These Easy Rotisserie Chicken Tacos are a quick and delicious weeknight meal, and a great way to feed a crowd at your next game day party.
Taco night just got a lot easier – and even more delicious – thanks to this Easy Rotisserie Chicken Tacos recipe! This is a great way to feed a hungry family – as well a crowd of friends when they come to your house to watch the game.
How to you make Easy Rotisserie Chicken Tacos?
We started with a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken – removing the meat from the bones and shredding the meat.
Next, we tossed the shredded chicken in a mixture of salsa (you can make your own, or use your favorite jarred variety), water, tomato paste, and seasonings including coriander, chili powder, and cumin.
Then we placed corn tortillas on a baking sheet and brushed both sides with oil. Shredded pepper jack cheese and the shredded chicken mixture were placed on top of the tortillas – then placed in the oven for an initial bake to begin cooking the tortillas and melting the cheese.
Once the edges start to turn golden brown, remove the pan from the oven and place the shredded lettuce on top.
Then fold each tortilla in half, nestle them into a baking pan and top with shredded Monterey jack cheese. Return to the oven, just long enough for the cheese to melt and the tortillas finish cooking.
While we made these Easy Rotisserie Chicken Tacos with shredded cooked chicken, you can just as easily follow this same method using cooked ground beef, pulled pork, fish, or any other favorite taco filling.
Feel free to serve these Easy Rotisserie Chicken Tacos with your favorite toppings as well. We served them with black olives, pickled jalapenos, sliced red onion, avocado wedges, sour cream, freshly squeezed lime juice and cilantro. Guacamole, more salsa, this fantastic red chile sauce, or a cheesy queso would be other delicious options.
We think corn tortillas work best for this recipe but flour tortillas can also be used.
You may enjoy these other taco recipes:
- Confetti Chicken Tacos
- Fish Tacos
- Blackened Tilapia Soft Tacos
- Pork Lomitos Tacos
- Pulled Chicken Tacos
Easy Rotisserie Chicken Tacos
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 tacos
- Category: entree
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
2 cups salsa (see our homemade recipe here, or use your favorite jarred salsa)
1 cup water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small rotisserie chicken, meat removed from the bones (you’ll want about 1½ pounds of picked chicken meat)
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 white or yellow 6” corn tortillas
8 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded
4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
8 ounces Monterey jack cheese, shredded
Toppings
Sliced black olives
Sliced pickled jalapenos
Thinly sliced red onion
Avocado wedges
Sour cream
Lime juice
Fresh cilantro
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Have a roasting pan with high sides ready that can hold 12 completed folded tacos (or 2 pans with 6 each).
In a large skillet, place salsa, water and tomato paste. Start burner on medium, stir and combine.
Add the coriander, chili powder and cumin and stir again.
Shred the cooked chicken pieces into the salsa mixture and heat to hot then hold to keep warm.
Brush two sheet pans with half of the oil. Lay out the corn tortillas, 6 per tray and brush the tops with the other half of the oil.
Divide the pepper jack between the 12 tortillas.
Divide the warm chicken mixture between the 12 tortillas, on top of the pepper jack but not completely to the edges.
Place in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until the edges start to get a little crispy and the mixture is hot and bubbly. Rotate pans half way through for even browning.
Remove one pan at a time from the oven and quickly top with half the lettuce. Then pick up each tortilla, fold in half and place in the reserved dish or pan, letting each taco stay folded by leaning on the one next to it, or the side of the pan. They will stay in this shape once folded hot. Repeat for the second pan. Turn off oven. (Note: Tacos are hot so we suggest that you use tongs to remove and fold.)
Then take the 12 folded tacos and top with the Monterey jack cheese and place back in the oven with the oven off for 4-5 minutes. The residual heat will melt the jack cheese over the lettuce.
Serve hot with whatever toppings you want including sliced back olives, pickled jalapenos, thinly sliced red onion, avocado wedges, sour cream, lime juice, fresh cilantro, etc.
Keywords: tacos, chicken
SO GOOD! I wanted to make them again right away.
★★★★★
Thanks Sheila – so glad you enjoyed the tacos!
