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Weeknight style Cheesy Baked Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch…and all the toppings. Because loaded tacos are just better. Ground chicken seasoned with a smoky chipotle chili spice mix, stuffed into hard shell tacos, topped with cheese, and oven-baked. These tacos are crunchy on the outside, but spicy and cheesy inside. Serve each taco with a creamy, cooling cilantro lime ranch sauce, and a mix of your favorite taco toppings. They come together in minutes and are so delicious…the perfect weeknight dinner. Bonus, the chipotle chicken is great as a leftover. Pile it high onto your favorite tortilla chips for some seriously delicious nachos or serve it up atop greens for a Mexican inspired salad.
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As a kid, tacos were a weeknight staple in our house. I’ve touched on this before, but my dad cooked tacos for dinner at least once or twice a week for multiple years straight. It probably wasn’t until I started to take over the cooking around the age of fourteen that we started to switch things up. So yes, the typical weeknight ground beef taco was a staple, and my dad had them down to a T.
He’d make his tacos with ground beef and store-bought taco seasoning. Then he’d simply stuff the meat into tortillas with a little cheddar cheese and nothing else. Well…maybe some lettuce for my mom and I. But no beans, no avocado, not even cilantro or a squeeze of lime. Very, very basic, and it’s just what my brothers wanted. At the time, I didn’t know any better, so I greatly enjoyed these tacos too. I took mine in a hard shell and oven-baked for extra crispiness on the outside, and soft and cheesy inside.
And there you have it.
That’s my childhood taco story. Did we ever get sick of eating tacos? Honestly, I don’t think we did. I’m pretty sure that we were the ones requesting taco night so often. We loved it and still do! I’m always making tacos, whether it’s these quick skillet chicken tacos, my favorite Caribbean shrimp tacos, or these saucy instant pot BBQ chicken tacos. Tacos are still on the menu every couple of weeks.
But my absolute go-to taco?
It’s these. They’re classic, so simple, cheesy, crunchy, and SO GOOD. I love them, my brothers love them, and pretty much every other human who enjoys Mexican food (even just a little) enjoys these crunchy tacos.
To make these weeknight chicken tacos…
It is SIMPLE.
Pick up some ground chicken, turkey, or even ground beef. Just be sure to use what your family loves most! Simply brown the meat, add seasonings, and stuff into hard tacos. Then top with cheese, and bake in the oven until melted and crisp.
Doesn’t get any easier, but yet this is a dinner that everyone loves.
I do have a few little secrets however that make these tacos better than the rest.
The seasoning blend.
Over the years, I feel like I’ve kind of perfected the taco seasoning mix. It’s just a touch spicy, a little smoky, and hinted with garlic. I use a mix of chipotle chili powder (key ingredient) and smoked paprika to keep the taco meat extra flavorful. Most tacos mixes use regular chili powder, but I’ve always found that to lack flavor. Using chipotle chili powder adds the perfect amount of spiciness.
I like to use a good amount, so be sure to adjust this to your family’s taste level. Start with two teaspoons and work your way up to three if you like things spicy!
My Shells? I make them at home.
Well, kind of, and the shells aren’t technically a part of the recipe. BUT I’m including it in the notes. Instead of using store-bought taco shells I like to take corn tortillas, stuff them with the taco meat plus cheese, then oven bake them until the tortillas are crispy. I rub each tortilla with olive oil and then flip them halfway through cooking. This is key to getting the tacos extra crispy on both sides.
If you have a couple extra minutes, I would highly recommend making your own “shells”. They’re very, very good…and much healthier than store-bought too!
That cilantro lime ranch? You need it too.
Most tacos are topped with sour cream, but trust me this cilantro lime ranch is so much better, but it’s also not your average ranch.
I used fresh cilantro and plenty of lime in place of the usual herb mix and stirred in some pickled jalapeños for a spicy, tangy kick. This is the perfect sauce to dollop onto each cheesy, crunchy taco.
If you wanted to take the toppings a step further, I would recommend a pineapple salsa or mango salsa. But you all know me, I love a good fruity salsa. Oh, and maybe add a nice margarita too. This spicy mango marg is my personal favorite.
