These Grilled Chicken Street Tacos are packed with bold, authentic flavor and come together in no time. With tender, seasoned chicken and simple, fresh toppings, they’re the perfect bite-sized meal for taco night or entertaining.
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Normally, chicken tacos are something I skip over and go straight for carne asada tacos, carnitas tacos, or tacos al carbon. BUT I figured out why they typically aren’t great and now that I’ve remedied the problem, I love them and you will too!
One of my favorite cookbooks is the Cooks Science of Good Cooking Cookbook, and one of their recipes called for marinating chicken, then after cooking, tossing the chicken in some of the reserved marinade after and this my friends, is a GAME CHANGER.
Why This Recipe Works:
- Simple, Authentic Ingredients: Classic street taco flavors come together with seasoned chicken, fresh toppings, and warm tortillas.
- Quick and Easy: The chicken cooks fast, making this a go-to recipe for busy weeknights or last-minute gatherings.
- Juicy and Flavorful: A good marinade AND a second coating of flavor post-cooking make these the best chicken tacos ever.
What You Need for Grilled Chicken Street Tacos?
Marinade: The combo of soy sauce, limes (zested and juiced!), chipotles in adobo sauce, and seasoning makes for a delicious marinade.
Chicken: Breast or Thighs work great!
Additional Taco Necessities: Diced Onion, Chipped Cilantro, Salsa, and Tortillas.
How to Make Grilled Chicken Street Tacos:
- Step 1: Mix up the marinade and reserve ⅓ cup. Make sure to do this before adding chicken so you don’t cross-contaminate the liquid you will need for later with raw chicken.
- Step 2: Add remaining marinade to bag, along with the chicken, close and shake to coat. Refrigerate chicken for 30 minutes.
- Step 3: Preheat and grease grill, then cook chicken until done, flipping halfway through cooking. IT of chicken should be 165°F.
- Step 4: Once cooked and cool enough to handle, chop chicken in to ¼ inch pieces.
- Step 5: Add chicken and reserved marinade to a fry pan. Heat over medium, stirring to coat the chicken with the reserved marinade, and letting the chicken brown slightly.
- Step 6: Once coated, remove from heat and serve in a warmed tortilla with diced onions, cilantro, and salsa.
Substitutions and Variations
- Meat- This works great with turkey too!
- Salsa- I love a good roasted tomatillo salsa with this, but a tasty pineapple mango salsa, pico de gallo, or cilantro lime sauce is delicious too.
- Tortillas- Try flour and corn and see which you like best!
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Tips for the Best Chicken Street Tacos
Marinade: Tossing the cooked chicken in some reserved marinade makes these extra flavorful and juicy.
Meat: Chicken Thighs are the most flavorful because they are a fattier cut of meat; however, the marinade evens the playing ground, so chicken breast tastes delicious too.
Tortillas: These tacos shine with a lightly fried corn tortilla. The sweetness from the corn pairs deliciously with the chicken.
Toppings: A good taco needs only a few toppings. Diced onion, chopped cilantro, a dash of freshly squeezed lime juice, and your favorite salsa are all you need!
Frequently Asked Questions
First, marinade the chicken, then cook, and then toss in the reserved marinade. This not only coats the chicken in flavor again, but adds a little more fat (aka flavor via the oil), to the chicken so it's extra tasty and juicy!
Chicken Thighs are the most flavorful and juicy, but with a good marinade, you can use chicken breast too.
Corn tortillas are the best for street tacos. Flour tortillas are more suited for fajita tacos or fish tacos.
More Related Recipes
If you like this taco recipe, make sure to check out all my delicious taco recipes, like my tri-tip tacos, salmon tacos, sour cream enchiladas, and these blackened shrimp tacos! Serve these tacos alongside some homemade limeade or lemonade, too!
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Video
Grilled Chicken Street Tacos
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken breast or thighs*
Marinade
- 1 tbs soy sauce
- 6 garlic cloves minced
- 2 Limes zested and juiced
- 2 chipotles in adobo sauce minced
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- ¾ teaspoon cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 6 tbs oil
- 2 tbs water
Other Taco Ingredients
- Tortillas
- White Onion diced
- Cilantro chopped
- Extra limes cut into wedges
- Salsa
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine soy sauce, garlic cloves, chipotles in adobo sauce, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, oregano, paprika, oil, and water. Reserve ⅓ cup of marinade- set aside.1 tbs soy sauce, 6 garlic cloves, 2 Limes, 2 chipotles in adobo sauce, 2 teaspoon chili powder, ¾ teaspoon cumin, 1 ½ teaspoon oregano, 1 teaspoon paprika, 6 tbs oil, 2 tbs water
- Add whole chicken breasts or thighs to a Ziploc bag and pour remaining marinade over them. Close and shake the bag to coat the chicken evenly. Allow chicken to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.2 lbs chicken
- Clean and oil grill*, then heat on med-high until hot. Once the grill is preheated, add the chicken and cook until done. At 4 minutes, flip the chicken, and continue cooking. Depending on the thickness of the chicken, cooking times will vary. Chicken will be done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F. Start checking for doneness at least the 7-minute mark and every few minutes thereafter.
- Once chicken is cooked through, chop into ¼ inch- ½ inch pieces. Add reserved marinade to a non-stick pan along with chicken (you may need to work in batches depending on the size of your pan, so portion out reserved marinade accordingly). Stir and heat until chicken pieces are coated and starting to brown slightly.
- Serve in warmed tortillas* topped with diced onion, cilantro, lime, and your favorite salsa.Tortillas, White Onion, Cilantro, Extra limes cut into wedges, Salsa
Notes
- Chicken Meat: Thighs are more flavorful due to being slightly more fatty, but I was determined to make a recipe that works great for chicken breast, too, and this does! So use whatever you have on hand!
- Stove Top or Oven: If you want to cook the chicken in a fry pan with oil, or bake in the oven, that works too. Just cook to an internal temperature of 165°F, then continue on with the recipe.
- Tortillas: I like to warm small corn or flour tortillas in a fry pan with a little oil, just until they are warm and pliable and just starting to brown. The blackened/charred tortillas in the photos look great, but don’t taste very good!
- Nutrition Info: This is just an estimate for the chicken meat and marinade. Adjust accordingly for whatever tortillas and toppings you use.
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