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Switching up taco night with these Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce. Ground chicken (or beef) seasoned with smoky chipotle chilies and enchilada sauce and stuffed into tortillas. The tortillas are then pan-fried in a layer of jalapeños and cheese until the cheese on the outside becomes crispy all around. Unique and so delicious. They’re crunchy on the outside, cheesy and spicy inside. Serve with the most delicious creamy avocado Verde sauce. Fun yummy tacos any night of the week!
I came prepared for Cinco de Mayo this year with tacos all around! I’ve always found Cinco de Mayo to be such a fun low-key, laid-back holiday. It’s a great excuse to enjoy a Mexican-inspired fiesta mid-week that’s made complete with tacos and a round of margaritas.
And let’s all be honest, Cinco de Mayo really is so much fun.
Sure, I have a ton of taco recipes on the site, but something new is always good. When I made these tacos a couple of weeks ago, I literally could not wait to share them. These tacos are delicious, fun, unique, and different.
I took inspiration from the burrito recipe I shared a couple of months ago. Do you remember the one I wrapped up in a layer of cheese?
I figured I could probably do the same with a taco! When I had the idea, how could I not give it a try? I came up with a filling, decided on a sauce, and then started making tacos. And wow, these tacos actually turned out better than the burritos. It’s that layer of crispy cheese. So delicious when wrapped around a saucy taco. And the sauce? While it completes the meal. You can’t skip the sauce!
The details on these tacos
The tacos themselves are really pretty simple, but definitely not basic. I’m loving using enchilada sauce in my recipes these days. To keep the ingredient list short I made the taco meat with a combination of dry chipotle chili powder and then saucy red enchilada sauce. If you enjoy a chicken tinga taco, you will love these.
For the meat, more times than not I’ll use ground beef or chicken. My brothers love ground beef, but they enjoy the chicken too. I recommend using what your family prefers, both are equally great.
Before you start cooking the tacos, make the avocado sauce. You can’t have tacos without a good sauce, this has become a new favorite in our house.
It’s a mix of avocado, blended with salsa verde, cilantro, and just a touch of yogurt or sour cream for an added layer of richness and creaminess. It’s perfect and a great creamy sauce to serve with crispy tacos like these.
This next part is a little unconventional, but don’t stress, I promise it’s not fancy and easier than you think. I always assemble the tacos first, stuffing them with the meat and a sprinkle of cheese.
Then, grab your favorite blend of Mexican cheeses, just be sure to use a combination of cheeses that melt well. I use pepper jack, Monterey jack, and cheddar. Take your skillet and add a few jalapeño slices. Now sprinkle the cheese over top of the slices. For my fam, the jalapeños are key – you guys know we love a little heat!
Place a taco over the cheese and cook until the cheese gets crispy. When the cheese starts melting, you can flop the crispy cheese around the taco using a spatula. I took some photos for visuals and will have a story on Instagram too!
Serve these warm, just off the skillet with lots of that avocado sauce on the side. So darn delicious. Everyone couldn’t get over how delicious these tacos are…and fun too! They’re pretty hard to beat.
Creighton wasn’t in town the week I made these, but he’s here this week. So I’ll be making these for dinner tomorrow for sure!
Not a fancy, done-up taco, just some really delicious food. These tacos are one of those dinners that everyone loves! And that layer of crispy cheese is kind of a shocker – but in the very best way!
Looking for other Mexican recipes? Here are my favorites:
Easy Skillet Chicken Tinga Enchiladas
Crispy Cheese Poblano Avocado Burrito
One Skillet White Chicken Chili Bake
Crockpot Crispy Chicken Tinga Tacos with Avocado Jalapeño Crema
Sheet Pan Chipotle Salmon Tacos with Pineapple Jalapeño Salsa
Crispy Cauliflower Tinga Tacos with Honey Lime Avocado Crema
Lastly, if you make these Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce 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!
Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 737 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 pound ground chicken, beef, or turkey
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 cup red enchilada sauce
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- 12 flour or corn tortillas
- 1-2 jalapeños, sliced
Avocado Cilantro Sauce
- 1 avocado
- 1/3 cup salsa verde
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- 1. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the meat and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle chili powder, cumin, garlic powder and salt. Add the enchilada sauce. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly around the meat, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. 2. To make the avocado sauce. Combine all ingredients in a blender, blend until creamy. Season with salt.3. To make the tacos. Layer the meat and a sprinkle of cheese to one side of the tortilla. Try not to over stuff the tacos. Fold the tortilla over the ingredients. Repeat with remaining tortillas and ingredients.4. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Arrange 2-3 jalapeño slices in a line in the skillet. Sprinkle over 1/3 cup cheese in 3-4 inch circle/square. Place 1 taco to 1 side of the cheese round. Cook 3-5 minutes. When the cheese starts to crisp on the bottom, use a spatula to gently wrap the taco up in the cheese. Continue to cook 3-4 minutes, until crisped all over.5. Serve warm with avocado sauce and any amount of desired toppings, whatever you love!
