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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. 4 stars
    I wanted this recipe to blow me away but it was a bit too spicy for our family that likes a little spice but not too much. The flavor of the chicken good and spicy but not too spicy but that jalapeño ranch was intense. I would absolutely make it again but add less chipotle powder. I added 2 instead of three but I’d do 1 1/2 next time and probably do either the jalapeño juice or the jalapeños for the ranch. Still delicious. Thanks HBH!

    Reply

  2. 5 stars
    This is being added to my weekly go-to recipes. So easy, and SO TASTY. That cilantro lime ranch is delicious.

    Reply

    1. Hi Ashley,
      I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks so much for testing it out! Have a great week! xTieghan

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    Very easy and fast! Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner especially when you use pre made hard shells. We also loved the cilantro lime ranch, I had to use peperchini’s because that’s all we had. It was great and would do it again. Thank you for another great recipe!!

    Reply

    1. Hey Alison,
      Awesome!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it. Have the best week! xTieghan

      Reply

    1. Hi Ellen,
      Wonderful! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a go! Happy New Year!? xTieghan

      Reply

  6. 4 stars
    I really enjoyed this recipe. I used ground beef instead of chicken. I also used regular corn tortillas instead of hard shells and just baked them in the oven. 3/4 cup cilantro in the dressing was too much for me. I also added 3 tbsp of jalapeño brine. Overall, I’d recommend this recipe and would like to start incorporating it into weekly meals!

    Reply

  7. 5 stars
    A tip to fix the tortilla problem use a small skillet with half a inch of oil use tongs to push the tortilla into the oil for about 10 to 15 seconds it will start to stiffin up (don’t worry they won’t stay that way) layer them on paper towels you can eat them like this or bake to make crunchy

    Reply

  8. 5 stars
    I made this with flour tortillas. The cilantro lime ranch is the bomb. I’d eat these every day – I did eat them for dinner, then lunch, then dinner and lunch this week 🙂

    Reply

    1. Hi Virginia,
      Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays!❄️ xTieghan

      Reply

  9. 5 stars
    This is now a family favorite! We have it regularly. I do warm the corn tortillas and coat in plenty of EVOO. It works perfectly. My kids love the sour cream sauce too. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

    1. Hey there,
      Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed. Thanks so much for making it and happy holidays!❄️ xTieghan

      Reply

  10. Unfortunately the corn tortillas also split in half even when gentle so I layered them on the bottom and top to make a taco casserole.

    Reply

  11. 4 stars
    Well, this was sort of a disaster, not because of the recipe but because most of the corn tortillas split down the middle while filling them (and I did soften them in the microwave and coat with oil). Still, we enjoyed the pieces of tacos and the few of them that were relatively intact — and the meat was deliciously spicy! If I make it again, I’d use hard taco shells and would also use the juice of one lime in the Ranch, not two.

    Reply

    2. Hi ,
      I made these today . The first batch I made cracked while folding ( I was warming up 4 at a time for 30 seconds )
      The second batch folded beautifully after microwaving 4 at a time for 1 minute .
      ??

      Reply

  13. Everything about this recipe is awesome! The filling has a nice spice to it and the ranch sauce is so perfect! I will be making this on the regular.

    Reply

  14. 5 stars
    Loved it! Made this dish twice in one week. I definitely recommend making the homemade hard shell tacos. It’s so much better than storebought. Saving this one for sure!

    Reply

    1. Hey Claudia,
      Happy Friday! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks to much for giving it a try!! xTieghan

      Reply

  15. 4 stars
    The filing was delicious but I could not get my homemade shells to crisp up. They got hard on the edges and chewy on the inside. Do you have to use oil on both sides of the tortillas? I’m not sure what went wrong.

    Reply

    1. Hey Amanda,
      Seriously amazing! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! What kind of homemade shells did you use? That could have been the issue, oiling on both sides does help. xTieghan

      Reply