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Sheet Pan Crispy Jalapeño Chicken Tacos. Roasted chicken with smoky chipotle chiles, chili powder, and salty soy sauce. Shred each piece and toss with the spicy sauce, then mix with cheese, stuff into corn tortillas, and oven-bake until each taco is crispy with melty cheese inside. Serve with a salty roasted garlic and jalapeño sesame verde sauce, then lots of avocado. These come together easily and are so delicious – a new go-to taco!
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Taco Tuesday!! To be very upfront, I never practice Taco Tuesday. This is mainly because we’ll excitedly eat tacos on any given night. Sometimes multiple times a week. It’s no secret that everyone in the family adores taco night on any night.
With Cinco de Mayo coming up in less than a month, I’ve been hit with the taco bug. In the last few weeks I’ve created two of my favorite taco recipes to date. I plan to share one this week and then the other in another week or so. I’m very excited about both!
First up, we’ve got the tried-and-true Gerard Family classic taco, made with crispy chicken (though I normally use beef).
Ingredient List
- Skinless chicken, breasts or thighs
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Yellow onion
- Chipotle peppers in adobo
- Chili powder
- Dried oregano
- Cumin
- Tamari / soy sauce
- Honey
- Corn tortillas
- Shredded Mexican cheese blend
- Avocado
- Fresh Cilantro
- Limes
- sour cream
Toasted Sesame Jalapeno Verde
- Garlic
- Green onions
- Jalapeno
- Salsa verde
- Tamari/ soy sauce
- Toasted sesame seeds
Kitchen Supplies
- Baking sheet
- 9×13 inch baking dish
- Food processor
The story is that my dad used to make tacos on a weekly basis. His were filled with ground beef, then baked with cheddar cheese. They were thoroughly enjoyed straight out of the oven with no toppings other than maybe some shredded lettuce.
We all still love this taco. I make variations on it ALL THE TIME. But everyone agreed that this taco was very special and needed to be shared. The chicken was perfect, and the sauce really completed it.
Here are the details
Step 1: season and roast the chicken
Working on a sheet pan, toss the chicken with chipotle chiles, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Then pour over some tamari and drizzle on some honey. I like to use honey when cooking with chipotle, I think it’s a nice balance to the spice.
Toss the chicken, then arrange it on one side of the sheet pan. On the other side, add a couple of garlic cloves, a jalapeño, and a few green onions. Roast everything until the chicken is cooked through and the jalapeño is charred.
Step 2: shred the chicken
Remove the chicken from the oven and pull the garlic, jalapeño, and green onions off the sheet pan. Now add those guys to a food processor. Or you can use a blender. Let them hang for a minute until you’re ready to make the sauce.
Now back to the chicken. Shred the chicken and toss it with the sauce on the pan.
Step 3: the crispy shells
Instead of using store-bought taco shells, I like to stuff corn tortillas with chicken and cheese and bake them until crispy.
This method is my favorite, and I use it every time I make tacos for my family. We love the crispy oven “fried” shells and melty cheese. It’s the best when some of the cheese melts out onto the pan and gets crispy too. Delicious!
Of course, you can use store-bought hard-shell tacos as well. When I’m in a time crunch, I often will too.
Step 4: make the garlic sesame verde sauce
Back at your food processor, blend the roasted garlic cloves, jalapeño, and green onions with salsa verde and tamari. If you want a less spicy sauce, de-seed the jalapeño before blending.
Blend the sauce and mix in the toasted sesame seeds.
Step 5: it’s time to eat
By now, the tacos should be done. Serve them while warm and crispy with lots of verde sauce, avocado, cilantro, and limes. I’ll sometimes add pickled onion as well and maybe a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. Enjoy these crispy tacos!
Mostly I just love these with the verde sauce and avocado. So yummy!
Looking for more simple weeknight recipes? Here are a few favorites:
Crockpot Chipotle Pot Roast Tacos
Crispy Cider Braised White Chili Chicken Tacos
Crispy Jalapeño Cream Cheese Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Sheet Pan Buffalo Chicken Pizza
Slow Cooker Chipotle Chicken Tortilla Soup with Salty Lime Chips
Healthier Homemade Crunchwrap Supreme
Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch
Crockpot Crispy Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Lastly, if you make these Sheet Pan Crispy Jalapeño Verde Chicken Tacos, 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!
