When it comes to family-friendly dinners that are quick, easy, and delicious, nothing beats a good taco night. We’re here to help you elevate your taco game with this mouthwatering recipe. You’ll love the combination of our crunchy Old El Paso™ Stand 'n Stuff Taco Shells and slightly spicy Creamy Salsa Verde Sauce.
The origins of tacos can be traced back to Mexico long before the arrival of Europeans. Early versions of tacos were likely a convenient way to hold and consume spicy fillings. Thin slices of meat grilled on coals were placed in tortillas and served with a variety of toppings.
Tacos gained widespread popularity outside of Mexico as immigrants brought their culinary traditions to the United States. By the 20th century, tacos had become an integral part of American cuisine. This led to the creation of various delicious adaptations, such as the ones you’re about to make!
In the United States, October 4th was officially National Taco Day for years, until 2024. Going forward, National Taco Day will occur on the first Tuesday of October. This ensures the occasion always falls on a “Taco Tuesday.”
The record for the largest taco was set in 2019 in Querétaro, Mexico. It measured an incredible 335 feet long! Our tacos are about 6 inches long, but we think they’re still pretty impressive.
Worldwide, the most popular taco toppings include cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and salsa. While these basic toppings are great, for this special taco, we chose to mix it up a bit with different veggies and spicy sauces. Feel free to substitute your favorite crunchy veggies and use your favorite hot sauce for these yummy tacos.
Here is our step-by-step guide to making these crowd-pleasing crispy chicken tacos. For detailed steps and ingredients, check out the full recipe below.
For these tacos, we chose ingredients that are available to purchase pre-prepped, but if you want to work on your knife skills, feel free to do the cutting yourself! For tips and instructions on how to shred your own rotisserie chicken, refer to the “Carving Your Rotisserie Chicken” section of our All About Rotisserie Chicken guide. Once you’ve carved your chicken, remove the skin and bones, then use two forks to shred the meat. Instead of using pre-shredded bagged cabbage, you can shred your own. Using a large, sharp chef’s knife, quarter a whole red cabbage, then cut out the core of one quarter. Very thinly slice the cabbage. You will probably only need one quarter of the cabbage for this recipe. Lastly, try our recipe for homemade Pico de Gallo. It’s simple: just dice a jalapeño, an onion, and a few tomatoes, then add chopped fresh cilantro, lime, and salt. Whether you learn some new techniques or choose to use the time-saving pre-cut ingredients, you’ll love all of the fresh, complex flavors in this recipe.
We used shredded rotisserie chicken for its convenience, but you can use any cooked chicken or turkey instead. All you have to do is heat it up in butter with some Old El Paso™ Original Taco Seasoning Mix.
Adding a base of shredded red cabbage to the heated taco shells provides a sturdy protective base that keeps the shell from becoming soggy once you add the buttery chicken and toppings. Try to top the cabbage with the chicken while it’s still hot and immediately top with the shredded cheese so the cheese will melt and the cabbage will soften slightly.
Our Old El Paso™ Creamy Salsa Verde Sauce comes in an easy squeeze bottle, and topping with prepared fresh pico de gallo looks fancy but requires zero knife skills. Now you just need to dig in!
Our tomatillo-, jalapeño-, and avocado-based Old El Paso™ Creamy Salsa Verde Sauce is the perfect squeezable topping for these tacos, but our tip below explains how you can make your own creamy avocado sauce instead. If you like making your own sauces, you’ll love experimenting with some of our other favorite taco-topping sauces:
Homemade Medium Hot Sauce: For this slightly-spicy sauce, grill Fresno peppers and puree them in a blender with vinegar, garlic, and salt.
Some Like It Hot Sauce: This tomato-based hot sauce uses a short-cut method of blending canned crushed tomatoes with fresh jalapeños, onion, garlic, cilantro, and cider vinegar for a simple sauce that’s a bit more tomato sauce than hot sauce.
Cilantro Pesto: This Tex-Mex version of pesto packs a little heat with jalapeños and uses fun replacements for standard pesto ingredients. With cilantro instead of basil, pepitas in place of pine nuts, and Manchego standing in for Parmesan, this flavorful pesto makes an excellent taco topper, or an excellent dip for tortilla chips.
