Tis’ the season for tacos? I’m not sure it is, but I sure have been seeing a lot of pictures of tacos on social media. It doesn’t take much for me to crave a food, so seeing tacos everywhere has triggered me to have a strong desire to make some. Hence why I am making tacos during the season typically meant for pot roasts, beef stews, and crockpot dishes.
Tacos of course are perfect for anytime of the year. Even with 10 inches of snow outside I felt they went perfectly with the weather and with a big glass of beer to warm me up!
While there are a lot of different ways to make tacos and many different toppings that can go in them, this is a recipe where all the components go great together. Of course if there was some part that you didn’t feel like making then you don’t have to! You could also buy pico de gallo instead of making it. What I like about this recipe though is that while there are three things to make, all of them are easy to make.
I love just a little bit of sliced radishes and shredded lettuce on my tacos. The radishes give a great crunch and the lettuce helps mellow the spice. Like I said though, feel free to leave something out if you don’t like it!
Chicken Tacos w/ Avocado Cream
Ingredients
Chicken
- 2 lbs chicken (I used a combo of chicken breast and boneless skinless chicken thighs)
- 2 teaspoons coconut or vegetable oil
- adobo seasoning
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Pico de Gallo
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- ¼ cup red onion, diced
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 teaspoons jalapeño, minced
- juice of one lime
Avocado Cream
- 1 ripe avocado
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
Tacos
- 8 soft taco shells
- shredded lettuce, optional
- sliced radishes, optional
- cotija cheese or any other cheese, optional
- hot sauce, optional
Instructions
For the chicken
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Heat a large ovenproof skillet on medium-high heat on the stove. Add oil.
- Season chicken generously on both sides with adobo seasoning. Place in skillet and sear for two minutes on both sides and then place skillet in oven and cook for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool. Keep juices in the pan.
- In a small bowl mix together chili powder, oregano, cumin, cayenne pepper, and paprika.
- Add chicken to a large bowl and shred either by hand or with an electric mixer on low speed. Sprinkle seasoning mix in bowl and stir to coat chicken. Add back to the pan with juices. Set aside.
For the pico de gallo
- In a small bowl, mix together diced tomatoes, red onions, jalapeño, cilantro, and lime juice. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.
For the avocado cream
- Mash avocado in a small bowl until smooth. Next, add sour cream and season with salt. Set aside.
To assemble tacos
- Heat taco shells in microwave or oven until warm. Layer the shredded chicken, pico de gallo, lettuce, radishes, and avocado cream on taco shell. Top with cheese and hot sauce if desired.
