Crispy Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Extra crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside, these tacos are so much fun to make and eat. Putting cheese directly in your skillet might sound wrong, but it works! Use a nonstick skillet and give it time to start crisping before messing with it. If you go to fold your tacos in half and the cheese doesn’t seem to want to stick to the tortilla, give it another minute and try again. Once off heat, the cheese starts to harden and crisps up, giving the texture of a crunchy taco shell, but extra cheesy. You’ll be making tacos every night of the week after these.
Have you tried these yet? Let us know how it went in the comments below.
avocado
jalapeño, seeded and chopped
cloves garlic
packed fresh cilantro
buttermilk
sour cream
Juice of 1 lime
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
medium yellow onion, chopped
cloves garlic, minced
ground chicken
chipotle chile in adobo sauce, chopped, plus 2 tbsp. adobo sauce
chili powder
cumin
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
shredded cheddar, divided
small corn tortillas
Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving
- In a food processor or blender, puree avocado, jalapeño, garlic, cilantro, buttermilk, sour cream, and lime juice until smooth; season with salt and pepper.
- Transfer sauce to an airtight container. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Make Ahead: Sauce can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add chicken and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 8 minutes. Add chipotle chile, adobo sauce, chili powder, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat.
- In a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, arrange about 1/4 cup cheese in a circle in an even layer about the size of your tortillas. Place a tortilla on top. Spoon some chicken filling on one half of tortilla and about 2 tablespoons cheese on the other half. Cook until cheese on bottom starts to crisp, about 4 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, fold the half with cheese up and over chicken, pressing to help taco remain closed. Cook until warmed through, about 1 minute, then flip and continue to cook until other side is warmed through, about 1 minute more. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining tacos.
- Top tacos with cilantro. Serve with avocado ranch sauce alongside.
