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Homemade Chicken Tacos are a perfect treat family dinner. They’re tender and tasty, and so quick and easy to cook. Fill them up with your favourite toppings – and don’t forget the napkins!
This Chicken Tacos recipe is to classic Chicken Fajitas as Beef Tacos is to Chilli Con Carne.
What I mean by that is that it’s got similar flavour and vibes as fajitas, but is a simplified version for a super easy family friendly dinner that always feels like a treat.
This is my perfect Friday night dinner. After a busy week, we all want to eat something tasty but I need something that doesn’t take much effort.
It’s also a great sociable dinner because we serve everything together on plates, including the toppings, so everyone can build their own tacos at the table. (Make sure you have lots of napkins too because it can be a messy job!)
We simply pan fry the chicken with fajita seasoning, tomato puree and a little water, then serve it up with our favourite toppings and mini tortilla wraps.
We did test this with peppers and onions in the pan too, but when it comes to serving smaller, hand-sized tacos, it was far better to keep it simple and make any additions to the meat all about those yummy toppings.
Why you’ll love this easy Chicken Tacos recipe
⭐️ Quick and easy
⭐️ Sociable build-your-own family dinner
⭐️ Really delicious!
Sarah’s Notes
For the taco seasoning, I usually use my homemade fajita mix that only has spices, rather than the shop-bought packets that can have filler ingredients and high levels of salt.
It’s made up of chilli powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, ground coriander, dried oregano, salt, black pepper and cayenne.
Using a supermarket fajita seasoning in a jar can be a good compromise though if you don’t want to mix your own.
If you want a bit of extra spice, adding a hot sauce for those at the table who like it is a good extra topping.
For the tacos, I use soft mini tortillas, which I char carefully on my gas hob before serving, as this gives an extra delicious flavour. You can leave this step out though if you want, or warm them up in the oven.
Chicken Tacos Ingredients
- Oil – I use olive oil to pan fry the chicken in, but you could also use sunflower.
- Chicken – This recipe uses about 3 chicken breasts to serve 4. If you wanted another shortcut, you could use cooked chicken or use Roast Chicken leftovers.
- Fajita seasoning – Make your own blend or use from a jar.
- Tomato puree – Try to use a good quality one here as it makes a difference.
- Boiling water – This helps to loosen up the sauce a little.
- Mini soft tortilla wraps – You could use hard taco shells if you’d rather, or large wraps. I prefer the handheld size best.
- Suggested toppings – Sour cream, sliced avocado, chopped red onion, shredded lettuce leaves, grated cheddar and wedges of lime.
How to make Chicken Tacos
1. Pan fry the chicken breast and fajita seasoning. Cook until the chicken is cooked through (as per the full recipe below).
2. Add the tomato puree and boiling water and stir everything together then remove the pan from the heat.
3. Optional: Char the tortillas on each side for a minute or so directly over the flame. Serve everything in the middle of the table.
4. Build your own tacos with the chicken mix and plenty of toppings of your choice!
Leftovers
In the fridge You can keep the cooked meat mixture from the recipe in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat it fully before serving. You could use the chicken for another style of dish, such as in pasta, a salad or inside Stuffed Peppers.
In the freezer The made-up tacos aren’t suitable for freezing, but if you want to freeze the chicken filling, you can do this once it’s been cooked. Defrost thoroughly before heating up again in the pan.
Batch cook The chicken filling is also great for meal prep batch cooking.
Recipe Tips
What to serve with chicken tacos
Best chicken taco toppings
My favourites are sour cream (or Greek yoghurt if I don’t have any in), sliced avocado, chopped red onion, shredded lettuce leaves, grated cheddar and wedges of lime.
Sweetcorn, tomatoes, salsa and guacamole would also work a treat!
Toasting the taco wraps
You can either put them in the oven, wrapped in foil, for 5 minutes. Or what I prefer to do for a little more flavour is char them over an open gas flame, using tongs. Make sure you’re VERY careful and don’t overdo it!
More easy taco recipes…
Under 15 minutes
Prawn Tacos {with Zesty Lime Dressing}
Under 30 minutes
Easy Salmon Tacos {30 Minute Meal}
Under 15 minutes
Easy Beef Tacos {15 Minute Meal}
FAQs
Yes! One thing I love about this dish is that I can easily cook the chicken and prep the sides earlier in the day, then just reheat the fajita chicken mix and dish out the sides at dinner time. So easy!
Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.
Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).
Easy Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Olive oil
- 600 g (1.1 lb) Chicken breast, Diced
- 4 tbsp (4 oz) Fajita seasoning
- 2 tbsp Tomato puree
- 100 ml (12 oz) Boiling water
To serve:
- 8 Mini tortilla wraps
- 120 g Sour cream
- 1 Large avocado, Sliced
- 1/2 Red onion, Finely chopped
- A few lettuce leaves, Shredded
- 100 g Cheddar cheese, Grated
- 1 Lime, Cut into wedges
Instructions
- Pan fry first: Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium high heat, then add the chicken breast and fajita seasoning and cook for 10-15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
- Make a little sauce: Add the tomato puree and boiling water and stir everything together then remove the pan from the heat.
- Optional: If you have a gas hob, char the tortillas on each side for a minute or so directly over the flame to add a little extra smoky flavour.
- Dish up: Serve everything together with the toppings (and a lot of napkins!) so everyone can build their own tacos at the table.
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutritional values are per portion unless otherwise stated.
This post was originally published on July 14th, 2022. The recipe was fully updated on May 21st, 2026 to add improvements and step-by-step videos.
This post was originally published on July 14, 2022 and updated later to make improvements.
Easy and delicious! Great idea, thanks Sarah.