Month: July 2024

Never sit to cold tacos again—bake a crispy, melty batch all at once in just 20 minutes!

Why Crispy Tacos in the Oven

While oven-baked tacos will never be quite as crispy as fried ones, they have a lot of things going for them that make them my preferred choice. For one, cleaning up after frying at home is a bit of a pain. I’m just not willing to do it any old night of the week. Also, baking is typically lighter on the oil and less greasy overall.

My top reasons for baking tacos are ease and crispy cheese. It’s flat-out easier to toss a bunch of tacos in the oven instead of flipping them in a skillet, and they all cook at once. And while the tortillas come out lightly crisp thanks to a high-heat oven and a bit of cooking spray, the real treasure here is the cheese that seeps out of the sides of the tacos and onto the hot baking sheet. So delicious.

Cheesy Baked Tacos

PREP TIME10 mins

COOK TIME11 mins

TOTAL TIME21 mins

SERVINGS2 to 3 servings

YIELD6 small tacos

This recipe is easy to double for 12 tacos. Spread the tortilla over two baking sheets. Swap the baking sheets in the oven when you flip the tacos so that they crisp evenly.

Ingredients

• 6 (5 to 6-inch wide) thin corn tortillas
• Cooking spray
• 1/2 cup refried beans
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, optional
• 1 1/2 cups Mexican-style blend shredded cheese
• 1/2 cup salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole for serving
• Method
• Preheat the oven to 450°F.Arrange a rack in the center of the oven. Measure a piece of parchment paper big enough to line the bottom of a big, heavy baking sheet and set it aside.Place the unlined baking sheet in the oven to heat up as the oven preheats.
• Make the tacos:Spread refried beans on one side of each tortilla, about 1 heaping tablespoon per tortilla, and arrange in a single layer on a platter or another baking sheet. Dust each one with chili powder, if using. Put the cheese in a convenient location so that you’re ready to go.
• Once the pan has preheated for 10 minutes or so, remove it from the oven. Carefully line with the piece of parchment and spray generously with cooking spray. Arrange the tortillas on the baking sheet in a single layer, bean side up.
• Top each tortilla with cheese, about 1/4 cup per taco mounded in the center.
• Bake:
• Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until the cheese has melted and the tortilla is soft, just 1 to 2 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and immediately fold each tortilla over using a spatula to make little tacos. Use the back of the spatula to lightly press each one down to adhere.
• Place back in the oven and bake until lightly crisp on the bottom, 5 to 7 minutes. Flip and cook until gooey with crispy cheese bits, 5 to 7 more minutes.
• Serve:
• Let cool for a few minutes. Serve with salsa, sour cream, and/or guacamole for dipping or topping.
• Cheesy baked tacos are best served fresh, but you can reheat leftovers in a 350°F oven or in the air fryer.
• 339
  CALORIES
  18g
  FAT
  27g
  CARBS
  18g
  PROTEIN

Who wants tacos?! These sweet and spicy slow cooker chipotle chicken tacos are the perfect weeknight dinner. They make a ton, so get ready for leftovers!

My slow cooker is almost always on my kitchen counter. It’s just so easy to make dinner happen, even on the busiest weeknights.

These Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken Tacos need to be on your regular rotation right now.

Crowd-Pleasing Slow Cooker Tacos

They make an effortless midweek meal for the whole family, and they’re also a crowd-pleaser for any Game Day party you might be throwing. Just set the slow cooker to “warm” and let everyone help themselves when they’re hungry.

These tacos definitely bring the flavor! Made with shredded chicken, chipotle peppers, and honey, each bite has just enough sweetness and heat to wake up your taste buds. The chicken also stays really juicy when cooked in the slow cooker – after cooking, you’ll be able to shred the meat with a fork!

Best Toppings for Chicken Tacos

When it comes to toppings, keep it simple. A little queso fresco, some crunchy red onions and radishes, and chopped fresh cilantro are all you need. Unless, of course, if you hate cilantro! If so, skip it and use chopped green onions instead.

For the tortillas, go for soft flour tortillas. These tortillas a so easy to fold and won’t rip or tear like some other tortillas.

Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Chicken Tacos

PREP TIME10 mins

COOK TIME4 hrs

TOTAL TIME4 hrs 10 mins

SERVINGS4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

For the tacos:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or a mix
• 1/2 cup plain tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• Juice from 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 3 chipotle peppers from a can of Chipotles en Adobo, chopped (stems and seeds removed)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Adobo sauce, from a can of Chipotles en Adobo
• 8 to 10 soft flour tortillas

Toppings:

• Crumbled queso fresco
• Diced red onion
• Diced radish
• Fresh cilantro
• Method
• Combine the taco ingredients (except tortillas) in the slow cooker:Combine the chicken, tomato sauce, honey, onion, lime juice, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to your slow cooker. Add 1 to 3 chopped chipotle peppers and 1 to 2 tablespoons of Adobo sauce, depending on your preferred level of heat. Mix together well.
• Cover and cook:
• Cook in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours or low for 6 to 8 hours on low.
• Shred the chicken:
• At the end of cooking time, use two forks to shred chicken in the pot. Mix the shredded chicken with the sauce.
• At this point, the chicken can be held on the “warm” setting, covered, for 1 to 2 hours. Stir additional water as needed if the pot starts to become dry.
• Serve:
• Set out a stack of tortillas and all the toppings. Assemble and serve the tacos from the slow cooker.
• Leftover chicken will keep refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 3 months.
• 546
  CALORIES
  14g
  FAT
  58g
  CARBS
  46g
  PROTEIN

These Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos are a copycat of the ones from Bonefish Grill. Plump fried shrimp gets tossed in a spicy sriracha and chili garlic sauce. Consume immediately—you won’t want to wait, anyway!