If you make these weeknight Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Weeknight Cheesy Baked Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken, beef, or turkey
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2-3 teaspoons chipotle chili powder, use to your taste
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper, use to your taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 12 hard shell tacos , (see notes for homemade option)
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
Cilantro Lime Ranch
- 1 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- 3/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños, chopped + 2 tablespoons brine
- juice from 2 limes
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the ground chicken and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until the chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, and salt. Add 3/4 cup water. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly around the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. 3. Line the taco shells up on a sheet pan or in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Transfer to the oven and bake 5 minutes. Evenly divide the meat among each taco shell and top with cheese. Bake 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted. 4. Meanwhile, make the ranch. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake or stir until creamy. 5. Serve the tacos topped with ranch, avocado, red onion, and any other desired toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Made these 3 times now. AMAZING! Have been added every other week to our dinner rotation menu!
one question: Do you have a recipe for pickle jalapeño’s ?
Hi Amy! I am really glad you like this! I have a recipe for pickling veggies that I will leave below! I hope you love this! xTieghan
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/quick-pickled-veggies/
Amazing recipe! I stuffed some extra veggies in my tacos, delicious!! What brand of corn tortillas did you use? When I put mine in the oven they got too hard so I switched to flour.
Hi Julie! I use mission brand taco shells. I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Hi can I substitute corn tortillas for flour tortillas?
Hi Hira! Yes flour tortillas should work great for you! I hope you love this recipe! xTieghan
Wow just amazing!! I made these tonight and they were a huge hit!! Love all you recipes I’ve tried so far!!!
Thank you so much Samantha! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Do you ever think of making a BIG batch of your taco seasoning? I would LOVE that!!! Thanks!
Ooo that actually sounds like such a good idea! xTieghan
Have you used small flour tortillas? That’s all I have. Thank you!!!!
Hi Roxy,
You can absolutely use those, they just may not get as crispy. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This was. HUGE hit! Question though: the corn tortillas weren’t that crispy. What could I have done wrong? Too much olive oil?
Hi Anne,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe! Next time be sure to coat in a generous amount of olive oil for crispiness. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
How do you fold the soft ones over without them ripping? I heated them in the mic like you said, then assembled, but when I went to fold, it wouldn’t stay and/or ripped in half. Like one of the comments suggested, i put a toothpick in, which saved some of them, but others look a mess!
Hi Kaitlyn,
I would highly recommend coating generously in olive oil after warming. This is key. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Great recipe- have made it twice in a few weeks! I can not get my taco shells to look like yours though. I rub both sides with olive oil but they still don’t come out as nicely browned and crunchy as yours seem to.
Hi Sallie,
Just want to check that you are using corn tortillas? Try warming them before coating in olive oil. I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Amazing cilantro lime ranch sauce!!
Thank you so much Albany! xTieghan
These chicken tacos are delicious. Love The cilantro lime! The addition of the chipotle chili powder gave it an amazing flavor.
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Thank you for trying this Joanne! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Made these tonight & they came out really good! I got frustrated because the tortillas ripped down the fold while I assembled them, but they still stuck together so nothing fell out once they were baked. I also used 2 fresh jalapeños for the ranch instead of the pickled ones, so it came out extraaaa spicy.
Thank you so much Elise!! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I Just made these tacos and they were amazing ?. Thank you ? so much for sharing your delicious recipe. The tacos were not greasy but they were crunchy. Yummy ?
Thanks again
Thank you so much Malena! I am really glad this ended up turning out so well for you! xTieghan
This recipe was delicious! Our grocery stores are out of a lot of staples right now so I had to make some substitutions – beef instead of chicken and I had to make my own flour tortillas – but it still turned out amazingly! The ranch was particularly fantastic. Will definitely make again!
I am so glad you still were able to try it Sloane! Thank you so much! xTieghan
So delicious!!!! Definitely will make this again. We used soft shell tacos and made them into the hard shells like the blog suggested and they came out incredibly crispy and yummy.
I am so glad you loved this Lindsay!! Thank you so much! xTieghan