Charred and Tender grilled chicken spiced with a special blend of homemade taco seasoning can be grilled or cooked on the stove-top. It’s delicious in tacos, burritos, on salads, or for meal-prep! 
The Best Grilled Chicken ( for Tacos, Burritos, or Salads)Perfectly charred and crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside, this really is the BEST Mexican spiced grilled chicken. It’s seasoned with my favorite blend of homemade taco seasoning. With the addition of garlic, lime, and olive oil, you’ve got yourself delicious chicken that’s great for tacos, burrito bowls, salads, wraps and just about anything else.

A batch of perfectly grilled chicken can go a long way. I like to season a few pounds of boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts and keep them in zip seal bags in the fridge and freezer. When needed, just pop a bag out of the fridge or freezer and grill on an outdoor grill or right in a pan on the stove top. Use it to make tacos, wraps, on a salad or rice.

Just like Chipotle, I like to use boneless skinless chicken thighs rather than breasts because they are always tender and won’t dry out. Chicken breasts will also work for this recipe but be sure not to over-cook them. The Best Grilled Chicken ( for Tacos, Burritos, or Salads)

4.81 from 115 votes

The Best Grilled Chicken For Tacos, Burritos, or Salads

Charred and Tender grilled or chicken spiced with a special blend of homemade taco seasoning can be grilled or cooked in a skillet on the stove-top. It's delicious in tacos, burritos, on salads, or for meal-prep! 
Prep5 minutes
Cook15 minutes
Total20 minutes
Servings 4 people

Ingredients 

Instructions 

  • Add the chicken, garlic, olive oil, lime, spices, and cornstarch to a large bowl or zip-seal bag.
  • Place in fridge and let marinate for at least 15-30 minutes or up to 24 hours. 
  • Remove chicken from marinade and discard marinade. Place chicken on a grill or pan heated to medium-high heat. Let chicken cook until it is no longer pink on the inside, about 6-7 minutes per side  (or until it has reached an internal temperature of 165 degrees F). 
  • Serve chicken in tacos, burritos, on salads or rice.

Additional Info

Course: Dinner
Cuisine: Mexican
like this recipe? Rate & Comment below!

The Best Grilled Chicken ( for Tacos, Burritos, or Salads) The Best Grilled Chicken ( for Tacos, Burritos, or Salads)



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160 Comments

  1. Great spice mix – chicken turned out great!! Marinated two chicken breasts for two hours, grilled in a grill pan. Along with chicken, I served roasted veggies (sweet potato, zucchini, onion, bell pepper) tossed in cumin, chili powder and olive oil. Did a yogurt, lime, cilantro crema on side. Wonderful tacos!

  2. I am making this tonight for chicken burritos. I will be pan frying it so shouls I add some olive oil to the pan or just spray with cooking spray?
    Thanks

    1. You can’t go wrong either way but I would use a little olive oil.

      1. I have not tried this recipe yet, but it sounds great! I might try some garlic infused olive oil as well.

  3. This recipe is delicious!! We eat this at least once a week in my house, sometimes twice! I always use boneless skinless thighs, and I do not add the cornstarch, although I often add just a little (1 tsp) agave. I love to put it on the BBQ or on the stove top, and whenever I bring it to a group they love it. My 9-year-old loves this in quesadillas or soft tacos, but sometimes we just eat the plain chicken so fast after it’s cooked and it barely makes it to the plate! It’s safe to say we are obsessed! Thanks for providing a simple yet amazingly delicious new way to have chicken.

  4. I don’t review a ton of recipes but this one deserves a lot of love! Amazing in every way! I followed The recipe exactly as written and pan seared the chicken in my cast iron skillet since it’s too chilly to grill and it tasted restaurant quality!

  5. I have used this recipe several times while making chipotle bowls and Mexican stuffed peppers. This is truly a no-fail recipe. Comes out delicious everytime!

  6. Excellent and simple! Made recipe with chicken thighs and made no modifications. Marinated for 6 hours and the chicken was so flavorful. Next time I might try using smoked paprika as the previous reviewer suggested.

