• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
KITCHEN @ HOSKINS
  • Valentine's Day
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Valentine's Day
  • Recipes
  • About
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • search icon
    Homepage link
    • Valentine's Day
    • Recipes
    • About
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Chicken

    Mexican Spiced Chicken for Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas or Salads

    Published: Apr 19, 2018 · Modified: Dec 9, 2022 by Maria Doss · This post may contain affiliate links · 13 Comments

    • Share!
    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This all purpose Mexican spiced chicken is cooked in a skillet and is delicious in tacos, burritos, quesadillas or salads. Make a batch for easy Mexican meals throughout the week. 

    I'm a huge fan of Mexican anything.

    So comforting, SPICY and full of so much flavor.

    As with most of our Mexican recipes, chicken takes the centre stage and as Rachel Ray would say it, 'tis cheap and cheerful.

    I normally make a batch of this spicy Mexican chicken over the weekend and it is very handy for school /work lunch box or dinner <---- Flavorful and delicious. 

    It could be served plain as part of your family dinner or stuffed in quesadillas, salads, burritos, wraps, tacos or meal prepped.

    A great chicken recipe begins with a delicious Mexican chicken seasoning. Store bought stuff is ok, but homemade is way better, right?

    Love chicken dinners. Check out a huge collection of Easy Chicken Recipes

    What is Mexican spiced chicken?

    It is chicken coated with flavorful blend of Mexican spices and then cooked. You could simply use some store-bought taco seasoning here. But, why would ya when you can make it yourself. The advantage here is that you get to control the flavors according to your taste - More/less salt, more/less spicy, more/less garlicky,.......

    How to make Mexican flavored chicken? 

    Rub some seasoning (as much or as little)  onto boneless skinless chicken thighs. Marinade in the fridge for at-least an hour (or up to a day)

    Heat vegetable oil in a cast iron skillet and cook on both sides until fully cooked. Cool, slice or chop and use in your favorite recipe. 

    Main ingredients:

    If you have chicken taco seasoning mixed, then this recipe has only 2 main ingredients : chicken and taco seasoning

    What are the ingredients in chicken taco seasoning?

    Paprika, dried oregano, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, black pepper, cayenne pepper and salt.

    So many spices <--- you know this is one flavorful chicken

    Expert tips:

    To use chicken breasts: Use boneless, skinless chicken breast. Pat the thicker part with a meat mallet so that it is mostly even in thickness before marinating. This helps chicken to cook evenly without the thinner part being overcooked before the rest of the  chicken is done (Cooking time will be lesser when working with breasts).

    Marination time: Marinated chicken can be refrigerated for at least one hour (can be stored up to 1 day). If pressed for time, go ahead and cook it right away. 

    How to serve this Mexican spiced chicken recipe?

    • Use 'em in quesadillas ----> Spicy Chicken Ranch Quesadillas
    • Serve for dinner with Instant Pot Cilantro Lime Rice and topped with Avocado Crema
    • Chop 'em up stuff into tacos.
    • Make a Spicy Chipotle chicken burrito bowl 
    • Top your Nachos
    • Make burrito. Wrap all burrito bowl ingredients in a large tortilla. 
    • Make a salad ---> all your favorite salad ingredients topped with Mexican spiced chicken and creamy ranch dressing
    • Serve with a drizzle of cilantro lime sauce

    Storage instructions:

    Cooked and cooled chicken can be refrigerated in a sealed container for up to 4 days. Reheat in microwave before serving.

    Keeping track of all the Mexican recipes around here?

    Cheesy Instant Pot Mexican Chicken and Rice

    Mexican Style Avocado Toast with Scrambled Eggs

    4-ingredient Salsa Chickpeas

    Mexican Chickpeas

    English Muffin Pizzas ( Mexican Style)

    Chickpea Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce

    Baked Fish Tacos with an Amazing 2-Ingredient Fish Taco Sauce

    Homemade Churros Recipe with Nutella Ganache

    Chickpea Burrito Bowl Meal Prep

    Ground Chicken Burrito Bowl Meal Prep

    or more chicken recipes

    mexican spiced chicken

    Mexican Spiced Chicken for Tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas or Salads

    This all purpose Mexican spiced chicken is cooked in a skillet and is delicious in tacos, burritos, quesadillas or salads. 
    3.75 from 66 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 6 minutes
    Cook Time: 8 minutes
    Total Time: 14 minutes
    Servings: 4
    Author: Maria Doss

    Ingredients

    • One recipe taco seasoning
    • 1 to 11/4 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, about 4 (refer notes if using chicken breasts)
    • 3 tablepsoons vegetable oil
    • ½ lime, optional
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Toss chicken thighs and taco seasoning (use as much or as less you like) in a bowl, until seasoning is evenly distributed. Cover and refrigerator at least one hour (can be stored up to 1 day). If pressed for time, go ahead and cook it right away. 
    • Heat vegetable oil in medium skillet (Cast iron is a great option) over medium -high heat. Place chicken thighs in a single layer and cook for about 4 minutes, turn over and cook for an additional 4-5 minutes, until fully cooked. 
    • Transfer chicken to a plate ( squeeze some lime juice if you prefer) and cool slightly before slicing or chopping, depending on use.
    • Need a meal idea? Use this chicken with Instant pot Cilantro lime rice topped with Avocado Jalapeno crema.

    Notes

    You could use boneless, skinless chicken breast instead. 
    If using chicken breast, pat the thicker part with a meat mallet so that it is mostly even in thickness before marinating. This helps chicken to cook evenly without the thinner part being overcooked before the rest of the  chicken is done. 

    Nutritional information is based on third party calculations, should be considered estimates and not be construed as a guarantee. Varying factors such as product types, brands purchased, produce, the way ingredients are processed and more change the nutritional information in any recipe.

    Did you make this recipe?Mention @KitchenAtHoskins or tag #kitchenathoskins!

    All contents and images are my original work, unless and otherwise mentioned. Please do not use my recipes or images without linking back to www.kitchenathoskins.com. If you wish to republish a recipe, please rewrite in your own words and don’t forget to include a link back to the original recipe.

    « Strawberry Cheesecake Overnight Oats
    Spicy Chicken Ranch Quesadilla + Meal Prep »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Katherine | Love In My Oven

      April 20, 2018 at 2:50 am

      What a great staple item - I need to make a batch of this and keep it for weekday lunches!!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        April 20, 2018 at 1:16 pm

        5 stars
        Thank you Kathy. I'm sure your boys will love it too:)

        Reply
    2. Kelly @ Kelly Lynns Sweets and Treats

      April 20, 2018 at 5:07 am

      5 stars
      I love chicken and spice!! I totally need to try this in my cast iron pan. You make this chicken look drool worthy Maria! 🙂

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        April 20, 2018 at 1:17 pm

        5 stars
        Thank you so much Kelly for the sweet words:)

        Reply
    3. Christina

      April 20, 2018 at 8:57 pm

      5 stars
      I’m a huge fan of Mexican anything, too!!! In fact, the husband and I eat tacos for dinner 2x a week. Sometimes more depending on the week. By the look of the recipe and photos, my husband and I would go bonkers over this. It looks amazing!

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        April 20, 2018 at 10:30 pm

        5 stars
        Aww....you are very sweet. Thank you Christina, your family will love this 🙂

        Reply
    4. Bridget

      November 28, 2018 at 7:56 pm

      4 stars
      Really good! I sliced boneless, skinless, chicken breasts. Marinated for about an hour, and cooked them in my cast iron skillet.

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        November 29, 2018 at 3:15 am

        So glad that you liked it 🙂

        Reply
    5. Iris

      June 02, 2020 at 2:59 pm

      This was delicious! I had some chicken breasts and no plan so I spiced them up with this recipe and cooked them (not cast iron) and they are so good! We put them in salad and next to mac & cheese.

      Reply
    6. Joan

      October 08, 2020 at 8:38 pm

      So, perhaps I’m not looking well enough, but, what are the measurements for the spices. I see you list the ingredients but not the amounts for each.

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        October 09, 2020 at 12:02 am

        Hi Joan, I apologize if it wasn't clear. If you click on the taco seasoning (in the ingredients), it will show you the detailed recipe for homemade chicken taco seasoning. Hope it helps:)

        Reply
    7. Tye Baker

      December 30, 2020 at 6:36 pm

      I'm excited to try this recipe tomorrow night. I am going to use it for chicken nachos, but shred the meat. No doubt it's going to be amazing. Will keep you posted on the feedback from my guests.

      Reply
      • Maria Doss

        December 31, 2020 at 6:13 am

        Hi Tye, Sounds great, happy holidays:)

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Maria Doss
    Maria Doss

    I am Maria Doss, the recipe creator, photographer and writer behind Kitchen at Hoskins. Here you'll find lots of creative recipes that use clever techniques or flavor profiles. It might intertwine two cuisines together to create a perfect blend or use an innovative technique.
    About Maria ->

    Valentine's Day

    • Air Fryer Lava Cake
    • Peanut Butter Balls Recipe (with Almond Flour)
    • Avocado Chocolate Mousse using Dates -Healthiest
    • Strawberry and Cream Bites
    • Triple Chocolate Muffins with Almond Flour
    • Chocolate Date Balls (4 Ingredients)

    Reader Favorite Recipes

    • Air Fryer Shrimp Tacos
    • Air Fryer Shrimp
    • Oat Flour Cookies
    • Oven Roasted Makhana
    • Buffalo Chicken Tenders
    • Walnut Smoothie

    Footer

    Copyright © 2022 CANDY GINGER LLC  Privacy policy

    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Facebook