Marinated grilled chicken served on top of corn tortillas and topped your favorite fixings. These Grilled Chicken Street Tacos are a delicious homemade version of Mexican street tacos. You’ll want to make them over and over.
Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow and these Grilled Chicken Street Tacos are the perfect thing to make if you’re going to be celebrating, and even if you’re not, you should still make them anyway.
We all go little crazy over these and I always find myself just eating the chicken after I’ve eaten my tacos.
The chicken is so flavorful and absolutely delicious. You can taste just a hint of the cinnamon and all spice that’s in the marinade. It might seem kind of weird, but it works.Funny story . . . I had this chicken marinating to grill a couple nights ago for dinner and just before dinner time it starting raining.
Now if it would have been just a light rain, I probably would have grabbed an umbrella and still thrown the chicken on the grill, but it was not a light rain!! It was dumping and coming down so hard there was nooooo way I was going to try grilling this chicken.
So the chicken marinated in my fridge for an extra 24 hours which just made it even better, and we had Cafe Rio instead because it was triple points that day (lol!).
We love these served with fresh pico de gallo, but you can certainly use your favorite salsa, store bought or homemade.
We sprinkle a little extra cilantro on top and then inhale these.
Happy Cinco de Mayo!!
A FEW TIPS FOR MAKING THESE STREET TACOS:
- I prefer chicken breasts over thighs, in fact I very rarely buy chicken thighs. Thighs do have more flavor and don’t dry out as easily as chicken breasts as easily. It’s a personal preference here. If you do use chicken breasts, just make sure you don’t over cook them. Anytime I’ve made this using chicken breasts, the chicken is moist and really tender.
- Make sure you plan ahead because this chicken needs to marinate at least 2-3 hours and overnight is even better if you can plan ahead.
- It’s really important to let the meat rest after you cook it. I do this with any meat I grill. Covering it with foil for about 5 minutes before you cut it allows the meat to absorb all the flavorful, yummy juices.
- I love to use the street size tortillas. They’re easy to find now at almost any grocery store. I buy the Mission Brand, but have seen other brands. You can use regular size tortillas if you’d like. I love the corn tortillas and my boys love the flour, either one are delicious. If you’re going for a more “authentic” street taco, then use corn tortillas.
- Fresh pico de gallo is my favorite on these, but you can certainly use store bought or homemade salsa. Again, it’s a personal preference here.
- This chicken is so good and can be used for anything . . . tacos, burritos, salads, enchiladas, quesadillas, or just on its own.
If you love tacos as much as we do, here are some others you might love:
- Chicken Lime Tacos
- Ground Beef Tacos
- Thai Chicken Tacos with Peanut Sauce
- Slow Cooker Flank Stead Tacos
Grilled Chicken Street Tacos
- Total Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons lime juice
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons chipotle or ancho chile powder*
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 2 teaspoons smoked paprika powder
- 1/8 teaspoon All Spice
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Fixings/Toppings:
- Corn tortillas (or flour if you prefer)
- Pico de Gallo or salsa
- Sour cream
- Avocado
- Cilantro
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Make chicken marinade by combining all marinade ingredients in a large ziplock bag. Add chicken and shake/rub it around to make sure the chicken is well coated. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours or up to overnight. (The longer, the better.)
- Preheat grill over medium-hight heat. Oil or spray the grill generously with cooking. Remove chicken with marinade and place on hot grill.
- Cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side, or until chicken is cooked through. Transfer to a plate, cover with foil and allow the chicken to rest for five minutes.
- Cut into bite size pieces (or strips, whichever you prefer).
- Layer chopped chicken on a corn (or flour) tortilla and top with desired toppings.
Notes
I have found chipotle powder in the bulk foods section at Winco, but if you can’t find it or the ancho chile powder, a good substitute is 1/2 tablespoon each of smoked paprika (make sure it’s smoked), cumin and cayenne pepper.
If you’re worried about too much “heat” from the chipotle powder, you can use the lesser amount. If you end up using the substitute spices listed, then just use less cayenne pepper but still the listed amount for the cumin and smoked paprika.
To make pico, I just chop a few roma tomatoes, a little bit of chopped red onion (I don’t do a ton because I think it gets too over-powering, maybe a couple tablespoons), a handful of cilantro, chopped, half of a jalpeno finely chopped, and salt to taste. I really don’t even measure. I just taste it and add what I think it needs.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dishes
- Cuisine: Mexican
IF YOU TRY THIS RECIPE, COMMENT BELOW! I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK.
Recipe Source: Adapted slightly from Recipe Tin Eats (she adapted it from Bobby Flay’s Barbecue Addiction Cookbook).
These sound delicious! Thanks for sharing!