Baked Chicken Tacos

Baked Chicken Tacos

30 minutes is all you need to make Baked Chicken Tacos. Crispy baked taco shells, loaded with creamy refried beans, seasoned chicken and cheese. Baked in the oven, then topped with all your favorite toppings. A quick, no hassle, way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo at home. 

We love pairing these tacos with a Guacamole Bar, Best Ever Black Beans, Mexican Rice, and Frozen Mango Margaritas or Flan and Churros. 

This year, celebrate Cinco de Mayo at home with something simple and delicious. These Baked Chicken tacos check all the boxes. Easy. Fun. Tasty. Family Favorite. You get lots of flavor and none of the stress.

We love Chicken Tacos, but these baked chicken tacos are even easier, more simple, and perfect for a crowd.

Spice up your dinner routine with this 30-minute meal that your whole family will go crazy for. When I was recipe testing for this, my house full of teenagers cleaned out the baking dish in no time. And let me know with emphasis they wanted these again and again. It quickly became an easy weeknight meal everyone loves. But it is good enough to celebrate with. 

With tender chunks of chicken, flavored with pantry staple spices and Rotel® Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies. Served in a crispy shell, layered with Rosarita® Traditional Refried Beans, and plenty of cheese, you have a family favorite no one is complaining about. Especially you, since it is ready in under 30 minutes, and requires simple, easy to find, delicious ingredients. 

It is honestly a dinner-winner because it is simple, delicious, and low mess. And you can make your dinner time even easier, and a bigger win, by scoring huge savings on your favorite brands (Like Rotel® and Rosarita®) when you shop using Walmart Online Grocery (OG)! 

Simply order everything you need for this tasty dinner of baked chicken tacos while staying cozy at home and in your car. 

What You Need for Baked Tacos

This recipe is super simple and uses a lot of ready-made items to cut down on your time and mess. It uses pantry staples, and a few fresh ingredients, and has all the delicious flavors of a from scratch meal but is easier. 

Ingredients: 

• Chicken: You can cook it yourself, or use canned, or rotisserie! I love to simply add a rotisserie chicken to my Walmart Online Grocery order, it saves time, and is perfect! 
• Spices: One you have your chicken, you need to add the spices that give it life and make it great for tacos. I opted for chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and cumin. But if you want to speed things up or simplify, you can use a taco packet! 
• Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies: This is the perfect way to add massive BOLD flavor to your chicken tacos, without a lot of hassle. You get vine-ripened tomatoes, zesty green chilies, and a mix of spices at the opening of a can! And it contains 25 calories per serving! 
• 10 Hard Tortilla Shells: I prefer the stand and serve kind with the flatter bottoms as they stay up and break less in the baking sheet, but you can use whichever kind you like. The hard shells are nice though for adding crunch! 
• Rosarita® Traditional Refried Beans: We have flavor, we have crunch, and with the Rosarita® Traditional Refried Beans, we also get creamy delicious Mexican-style flare! These refried beans are simply beans and cooking sauces, that add a true taste of Mexican heritage to any dish. All you have to do is heat them stove top or in the microwave, and add them to the tacos! Only 120 calories and zero grams trans-fat per serving.
• Mexican Blend Cheese: Top everything with plenty of cheese. Because melted cheese makes everything even better! 

How to Make Baked Tacos

Baked chicken tacos are really simple and easy to make, so get the kids involved, because they will love it.

1. Heat Your Beans: On the stovetop, heat the beans over medium heat in a saucepan until hot, stirring occasionally, or microwave in a covered microwave-safe dish on high for one and one-half  minutes or until hot.
2. Season Your Chicken: The chicken should already be fully cooked. So, if you choose to use canned or rotisserie you just have to season it. If you are cooking from fresh or frozen, then you can season while you cook. But either way, you add the Rotel® Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies to banish the boring, as well as some spices. Embrace the BOLD with the fresh taste of Rotel®, the Bite with Bite.
3. Crisp Your Shells: No one wants soggy shells, and that is a risk in baked tacos. I will share more on how to avoid that, but for now, just know you need to bake the shells alone for a few minutes to get them nice and crispy. But don’t burn them! 
4. Assemble: Now is the time to assemble, by layering the shells with beans, chicken, and cheese. For over 70 years, Rosarita® has made delicious Mexican products including refried beans, and they are the perfect first layer to your baked tacos. They are creamy and flavorful, but also protect the shell from getting soggy due to the chicken. The chicken adds more awesome flavor, and it is all sealed together with a layer of cheese! Yum. 
5. Bake: While everything should already be warmed, and cooked through, you want to bake these tacos. The baking time allows that layer of cheese to melt and seep into any crevices in the tacos. This helps hold it all together, and results in the perfect symphony of flavors. 
6. Top and Serve: The last step is everyone’s favorite… this is where you let your taco personality shine. Add whatever toppings make you happy. 

