be able to add more or less tacos depending on the size of your baking sheet)  and spray a bit of vegetable oil.

Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe
The vegetable oil will make the soft tacos have a soft crunch.  Add the cheese, the shredded chicken then more cheese to the taco. Bake the chicken tacos for only 2-3 minutes then add the homemade habanero salsa, fresh sliced grape tomatoes and the lettuce. Add sour cream if you like.  So good!  Enjoy!

Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe

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Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe

Shredded Chicken Tacos

April Boller Wright
Easy Homemade Shredded chicken tacos with great BIG flavors  These chicken tacos are so easy and delicious!  The chicken is tender and juicy, cooked in a flavorful mouth-watering taco seasoned adobo sauce.
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine Mexican, Tex Mex
Servings 8 people

Ingredients
  

Taco Seasoning

  • 2 tbsp garlic powder
  • 2 tbsp red pepper
  • 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp Mexican Chili Powder
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp pepper

Chicken

  • 2.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 tbsp of the homemade taco seasoning mix

Homemade Habanero Salsa

  • 1 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
  • 1 1/2 cup diced onions
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 tbsp lime juice
  • 1-2 tsp sugar
  • 1/2 tbsp jarred jalapenos diced very smalll
  • 1/2 cup grape tomatoes halved
  • 1 habanero diced very small
  • 6-8 soft flour tacos

Instructions
 

Taco seasoning mix

  • Add all of the seasoning to a bowl or jar big enough and mix well. Season the chicken thighs with the homemade taco seasoning. 

Habanero Salso

  • Add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot add the onion Cook the onions until softened. Add the diced canned tomatoes, habanero and jalapeno. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add sugar if the tomatoes are too bitter. Add the lime juice, salt and pepper for taste. 

Chicken

  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the skillet is hot add the Season chicken thighs. Cook for3-4 minutes or until done. Add the cooked chicken into a medium sized bowl. With two forks shred the chicken leaving some bigger pieces of shredded chicken. Add more homemade taco seasoning to the chicken if needed. I usually add an additional 1 teaspoon of homemade taco seasoning to the shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper for taste. 
  • Lightly spray the baking sheet with vegetable oil.  Place the soft tacos on the baking sheet ( I was only able to fit 3 tacos on my baking sheet) Spray a tiny bit of vegetable oil on top of each soft taco. 
  • Add your choice of shredded cheeses. I use monterrey jack cheese and Mexican mixed cheeses.  Add the chicken then add more cheese. Place the baking sheet into the oven and cook for about 2-3 minutes. You want the tacos to have soft crunch. Don't leave the tacos in the oven too long or they will become hard.Add the homemade salsa and fresh grape tomatoes and lettuce.  Serve immediately. 

Notes

Cook tips
 

Instant Pot Burn Notice - 

 
 
 
No 1. Couple reasons for this warning. If you receive a burn notice you most likely need to add more broth or water (if you like) to the instant pot. Don't worry if you get the warning. I got the warning so of course, had to add more liquid. I initially tried to get away with 1/4 cup of  but it wasn't enough.  The liquid measurement in the recipe card is what you can start with. 
 
 
 
No 2. The knob was not turned to sealing position. Make sure the knob is set to sealing.
 
 
 
 
No 3. The burn notice could be that the lid wasn't locked. Make sure the lid is locked. For more instant pot troubleshooting info you can check out the pressure cooker site. 
 
Storage - Store in air-tight container. Place in the refrigerator for up to one week. Freeze up to a month in the freezer. 
 
 
Tools to make this: Visit my Amazon shop to purchase the Instant Pot that I use.  
Recipe has been updated 3/6/2019
Keyword chicken tacos, Mexican shredded chicken, shredded chicken tacos
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Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe Chicken Tacos and a Taco Seasoning Recipe

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35 Comments

  1. You always have the best recipes. I’ll have to add this recipe to my must try for taco Tuesday!5 stars

  2. Looks soooo delicious and filling!I love taco recipes and this looks great with chicken! My kind of quick, on go, healthy meal!5 stars

  3. Where are the Habanero at..?

    1. Can you please clarify? The habanero is listed in the ingredients and in the directions.

  4. These look absolutely incredddddible!!! So flavorful and warming for these still cold days. Yum.

    1. Thank you Jessie! Sure is cold but Tuesday will be 74 degrees! I can’t wait for the warmer weather!

  5. This looks so appetizing! I love that you mix your taco seasoning yourself. I’ll definitely try this for next Taco Tuesday!5 stars

  6. That homemade habanero chunky salsa sounds so delicious! I definitely want to try it sooner than later 🙂5 stars

  7. Catherine Brown says:

    Oooooh, this habanero sauce sounds fantastic!! I love making my own condiments like this. Can’t wait ’til peppers are growing again. 😉

  8. Oh my I’m drooling here, these tacos look so good April, that habanero sauce and some sour cream, heavenly! Pinned for later, I absolutely must make your recipe, the fam will love it!!5 stars

  9. These sound delicious! I love how easy they are. Great idea for spraying vegetable oil5 stars