Sheet Pan Crispy Chicken Tacos with Roasted Jalapeño Sesame Verde
Ingredients
- 2 pounds skinless chicken, breast or thighs
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 cup tamari/soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 8-12 corn tortillas, warmed
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- avocado, cilantro, and limes for serving
Toasted Sesame Jalapeño Verde
- 2 cloves garlic
- 3 green onions
- 1 jalapeño
- 1/2 cup salsa verde
- 1 tablespoon tamari/soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425° F. 2. On a baking sheet, toss the chicken with olive oil, onions, chipotle, chili powder, oregano, and cumin. Pour over the tamari and honey. Toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer. Add the garlic cloves, jalapeño, and green onions (for the salsa). Roast everything for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.3. Remove the garlic cloves, jalapeño, and green onions from the sheet pan and add to a food processor. Let cool. Shred the chicken and toss with the sauce on the sheet pan. 4. Line the taco shells up in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Bake for 5 minutes. Stuff the chicken into each taco shell and top with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted.5. To make the sauce. Add the salsa verde and tamari to the food processor with the jalapeño. Blend until smooth. Stir in the sesame seeds. 6. Serve each taco with the sesame verde sauce. Enjoy!
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.
New family favorite! My 15 year old came out of his cave to see what smelled so good. The sauce is amazing, you can’t leave it out. It is an easy make ahead meal. I cooked the chicken and made the sauce. The next day I just stuffed the tortillas, baked 10 minutes. Dinner is ready! Thanks for this great recipe 😀
Hey Kim,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was enjoyed! xT
Oh, T! These tacos were amazing! I somehow got a little mixed up with the recipe (downloaded two different ones, how did I do that?) and added the chili verde sauce to the chicken (really shouldn’t cook with a glass of wine in my hand!), but, it really didn’t matter, since, the chili verde sauce was going to be poured on them anyway. I omitted the sesame seeds, sounded a bit odd, but, maybe it added a nutty taste (next time)? This dinner was a hit! Five Stars and two thumbs up! Thank you!!
Hey Lisa,
Fantastic!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, so glad it was a winner:)
Where do the options fit into this recipe?
Onions
Hi Sam,
The onions are added in step 2 with the chicken. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Thoughts on cooking the chicken in a slow cooker like other chicken taco recipes? They always come out so juicy and tender that way. Or recommend against slow cooker for this recipe?
Hi Yelda,
If you want to cook the chicken in the slow cooker you would need to add some liquid like chicken broth. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
I’m confused by the instructions. It says to place the tortillas in a 9 x 13 baking dish. But the picture looks like the tacos cook on a sheet tray. Can you clarify?
Hi Robin,
You could really do a baking sheet or the baking dish, either one will work nicely for this recipe! If you choose to use the baking sheet the tacos will lay flat:) I hope you love these! xx
These were AMAZING! The instructions were easy to follow, the proportions were perfect and the tacos were delicious.
Hey Susan,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed! Xx
These were really good! my husband was a skeptic and had his flour tortillas at the ready😆
My favorite part was the crunchy cheese bits on the sheet pan! Next time I will overfill them for more crunchy bits! Thanks for yet another great recipe!
Hey there,
Lol love to hear this! Thanks so much for trying these tacos and sharing your feedback, so glad they were enjoyed! xT
where does the onion go? raw into processor or roasted 1st?
Exactly. I just added them to the chicken. We’ll see
Hi Jeannine,
The onion is going to be added with the chicken in step 2. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
Just made these and they were so so tasty and a real winner in our home!
Will be making these again for sure!
I was a poor reader and missed the step to warm the tortillas in the oven before filling them.
I did have a bit of trouble folding them without tearing the tortilla/keeping them closed.
I bet this step of warming them first will be the game changer-and we’re already planning for our next batch!
Thanks for another very tasty addition to our dinner plans!!
Hey Stef,
Thanks a lot for trying these tacos, so glad to hear they were enjoyed! Yes, definitely warm the tortillas first, that will help with them not breaking! xT
Thank you for this! My picky son and husband have asked for this to become a regular meal! So easy and quick to make.
Thanks so much Peggy:) Love to hear that your husband and son enjoyed these tacos so much! Have a great day! xT
These were delicious, easy to make, lots of flavor
Thanks so much Therese:) So glad to hear you enjoyed these tacos! Have the best day! xT
Made these. Fantastic! Had to wing it on a couple directions but it still worked. Loved it!
Hey Vaughan,
Wonderful! I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks a lot for giving it a try! Xx
Just started to make this, cut my onion and I don’t see where it is being used… just serve raw with tacos or cook with chicken?
Hi Laura,
The onion is going to be added with the chicken in step 2, sorry about that! I hope you loved these tacos! xT
1 cup of chopped onion? Don’t see where it’s used in the recipe.
Hi Lanie,
Sorry for any confusion, you are going to add that with the chicken in step 2. I hope you love these tacos! xT
Wow I haven’t seen a chicken taco recipe on your blog before! Thanks for sharing!
sarcasm is rife around here!
It’s more like blatant stupidity. She needs to pre approve her comments before publishing.