What Is Bang Bang Shrimp?

The first star of this dish is the plump, crispy shrimp. For these tacos, I like to use extra-large shrimp, sometimes labeled as “26-30,” which refers to the number of shrimp in a pound. To make this easy and time-friendly, I buy them peeled and deveined with tails removed. Fiddling with shrimp tails gets in the way when you’re trying to enjoy these tasty tacos.

The other star of this recipe is the mildly spicy mayonnaise-based sauce—the bang in the bang bang, I’d call it. The crispy shrimp is tossed in this creamy sauce just before serving. You can adjust the heat by reducing (or increasing!) the amount of sriracha in the mixture.

How to Get Extra-Crispy Shrimp

You can’t get around frying for the crispiest version of this shrimp.

1. Flour + Cornstarch: Use a combination of flour and cornstarch for an extra crispy breading. It holds up under the sweet and spicy sauce.
2. Dry then fry: Set the shrimp onto a cooling rack after breading, before frying. This gives the breading a chance to “dry out” and gives the shrimp even more crunch.
3. Maintain your temp: Use a thermometer to make sure that you’re frying at the right temperature. Maintaining that temperature throughout the cooking time is important, too. The shrimp is deep-fried at 350°F, so using a deep-fat frying thermometer to keep your oil right around that temperature is recommended.
4. Deep fry in batches: Crowding the pan is a sure-fire way to drop your oil’s temperature (which results in a soggy, oily breading). Try to keep batches on the smaller side to maintain the proper temperature. One handful at a time (about 7 or 8 shrimp) is generally good.

Make-Ahead Sauce

You can make the bang bang sauce a day or two in advance. Keep it covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Allow the sauce to sit at room temperature while the shrimp is frying to give it a chance to warm up. This way you’re not left with tepid shrimp after tossing them in the cold-from-the-fridge sauce.

How to Serve Bang Bang Shrimp

I like to add shredded cabbage to my tacos to give a contrast of textures and to temper the heat of the sauce a bit. The shrimp is served in warmed flour tortillas; but, if you want to cut down on carbs, you can serve them in lettuce leaves instead.

I garnish my tacos with thinly sliced radishes and jalapeños, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, and green onions. Letting my crew customize their tacos is always a hit.

Bang Bang Shrimp Tacos

PREP TIME30 mins

COOK TIME20 mins

TOTAL TIME50 mins

SERVINGS4 to 6 servings

Tip for Leftovers! If you know you’ll have extra shrimp leftover, don’t toss them in the sauce. Store the fried shrimp and the sauce separately. When ready to eat, set the leftover sauce on the counter to come to room temp while you heat the oven to 200°F. Rewarm the shrimp in the oven for 15 minutes, then combine the sauce and the shrimp and eat as directed.

Ingredients

For the bang bang sauce:

• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup chili garlic sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce, optional

For the shrimp:

• 1 1/2 pounds extra-large (26-30 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups vegetable oil for frying

For serving:

• 10 taco-sized flour tortillas, warmed (or Bibb lettuce leaves)
• 8 ounces shredded cabbage, about 3 cups
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Thinly sliced jalapeño peppers
• Sliced green onions
• Chopped cilantro
• Method
• Make the bang bang sauce:In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, chili garlic sauce, and sriracha together until blended. Store up to two days in the refrigerator until ready to use.
• Marinate the shrimp:
• In a separate bowl, marinate the shrimp in the buttermilk for 20 minutes.
• Prepare your breading station:
• Combine the flour, cornstarch, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.
• Set a cooling rack on top of a sheet pan on which to place the breaded shrimp prior to frying (this helps achieve a crispy coating on the shrimp).
• Set up a draining station as well by lining another sheet pan with a thick layer of paper towels. (Or, if you have another cooling rack to set over the sheet pan, that’s even better!)
• Set the oven to 200°F.
• Bread the shrimp:
• While the oil heats, drain the buttermilk and toss the shrimp, in batches, in the flour mixture. Shake off any excess flour and arrange the shrimp on the cooling rack to “dry out” while you’re heating your frying oil.
• Heat the oil:
• Place a thermometer in a wide, deep pot, such as a Dutch oven, and add the oil. Heat over medium-high heat until the oil reaches 350°F. (This will take about 20 minutes.)
• Fry the shrimp:
• Add a handful of the shrimp to the hot oil, and after a minute of frying, use a slotted spoon to stir and separate the shrimp; they like to stick together. Fry for 4 to 4 1/2 minutes, or until the shrimp are golden brown.
• Keep the shrimp warm and continue frying:
• Remove the shrimp from the oil with a slotted spoon and place them on your draining rack/pan. Place the cooked shrimp in the warm oven.
• Continue frying the remaining shrimp in batches. Remember to let the oil come back up to 350°F in between batches.
• Sauce the shrimp:
• Once all of the shrimp has been fried, toss it all in 1 cup of the sauce. Reserve the remaining sauce for drizzling on top of the tacos.
• Assemble the tacos:
• Fill the warmed tortillas with a handful of shredded cabbage, then top the cabbage with the shrimp, then more sauce (if desired). Garnish the tacos with sliced radishes, jalapeños, green onions, and the chopped cilantro, then serve.
• These tacos are best enjoyed right away.
• 1085
  CALORIES
  61g
  FAT
  93g
  CARBS
  40g
  PROTEIN