Crispy Baked Chicken Tacos are made with a flavorful ground chicken filling and baked in a crisp tortilla for a healthy meal you'll love.
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I will never say no to cheesy tacos for dinner. Combine that with a sheet pan meal and you've got the ultimate weeknight dinner that takes less than 30 minutes of prep. These crispy baked chicken tacos with be a hit, especially served with garden salsa, sour cream (or Greek yogurt), and guacamole.
As a dietitian, I'm also a big fan of these chicken tacos. They've got lean protein, fibre, and lots of hidden veggies that you won't even notice. Plus they taste YUMMY, which is the key to any healthy meal. It's the crispy, bite-sized version of my popular chicken black bean quesadilla.
Why This Recipe Is Dietitian Approved
- Hidden veggies. There are 3 whole cups of zucchini in this recipe, but you'd never be able to tell!
- Protein-packed. Each chicken taco has around 18g of protein, making this a filling high protein meal.
- Crowdpleaser. These crispy baked chicken tacos are bound to be a family favourite, especially when paired with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.
Ingredients
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Ground chicken. Our lean protein source of choice! Any type of ground meat will also work.
Zucchini. It's the most mild lflavoured, easy-to-hide vegetable that I LOVE adding to my recipes. It cooks down wonderfully so you wouldn’t even notice it's there (but there are 3 full cups in this recipe!).
Black beans. For additional fiber and protein! Since we're using white flour tortillas, I wanted to boost the fiber content of this recipe. What better way than adding some beans?
Spices. I make my own taco seasoning in this recipe by combining salt, black pepper, chili powder, ground coriander, garlic powder, onion powder and cayenne pepper powder. However if you would like, to use a pre-mixed low sodium taco seasoning, you absolutely can!
Tortillas. Look for small taco-sized wheat tortillas. I find these the easiest to work with, as corn tortillas do tend to rip and aren't as soft.
The complete ingredient list with measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
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- In a large skillet over medium-high heat add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add ground chicken and cook until no longer pink in colour.
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- Once the chicken is cooked, add zucchini, black beans and spices. Stir. Reduce the heat to low and cover for about 5 minutes, allowing the zucchini to soften and shrink in size. Remove the lid and stir again to ensure all the spices are fully combined. If there is any excess moisture in the pan, drain the liquid.
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- Warm your tortillas by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and microwaving for about 30 seconds. Arrange tortillas on the prepared sheet pan and brush the top of each with a thin layer of the remaining olive oil. Flip the tortillas so the oil side is facing down.
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- Add about 1-2 tablespoon of cheese to ½ of each tortilla (enough so the half is fully covered). Top with about ¼ cup of the ground chicken mixture.
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- Top the ground chicken with 1-2 tablespoon of additional cheese and fold the tortilla over, gently pressing down to ensure it stays down. Brush the top with a little additional olive oil (optional but this helps ensure they are nice and crispy).
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- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the tortillas begin to turn golden brown (keep an eye on the tacos as you may need to gently press the tops of the tortilla down while baking if they start to open up). Allow to cool slightly and serve with your dips of choice!
Substitutions and Variations
To make gluten-free: use corn tortillas. If you do decide to use corn tortillas, I HIGHLY recommend ensuring you warm the tortillas before baking as they are much more prone to breaking. Warming them will help make them a bit more pliable.
To make vegetarian: use lentils or vegetarian “ground meat alternative” in place of the ground chicken.
To make dairy-free: substitute with a dairy-free cheese of choice. Ensure you pick a brand that melts well.
To make nut-free: this recipe is naturally nut-free.
Switching up ingredients? Try these:
- Ground chicken: any ground meat works like ground turkey, ground beef etc. You can also experiment with using shredded chicken.
- Get creative with the veggie add-ins: I find zucchini, carrots and cauliflower rice work the best if you are trying to “hide” the veggies, however you could also experiment with diced bell peppers, small cauliflower florets etc.
- Change up the cheese: looking for a spicier option? Add some Mexican-style pimento cheese, looking for a bit more of a bite? Substitute the cheddar with a jalapeno havarti or aged cheddar.
Equipment
Storage
These crispy chicken tacos store well in the fridge once cooked and cooled. Place them in an airtight container in the fridge (you might want to layer them with some parchment paper to avoid sticking) and simply reheat in a pan, in the oven, in the air fryer or in the microwave.
To freeze, allow the tacos to fully cool before placing in a large freeze-er friendly bag. Layer the tacos using parchment paper to avoid them sticking together. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To reheat from frozen, place in the oven at 325 for about 10 minutes or the air fryer at 350 for about 20 minutes.
Top Tips for Success
To make this recipe even easier, replace the spices with one package of lower sodium taco seasoning and replace the shredded zucchini with a bag of broccoli slaw mix (I don't recommend traditional coleslaw mix as the pieces tend to be larger).
Use a spatula to really break down the pieces of the ground chicken to ensure it is as small as possible. I find as it is a leaner meat they tend to stay together in bigger chunks. For the ultimate ground chicken tacos, we want the pieces to be small.
Allow the zucchini to fully cook down, at first it will seem like alot of zucchini, but once it is cooked with the lid on the pan it will significantly reduce in size as the moisture is removed.
Frequently Asked Questions
No! These are quite mild tasting taco. I wanted to make them as family friendly as possible. If you are looking for a bit more spice, add some additional cayenne pepper or even some diced jalapenos into the ground chicken blend.
I use flour tortillas as I find them the easiest to work with. I honestly don't have a go-to brand and just buy whatever I can find. I haven't yet found small whole wheat tortillas, but if you have, let me know!
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More Easy Dinner Recipes
If you loved these crispy baked chicken tacos, try these next:
- Fresh Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
- 20 Minute Air Fryer Shrimp Tacos
- One Pan Vegetarian Taco Skillet
- One Pan Lazy Enchilada Skillet
See you in the kitchen!
PS. I love seeing my recipes in action! If you decide to make these crispy baked chicken tacos, don't forget to snap a photo and tag me on Instagram- @nourishedbynic or leave a comment and rating below letting me know how you liked it!
📖 Recipe
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Crispy Baked Ground Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil divided
- 1 lb lean ground chicken
- 3 cups shredded zucchini about 1.5 medium zucchinis
- 1 cup black beans rinsed and drained
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2.5 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
- 8 taco-sized tortillas
- 1.5 cup cheddar cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F and line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add ground chicken and cook until no longer pink in colour.
- Once the chicken is cooked, add zucchini, black beans and spices. Stir. Reduce the heat to low and cover for about 5 minutes, allowing the zucchini to soften and shrink in size. Remove the lid and stir again to ensure all the spices are fully combined. If there is any excess moisture in the pan, drain the liquid.
- Warm your tortillas by wrapping them in a damp paper towel and microwaving for about 30 seconds. Arrange tortillas on the prepared sheet pan and brush the top of each with a thin layer of the remaining olive oil. Flip the tortillas so the oil side is facing down.
- Add about 1-2 tablespoon of cheese to ½ of each tortilla (enough so the half is fully covered). Top with about ¼ cup of the ground chicken mixture. Top the ground chicken with 1-2 tablespoon of additional cheese and fold the tortilla over, gently pressing down to ensure it stays down. Brush the top with a little additional olive oil (optional but this helps ensure they are nice and crispy).
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the tortillas begin to turn golden brown. Keep an eye on the tacos as you may need to gently press the tops of the tortilla down while baking if they start to open up. Allow to cool slightly and serve with your dips of choice!
Notes
Nutrition
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