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Weeknight style Cheesy Baked Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch…and all the toppings. Because loaded tacos are just better. Ground chicken seasoned with a smoky chipotle chili spice mix, stuffed into hard shell tacos, topped with cheese, and oven-baked. These tacos are crunchy on the outside, but spicy and cheesy inside. Serve each taco with a creamy, cooling cilantro lime ranch sauce, and a mix of your favorite taco toppings. They come together in minutes and are so delicious…the perfect weeknight dinner. Bonus, the chipotle chicken is great as a leftover. Pile it high onto your favorite tortilla chips for some seriously delicious nachos or serve it up atop greens for a Mexican inspired salad.

overhead photo of Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch

As a kid, tacos were a weeknight staple in our house. I’ve touched on this before, but my dad cooked tacos for dinner at least once or twice a week for multiple years straight. It probably wasn’t until I started to take over the cooking around the age of fourteen that we started to switch things up. So yes, the typical weeknight ground beef taco was a staple, and my dad had them down to a T.

He’d make his tacos with ground beef and store-bought taco seasoning. Then he’d simply stuff the meat into tortillas with a little cheddar cheese and nothing else. Well…maybe some lettuce for my mom and I. But no beans, no avocado, not even cilantro or a squeeze of lime. Very, very basic, and it’s just what my brothers wanted. At the time, I didn’t know any better, so I greatly enjoyed these tacos too. I took mine in a hard shell and oven-baked for extra crispiness on the outside, and soft and cheesy inside.

overhead photo of Chipotle Chicken Taco meat in skillet

And there you have it.

That’s my childhood taco story. Did we ever get sick of eating tacos? Honestly, I don’t think we did. I’m pretty sure that we were the ones requesting taco night so often. We loved it and still do! I’m always making tacos, whether it’s these quick skillet chicken tacos, my favorite Caribbean shrimp tacos, or these saucy instant pot BBQ chicken tacos. Tacos are still on the menu every couple of weeks.

But my absolute go-to taco?

It’s these. They’re classic, so simple, cheesy, crunchy, and SO GOOD. I love them, my brothers love them, and pretty much every other human who enjoys Mexican food (even just a little) enjoys these crunchy tacos.

photo of raw cilantro

To make these weeknight chicken tacos…

It is SIMPLE.

Pick up some ground chicken, turkey, or even ground beef. Just be sure to use what your family loves most! Simply brown the meat, add seasonings, and stuff into hard tacos. Then top with cheese, and bake in the oven until melted and crisp.

Doesn’t get any easier, but yet this is a dinner that everyone loves.

I do have a few little secrets however that make these tacos better than the rest.

stuffing the tacos shells with Chipotle Chicken Taco meat and cheese

The seasoning blend.

Over the years, I feel like I’ve kind of perfected the taco seasoning mix. It’s just a touch spicy, a little smoky, and hinted with garlic. I use a mix of chipotle chili powder (key ingredient) and smoked paprika to keep the taco meat extra flavorful. Most tacos mixes use regular chili powder, but I’ve always found that to lack flavor. Using chipotle chili powder adds the perfect amount of spiciness.

I like to use a good amount, so be sure to adjust this to your family’s taste level. Start with two teaspoons and work your way up to three if you like things spicy!

Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos after baking on baking sheet

My Shells? I make them at home.

Well, kind of, and the shells aren’t technically a part of the recipe. BUT I’m including it in the notes. Instead of using store-bought taco shells I like to take corn tortillas, stuff them with the taco meat plus cheese, then oven bake them until the tortillas are crispy. I rub each tortilla with olive oil and then flip them halfway through cooking. This is key to getting the tacos extra crispy on both sides.

If you have a couple extra minutes, I would highly recommend making your own “shells”. They’re very, very good…and much healthier than store-bought too!

overhead close up photo of Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch

That cilantro lime ranch? You need it too.

Most tacos are topped with sour cream, but trust me this cilantro lime ranch is so much better, but it’s also not your average ranch.

I used fresh cilantro and plenty of lime in place of the usual herb mix and stirred in some pickled jalapeños for a spicy, tangy kick. This is the perfect sauce to dollop onto each cheesy, crunchy taco.

If you wanted to take the toppings a step further, I would recommend a pineapple salsa or mango salsa. But you all know me, I love a good fruity salsa. Oh, and maybe add a nice margarita too. This spicy mango marg is my personal favorite.

overhead photo of Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with bite taken out of taco

If you make these weeknight Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch, 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!

Watch the How To Video:

Weeknight Cheesy Baked Chipotle Chicken Tacos with Cilantro Lime Ranch.

