Easy Weeknight Chicken Tacos
Quick and easy chicken tacos flavored with cumin, lime, and garlic – perfect for those busy weeknights!
A few years ago I took a family trip to Southern California, and absolutely fell in love. My whole family loved it so much that we went again a couple of years later. Everything about San Diego is perfect – from the weather, to the beach, to that Southern California vibe. Oh, and did I mention the TACOS.
Somehow whenever we go on family vacations, my food-obsessed father turns them into a food tour rather than a relaxing getaway. While we were in San Diego, my dad had one goal and one goal only – find the PERFECT taco (and I don’t think he would’ve returned home until his objective was complete). I am not exaggerating when I tell you guys that for a week, we planned all of our activities around taco spots. We literarily went taco hopping.
On one of the last couple of days, my dad landed his hands on the best tacos, which we stumbled upon in Old Town San Diego. Mission accomplished. These tacos were the real deal, all-authentic, Mexican taqueria tacos. And let me tell you, at that moment I was actually thankful that my dad discovered these tacos because they were so worth it!
Now, authentic tacos aren’t anything like the “American Taco Night” tacos. In fact, basically every ingredient in real Mexican tacos is different:
They are soft corn tacos instead of crispy yellow tortillas or soft flour tortillas
There is NEVER lettuce, tomato, sour cream, or cheddar cheese
Common toppings are cilantro, white onion, radishes, avocado, jalapeño, lots of lime, and hot sauce or salsa
It’s all about the meat. And I’m not talking seasoned ground beef. Most taquerias offer chicken, pork (al pastor, carnitas), beef (bistec, barbacoa, beef tongue), fish, or chorizo
I love making all different types of tacos but for an easy weeknight meal, these Chicken Tacos are my go-to. Chicken breast is seasoned with cumin, lime, garlic, and hot sauce and then grilled. I then shred the chicken, warm up the tortillas (I use organic sprouted corn tortillas) and lay out all of the toppings so everyone can build their own taco. That’s the great thing about tacos; you basically customize them to your own tastes. You can try different combinations – load them up with cilantro and onion, make it as spicy or not spicy as you want, add guacamole or slices of avocado. The options are endless.
I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like tacos. Seriously, they’re amazing. And, these tacos are actually pretty healthy. They aren’t “greasy”, there’s no deep-frying involved, no added fat from dairy, and no white flour.
The best part about this taco recipe – LEFTOVERS. If there happens to be any leftover chicken, I love making a taco rice bowl for lunch the next day. Prepare some rice; then pile your bowl high with the shredded chicken, cilantro, onions, jalapeño, avocado, some radishes and lime wedges on the side.
Easy Weeknight Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 large chicken breasts boneless skinless
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp chilli powder
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 2 tbsp - 1/4 cup hot sauce
- 1 lime juice & zest
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- soft corn tortillas
- Toppings
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1 avocado
- 1 small white onion diced
- 1 small jalapeno finely diced
- Hot sauce
- lime wedges
- radishes thinly sliced
Instructions
- In a resealable bag, combine garlic, chili powder, cumin, lime juice, lime zest, hot sauce, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Add chicken and let marinade for at least 2 hours or overnight in refrigerator.
- Grill or broil until the internal temperature reaches 170 degrees F.
- Let chicken rest for 10 min and then use a fork to shred.
- Warm up the tortillas and prepare all of the toppings.
- To assemble the tacos, place shredded chicken in a tortilla and top with cilantro, onion, avocado, jalapeno, and hot sauce (or whatever toppings your prefer). Serve with sliced radishes and lime wedges on the side.
Notes
Nutrition