Easy and delicious main dish! Getting the tacos folded and into the baking pan was a little challenging (I suggest using at least one heat resistant oven glove), but the overall dish was a big hit with my family. I thought the lettuce would wilt when placed back in the oven, but it held up to the heat just fine. A definite winner!
★★★★★
Thanks Melissa!
We loved these. Only substitution was cabbage for the lettuce as it was all I had and it worked great. Thanks for a great dinner!
★★★★★
Great suggestion Sara! Glad you enjoyed the tacos!
Banging tacos! I made these for my family and they were a big hit. I substituted the salsa with Rotel Diced Tomatoes w/Lime Juice & Cilantro because that’s what I had on hand. Will definitely make this again!
★★★★★
Thanks Annmarie!
These Tacos were a huge hit my picky husband. I loved using my leftover rotisserie chicken which was a welcome time saver after a busy day. We both think this probably is the best taco recipe .This recipe is a keeper for sure.
Thank you so much Peggy – glad it was a hit!
I love your rotisserie chicken recipe but way too much for only me. Can I freeze the prepared chicken?
Sure Irene! You could freeze in zipper seal bags, making sure that you’ve pushed out as much air as possible to avoid freezer burn.
This recipe is excellent. Just the right amount of spice in the chicken and the baked tacos are perfect. Will make this again
★★★★★
Thanks Nadine!
The filling was amazing! But I too, had burnt corn tortillas. We still ate them! I think I will reduce the time. I had checked them at about 9-10 minutes, should have pulled them then.
Only used half the chicken, so I’m freezing it and try again!
Thanks for the recipe!
★★★★★
Thanks for your feedback Diane (every oven is different I suppose!) – glad you were still able to enjoy the tacos.
Yuck! This was not good. Followed recipe exactly. Used whole rotisserie but this was way too much sauce and no flavor in the sauce. Tortillas came out nice and crispy though.
★
Sorry you were disappointed Tammy
Love, love this recipe! I only made one small change, instead of brushing oil, I just spray with avocado oil and it still turns out crispy!
Great suggestion Christine!
Made this recipe for dinner. Mine were pretty sloppy like I read in other comments. Added a little sugar to cut the bitter taste. They were ok but family said this one was not a keeper – especially the kids. Had quite a bit left over. Think I might use tortilla chips and layer them with chicken mixture and cheese and try a casserole. Probably will like it better than the tacos. But thanks anyway.
★★★
Thanks for your feedback Stef – sorry you were disappointed.
Hi! Love your recipes but more Keto low carb please! Keto pizza was great and right now making chicken tacos without the shells for my husband and myself but everyone else gets them! Thanks for reading!
Thanks Lisa – my husband Jack tends to eat lower carb these days so I’ll be sure he shares some more recipes!
I have made this recipe 5 times in the last 2 weeks. It’s incredible, particularly the tortillas! Thank you so much for sharing.
★★★★★
You’re welcome Jaime – glad you are enjoying the tacos!
I made this twice and will make it again tonight. The first time I made it, it was an instant hit. Quick and easy with great flavor and texture.
★★★★★
Glad you are enjoying the recipe Julian!
My family loved this recipe when I made it for Cinco de Mayo. I’m going to make themagain tonight but I’m trying beef. Hope it works!!
★★★★★
Great idea Donna! (It should definitely work!)
At 450F, my oven incinerated the tortillas after 10 minutes!
Sorry you had problems with the recipe JAM – curious to know what brand of tortillas you used? Did you happen to swap in flour for corn?
How many calories per serving
★★★★★
Hi Raven – I just added the nutritional information to the bottom of the recipe card…303 calories per taco.
The filling was great but these came out burnt to a crisp at 12 minutes. Like really burnt. If you’re making this I suggest keeping an eye on them. 🙁 will def put them in less time
★★★
Thanks for your feedback Marlene – it definitely sounds like your oven runs much hotter than ours
These were very good! I did not have any tomato paste so I used tomato sauce and I didn’t have any salsa (except with ghost peppers) so I used a can of diced tomatoes. We used flour tortillas so I didn’t put them in the oven but they were delicious and quick and easy. I will definitely make these again.