Author: Tieghan Gerard
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 544 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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Watch the How-To Reel

Ingredients

Cilantro Lime Ranch

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
    2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the ground chicken and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until the chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle chili powder, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, and salt. Add 3/4 cup water. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly around the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro. 
    3. Line the taco shells up on a sheet pan or in a 9×13 inch baking dish. Transfer to the oven and bake 5 minutes. Evenly divide the meat among each taco shell and top with cheese. Bake 10 minutes, until the cheese has melted.
    4. Meanwhile, make the ranch. Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake or stir until creamy. 
    5. Serve the tacos topped with ranch, avocado, red onion, and any other desired toppings.

Notes

For Easy Homemade Hard Shells: Warm 8-12 corn tortillas for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave, until pliable. On a baking sheet, rub the tortillas with olive oil. Lay each flat and then layer evenly with cheese and chicken. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the filling, gently pushing to adhere (see above photo). Transfer to the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes more, or until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp. 
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horizontal overhead photo of Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos

This post was originally published on February 13, 2020
4.25 from 1469 votes (1,165 ratings without comment)

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Comments

  1. 3 stars
    Tried these tonight using corn tortillas, the instructions to turn them into “homemade hard shells” 100% did not work, the corn tortillas broke in half (even using another tray on top to form the shape), and the liquid from the cheese and meat spilled out all over the baking tray. What i ended up with was more like a soggy, broken taco sandwich (not crispy at all.) Not sure how others are getting crispy taco shells using this method! We ended up eating with a fork and knife and they were tasty, just not what i was expecting. I’d try again using premade hard shells.

    Reply

    1. Hey Jessica,
      So sorry you had issues with the tortillas. Did you heat them first and cover with oil? This prevents them from ripping. If so, I would try another brand of tortillas, I like Whole Foods 365. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan

      Reply

  2. 5 stars
    I really loved this so much! I made with only 2 tsps of the chip chili powder. If I wanted to make slightly less spicy for picky kids should I sub in another spice and put even less than recommended?
    Thank you!

    Reply

    1. Hey Beth,
      I am so glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! To make this less spicy, just reduce or omit the crushed red pepper. xTieghan

      Reply

  3. My sister has been telling me to make these for months & I finally did for dinner tonight. Some of the best tacos I’ve ever made! The ranch really brings it together. Another good one to add to the rotation!

    Reply

  5. 3 stars
    Loved it! But if you don’t like spicy I’d say omit the chipotle powder (I used 1 tsp of chipotle powder pepper) maybe different that chipotle powder? But the homemade shells are crispy and so yummy!

    Reply

    1. Hey Natalie,
      So sorry, the ranch is not meant to be spicy! Is there anything you adjusted? Let me know how I can help! xTieghan

      Reply

  8. 3 stars
    I wanted to love this. It has all the right flavors but
    1) it took way longer than 40 mins especially if you try to make the crispy taco shells yourself. will definitely buy ready made taco-shells should I attempt to make this again
    2) first time I used ground chicken in my life and the smell of the chicken meat while cooking made me want to throw up. Despite all the lovely spices, I still had the smell in mind when eating. I will try beef next time.
    The saving grace was the cilantro lime sauce! I used yoghurt and it was delicious. I give the sauce five stars!

    Reply

    1. Hey Aline,
      So sorry this took you longer than excepted and you were bother by the smell of the ground chicken, please let me know how I can help for next time! xTieghan

      Reply

  9. 4 stars
    These were easy to make and full of flavor but holy wow, were they spicy. Or maybe I’m just a wimp. But my eyes were watering and my mouth on fire! The corn tortillas also split when I was assembling the tacos on the sheet pan before baking, so not sure if there’s any solution to prevent that. I’ll def make again, but scale back a bit on the spice.

    Reply

    1. Hey Lindsey,
      I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! So sorry about the spice! Have a great week:) xTieghan

      Reply

  10. Hello! Have you tried this with anything other than corn tortillas? I want to make these with siete cassava flour torillas, but not sure if they will turn out the same.

    Reply

    1. Hey Jenny,
      Yes, I used the Site tortillas and they worked great! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hey Alyssa,
      I am so thrilled that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have a great week:) xTieghan

      Reply

  12. I’m excited to make this, but have a question. In the pictures above there is a red sauce shown next to the tacos, but I don’t see it on the recipe. Is that something I’m missing? (I also see what appears to be pickled onions so maybe it’s just something else)….

    Reply

  13. Loved the flavor of the chicken!! I sadly must have not used enough olive oil on the tortillas since they broke in half and weren’t very crispy (I even microwaved them for 60sec before putting oil on them), but that was definitely user error.
    How much olive oil do you rub on the tortillas and what size tortillas do you use?

    Reply

    1. Hey Kim,
      So sorry you had issues with the tortillas, I use 6 inch round tortillas. I would recommend trying a different brand, I really like Whole Foods 365. I hope this helps for next time! xTieghan

      Reply