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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!

Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com

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!

Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com

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.

Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com

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!

Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com

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!

Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com
 

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

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
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

Avocado Cilantro Sauce

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!
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Crispy Cheese Chicken Tacos with Avocado Cilantro Sauce | halfbakedharvest.com

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Just made these for dinner and WOW were they ever good!! The crispy cheese and jalapeños on the outside were a game changer!!

    1. Hey Michelle,
      Happy Sunday! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you and appreciate you giving it a try!🍂 xT

  2. 5 stars
    My husband is a vegetarian, so I made these with impossible fake ground beef. He loved it!!! The only problem I had was I used a flour based corn tortilla and they wouldn’t crisp. How did you get yours so crispy??

    1. Hey Shannon,
      Happy Monday!! Thanks a lot for making this dish and sharing your review, I am so glad it was enjoyed! You have to use corn tortillas for the crisp, flour won’t do the same:) Have a great week! xx

  3. 5 stars
    Omg I will never eat regular tacos ? again! These were off the charts good. My son loved them! I need to tweak my sauce… any suggestions?

    1. Hey Leslie,
      Wonderful!! I appreciate you taking the time to make this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit! Sorry what do you mean you need to tweak the sauce? Happy Wednesday:)

  4. 5 stars
    Ok just made these and they were INCREDIBLE !!!!!! Used the half baked harvest homemade tortilla recipe and used shredded chicken instead of ground chicken and WOW TO THE ZA! They were not super hard and they were SO tasty! My whole family loved them! Even the sauce (without cilantro) was incredible!

    1. Hi Payton,
      Happy Wednesday! I really appreciate you taking the time to make this recipe, I love to hear that it was a hit! xxT

  5. 4 stars
    I loved how easy and quick this recipe was. I subbed the chicken for extra firm tofu and it was delicious. The combination of spices was great. I found the cheesy shell to be quite greasy, but it was still tasty – especially with the jalapenos! I also loved the sauce – it was kind of sweet and was a nice complement to the tacos. I look forward to trying more recipes.

    1. Hi Haylie,
      Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out and sharing your feedback, I love to hear that it was a winner! xTieghan

  6. 3 stars
    Great in concept. not in execution. I was not able to get the cheese and crispy taco shells as the lovely video. I used cast iron pan and tried the tong and spatula method. someone mentioned the broiler??? might try that instead. a good bit of assembly work at the very end so dont recommend for large group. each taco fried with the cheese is not small feat. Good flavor but in the end these were more complicated than I would have liked.

    1. Hi Christy,
      Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was a little difficult! xTieghan

  7. 5 stars
    Delicious! We made these in combination with your homemade tortilla recipe, which required a bit more effort but worth it. My husband would agree! The avacado sauce is super yummy too. We had some trouble getting the cheese to wrap around (probably didn’t sprinkle enough for the surface area) so for our second tacos we just put the griddled cheese/jalapeños inside the taco with sauce drizzled on top. Soo yummy! And we’re from ATX so appreciate the spice!

    1. Hey Mallory,
      Happy Sunday!! Thanks for sharing your feedback and making this recipe, I am so glad it was a hit! Happy 4th of July!??

  8. I attempted these the other night and had a really, really hard time with the cheese- like epic fail! I can’t figure out what I did wrong. I used a All-Clad pan. The cheese would melt but just stick to the pan.

    The recipe was still delicious, but would love to perfect it for next time! Appreciate any tips!

    1. Hey Krysten,
      Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and sharing your review. I love that it was enjoyed!! Sorry to hear you had some issues with the cheese, next time try a cast iron skillet! Happy 4th of July weekend!??

      1. Hi Nancy,
        Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for trying it out! I hope you had a great holiday weekend!?

  9. 5 stars
    This was a delicious way to change taco night a bit! I was pleasantly surprised I was able to master adhering the cheese to the taco after my first one. I found it helped to use tongs to pull/ fold the taco and a spatula to “apply” the crispy cheese, as well as to press everything together. I should have seeded my jalapeño slices better, they packed a lot of heat! Overall great recipe that will definitely be added to our rotation of meals!

    1. Hey Maggie,
      Awesome!! Thanks so much for your review:) Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xx

  10. 5 stars
    Yummmmm! I just made these for my family and they loved them. Just the right balance of cheese and spice.

    1. Hey Melaney,
      Happy Monday!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a go! xxT

  11. Hey Tieghan!

    Friday nights I like to make dinner ahead, enjoy a cocktail hour, and then just heat up dinner when we’re ready.

    Do you think it would work to make the tacos in advance, leave them sit for an hour or so, and then warm up them in the oven?

    Wasn’t sure if that would lose a lot of the crunchy goodness, and I’ve seen lots of references to crisping up tacos in the oven.

    Thanks!

    1. Hey Dennis,
      Sure, that should be just fine for you to do!! I hope you love this recipe! Have a great Friday:) xx

  12. 5 stars
    These were so flavorful! Didn’t have the outer cheese crust looking as pretty as yours but it was worth it for the taste!!
    Used green enchilada sauce since it’s what I had.

    1. Hey Amanda,
      Happy Wednesday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a bunch for giving it a try! xx

  13. Had a lot of trouble with the cheese in the pan/getting it crispy. Good flavors, not as easy as it looks in the video. Used Maddie’s idea of broiling it (with parchment paper) and it was better.

    1. Hi Aisha,
      Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you had some issues with the cheese. What kind of skillet did you use? xTieghan

  14. The video shows you dipping the tortilla in enchilada sauce before filling. However the instructions do not mention that. What should I do?
    Thanks

    1. Hi Annette,
      I dipped my tortillas in enchilada sauce, it’s not part of the instructions because it it not necessary for this recipe, it’s just a little something my family likes:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx

  15. Loved these! Had problems however getting the crispy cheese to stick to the tortillas. Once it got crispy enough it stuck to my pan. Used the broiler method instead!

    1. Hey Maddie,
      Fantastic!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your review, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! ?Tieghan