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–+ servings
Small chicken tacos in a serving rack with lime, cilantro and salsa on the side.

Skillet Chicken Tacos

This is a delicious dinner recipe that's ready to eat in under an hour. The chicken is simmered in a skillet and all you need to add are a few pantry staples.
5 from 52 votes
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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 5
Calories: 450kcal
Author: Melinda O'Malley Keckler

Ingredients 

  • 1 ½ pounds chicken breasts about three breasts
  • 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 3-5 cloves
  • 1 onion diced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 2.25 ounce can sliced olives drained
  • 1 4 ounce can diced green chilies
  • 1 15.25 ounce can whole kernel corn drained
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • 1 cup Cheddar cheese shredded
  • 2 limes cut into wedges
  • 1 cup red cabbage, grated
  • ¾ cup fresh cilantro chopped

Instructions

Cook

  • Place a large skillet on the stove, add olive oil. Heat over medium high until the oil starts to shimmer. Add diced chicken, chopped garlic and diced onion. Cook until the chicken is nearly done and the onions and garlic are fragrant and begin to soften. Add olives, green chilis, corn, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Don't cover the skillet. Let the mixture simmer for about 15-20 minutes with no lid, or until most of the moisture is gone. (A little moisture is OK.) Remove from heat, stir in cheddar cheese, cover and keep warm until you are ready to serve.

Serve

  • Use the skillet chicken taco mixture to fill street taco tortillas - or any size tortilla, or top a bed a salad greens for taco salad, or serve as nachos and top a baking sheet filled with corn tortilla chips.
  • Sprinkle grated red cabbage on each serving, add a squeeze of lime juice and cilantro. As an option, serve with your favorite tomato salsa on the side.

Variations

  • For skillet chicken street tacos: Allow for about three street tacos per person, and I like to double up the tortillas. Fill each tortilla with the skillet chicken taco mixture and top with shredded cabbage, lime juice and cilantro.
  • For skillet chicken taco salad: Arrange your favorite salad greens on a serving plate, top with 1 cup of skillet chicken taco mixture per serving, add shredded cabbage, a squeeze of lime juice and cilantro.
  • For skillet chicken nachos: Spread contents from 1, 16 ounce bag of corn tortilla chips on a large baking sheet and place in a 375° oven for 10 minutes or until the chips are warm. Top with chicken taco mixture, shredded cabbage, a squeeze of lime juice and cilantro.
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Notes

Since there are so many variations to this recipe, the nutritional information here was calculated using only the ingredients for Skillet Chicken Tacos, and does not include nutrition details for tortillas, tortilla chips or salad greens. The nutritional details are based on approximately a one cup serving of the chicken taco filling per person. 

Nutrition

Calories: 450kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 39gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 1181mgPotassium: 841mgFiber: 5gSugar: 10gVitamin A: 827IUVitamin C: 21mgCalcium: 220mgIron: 2mg

Please note, the nutrition details are estimated using a food database and are offered here only as a guideline for informational purposes.

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