Chicken Street Tacos are the greatest dinner! The perfect marinade for this chicken, with it’s citrus, cilantro, and garlic, makes for street tacos that everyone will want over and over.
You guys know by now that every night in our house could be taco night and we would be happy campers. And honestly, when we aren’t making chicken tacos, we are making some sort of weird spin on tacos. Its our favorite type of chicken dinner.
With this street taco recipe, we are making the cutest little handheld tacos. These chicken tacos look small but they pack a big flavorful punch. Even Nathan, who historically hates cilantro, absolutely loved this recipe. If you are craving a taco night – and honestly, I’m always craving a taco night – you have to try this recipe. I know it will be a huge hit with your whole family.
We had the Chicken Street Taco’s and loved them. We loved the taste of the chicken and will use that marinade on the chicken when we eat it next time. We don’t need taco’s to use the marinade. The pico de gallo was so good. I made a 2nd batch just to have on our salad.
Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful recipes.
How to Make Street Tacos
This is a brief overview of the chicken taco recipe, so that you can see how easy it is. For the full recipe, be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post and get all the measurements and ingredients in the recipe card.
- Make the marinade: Combine orange juice, lime juice, vegetable oil, garlic, chili powder, salt, cumin, and fresh cilantro in a bowl. Whisk it together.
- Marinate: Pour the marinade over the chicken thighs in a reusable container and marinate for 2 to 24 hours.
- Grill the chicken: Remove the chicken from the marinade and discard the excess. On an indoor grill pan or an outdoor grill, grill the chicken for 6 minutes on each side or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees Ferenheit.
- Serve as tacos: Cut up the grilled chicken and serve on street taco tortillas with Pico de Gallo.
Marinating Chicken
The key to this recipe is marinating the chicken. It is what gives these tacos their amazing flavor. Here are a few things to know about marinating chicken in general.
- A good marinade will break down the outer layer of the meat. It should have something acidic in it that will break down just the outside of the meat and let the flavor penetrate it. In this case our marinade has both orange juice and lime juice. Salt also helps break it down.
- Marinate for at least two hours. This is a good length of time for the marinade to work it’s magic, break down the meat, and let the flavor get in.
- Do not marinate for more than 24 hours. Given that a good marinade will break down the meat, you don’t want to give it so much time with your meat that it overly breaks it down. This will result in meat that isn’t tender, but is gummy.
Cilantro
Cilantro can be a triggering ingredient for some people – my husband included. In fact, it surprised me to find out that some people are genetically predisposed to taste dish soap when they have cilantro. My goodness, no wonder he doesn’t like it.
That being said, I would urge you to still try this recipe even if you have a cilantro hater in your house. As I mentioned above, even though there is 1/4 cup of cilantro in the marinade, Nathan loved this recipe. Perhaps there is something about the other ingredients in the marinade that neutralize that effect.
Buying and Storing Cilantro
When you buy cilantro at the grocery store, look for a bunch that is bright green. The vast majority of the leaves should be free from blemishes and vibrant.
When you get the cilantro home, I like to gently dry it with paper towels if the leaves and stems are wet. Then cut off the bottom inch of the stems. Place the bunch in a cup of water and cover the cup with a plastic bag. Cilantro can be stored like this in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Grilling Chicken
This recipe calls for the chicken to be grilled. Aren’t the grill marks on this chicken just perfect? We own a grill pan and find it works perfectly for this recipe, and things like my Chicken Wrap.
Cooking in a Skillet
That being said, if you don’t have a grill pan and if you aren’t ready to pull your grill out yet, make this recipe in a skillet. You can even cook it right in the marinade. Pour everything right in a skillet, cook it over medium heat, covered for seven minutes. Flip the chicken thighs and cook for seven more minutes. It will be just as delicious.
How to Top Street Taco Recipe
I always eat my street tacos with my simple Pico de Gallo recipe. It is absolutely amazing. But you could also just top this recipe with some onions and cilantro. My kids love their tacos with a little shredded cheese and some pickled jalapeños. While this isn’t the traditional way to eat street tacos, the fact that they are happily eating is a win for me.
Truthfully, one of the reasons we love taco night so much is because each of my kids is able to put together their own tacos exactly the way they want. It is what has made this dinner the easiest to serve our family for literally more than a decade.
