Healthy Chicken Street Tacos with juicy chicken breasts coated in a flavorful spice rub, grilled in a cast iron skillet, then served in warm charred tortillas with your favorite toppings. Your family will request these healthy chicken tacos over and over!
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Healthy taco recipes are delicious and effortless meals and there are so many ways to enjoy them!
From Instant Pot chicken tacos or ground chicken tacos, we could eat tacos for dinner every night.
Now try this chicken street tacos recipe made in a cast iron skillet and covered in a smoky, spicy marinade with a bit of citrus tang.
The chicken soaks in all that flavor for a few hours before they are cooked. Warm tortillas are then filled with juicy chicken, cilantro, red onion, or optionally pico de gallo and easy guacamole!
It’s a simple and flavorful dinner that’s perfect for weeknight cooking. The whole family will love it!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Street chicken tacos recipe gets its flavor from the marinated chicken! Most of these spices you probably already have on hand in your spice rack.
- Chicken breasts: Boneless skinless chicken breasts are the healthier way to enjoy these. But skinless chicken thighs will work too.
- Oil: Olive oil works great, but you can use another oil if you like.
- Spice rub mix: Mexican inspired mix include cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, oregano, freshly ground black pepper and salt. You could also use a homemade taco seasoning.
- Fresh garlic and a splash of lime juice: Fresh is key to really maximize flavor. You could use another citrus like orange juice if you are out of lime.
- Tortillas: Street taco tortillas are traditionally corn, but flour tortillas can hold more toppings.
- Toppings: Traditional Mexican street taco recipe is topped with onion, cilantro, and lime. But load them up with a drizzle of sour cream or any of your favorite taco toppings!
How to Make Healthy Chicken Street Tacos
The hardest part of these healthy chicken tacos is waiting for them to marinade! Then just grill and enjoy.
Prep: Slice the boneless, skinless chicken breasts into thin cutlets. Then place the sliced chicken into a large bowl.
Season: To make chicken taco marinade, add cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, oregano, black pepper, salt, garlic, lime juice, and olive oil to the bowl.
Marinate: Mix everything together, then cover the bowl and let the chicken marinate for about 2-3 hours in the refrigerator.
Grill chicken: Now rub a cast iron skillet with a little bit of olive oil. Cook the chicken over medium-high heat for about 3-4 minutes.
Turn the chicken over: Then flip the chicken over and cook for another 3-4 minutes. You want to make sure the chicken is fully cooked through.
Use a meat thermometer to check chicken doneness. It should reach about 145 degrees Fahrenheit and then as it rests will get to optimal temp.
Cut the chicken: Chop the cooked chicken into cubes for the tacos.
Additional Topping Ideas
Red onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime may be classic, but here are some other ways to jazz up your street tacos with chicken.
- Learn how to cut an avocado for perfect cubes.
- Sour cream drizzled on top.
- In season try fresh peach salsa.
- Shredded lettuce or cabbage.
- Mexican cheese like cotija or queso fresco.
- Pickled jalapenos.
Tips for Best Healthy Chicken Tacos
- Char the tortillas: If you have a gas stovetop, use tongs to lightly char the outside of your flour or corn tortillas for extra flavor.
- Don’t skip the oil: The oil is important for keeping the chicken from sticking to the pan, as well as helping the spice mix and marinade to soak into the meat.
- Cut the chicken to an even thickness: When you slice the chicken breasts into cutlets, make sure the thickness of each is about the same for more even cooking and better distribution of spices.
- Let the meat rest: After it is done cooking, let the chicken juices settle back into the meat before chopping.
Serving Recommendations
For a complete fiesta, serve these street chicken tacos with these side dish options!
Can I Bake the Chicken?
Yes, follow my oven baked chicken breast recipe for best results.
How Can I Tell When Chicken is Done?
You can tell when chicken is done by checking it with an internal thermometer and it reads 165 degrees F. Chicken juices will also run clear and the inside will no longer be pink.
More FAQs
Simply put it is a taco filled with meat and other fresh ingredients. These healthy chicken tacos are simple, flavorful and delicious. Meat is placed into a warm tortilla and then topped. Corn tortillas are traditional, and often two smaller ones are used.
If you like a lot of toppings, though, flour tortillas tend to hold up better.
If you do not have a grill pan and the weather is not cooperating to grill outdoors, pour both chicken and marinade right into the skillet. Cook over medium heat for a few minutes, flip and cook some more until juices run clear.
Store leftover chicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Perfect for weekday lunches or busy nights. Warm up the chicken on the stovetop in a pan just enough to keep it from getting dry. Then assemble your tacos for a great meal!
Place any leftover cooked grilled chicken taco meat in a freezer bag. It will last for about 2 months. Use in red sauce enchiladas!
More Easy Taco Recipes
You may also love these healthy taco recipes!
Healthy Chicken Street Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano dried
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast
- 8 flour or corn tortillas for serving
Pico de gallo for serving - Guacamole for serving (optional)
- Red onion, sour cream, cilantro, lime for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Start off by slicing the boneless skinless chicken breast into thin cutlets. Then place the sliced chicken into a large bowl.
- Now add the cumin, smoked paprika, chili powder, oregano, black pepper, salt, garlic, lime juice, and olive oil.
- Mix everything together, then cover it and let the chicken marinate for about 2-3 hours in the fridge.
- Now rub a cast iron skillet with a little bit of olive oil (just to coat). Cook the chicken at medium-high heat on both sides for about 3-4 minutes.
- Then cut the cooked chicken into cubes and serve with warm flour tortillas. Tip: If you have a gas stovetop, use tongs to lightly char the outside of your tortilla for extra flavor.
- Now load up your chicken tacos with your favorite toppings. We love to add red onion, cilantro, guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. But you can add whatever you like.
Notes
- Store: Store leftover chicken in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Place any leftover cooked chicken in a freezer bag for 2 months.
- Reheat: Warm up the chicken on the stovetop in a pan just enough to keep it from getting dry.
- Char the tortillas: If you have a gas stovetop, use tongs to lightly char the outside of your tortillas for extra flavor.
- Don’t skip the oil: The oil is important for keeping the chicken from sticking to the pan, as well as helping the spice mix and marinade to soak into the meat.
- Cut the chicken to an even thickness: Make sure the thickness of each chicken breast is about the same for more even cooking and better distribution of spices.
FANTASTIC!!!!!
Yeah! So glad you love them!
The marinade is amazing! Added a chipotle pepper to the mix YUM.
That chipotle pepper sounds like it added a delicious flavor! Thanks for the rating and review!
I just made the recipe. It was delicious!! I shredded my chicken breasts. I used lettuce, red onion, cilantro and salsa. I used small organic tortillas, which made them like street tacos. We had pinto beans and tortilla chips. Thank you for sharing.
Yum! Sounds like it was delicious dinner.
These turned out great! We used less cumin and less smoked paprika than the recipe calls for but the chicken was still so so flavorful I didn’t miss them. We Will make this again!
So glad you liked them Janelle!
Loved the seasoning on these easy chicken tacos! Fantastic!
So glad to hear!