20 Minute Mini Baked Chicken Tacos
If you’re anything like me, weeknight dinners need to be fast, flexible, and totally delicious. Especially when life gets busy! These mini baked chicken tacos hit all three in about 20 minutes and have quickly become one of our go-to easy dinners (and favorite party snacks).
Here’s the beauty of this recipe: you’re taking something classic (a taco) and giving it a simple, crispy oven twist. With taco-seasoned shredded chicken, melty cheese, and corn tortillas baked until golden, you get that satisfying crunch without frying.
How to Make Crispy Chicken Tacos
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush or spray tortillas with olive oil. Place on a large baking sheet or shallow baking dish. Add a heaping tablespoon of the shredded chicken mixture to the tortilla and top with a heaping tablespoon of shredded cheese.
Bake tacos for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts. Carefully fold each tortilla in half, gently pressing them together in the shape of a taco.
Bake for another 12-15 minutes or until the corn tortillas begin to crisp on the outside.
Serve with sour cream, salsa, and cilantro. Enjoy!
Things to Know
- For the shredded chicken I recommend using my super easy 3 ingredient crock pot shredded chicken breast or my simple instant pot shredded chicken. If you prefer you can also use shredded rotisserie chicken and add 1/2 a cup of salsa and 2 tablespoons or so of chicken taco seasoning (which is made with a variety of spices including cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and paprika).
- This recipe works well with regular-size corn tortillas as well. I love to use the street taco size because they’re so cute and make the perfect handheld tacos, but regular-size corn tortillas will work too!
- You’ll know the tacos are done when the taco shells are nice and crispy on the outside and the cheesy chicken filling is warmed through on the inside.
Flavor Variations
Feel free to add your favorites to these mini chicken tacos. Some of our family’s favorites include:
- green chiles
- diced red onion
- diced red bell pepper
- canned corn
- black beans
- refried beans
- a squeeze of lime juice
- sliced green onion
- diced tomatoes
Air Fryer Instructions
If I’m in a hurry, I actually tend to use the air fryer to make these tacos more than the oven because they take a little less time to cook.
- Set the air fryer to 400 degrees.
- Follow the same recipe instructions and add tacos to the air fryer in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes.
- Carefully fold each taco in half and cook for another 5-8 minutes, flipping them halfway so both sides get crispy.
Stove Top Instructions
You can also cook these crispy chicken tacos in a large skillet on the stove if that’s more your style.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add a bit of oil to the pan (or spray the tortillas with cooking spray).
- Add cheese and meat filling to the taco.
- Fold in half and cook on each side for about 3-4 minutes or until crispy.
I Literally Make These (at least) Weekly
Crispy baked tacos that everyone actually agrees on. That’s the dream, right?
We love classic ground beef tacos in this house, but these crispy baked chicken tacos are such a fun way to switch it up. They start with a simple base of seasoned shredded chicken, melty cheese, and corn tortillas, and then everyone builds their own from there. Extra cheese? Obviously. Black beans? Sure. A mountain of pickled onions? Go for it!
It’s one of those dinners that feels interactive but is actually very low effort. I lay everything out, slide the tacos into the oven, and let the crispy magic happen.
Serve Mini Tacos With
- creamy avocado dip
- chicken and veggie taco bake
- chipotle sauce
- creamy street corn dip
- creamy street corn soup
- smoked queso dip
- crock pot queso dip
- stuffed peppers
- instant pot taco soup
- easy southwest salad
- vegan black bean soup
- homemade blender salsa
- quick corn salsa
- tater tot nachos
- cilantro lime rice
- Pico de Gallo
- guacamole
The Perfect Prep Ahead Meal
- Want to get a jump on dinner? Shred the seasoned chicken up to 3 days ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. When you’re ready to eat, just fill the tortillas, add the cheese, and bake.
- I love to make a big batch of shredded chicken and avocado sauce over the weekend so I’ve got quick and easy lunches ready to make all week!
Make These Taco Recipes Next!
Did you love this recipe?
Please leave a 5-star rating and review below!
