Saucy Chicken Soft Tacos

Looking for a unique chicken taco recipe? One that’s dripping in a luscious tomato based, taco seasoned, chile spiked sauce? This easy recipe for Mexican Chicken Tacos using shredded chicken breasts will shake up your Taco Tuesdays. Give these Saucy Chicken Soft Tacos a try.

I’m not sure if I’ve ever met a taco I didn’t like.

And I really couldn’t estimate how long it’s been since we’ve been “taco people.” I suppose since I was a teenager, and that’s like a hundred years ago. I’d like to be on record that Taco Bell was not the inspiration, but rather it was a mom and pop restaurant in my home town when I was growing up. It introduced tacos and burritos to me long before that big corporate chain.

Rick Bayless threw me over the edge with the introduction of official Mexican Street Tacos, warm soft corn tortillas filled with fresh ingredients far beyond the fried ground beef and chopped onions.

It opened my eyes that a taco shell is a canvas for about any vegetable and protein combination that one can dream up. Take for instance these Swiss Chard Tacos = delicious.

We don’t really need another reason to love chicken tacos, unless it’s this saucy chicken taco version, which is a little different than most main stream Mexican tacos recipes.

This sauce, cooked stovetop is extremely easy and the seasoning for the chicken faster than any quick chicken marinade. 

This recipe starts in the oven, by sprinkling flavorful homemade taco seasoning over boneless skinless chicken breasts and baking for thirty minutes.

While the chicken is baking, the sauce is prepared stovetop and set aside. This easy taco sauce starts with a can of tomato sauce and is seasoned with garlic, onion, cumin and chile powder.

Once the chicken is cooked and cool enough to shred, it’s added to the sauce and simmered for fifteen minutes.

The tacos are built by warming the corn tortillas and filling them with the savory spicy chicken mixture.

I’ve topped them with chopped avocado, sliced radishes, sliced romaine lettuce and grated Monterey Jack Cheese.

We truly loved the crunch of the sliced radishes and creaminess of the avocado with tomato sauced chicken. It all came together for this flavorful and exciting soft taco recipe.

Topping options for chicken soft tacos:

• Use Muenster cheese instead of Monterey Jack.
• Replace Monterey Jack Cheese with crumbled Queso Fresco
• Replace thin sliced Romaine with thin sliced green cabbage.
• Top tacos with fine diced fresh jalapeno pepper
• Add very thin sliced rings of red onion, or Homemade Pickled Red Onions.
• Top with sliced green or ripe olives.
• Turn these tacos into tostadas. Fry your own or purchase store bought tostada shells.

 Recipe for Saucy Chicken Soft Tacos

This recipe is a simple soft taco recipe and perfect for your next taco night. I hope you give this one a try and if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating. Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes.

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Saucy Chicken Tacos

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

 

This easy recipe for Mexican Chicken Tacos using shredded chicken breasts will shake up your Taco Tuesdays.

Course: Main Course Chicken

Cuisine: Mexican

Keyword: chicken breast, tacos

Servings: 6

Calories: 417 kcal

Ingredients

• 3 medium chicken breasts boneless, skinless
• 1 1/2 tablespoon taco seasoning mix
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup onion diced
• 15 ounces tomato sauce
• 3 cloves garlic diced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon New Mexico Chile Powder
• 2 cups Romaine lettuce chopped
• 1 1/2 cup Monterey Jack cheese shredded
• 5 radishes sliced
• 1 Avocado chopped
• Soft white or yellow corn tortillas

Instructions

1. Coat chicken breasts with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with taco seasoning and bake at 350 degreed for 30 minutes, or until done. 

2. When chicken is cool enough, shred chicken with fork. In a sauce pan, cook onions in remaining olive oil until tender. Add chicken and tomato sauce and remaining seasonings and simmer on medium low, covered for 15 minutes. 

3. Warm tortillas. To build tacos, scoop a spoonful of chicken into each tortilla. Add lettuce, cheese, olives and then avocado.

Nutrition Facts

Saucy Chicken Tacos

Amount Per Serving

Calories 417 Calories from Fat 198

% Daily Value*

Fat 22g34%

Saturated Fat 8g50%

Cholesterol 97mg32%

Sodium 728mg32%

Potassium 965mg28%

Carbohydrates 22g7%

Fiber 6g25%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 35g70%

Vitamin A 2129IU43%

Vitamin C 13mg16%

Calcium 262mg26%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Looking for more Chicken Taco Ideas?  You won’t want to miss:

Recipe Link >> Chipotle Chicken Salad Tacos with Avocado