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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 flour tortillas are then pan-fried in a layer of jalapeños and cheddar 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 crispy chicken 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 this crispy chicken taco recipe 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 chicken mixture 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 tacos, 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 cheese, Monterey jack, and cheddar cheese. Take your skillet over medium-high heat 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 this chicken tacos recipe is…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!
While the flavor of the recipe is good, I REALLY struggled with getting the cheese in the frying pan to get crispy and stick to the taco shell. I ended up following the oven baking instructions for the buffalo chicken tacos, then topping with cheese.
Hi Calley,
Awesome! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your comment! Glad to hear it was enjoyed. Have a great week! x
These tacos were sooo good! They were full of good flavor (I used ground chicken) spicy but not in a OMG way. The avocado sauce is delicious and brightens the tacos. I’ll def make again. But true confession—the first few I made were a disaster—they tasted fine but I had to chisel the cheese off the “non stick†pan—laughable mess! Next try I used a cast iron pan and they were so easy and turned out perfect.
Hey Marylee,
Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it turned out well for you! Glad that the cast iron pan worked better for you! Xx
These were perfect! I used shredded chicken and will definitely try ground beef next time! The crunch, cheese, and sauce were perfection. They were fun to make for sure and we will definitely have them again!
Yay!! Love to hear this, Brienne! Thanks so much for making this recipe and your comment! Have a great Sunday! xT
Best. Tacos. Ever!! Thank you so much Tiegan!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! So glad to hear you enjoyed it! xT
Hi Tiegan! Made these and they were the bomb! I used Trader Joe’s guac 🥑 and the sauce was amazing! Thank you for all your inspiring recipes!
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so so much! xT
Tried this last night for taco tuesday everything was insanely flavorful. And super simple too. Followed the recipe to a T and the only thing I would change is adjusting the salt as there is a good amount of salt already in the enchilada sauce. Other than that 5 stars!! Will def be making again!
Hey Liz,
Happy Wednesday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a lot for making it! xx
OMGoodness why would I EVER get taco’s out again! So so good and that Avocado Cilantro dip is amazing. I use that on everything and healthy as well..
Love your recipes 🙂
Hey there,
Happy Sunday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it and your feedback!🌼🥑 xx
What has happened to your site? I’m trying to read this recipe and the whole page is covered by a Reliant Electric Ad 3 times before I finish. Again while typing this. I understand ad revenue but this is too much.
I’m so sorry to hear this Linda!! There is no reason that the whole page should be covered! What search engine are you using? I would switch to Chrome for better results. I hope this helps! xx
The Chipolte chili powder was overpowering. It choked everyone in the room including my pets when I added it to the pan. It was a brand new powder that I bought for the recipe. I had to throw the whole thing in the garbage. ðŸ™
Hi Jill,
Thanks for trying this recipe, so sorry to hear about the chipotle chili powder. Have you ever used it before? How much did you use? Please let me know if there is any way that I can help! xx
We will be making these tonight, and they sound great. Let me alert you that the video and recipe do not quite line up….you are adding the enchilada sauce in the meat in the written version, and dunking the tortillas in the sauce on the video. I’ll be going with the video version….
Hi Carol,
I also add enchilada sauce to the chicken in the video, you definitely want to do that, the dunking of the tortillas is optional:) I hope you love this recipe! xx
Can I use chipotle paste instead of powder? And if so, how much?😅
Hi Ann-Helen,
Sure, I would just use 1T of the paste:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Absolutely freakin’ LOVED it!!! Made it without the jalapenos for my 13yo, and we made the sauce without the cilantro (can’t stand the soapy taste😅), and he literally downed it all😂😂
Love to hear this Ann-Helen!! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and your feedback! Have a wonderful weekend!ðŸŒˆðŸŒ¤ï¸ xT
Amazing! So many delicious flavors, my mouth was exploding with joy! Used ground turkey and it was great. That avocado cilantro sauce is bomb! Will definitely be making these again!
Hi Alycia,
Fantastic!!🥗🌮 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
This was so delicious! I actually used a rotisserie chicken that I shredded up rather than the ground chicken. The sauce was so good. My kids are 5 and 2 and they loved it all!
Hi Christina,
Fantastic!!🥗🌮 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Great recipe and flavor! However looking at the video, these steps miss the step in the video of this recipe of soaking the tortillas in enchilada sauce which I think would have been important to keep the tortillas flexible (especially using corn). Please update the recipe so others don’t miss this step like I did!
Hi Kaitlin,
Fantastic!!🥗🌮 I appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! Sorry about the enchilada sauce, that is not required for this recipe it’s just a little something that I like to do:) xx