Baked Chicken Tacos
I love finding a recipe that my kids get excited for. This one was one of those. Baked Chicken Tacos are filled with refried beans, shredded chicken and cheese. They’re baked to a crisp and make it an easy hand held meal that anyone would enjoy. Be sure to serve with your favorite salsa and guacamole for dipping.
We keep these Baked Chicken Tacos on hand and store in the freezer for an easy meal or snack whenever our kids are hungry. I much prefer for them to grab something like this rather than a packaged snack when I can help it. A snack like this will give them more nutrition and energy for their day. All they have to do is pop one or two in the toaster oven for a few minutes and it’s ready to go.
I always say your food is as good as it’s sourced. To ensure a quality, nutrient meal always be sure to read your food labels. Many refried beans are full of inflammatory oils, and tortillas the same. If you have the capacity to check and prepare accordingly, you can prepare these tacos with confidence and provide a nutrient dense meal or snack.
To prepare these tacos you’ll need the following ingredients:
Chicken: I used chicken breast, though chicken thighs would work as well.
Butter: This is used to cook and soften the onion. You can sub olive oil here if you prefer.
Onion: Yellow or white onion work best for this recipe.
Refried beans: Always read your labels. Not all beans are made the same. Try choosing a can with simple ingredients and free from inflammatory oils. I do like the Siete brand when I can find it. If you have the luxury, homemade refried beans are fairly easy to make with an InstantPot. Beans not only provide a great source of protein here, but they add beneficial vitamins and minerals as well.
Salsa: Your favorite salsa works here. Be careful for hidden sugars and syrups in salsa brands.
Cheese: I love using a Monterey jack cheese or cheddar here, but any of your favorite cheese will work.
Tortillas: For the recipe shown I used 5 inch corn tortillas. I have made this recipe with many other varieties as well. If you choose to use larger tortillas it will obviously result in fewer servings. Corn, flour, gluten free tortillas are all great options. Each variety will cook differently, but they all are delicious. And, again, always read your labels. Lots of unnecessary ingredients get thrown into tortillas. Choose one with the simplest and fewest ingredients.
A few simple steps to prepare these tacos:
1. Cook onion over medium heat. Add chicken and salsa and mix well.
2. Prepare tacos by first laying out a tortilla, spread a layer of beans over half the tortilla, topped with chicken mixture and then cheese.
3. Fold tortilla over and place on pan. Top pan of prepared tacos with another pan to keep it weighted down while cooking.
4. Bake until slightly golden and crisp.
Baked Chicken Tacos
Equipment
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoons
- Saucepan
- Baking pans
- Parchment paper
Ingredients
- 1 pound chicken cooked and shredded
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/3 cup onion diced
- 16 ounce can refried beans
- 1 cup salsa
- 3 cups cheese shredded
- 24 corn tortillas 5 inch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.
- Once butter is melted, add diced onion and saute for 2-3 minutes until onions are soft and fragrant.
- Turn off heat and add shredded chicken and salsa. Stir until ingredients are well combined. Set aside.
- Warm tortillas slightly so that they are nice and pliable (see note below).
- Prepare a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Assemble tacos: spread a small amount of refried beans to one side of the tortilla. Add seasoned chicken on top of the beans, and sprinkle cheese on top of chicken. You don’t want to overfill these tacos, just enough of each ingredient to taste in every bite.
- Once you add each layer (beans, chicken, cheese). Gently fold the taco in half. Press lightly so that it all sticks together. Place on the prepared baking sheet with the filling side up (this will help keep the taco closed).
- Repeat with the remaining tacos. (You will either need to prepare these in two batches or use two different pans. I was able to fit 12 on one baking sheet).
- Place another baking sheet on top of tacos to hold tacos closed and place into the preheated oven.
- Bake for 18 minutes. After 18 minutes, turn the oven to broil and bake for another 2-3 minutes to crisp the tacos. Watch this carefully as every oven is different and it could go quicker than you think.
I’d love the addition of the beans with the taco; it has that creaminess that is needed for a chicken taco.
Thanks Stephanie! The beans definitely help seal the taco, but honestly I love adding in beans when I can, authentic and loads of nutrients! Hope you enjoy them!
This looks like a great family-friendly meal that’s both tasty and easy.
We love this one too. I hope you enjoy it!
These tacos were great. I wish I had made more to put in the freezer for future snacks like you mention. Next time!