Simple marinated grilled chicken with a crispy avocado salsa on soft tortillas. Bright and bursting with flavour - taco perfection! These Grilled Chicken Tacos are healthy and light, and the perfect base to add on loads of extra toppings to create a taco that will suit everyone's taste!
These charred and grilled chicken chunks are the perfect light and lean taco topping. Marinated in lime juice and chipotle paste, there are so many ways you can adapt this taco.
We have loaded our tacos with creamy avocado and chunky tomatoes and onion, but these would equally be great with some slaw or a salsa. Great for feeding a crowd.
If you are looking for other ways to use chicken, why not try our Slow Cooker Sweet and Sour Chicken, Loaded Chicken Nachos or BBQ Chicken Pizza.
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Why should you try it?
- Light and fresh taco recipe - Tacos can something feel a bit heavy, with the red meat and cheese. However this is a light and fresh version and perfect for summer.
- Can be made in advance - You can save some time and marinade the chicken in advance. The flavours only get better over time.
- Great for feeding a crowd - You can easily double or triple this recipe making it perfect for feeding a few people, especially with some of our Mexican side dishes.
- Can adapt the toppings - The great thing about tacos is there are so many topping options.
What you will need
- Chicken - We used chicken breast to keep these grilled chicken tacos lean, however you could use skinless and boneless chicken thighs which would be juicier and have more flavour.
- Oil - We used a good quality olive oil, as it's perfect for a marinade.
- Lime - The juice is used in the chicken marinade and for the salsa. If you want a more intense lime flavour, then you could add the zest of half a lime to the chicken marinade.
- Garlic - Fresh is always best, but you could use crushed garlic from a jar to save time. Feel free to add more garlic if you like.
- Coriander - This adds some delicious freshness to the tacos.
- Chipotle - This is where all the spice comes from and what we love about chipotle paste is the amazing smokey flavour too.
- Romaine - Instead of a just traditional tomato based salsa, we added some lettuce to bulk it out. We like romaine, as it is nice and crunchy, but you could swap it for a different lettuce.
- Avocado - Another delicious way to adapt a salsa is by adding avocado. It adds some creaminess to it without needed to add cheese.
- Tomatoes - The star of the salsa. We used cherry tomatoes, but you could cut up a larger tomato. Just make sure they are really ripe, otherwise they won't have much flavour.
- Red onion - This adds colour and crunch to the salsa. I know some people can't eat raw red onion, so you could sauté it a little first, or just leave it out.
- Soft tortillas - This is what holds all the filling together.
Step by step
One: Put the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper, coriander and chipotle paste in a large bowl and mix well. Add the chicken strips and mix so they are well coated and put them in the fridge for an hour.
Two: Heat the grill (broiler) and put the chicken on a grill pan and under the grill for 18-20 minutes, turning half way through. Make sure to check the chicken is cooked through before serving.
Three: Mix together all the salsa ingredients and then divide between the soft tacos.
Four: When the chicken is cooked, cut in to chunks and put into tacos with the salsa.
Chicken seasoning
Some olive oil, salt and pepper, garlic, lime juice, coriander (cilantro) and chipotle paste is all you need to bring these tacos to life. Chipotle paste is a must in our fridge, as you can always make a quick dressing/sauce/marinade with it.
Mix it all together and coat the chicken strips in it and leave for around an hour to let all the flavours come alive.
You could also use a homemade (or store bought) taco seasoning. We mix together 1 tablespoon chilli powder, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon ground coriander, a pinch of sea salt, black pepper and sugar.
Taco toppings
Whilst the marinade is the star of these Grilled Chicken Tacos, let's not forget the crunchy avocado salad. There are juicy tomatoes, chunks of creamy avocado, some crunchy romaine lettuce, red onion (I couldn't think of a good enough description of red onion) and then that all important sea salt, pepper and lime juice.
But there are lots of options when it comes to options here. You could add our Mexican Coleslaw, or a drizzle of our Restaurant Style Salsa. Add some extra creaminess with some sour cream or swap the avocado salad for a few dollops of guacamole. You could even add some feta or cheddar.
What to serve them with
The Mexican salsa mentioned above is always a good idea, and obviously a big pile of tortilla chips with some salsas. But if you are making these tacos for a crowd and want to bulk them out a bit, then why not serve them with Spanish Rice.
Our Sweetcorn Salsa also goes well with these tacos as does some Homemade Baked Tortilla Chips.
FAQs
These are a really light and healthy taco option, as the chicken is grilled rather than fried and there are no creamy sauces added. It's also a really good opportunity to load the tacos up with veggies. Why not grill some peppers and courgettes to go with it to up the nutritious value.
We used chicken breast to keep it lean, however if you want really juicy chicken, then you can swap the breasts for boneless and skinless chicken thighs. Please note that cooking time may vary, so it's best to use a meat thermometer to make sure that your chicken is cooked through.
