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These Ground Chicken Tacos are one of my favorite ways to turn a pack of ground chicken into a quick skillet taco-night dinner. The meat is savory, a little saucy, and easy to pile into warm tortillas with whatever toppings you or your family enjoys.
I usually serve these chicken tacos with ground chicken with Pico de Gallo, Guacamole, cilantro, and lime. But, the taco meat also works well over Cilantro Lime Rice with all the toppings for an easy chicken taco bowl. This recipe is super flexible so you can use any taco seasoning that you enjoy. One of my personal favorites though is my Chicken Taco Seasoning since it’s made for chicken and I usually keep a jar on hand.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Fast enough for weeknights: Ground chicken cooks quickly, so you can get taco meat on the table in less than 30 minutes.
- Not dry or bland: This recipe adds seasoning, tomato paste, pico de gallo, and a little liquid so the lean chicken stays juicy and flavorful.
- Easy to serve different ways: Use the taco meat in tortillas, lettuce wraps, taco bowls, salads, nachos, or quesadillas.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Grab the exact ingredient amounts from the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Ground chicken: Use the highest-fat ground chicken you can find, or ground chicken dark meat when possible. Ground chicken breast works, but it is leaner.
- Yellow onion: Cooks with the chicken so the taco meat has more flavor from the start.
- Pico de gallo: Adds fresh tomato, onion, cilantro, and lime flavor. Use my Pico de Gallo or your favorite chunky store-bought option.
- Water: Helps loosen the tomato paste and seasoning so they coat the chicken evenly. You can also use a little chicken broth here.
- Chopped cilantro: Adds fresh flavor to the cooked taco meat.
- Tomato paste: Thickens the filling and gives the ground chicken a richer taco meat flavor.
- Taco seasoning: use my Chicken Taco Seasoning or another one that enjoy, then adjust to taste. If you want a homemade taco seasoning without sugar or cornstarch, use my Keto Taco Seasoning to add flavor to this recipe
- Tortillas and toppings: Use flour tortillas, corn tortillas, low-carb tortillas, or lettuce wraps. Add toppings like shredded lettuce or cabbage, cheese, sour cream, avocado, guacamole, lime, jalapeños, pico de gallo, or pickled onions.
How to Make Ground Chicken Tacos
Making chicken tacos with ground chicken is simple. The main goal is to cook the chicken into small crumbles first, then add the seasoning mixture so the meat can absorb the flavor.
Brown the chicken and onion
Add the ground chicken and onion to a skillet over medium heat. Break the chicken into small pieces as it cooks so the meat browns evenly and the onion softens into the filling. The chicken should be fully cooked with no pink remaining.
Simmer the taco meat
Stir in the pico de gallo, water, cilantro, tomato paste, and taco seasoning. Let the mixture simmer just long enough for the tomato paste to loosen, the seasoning to coat the chicken, and the filling to become thick and scoopable.
Build the tacos
Spoon the ground chicken taco meat into warm tortillas, then add your toppings. For the best flavor, add something fresh, something creamy, and something acidic, like pico de gallo, guacamole, cilantro, and lime.
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Pro Tips That Save Time & Add Flavor
- Crumble the meat small: Smaller pieces hold the seasoning better and make the filling easier to spoon into tortillas.
- Adjust the seasoning at the end: Taste after the filling simmers, then add more taco seasoning if you want a bolder flavor.
- Keep the filling moist, not loose: Add a splash of water only if the pan looks dry. The finished taco meat should be juicy, but not soupy.
- Use toppings to balance the tacos: Crisp lettuce or cabbage, creamy avocado or sour cream, and lime or pickled onions keep the tacos flavorful and give them different texture.
Swaps & Variations
- Protein swaps: Use ground turkey or ground beef instead of ground chicken. If using beef, drain extra grease before adding the remaining ingredients. For a bowl-style option, use the same toppings from my Ground Turkey Taco Bowl.
- Budget-friendly option: Stir in black beans or corn after the chicken is cooked to stretch the filling.