Mini Tacos
These mini baked chicken tacos come together in about 20 minutes with just a handful of simple ingredients. They’re perfect for feeding a crowd and simple enough to throw together for an easy weeknight dinner! Street taco corn tortillas are filled with taco-seasoned chicken and shredded cheese then baked to perfection for a crispy chicken taco the whole family will love.
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 20–24 tacos 1x
Ingredients
- 1 lb. cooked shredded seasoned chicken breast (3-4 cups shredded chicken breast *see notes for cooking options*)
- 8 oz. shredded colby jack cheese
- 20–24 street taco corn tortillas
- olive oil or cooking spray
Serve with:
- sour cream
- salsa
- fresh chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees.
- Place tortillas on a baking sheet.
- Brush or spray both sides with olive oil.
- Add a heaping tablespoon of the shredded chicken mixture to the tortillas and top with a heaping tablespoon of shredded cheese. You may need a second baking sheet depending on the size of yours.
- Bake tacos for 2 minutes or until the cheese melts. Remove from oven and carefully fold each tortilla in half, gently pressing them together in the shape of a taco.
- Bake for another 12-15 minutes or until the corn tortillas are crispy on the outside.
- Serve with sour cream, salsa, and cilantro. Enjoy!
Notes
- For the shredded chicken I recommend using my super easy 3 ingredient crock pot shredded chicken breast or my simple instant pot shredded chicken. If you prefer you can also use shredded rotisserie chicken and add 1/2 a cup of salsa and 2 tablespoons or so of chicken taco seasoning.
- This recipe works well with regular-size corn tortillas as well. I love to use the street taco size because they’re so cute and make the perfect handheld tacos, but regular-size corn tortillas will work too!
- You’ll know the tacos are done when they’re nice and crispy on the outside and the cheesy chicken filling is warmed through on the inside.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Mexican
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 taco
- Calories: 101
- Sugar: 0.5 g
- Sodium: 131.6 mg
- Fat: 4.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 7.3 g
- Fiber: 1.1 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
- Cholesterol: 23.8 mg
THESE WERE SO GOOD! I used the 3 ingredient chicken recipe and one of our kids who is super sensitive to spicy food even got a 2nd helping of them (used Fresh Cravings Restaurant Style Mild Salsa for anyone else who has spice sensitive people)!
I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed this chicken tacos, Sarah! Thanks for leaving a review 🙂
These are the best tacos. I use ground beef with taco seasoning. I also sprinkle the outside with parmesean cheese after folding them closed and baking them for 12 minutes. Everyone loves them.
YUM! That sounds delicious, Lindsay! I am going to try making them that way this weekend. Thanks for sharing and thank you for leaving a review 🙂
I made these for Bookclub. The girls ate them all up, husband too. So delicious and easy.
Aren’t they so good?! These are one of our family’s favorites!
Could I use ground beef instead of chicken?
Yes! We often make this with my easy taco meat recipe instead of the shredded chicken! Here’s the recipe: https://midwestfoodieblog.com/taco-meat-recipe/
Do they reheat well?
Honestly – there’s never any left! So I haven’t tried reheating them but I would imagine they are best fresh!
I reheated in the microwave and they are still delicious!
Good to know that worked well, Sydney! Thank you for sharing and thank you for leaving a review!!
What sauce do you put on the chicken ??
I made these last night and they were absolutely delicious! Even my picky daughter loved them. Some of the buttons on my oven decided to stop working so I had to cook them on convection bake at 415 and they still turned out great. Will definitely make again!
So glad to hear that y’all enjoyed these mini chicken tacos, Carrie! Thanks for leaving a review!
Hi! I have a question. Is it 101 calories per taco? Thank you!
Yes!
Turn a muffin pan upside down and you can cook these in taco shape. Also good to lightly cook the tortillas first to toughen them up a bit.
Great idea, Laurie. Thank you for sharing!
Corn tortillas got soggy and ripped when folding … hoping they still tatse good once done 🤞
I’m so sorry to hear that! Can’t wait to hear how they tasted!! I wonder if they were old tortillas? Fresh tortillas will fold easily when heated and crisp right up!
could a flour torrilla work too? my family is weird about corn tortillas lol…
Yes! Flour tortillas would work well in place of the corn. They just have a slightly different texture when they’re cooked to a crisp.