Great recipe but struggled with the corn tortillas falling apart. Any advice on keeping them together is appreciated
Hi Stephanie,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! Tips for the corn tortillas: warm them first and then coat in oil, be careful not to overstuff your shells, try a different brand of tortillas-I like Whole Foods 365 brand. ?Tieghan
Hi! Loved this recipe! To make it a little easier to time, I heated up a tortilla for about 15-18 seconds in the microwave and then started cheese on pan at the same time. Then I added to the pan and it was super easy to time!
Hey Kayla,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! Have a great weekend:) xx
THE BEST TACOS EVER. Hands down. It took me a minute to find a rhythm while cooking them (have to be a bit quick to get the cheese down then the jalepeños then the taco) but I think this will be a super easy recipe the next time I do it. I look forward to making this for a group since it is a simple one to up portions on. Also the green sauce is SO good. I’ve made a similar one before, but this one was perfect — rich flavor without being overwhelming.
Hey Brooke,
Thanks so much for your kind message!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a try! xx
On the TikTok video, you drowned the tortilla in a red sauce, but I don’t see that in the written recipe. What’s that sauce?
Hi Jessica,
You can dip them in enchilada sauce if you want, but it is not necessary:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
I had already made them by the time I got the reply, but even without dipping them they were absolutely delicious!!! The crisping of the cheese was very easy to accomplish and gave it such a nice crunch and I don’t think I can ever make tacos another way! Thank you
Hey Jessica,
Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! ?Tieghan
These were really good. It took a little bit of finessing to get the timing right for the cheese – mine needed to be folded and flipped at 1:40 even with turning down the heat. I also kept the finished tacos in a 225 degree oven on a wire rack in a baking tray while I got a workout in building and tending to tacos in progress – sweat was flying while I was cooking. But wow were these a treat! Thanks, Tieghan! 🙂
Hey Jay,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for sharing your review and making the recipe!! xTieghan
I have cilantro in my fridge, but it wont last until the day I’m planning this recipe for. How far in advance can I make the cilantro sauce and keep in the fridge?
Hi Jessica,
I would say the cilantro sauce is good for about 1 week in the fridge! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xx
We made these last night and HOLY YUM!!! Only issue I had was I tried to prep the tacos early then was going to add them to the pan later and my corn tortillas fell apart… It was an easy fix though! I added a second tortilla before placing them on top of the melty cheese! It’s made the 12 last us through a couple extra meals!
Hey Lexi,
Wonderful!! Thanks so much for sharing your review and making this recipe. Love to hear that it was a winner! Sorry to hear about your tortillas. xxT
Loved this! Never made tacos like this before and there were so many layers of flavours.
Hi Bea,
I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks so much for making it and sharing your review! xTieghan
Rich and delicious soul food! Had to improvise on the salsa verde, cause I couldn’t get in the supermarket, but it was tasty anyway! The “trick” is to wait long enough until the cheese is really crispy enough to stick on the outside of the taco. Thanks for the recipe, perfect for a quick pre-movie-on-the-Couch-Saturday-night-dinner. Greetings from Germany! 🙂
Hey Stephanie,
Happy Sunday! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback!! Love to hear that it was a winner:) xxT
Ahh! I put 2 tablespoons of
Honey instead of 2 teaspoons. Any way to fix?
The tacos were delicious though!
Hey Amy,
It should be just fine, no big deal:) Thanks for trying the recipe! xTieghan
I’m going to try to make these tonight and can’t wait! What size tortilla do you recommend using? A smaller (traditional corn) size, or a medium (traditional flour) size?
Hi Morgan,
I like to use a smaller tortilla for these tacos. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, let me know if you give it a try! xx
This was sooooooo good. We will definitely be adding this recipe to our favs.
Hey Amanda,
Thanks for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! xTieghan
I gave up on trying to make this in the pan after just one (and I’m still not sure how other people got it to work). Instead I put all of my tacos on a baking sheet, smothered each one in cheese, broiled it, then flipped them and did the same on the other side. Delicious!
Hey Alix,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing what worked well for you! Sorry to hear you had some issues with the pan method. It’s really key to use a hot pan so the cheese can melt and then crisp up. xTieghan
Tried these tonight and they are so easy and delicious!! Only question I have is how do you get the cheese crispy!? Definitely making these again.
Hey Shelby,
Thanks for your feedback! I love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for trying it out! The pan should really crisp the cheese if you are allowing it to melt long enough:) xTieghan
Wow these are SO great! My boyfriend and I gobbled these up. I made them with ground beef rather than chicken. The crispy, cheesy-ness is so delightful and such a delicious new way to eat tacos. The sauce is AMAZING and perfect to compliment the tacos! Will definitely be adding this to our regular rotation 🙂
Hey Liv,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try and sharing your feedback! I love to hear that it was a hit! xTieghan
I was looking for the recipe that you posted about your dad making, and it being a favorite…this looks the closest to it, but I’m not sure it’s the same one. I think the one you posted, said you put them in the oven…but this one says on the skillet? How long do I put them in the oven and at what temperature? Thank you!
Hi Eliset,
This recipe in not made in the oven, maybe you are looking for these tacos:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chipotle-chicken-tacos/
Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan