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Chicken Street Tacos. Flavorful, grilled chicken that has been diced up and loaded onto soft corn tortillas. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy! 

Up close image of diced up grilled chicken in soft white corn tortillas topped with diced white onion and cilantro. A bowl of street corn on the side.


 

Street tacos are a classic! They are typically found in local taco shops, but they are SO easy to make at home. Street tacos are perfect in their simplicity. Soft corn tortillas are layered and filled with grilled meat – chicken, beef, or pork. Top with a simple mixture of diced onion, cilantro and a lime wedge. 

How to make Chicken Street Tacos:

  1. Marinate the chicken. Let the chicken marinate for 2-4 hours. This gives great flavor and helps to tenderize the meat. Due to the amount of lime juice in the marinade, it’s not recommended to marinate for longer than 4 hours.
  2. Grill the chicken. Can be cooked on a stovetop or on a grill. Cook the chicken for about 5 minutes each side until the internal temperature reaches 165℉.
  3. Dice up chicken and load onto tacos. 
  4. Add your toppings. Some ideas are listed below. 
How to make chicken street tacos. Showing chicken thighs marinating, being sliced after grilling, a bowl filled with cooked grilled chicken and street tacos laid out.

Tips for making the BEST Grilled Chicken Street Tacos:

  • Type of chicken: chicken thighs have a combination of light and dark meat and cook up more juicy and tender than chicken breasts. Boneless skinless chicken thighs can typically be found at the market making them easy to use. 
  • Marinate: letting the chicken marinate the full time ensures that the meat will be flavorful and tender. 
  • Grill: the best flavor is going to be from grilling the chicken, this adds a smokiness and a bit of charring to the chicken. 
  • Heat the Corn tortillas. Warming up the tortillas helps to soften them and makes it to where they won’t crack and split when filled up. Heat on a comal, directly over the flame of a gas grill, or on a heat safe plate in a microwave. 

Toppings for Street Tacos:

  • Diced onion & cilantro: this is a common combination that will be added at most taco shops. 
  • Lime juice: a wedge of lime to squeeze over the top of the tacos before enjoying.
  • Fresh salsa: pico de Gallo is a wonderfully easy, fresh topping with tomatoes to add. 
  • Guacamole
  • Sour cream
Grilled chicken street tacos laid next to each other with wedges of lime off to the side.

What to serve with these grilled chicken tacos:

Chicken Street Tacos

5 from 9 votes
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Marinade Time: 2 hours
Servings: 8
Author: Serene
Chicken Street Tacos. Flavorful, grilled chicken that has been diced up and loaded onto soft corn tortillas. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy! 
Up close image of diced up grilled chicken in soft white corn tortillas topped with diced white onion and cilantro. A bowl of street corn on the side.

Ingredients  

  • 2 lbs chicken thighs, boneless & skinless
  • 20 corn tortillas

Marinade

  • ¼ cup lime juice freshly squeezed
  • 6 fl oz. pineapple juice
  • ¼ cup cilantro diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp oil avocado, extra virgin olive oil, or vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp salt

Toppings

  • ¼ cup white onion diced
  • 2 tbsp cilantro diced

Instructions 

  • Prepare Marinade: In a medium size mixing bowl combine the ingredients for the marinade. Whisk together.
  • Marinate Chicken: Add the chicken and submerge in the marinade. Cover and place in refrigerator to marinate 2-4 hours (over marinating can cause mushy chicken).
  • Preheat: Preheat grill to 425℉.
  • Remove chicken from the marinade and pat dry.
  • Grill: Place the chicken over direct heat on the grill and cook for 3 minutes then flip the chicken. Cook an additional 3 minutes.
  • Move the chicken to more indirect heat on the grill, cover and cook for an additional 5-7 minutes until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 160°F in the thickest part.
  • Allow the chicken to rest (the internal temperature will continue to rise to 165°F). After resting the chicken can be chopped.
  • Heat Tortillas: Prepare the corn tortillas by heating to soften. Use a comal or skillet over medium heat, briefly heat the tortillas for 15-20 seconds on each side. Or place tortillas on a heat safe plate and microwave for 30 seconds.
  • Serve: Layer the tortillas if wanted, using two tortillas and filling with the diced chicken. Top with diced onion and cilantro or additional toppings as desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 298kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 397mg | Potassium: 310mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 413IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Welcome to my kitchen!

Welcome to the House of Yumm!! My name is Serene. I’m the food photographer, recipe developer, and official taste tester around these parts.

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