Assembly Tips

Be sure to warm the beans. This will make them easier to work with. 

Sometimes it is hard to get the refried beans all the way to the bottom of the shells, especially if you don’t use the ones with the flat bottom. So to make it easier to do without breaking the shells, put the refried beans in a zip lock bag and cut a hole in one end. Then pipe the beans into the shells like you would frosting. 

Pull all of your ingredients out, as this recipe moves quickly, and it is easier to get it done during the shell bake time if you already have all of your ingredients out. 

How to Get Crispy Shells  

The best tacos have crispy shells, so I am going to give you all the tips to avoid the dreaded soggy shell and get perfect baked tacos every time: 

• Bake the shells by themselves. This allows them to crisp up. Just be careful you only do this for 4-6 minutes. I stuck some in the oven and forgot about them while seasoning the chicken, and they burnt. 
• Don’t skip the Rosarita® Traditional Refried Beans layer. It helps protect the shell from the stuff with more liquid! 
• Drain the Rotel® Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies. I know that liquid adds flavor, and it is the perfect addition to soups, chili, queso, and many other recipes. But for this one, you want to keep a lot of the liquid out so you don’t end up with soggy shells. Trust me, drain it in a colander before adding it to your chicken mix. 

Topping Ideas

These tacos are good enough to eat without any toppings, but here are some of our favorite ways to top them: 

• Tomatoes
• Lettuce
• Cabbage
• Sour cream
• Salsa
• Cilantro
• Avocado
• Jalapeno
• Guacamole

How Long Are Baked Chicken Tacos Good For?

• Serve Immediately: Trust me, while you can store them, they are just so much better if you serve them right away. No matter how many steps you take to keep the shells from going soggy, if you let them sit too long, the condensation from the heat will make them soggy. 
• Store: If you want to keep your Baked Chicken Taco leftovers, put them in an airtight container and use them within 3-5 days. I suggest reheating in an air fryer to help crisp up the shells when you reheat. 
• Freeze: While, technically, you can freeze the Baked Chicken Tacos for up to 3 months in an airtight container, just don’t. They are so easy to make that there is no need to prep them ahead, and they won’t be nearly as good. 

How to Reheat the Baked Chicken Tacos

• These tacos are best reheated in an oven or air fryer. 
• It doesn’t take long for them to reheat and get crispy, so keep an eye on them. Start with 3-5 minutes.
• You can microwave, but the shells will likely get a little chewy instead of crispy. So bake or air fry instead. 

Your Cinco de Mayo will be a fiesta for your taste buds with this 30 minute meal.  

Just because it is quick and easy, does not mean it is lacking.

Don’t make compromises with your meals, and stay home while getting all your favorite brands using Walmart Online Grocery (OG)! 

Other Recipes

• Crockpot Baked Potatoes
• Chocolate Cake (Classic)
• Instant Pot Kalua Pork and Pineapple Salsa
• Raspberry 7UP® Punch Recipe
• Elote {Mexican Street Corn}
• Mexican Street Corn Dip

Other Taco Options:

• Grilled Fish Tacos
• Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Tacos
• Greek Chicken Street Tacos
• Tacos Al Pastor
• Tacos Dorados (Fried Tacos)

Baked Chicken Tacos

Crunchy chicken tacos loaded with creamy refried beans, tender chunks of spiced chicken, and delicious melty cheese. Topped with all your taco favorites.

4.88 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 5

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 pound cooked chicken shredded Rotisserie chicken is great
• 1/2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 10 ounce can Rotel® Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies
• 10 Hard tortilla shells
• 1 16 ounce can Rosarita® Traditional Refried Beans
• 2 cups Mexican Blend Cheese shredded

Toppings:

• Tomatoes
• Sour cream
• Salsa
• Cilantro
• Avocado
• Jalapeno

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Prepare a 9x13 baking dish, by spraying it with nonstick spray. Set aside
• Heat Rosarita® Traditional Refried Beans in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring until heated through.
• Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet, and add chicken, all seasonings, and fully drained can of Rotel® Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies.
• Stir to combine fully, then reduce heat and cook at a simmer for 4-5 minutes, until liquid is all gone.
• Place the taco shells in the baking dish.
• Bake the taco shells for 5 minutes by themselves to allow them to crisp up. Remove from the oven.
• Evenly distribute Rosarita® Traditional Refried Beans into the bottom the 10 taco shells.
• Evenly distribute the chicken mixture into each taco shell.
• Sprinkle each taco generously with shredded cheese.
• Bake for 7-10 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and bubbly.
• Remove from the oven and top with your favorite toppings

Notes

TIPS: Drain the tomatoes completely to help the taco shells to not get soggy while baking!
Substitutions: Use taco seasoning in place of the spices

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

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