Whip up a dinner that is exciting and easy with these Southwest Chipotle Chicken Tacos! Full of bold flavors and combined with beans and corn, these tacos will become a regular part of your Mexican night dinner rotation.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Recipe
I am a huge fan of Mexican food and while simple and classic recipes are always great, I love to shake it up with fun and unique flavors!
These Southwest Chipotle Chicken Tacos are made with corn, black beans, and lots of smoky spices for a flavor bomb in a taco shell. See our notes below for how you can adjust the heat to your preference!
Modifications and Substitutions
Easily make this with rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken! Simply heat the spices, corn, beans, and sauce elements together in a skillet and stir in the chicken just to warm through, instead of cooking it for a longer period of time.
I love to switch up the veggies for these tacos! My favorite is to add some diced green chiles. It would also be great with diced zucchini, bell peppers, or any other veg you love.
Easily make this with ground turkey, ground chicken, or ground beef as well. Just use a pound of the ground meat and cook in the skillet before adding the other veg and spices so that they do not burn.
Love the flavors? We also have a Sweet Potato Taco recipe with the same flavors!
Adjusting Heat Level
This recipe makes tacos that would be a medium heat level.
To make it mild, use half the amount of chipotle in adobo ingredients. Or, you can skip it altogether and use a half tablespoon of ground paprika instead. The paprika will give you the smoky flavor without any heat.
To make it spicier, add more chipotle in adobo. You could also add some chopped jalapeno peppers, serrano peppers, or even some hot sauce to the mixture.
Serving Recommendations
These tacos are perfect just served up on a corn or flour tortilla. Use your favorite toppings like our Homemade Chipotle Crema Sauce, lime wedges, fresh cilantro, and radishes.
I also love to serve this with my Hatch Green Chile Rice which is a light and flavor-packed rice, and my Bacon Pinto Beans which are always a HUGE hit and constantly requested from guests!
This Southwest Chipotle Chicken Taco mixture would also be fantastic as a burrito or inside of enchiladas with some pepperjack cheese and our Easy Homemade Red Enchilada Sauce!
More Taco Recipes
Taco Recipes
Whether Taco Tuesday or any day of the week, these taco recipes will bring excitement to dinner!
Southwest Chipotle Chicken Tacos
Equipment
- Measuring spoons
- Measuring Cups
- Knife
Ingredients
Sweet Potato Tacos
- 2 Tablespoons avocado oil or vegetable, or canola, etc
- ½ cup onion diced (any color)
- 1 pound chicken boneless and skinless, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (see note 1 for rotisserie or leftover chicken)
- ¼ cup corn kernels ideally frozen, or canned (drained)
- ½ cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 chipotle peppers (from the can, optional for more heat, see note) (finely chopped)
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (use the sauce from the can)
Assembly
- 8 corn tortillas or small flour
- chipotle crema or sour cream
- cotija cheese
- pickled jalapenos
- lime wedges
- fresh cilantro
- sliced radishes
- pico de gallo or salsa
Instructions
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.2 Tablespoons avocado oil
- Add the onion and cook until translucent, approximately 2-3 minutes.½ cup onion
- Add the raw chicken cubes and sauté until cooked through, approximately 6-8 minutes.1 pound chicken
- Add the corn, black beans, spices, chipotle peppers, adobo sauce, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Sauté for 2-3 minutes to heat ingredients and make the spices fragrant.¼ cup corn kernels, ½ cup canned black beans, 1 teaspoon cumin, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 chipotle peppers, 1 1/2 Tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- If mixture is too dry, add a splash of water. Season to taste with salt and spices as desired.
- Serve the chicken mixture in tortillas with toppings of choice.8 corn tortillas
Notes
- Easily use leftover or rotisserie chicken instead. Simply add the spices, corn, and beans all at the same time to heat thoroughly. Since the chicken does not need to be cooked, this will come together quickly.