Chipotle Barbecue Sauce: Amp up plain old barbecue sauce with canned chipotle chiles in adobo and orange marmalade to balanced out the heat with a bit of sweetness.
Mango Habanero Hot Sauce: Ripe, sweet, fresh mangos and super hot habanero peppers join forces in this cooked and blended hot sauce that’s perfect on chicken, pork, and seafood tacos.
Cantina chicken tacos are a delicious and easy-to-make dish, perfect for any occasion. But what do you do with the leftovers? You can store, refrigerate, and even make these fantastic tacos ahead of time, while ensuring they stay fresh and flavorful. Whether you're meal prepping for the week or saving leftovers from Taco Tuesday, follow these simple steps to keep your cantina chicken tacos tasting their best.
Separate Components: Have everyone assemble their tacos one at a time so you don’t end up with leftover filled tacos. Then divide the fillings and toppings before refrigerating. Don’t store filled tacos, since the assembled tacos can get soggy in the refrigerator.
Use Airtight Containers: Store the chicken and toppings in airtight containers to prevent them from absorbing any refrigerator odors and to retain their flavors. Place cabbage, chicken, cheese, and pico de gallo in separate containers. This way, they remain crisp and fresh.
Looking for more easy weeknight taco recipes? From a standard ground beef taco to a fun Bisquick™-based taco pie, these taco recipes are family favorites you’ll want to make again and again.
Easy Beef Tacos use just six ingredients and one skillet to get dinner on the table fast!
Easy Oven-Baked Chicken Tacos fit the bill when you are looking for something to prep ahead a little so you can help with homework or avoid the mad dash to assemble all the tacos at once.
Impossibly Easy Taco Pie is a Betty Crocker fan favorite. With just a few simple ingredients, you can fill your pie plate with a hearty dinner the whole family will love. Then just garnish with some pretty, fresh toppings and you’re good to go.
For even cheesier tacos, opt for Old El Paso™ Stand 'n Stuff Bold Nacho Cheese Flavored Taco Shells.
For meltier cheese in your taco, follow directions through step 2, then place tacos on same pan or plate used for toasting and return to oven for 2 to 4 minutes, or microwave on High for 20 to 30 seconds.
Need to use up your ripe avocados? You can make your own creamy salsa verde sauce. Place 1 cup jarred salsa verde and 1 (6-oz) avocado, peeled and pitted, in a blender. Blend on high 30 to 60 seconds, until smooth. This will make about 1 1/2 cups of sauce. Leftover sauce can be used as a sandwich spread or drizzled over nachos or Tex-Mex salad bowls.
| Food Component / Nutrient | Amount | % , Daily Value* |
|---|---|---|
| Total Fat | 15g | 24% |
| Saturated Fat | 6g | 31% |
| Trans Fat | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 1&½g | % Value Not Available |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | % Value Not Available |
| Omega-3 | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Cholesterol | 50mg | 17% |
| Sodium | 530mg | 22% |
| Total Carbohydrate | 12g | 4% |
| Dietary Fiber | 1g | 5% |
| Soluble Fiber | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Insoluble Fiber | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Sugars | 0g | % Value Not Available |
| Protein | 14g | % Value Not Available |
| Vitamin D | Value Not Available | 0% |
| Calcium | Value Not Available | 10% |
| Iron | Value Not Available | 6% |
| Potassium | 135mg | 4% |
| Vitamin A | Value Not Available | 6% |
| Vitamin C | Value Not Available | 6% |
| Vitamin E | Value Not Available | 0% |
| Thiamin | Value Not Available | 2% |
| Riboflavin | Value Not Available | 4% |
| Niacin | Value Not Available | 15% |
| Vitamin B6 | Value Not Available | 10% |
| Folic Acid | Value Not Available | 0% |
| Vitamin B12 | Value Not Available | 0% |
| Pantothenic Acid | Value Not Available | 4% |
| Phosphorus | Value Not Available | 8% |
| Magnesium | Value Not Available | 2% |
| Zinc | Value Not Available | 6% |
| Manganese | Value Not Available | 2% |
| Selenium | Value Not Available | 10% |
| Copper | Value Not Available | 0% |
| Beta-Carotene | Value Not Available | % Value Not Available |
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice. | ||