★★★★
Sounds like some great adaptations in a pinch! Glad you liked the recipe!
Thanks, Martha! These tacos were absolutely delicious! I made the recipe exactly as written and they will definitely be requested again!
So glad the recipe was a hit Joanna!
I made this for dinner tonight, it came out amazing !! I over cooked it so it was a bit crunchy, but still delicious
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed the tacos Gina!
I’m going to make this recipe for dinner tommorrow nite but do not have coriander. Can you tell me what it is and can it be omitted? Do you have any recipes for chicken enchiladas using rotisserie chicken and using a white sauce (sort of like alfredo?? not sure what its called??) Thank you!
Hi Polly – Coriander is actually dried and ground cilantro seed – you can leave it out and adjust the seasonings to suit your tastes. We do have a Chicken Enchiladas recipe (it’s just called white sauce) 🙂 – this recipe is written using our Pulled Mexican Chicken recipe which is well-seasoned, but you can use rotisserie and add some tomatoes and other seasonings of your own. https://www.afamilyfeast.com/chicken-enchiladas-with-white-sauce/ (Hope this helps!)
Easy and delicious! I didnt put back in the oven a second time due to time but they work well either way! I used mexican blend cheese.
Thanks Jessica – glad you enjoyed the tacos!
I like crispy tacos. Do the tacos have any crispness to them or are they soft tacos?
Hi Linda – The tacos end up with some chew to them – so softer than the store-bought crispy-fried tacos shells but not as soft as a soft flour tortilla. Hope that helps!
The chicken tacos was the best. I made them for supper and everyone loved them!!!
★★★★★
Thanks Linda – glad you all enjoyed the tacos!
This site looks interesting. Looking forward to tapping into it. Thank You. Barb
We’re glad you found us Barb! Hope you find some recipes to enjoy!
Amazing! Followed recipe exactly and got delicious results.
★★★★★
Thanks Rayna!
Great way to use up a rotisserie chicken! I halved the recipe and found using just the dark meat fit the half recipe perfectly. The recipe is forgiving; I used less cheese and only Colby jack, no lettuce and figured out after baking the oven was at 350 instead of 450. Still turned out good. Will make again. One tip though: adust the chili powder based on the heat of your salsa. My salsa was on the hotter side and thereforestation tacos turned out a bit hotter than I preferred but still good.
★★★★
Great suggestion Patricia!
Made this & your salsa recipe tonight & it was fantastic! I did not put the lettuce on because I knew we would have leftovers & didn’t want soggy lettuce. Otherwise, followed recipe to a T & we will definitely make this again.
★★★★★
Thanks Suzanne – glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hello,
I made this tonight and enjoyed it very much. I think I used too much chicken and mine were pretty sloppy. Would you clarify in cups rather than weight how much chicken to use for best results? Thanks for the recipe. I love having ideas of what to do with leftover rotisserie chicken!
Thanks for your feedback Carlyn – the next time we make this recipe we’ll update by adding in the cups measurement.
Tried these tacos for dinner and was very pleased with the results. Made little over half recipe and used Trader Joes precooked balsamic vinegar chicken breasts, and shredded all of it for 8 tacos. This was the first time I did not use those boxed crispy boxed taco shells. I will never use those again! lol. Thanks for a great taco recipe. My picky son enjoyed them, as did I.
★★★★★
So glad the recipe was a hit Jill! As the mom of a picky eater too, I love hearing when kids enjoy our recipes! 🙂
I made this tonight. Came out perfectly!!! I made 8 and my husband ate 7!!! Will definitely make again and again.
★★★★★
So glad you both enjoyed the recipe Jeannie!
Made this for dinner tonight and my husband and children loved it…very easy!
★★★★
Thanks Susan – glad you liked the recipe!
These are delicious! They will definitely become part of the regular rotation for dinner! Along with another favorite, Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup. Yum!
Thanks Sue! So glad you are enjoying the recipes!
I love a super quick Friday night meal. Thank you!
You’re welcome Joanna – hope you enjoy the recipe.