The Best Pico de Gallo Recipe
FAQ
Yes! Just make sure that you use an instant read thermometer when you are cooking it. That way you can pull the chicken off the grill right when it hits 165 degrees.
The benefit to using chicken thighs is that they stay really moist. It is easy for chicken breasts to dry out when they are cooking, so it is essential that it is not over cooked.
Fair question. Please read my small essay about cilantro above.
The difference is just in size. Street tacos are usually 4.5 inches and regular tacos are 6 inches. Street tacos are usually also meat, onions, a simple salsa, and cilantro.
They are often served with two corn tortillas to make them more sturdy.
Yes! This recipe is gluten free as it is served on corn tortillas. Like all recipes, make sure you thoroughly check your ingredients before serving it to someone with a gluten allergy.
What to Serve with Street Tacos
If you make this chicken street tacos recipe please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Chicken Street Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
Chicken Street Taco Marinade
- 1/3 cup orange juice (the juice of one orange)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/4 cup cilantro minced
For Serving
- 18 corn street tortillas
- pico de gallo
Instructions
- Combine the orange juice, lime juice, vegetable oil, garlic, chili powder, salt, cumin and cilantro in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth.
- Add the chicken to the marinade. Flip several times to make sure that the thighs are completely coated. Cover and marinate for 2 to 24 hours.
- Pull the chicken from the marinade and discarde the excess marinade. Place on the grill and cook for 7 minutes. Flip and cook for another 6 to 7 minutes or until an instant read thermometer registers 165. (Depending on the size of the thighs, some might hit that temperature before others.)
- Transfer to a cutting board and dice. Serve in taco shells with pico de gallo.
Sheri Thompson says
Your tortillas look so much better than ours! Since you have a secret for everything, how about sharing this one😄
Ha! No secret here. I buy street taco sized corn tortillas and give them a little char around the edges just for the pictures.
Sheri Thompson says
LOL—-not expecting that it would be about aesthetics😆. But it didn’t occur to me to go with corn tortillas, rather than flour, and when I make this recipe tomorrow, I’m definitely doing that. My daughter and I have made so many of your recipes part of our permanent collection and appreciate your culinary genius—-thank you! (And we’re finishing off the last of the Mandarin Cake tonight 😋)
Sheri
Cheryl says
This looks so good! Looking forward to trying this. I was wondering if it matters if you use soft or hard tacos. I wasn’t sure which type you used for the picture posted. Do you recommend a certain brand?
Thanks 😊
I used soft tacos. Corn tortillas are pictured here, but we have eaten them with flour too – its just a personal preference and my kids prefer flour. If you want to eat them in hard shells, have at it! When my husband eats these, it’s in a pile with tortilla chips and no tortilla at all. Do what works for you.
Ettore Ricco says
I marinated the chicken for 24 hours, then grilled it. I let it rest , then cut into cubes. I used 6″ corn tortillas. topped it with your pico de gallo & shredded romaine lettuce
The meal was fabulous!! There wasn’t even crumbs left. A definite do over
Ettore
I’m so happy you liked this recipe as much as we did!
Sherri says
I made mine just like this and it won’t b the last it was the first time though thank u Lisa
I’m so glad to hear that, Sherri!
Bonnie Soderqvist says
We had the Chicken Street Taco’s and loved them. We loved the taste of the chicken and will use that marinade on the chicken when we eat it next time. We don’t need taco’s to use the marinade. The pico de gallo was so good. I made a 2nd batch just to have on our salad.
Thank you so much for sharing these wonderful recipes.
So glad you liked it!
Emogene Brown says
I really like MOST of the recipes you post! Keep up the GOOD work!
Thanks!
Brenda Souliere says
Hi Lisa. Am I missing the recipe for pico de gallo or is it not included here? Thanks, Brenda
It was linked in the post, but way too hidden. It’s linked in the recipe card now, and you can find it here: https://www.simplejoy.com/the-best-pico-de-gallo-recipe/
Terri Jones says
Can I use this marinade on fish? If so, how long would I let the fish marinade?
You could, but you don’t need to! This Fish Taco recipe has a great rub that makes it a 25 minute dinner. If you were going to marinate fish, I would stick to 30 minutes to an hour.
Carl L Pirro says
thanks LISA, recipe sounds great. will be making this soon.
I hope you love them!