Crispy Cheddar Chicken Tacos
Updated May 28, 2024
- Total Time
- 35 minutes
- Prep Time
- 5 minutes
- Cook Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 tacos
- ½medium red onion, thinly sliced (lengthwise, from root to stem end)
- 1cup hot water (tap water is fine)
- Salt
- ½teaspoon dried oregano
- 3tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2tablespoons fresh orange juice
- 2cups shredded, cooked chicken, warmed
- 2chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped, plus 2 tablespoons adobo sauce
- 6ounces medium Cheddar, Monterey Jack or queso Chihuahua, grated
- 8(6-inch) corn tortillas
- Sliced avocado, salsa and lime wedges, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
216 calories; 11 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 391 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Set an oven rack in the middle position; heat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Step 2
In a medium bowl, stir the onion, hot water and 1 teaspoon salt until the salt has dissolved. Let sit for 5 minutes. This will soften the onion and lessen any bitter or harsh flavors. Rinse the onion under cold water and drain. In the same bowl, toss the onion with the oregano, lime juice, orange juice and ½ teaspoon salt; reserve.
- Step 3
In a separate bowl, quickly toss together the chicken, peppers and adobo sauce, making sure the chicken is completely coated. Season with salt. Cover and keep warm.
- Step 4
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone mat (do not use foil or the cheese might stick). Arrange cheese in 8 equal mounds on the prepared baking sheet. Spread each mound evenly to about 3 inches wide, and space at least 1 inch apart. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and deep golden brown in spots and around the edges, about 14 minutes. Remove from the oven and place 1 tortilla over each cheese crust and return to the oven to heat the tortillas, about 2 minutes.
- Step 5
Use tongs to carefully remove each tortilla with its costra, flipping each one onto a plate so that the cheese is facing up. Top with chicken, onions, avocado, salsa and a squeeze of lime.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Pattie
You can make it whatever you want it to be! Simply omit chicken and add your favorite veggies. Recipes are a guide so we can make them all our own. <3
melp
Same. But Whole Foods has started to carry Masienda tortillas - both white corn and blue corn. Not sure of NYT will allow the link - https://masienda.com/collections/all/products/retail-corn-tortillas-ready-to-eat?variant=43320943804565 You could also just buy their masa and a press and make your own.
Brie
I love making crispy cheese taco shells. So easy. Just put you cheese of choice(full fat works better)in a pan on low and just let cook until crispy. Then drape and drain excess oil on a suspended rack(oven rack works great)until cool. You can also do them tostada style and just drain and cool on paper towels. I like to use a fiber tortilla placed on the cheese while still melty for a more solid tostada sometimes. Once cool and crispy, fill and enjoy! Have lost over 100lbs eating all the cheese!
sharon
Made these last night with straight up pickled onions (no oj), all else as written. Really good. Love the cheese thingy.
Melinda
This was so delicious; the cheese crust (I used cheddar) was soooo good. I was really lazy with this recipe; used leftover rotisserie chicken and pre-shredded cheese and it came together in a flash. I can really see riffing with this re filling and cheese choice. Queso and shrimp next time…
Ann M
These were delicious! I adjusted a bit for my fussy kids by making a chipotle creama and keeping the chicken plain. Pickled onions were yummy and loved the avocado! Going into the weeknight dinner rotation
Rachel A
I used canned chicken to make this recipe even easier and it turned out great.
Workerbee
While an added step, for those who dislike the stale flavor of grocery store corn tortillas, perhaps consider the Serious Eats approach about the right way to warm corn tortillas. Following their method of a quick dip in water then directly onto a dry hot pan and finally stacked in a tea towel to finish steaming, the stale taste is gone. It takes a few extra minutes, but the results are well worth it. For this recipe, the corn tortillas were warmed before melting the cheese. Very delicious.
Sandy
Omg. This was so good. First time posting. I had never heard of baking the cheese but it added so much flavor. Only change I made was adding some salsa to the chicken
Toni
Delicious!!! Absurdly easy and so tasty. Gotta love Rick Martinez!
Great Recipe, But There's An Quicker Way
Instead of baking the cheese in the oven first followed by the tortillas and flipping them, simply put the tortillas in a sheet pan, cover thinly with cheddar cheese all over, and then and then broil. Then follow the recipe as specified. Done in 10 minutes.
Judy
Thank you, Eric, for the great tips. Great combo with the salad. My new fave.
Elle
This was really delicious and easy. It’s also adaptable, so will no doubt become a way to use up leftover proteins. Served with salad, beans, or leftover rice. Just terrific.
JG
These were fabulous. I used smoked pulled pork from my son’s smoker so I used a chipotle salsa to mix with it since there was so much smoky flavor from the meat. I added shredded lettuce on top with the onions and avocado and oh boy!
cdbrink
Quick and delicious. Had an unopened can of chiles en adobo and an open jar of harissa - was in a hurry so chose the latter to dress warmed leftover chicken and didn’t regret it. Tortillas were in the freezer so went with just the costra as a shell, and didn’t miss the tortilla, though I’m sure that would be delicious. We were in a hurry, and this fit the bill. Loved the onion mixture with the avocado. Will repeat!
Angel D
To refresh stale store-bought tortillas, try spritzing them with a little water then heating them on a pan. They’ll regain some pliability and maybe be a little crispy or place a damp paper towel in the bag of a few or if a larger stack, a few damp paper towels between some of the tortillas, microwave for 30 seconds or more and they’ll soften up nicely. This method of spritzing and toasting works well for day-old bread too!
Jenni
Fantastic! I thinly sliced a whole red onion and sauteed it to an almost caramelized state, then added the oregano, lime juice and orange juice to deglaze the pan and coat the onions, like a jam. It was a perfect condiment for the tacos. That crispy cheese frico is addictive and I will be using it in as many other dishes as I can!
janisani
the chicken with adobo chiles was really good. but the frico really "made" these. such a simple but incredible upgrade.
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