You can bake the chicken instead of grilling it. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 30 minutes, or until cooked through and crisp on the edges. You could also cook these on the BBQ grill for a summer feast.
I would always recommend having a meat thermometer to check that your chicken is cooked through. Chicken should be cooked to 75C. If you don't you can cut it open and make sure that it isn't pink inside, or stick a knife in to it and make sure the juices run clear.
Yes, you can marinade the chicken and make the salsa in advance, and then assemble it all before serving.
If you have leftovers, then you can wrap them up (like wraps, rather than tacos) and wrap in foil and they will keep in the fridge until the next day. Any leftovers of chicken and salsa are delicious on rice in a burrito bowl.
If you use gluten free tortillas and make sure there is no cross contamination, then these tacos can be gluten free.
Extra tips
- Try to let the chicken marinate for at least an hour, as it will really allow it to absorb in to the chicken.
- Make sure you don't overcook the chicken breasts, otherwise they can become dry.
- You can swap the chicken breasts for boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Bulk these tacos out by serving them with tortilla chips and dips and some Spanish rice.
- Any leftovers of the beef are delicious on rice in a burrito bowl.
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Recipe
Grilled Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
Chicken:
- 600 g Chicken breasts cut in to strips
- 2 tablespoon Olive oil
- 1 Lime (Juice only)
- 3 Garlic cloves crushed
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 handful Fresh coriander (cilantro) finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Chipotle paste
Salsa/Salad:
- 2 Romaine lettuce heads finely chopped
- 1 Avocado diced
- 10 Cherry tomatoes quartered
- 0.5 Red onion thinly slices
- 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- 1 Lime (Juice only)
Others:
- 8 Soft tacos
Instructions
- Put the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper, coriander and chipotle paste in a large bowl and mix well. Add the chicken strips and mix so they are well coated and put them in the fridge for an hour.600 g Chicken breasts, 2 tablespoon Olive oil, 1 Lime, 3 Garlic cloves, 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper, 1 handful Fresh coriander (cilantro), 2 tablespoon Chipotle paste
- Heat the grill (broiler) and put the chicken on a grill pan and under the grill for 18-20 minutes, turning half way through. Make sure to check the chicken is cooked through before serving.
- Mix together all the salsa ingredients and then divide between the soft tacos.2 Romaine lettuce heads, 1 Avocado, 10 Cherry tomatoes, 0.5 Red onion, 1 Lime, 1 pinch Sea salt and black pepper
- When the chicken is cooked, cut in to chunks and put into tacos with the salsa.8 Soft tacos
Notes
- Try to let the chicken marinate for at least an hour, as it will really allow it to absorb in to the chicken.
- Make sure you don't overcook the chicken breasts, otherwise they can become dry.
- You can swap the chicken breasts for boneless, skinless chicken breasts.
- Bulk these tacos out by serving them with tortilla chips and dips and some Spanish rice.
Amy | The Cook Report
These look fabulous! The perfect summer dinner:)
Kate
Dannii, you're a master of tacos. These look amazing. The lime and chipotle paste must make them so flavourful.
Patrick@looneyforfood.com
From the marinade to the salad salsa, this looks delicious! A taco is always a win in my opinion.
Corina Blum
These look really tasty! It's definitely a great recipe to make when the bbq is out. Hopefully the hot weather will continue!
Kacie Morgan
This looks so good. I'm always looking for a light summer dinner option that's a little more exciting than a plain old salad, and this looks like just the thing :)
Sara
I’m going to make these with tofu when my friends visit at the weekend. The marinade sounds yummy.
Renee
We made these last night and they were delicious. Really simple and the chicken was cooked perfectly and nice and juicy. Will definitely make again.
sharleneq
yum! these look amazing, have to try these : )
Rachael
These look so tasty and easy for me to make a vegetarian version. I love Mexican food and so much of it is easy to adapt so I love finding recipes like this.
Susie
This looks amazing. I love grilled chicken and I definitely love Mexican food! I never need an excuse to eat it- I would have it every single day. Pinning this recipe!
Claudia Lamascolo
This salad looks fabulous. I eat a salad daily and this is on my to make next list. I love everything about this and how fresh it is I just want to pick that photo right off the blog! thanks
Leigh
This is perfect for the warm weather we are coming into! Love a good taco!
Sandi
I have been craving tacos. These look like a family favorite!
Laura
Nice and light just the way I like them. Cannot have anything better to celebrate the Cinco
Irene
We all love tacos in my house (even my fussy son). I like that these are a base and you can adapt them. Keep the Mexican recipes coming please!
Catherine
These are so colourful! We just had fajitas at the weekend, but I am bookmarking these to try next time.
Kara
This looks delicious. I love taco's and this looks like a healthy option too
Sisley White
Brilliant recipe. I love tacos and always looking for any opportunity to make them!
Choclette
These sort of build-your-own meals are a firm favourite with me. Those tacos look completely lush.