- Low-carb option: Serve the taco meat in lettuce wraps, low-carb tortillas, cheese taco shells, or a bowl over Spanish Cauliflower Rice.
- More heat: Add jalapeños, hot sauce, chipotle powder, or cayenne pepper.
- Meatless option: Use two cans of drained black beans instead of ground chicken and simmer them with the same seasonings.
More Ground Chicken Recipes
If you bought a pack of ground chicken and want another way to use it, try my Ground Chicken Burgers for a burger-night option that still stays juicy. My Ground Chicken Meatballs are another easy dinner or appetizer when you want something simple with the same protein.
What to Serve With Ground Chicken Tacos
These ground chicken tacos taste great with fresh toppings, creamy sauces, and simple sides.
- For a classic taco-night spread, set out extra pico de gallo, shredded lettuce, chopped cilantro, lime wedges, guacamole, sour cream, and queso.
- To make the meal more filling, serve the taco meat with Cilantro Lime Rice or Spanish cauliflower rice. You can also use the same filling for taco salad, quesadillas, nachos, or a quick lunch wrap the next day.
- For more taco-night ideas, serve these with my Shredded Chicken Tacos or Baked Chicken Tacos. If you want a cheesy baked dinner with similar flavors, my Mexican Chicken Casserole is another option.
FAQs
Use ground chicken with a little more fat when possible, season it well, and add moisture. In this recipe, pico de gallo, water, and tomato paste help the taco meat stay juicy while still giving it a thick, scoopable texture.
Yes. Ground chicken breast works, but it is leaner, so it can dry out more easily. Add a little oil to the skillet if needed and avoid cooking it longer than necessary after it is fully done.
Yes. Use your favorite taco seasoning, then adjust to taste. If the blend is low in salt or mild, you may need to add a little more.
Yes. This taco meat works well for meal prep because it reheats quickly and can be used in tacos, bowls, salads, and wraps.
Yes. Let the taco meat cool completely, then store it in a freezer-safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw it in the refrigerator before reheating.
Storage & Reheating
- Store: Keep leftover taco meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Add cooled taco meat to a freezer-safe container or bag and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: Warm the taco meat in a skillet or microwave until heated through. Add a splash of water if the meat looks dry.
Ground Chicken Tacos
Use DRDAVINAHS at checkout to save on some equipment & ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken, choose the highest-fat content as possible or use ground dark meat chicken
- ½ cup Yellow Onion
- ½ cup Pico de Gallo, click for my recipe
- ¼ cup Water, or low-sodium chicken broth
- ⅛ cup cilantro, chopped
- ⅛ cup Tomato Paste
- 2 tbsp Homemade Taco Seasoning, click for recipe, or use chicken taco seasoning, or another that you enjoy. You can adjust to taste after the meat simmers.
Instructions
- Add the ground chicken and onion to a skillet over medium heat.
- Brown the ground chicken: Cook for 7-9 minutes, breaking up the chicken as it cooks, until the chicken is fully cooked and the juices run clear.
- Stir in remaining ingredients then simmer: Stir in the pico de gallo, water, cilantro, tomato paste, and taco seasoning. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until everything is well combined.
- Serve in tortillas and top with cilantro and your favorite taco toppings.
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Recipe Notes
- Chicken: Use ground chicken with a little more fat when possible. Ground chicken breast works, but it can dry out faster.
- Seasoning: Start with 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning, then add more to taste for a bolder taco flavor.
- Tomato paste: Do not skip it. It helps thicken the filling and gives the chicken a richer flavor.
- Make it heartier: Stir in black beans or corn after the chicken is cooked to stretch the filling.
- Toppings: Use any mix of lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo, jalapeños, black olives, or diced tomatoes.
- Swaps: Ground turkey or ground beef also work. For a meatless version, use drained black beans.
- Storage: Store leftover taco meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition Details
The nutrition facts come from entering the recipe ingredients into a database of food ingredients. They may vary for any recipe based on the exact product used.
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