Baked Chicken Tacos

I have said it many times – but I really mean it – tacos are so very versatile. You can do meat or no meat, you can beans or rice or salsa or veggies or cheese. You can have soft or crispy – flour or corn tortillas – or something else all together as a shell! I saw some of those “stand-up” taco shells at the grocery and realized I had never actually made anything with them. They looked like a good idea for a hearty taco meal, and that is exactly what we got. These Baked Chicken Tacos are stuffed full with beans, cheese and chicken and your family is going to love it.

This recipe is perfect for a busy weeknight because the active cooking time is very short. You could shorten it even more if you opted to use rotisserie chicken. I would get the regular roasted chicken (not a lemon garlic or rosemary), and then still toss in the seasoning before adding to the shells. I used the blended cheese mix but you could also use cheddar, Monterey jack, pepper jack…really whatever you have on hand. I also did canned refried beans, you could do black beans, or even corn. Just be sure to really let them drain thoroughly so that they don’t sog out the crunchy shells before you get them into the oven.

Like I mentioned, I sort of built this recipe around seeing the stand-up taco shells on the shelf at the grocery. If you can’t find them, I’m sure regular crunchy taco shells would work just fine. You just might need to either use a smaller baking dish or make a few more, as you want them to stay standing up in the dish while they bake. And since the regular shaped taco shells are a little smaller, you might need a few more anyway.

I chose to garnish with just taco sauce and sour cream this time. I did think of adding in some pickled jalapenos or cilantro, but I didn’t have enough on hand and I wanted to keep it simple for this meal. I served it up with some cheesy beans and called it good. The tacos are very hearty so don’t have to worry about not having enough.

Now Let’s Get Cookin’!

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Baked Chicken Tacos

A melted cheesy, crunchy chicken taco that your going to want to make over and over again.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Mexican, Tex-Mex

Keyword cheese, chicken tacos, refried beans, taco, tacos

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 10 Tacos

Equipment

• 1 13×9 Baking Dish

Ingredients

• 2 lb Chicken Breast
• 1 qt Chicken Broth
• 1½ tbsp Chili Powder divided
• 1½ tbsp Cumin divided
• 1½ tbsp Garlic Powder divided
• 1 15oz can Refried Beans
• 3 cups Mexican Cheese blend Monterey Jack and Cheddar Cheese, shredded
• 10 Stand up Corn Taco shells
• Taco Sauce for garnish
• Sour Cream for garnish

Instructions

• In a sauce pan over medium-high heat, add chicken, chicken broth, and one tablespoon each of chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder. Let cook for 25 minutes. Remove chicken to a bowl and shred with a fork. Add remaining seasoning and toss to coat.
• Preheat oven to 350degF.
• Using a spatula, put a layer of refried beans in the bottom of each taco shell, then a layer of cheese. Next add a portion of shredded chickens and then another layer of cheese. Bake in oven for 15 minutes.
• Remove from oven and drizzle each taco with taco sauce, right away. Then let sit for at least 5 minutes before adding sour cream and serving.