  7. I too am in love with the Costco chicken taco kit, and I was absolutely enthralled when I saw that they were selling the sauce by itself in the two-pack jars. I tried another chicken recipe which didn’t even come close. But this one nailed it. I could have eaten the chicken by itself, which I admit I did a little bit through some nibbling. But anyway the only changes I made were to mix regular paprika with smoked paprika to give it a little smoky flavor, I used avocado oil instead of olive and I added one tablespoon of it to the marinade in addition to what I used to grill the chicken. I had to add a little bit of water just to get it to pour into the bag but I cleaned up more than a tablespoon. I was running short on time and was afraid I would not get a good marinade, so I used my needler to poke holes in the chicken, not enough to really thin it or anything, I’ve just found that it really helps food absorb the marinade. This was the first time I used my cast iron indoor grilling pan. One side is flat and the other side has the grill lines, and it worked just as well as grilling outside which I am not a master of, and the girl is always kind of disgusting. The only problem was
    that I did cook at a very high heat to get a nice char and it was a little smoky, so make sure you have your fan on and maybe a couple windows open. But anyway this was definitely a winner. Thank you

    1. This was absolutely amazing chicken!! Next time I’m going to add a bit more lime juice but that’s just me.. seriously so good. We had chicken breasts with tortillas and homemade refried beans! Delish!!

      1. I agree with more lime. Must be a Jodi thing

    2. Do you have a picture of the jar from Costco. We love their street tacos also

  8. I love this recipe. I share this with anyone who asks because its my go to for chicken street tacos, nachos, burritos, and anything else that calls for a Mexican style seasoned chicken. Thanks!

      1. I tried the recipe for dinner and everyone liked it. I thought it would be a problem because my brother didn’t like garlic, but he said he didn’t even taste it. You see, it tastes great. I’m thinking of trying this recipe when I’m going to make barbecued chicken, it’s absolutely awesome! Thank you so much for this excellent recipe.

  9. I am making grilled chicken burritos for an event tomorrow. My chicken thighs are already marinating!
    I understand how to make the taco seasoning, but what I don’t know, is how much to use/ lb and when is added? Before frying, before, during or after grilling? Is anything else used when grilling? Liquid of any kind? Thank you so much, I’m very excited to try this.

    1. Taco seasoning is added at different times depending on the recipe. Some recipes require adding it before marinating and some while cooking. Are you cooking this chicken? or beef?

      1. Do you use the Homemade Taco Seasoning on “The Best Grilled Chicken For Tacos, Burritos, or Salads” or do you have enough seasoning with the marinade? I don’t see in the instructions where you use the homemade taco seasoning in the recipe for “The Best Grilled Chicken for Tacos, Burritos, or Salads” even though it is listed with this recipe. Thank you.

        1. For this specific recipe, I use the spices listed in the recipe which are very similar to my homemade taco seasoning recipe.

  10. I have tried a lot of recipes for grilled chicken, but this one by far, is the best! Not only is the chicken packed with flavor, but also very tender and juicy! 10/10 would recommend!

  11. Hi, I tried this on the bbq and it came out delicious! Thank you so much! All the food was eaten. 🙂

  12. terrific marinade, and just the right consistency to stick to chicken breast. i added some powdered onion, and juice of a full lime. Went a little heavier on the chilli powder.

  13. LOVE THIS SO MUCH. I like the consistency–it sticks well to the chicken. I have made it several times. The first time, I didn’t have lime so I put in just a little bit of white vinegar for acidity and it was still delicious (I think a little less than a tsp?). Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

  14. Recipe and overall flavour was great however it was very spicy for mine and my daughters likings. would make again with a lot less chilli powder.

  15. This is some of the best taco meat I’ve ever had! I’ve always cooked it on the grill with great success, but tonight I cooked it on the skillet and it was just as good. Highly recommend!

  16. This was delicious. For the chili powder, I used ancho chili powder, and I used smoked paprika rather than regular. Tiny changes, but they added a great dimension. I didn’t cut up the chicken small, but I used HUGE chicken breasts, so I sliced them the long way into thirds to add surface for the ingredients to stick to. It was the bomb! I took the info from another comment, and added some heavy cream and chicken stock to the pan drippings. This was perfect for street tacos with some sharp cheddar, a bit of lettuce and some cilantro and diced tomato. YUM.

  17. I just want you to know I had to wipe my phone and lost this recipe and it took me 6 weeks to finally find again. You would think it wouldn’t be a big deal, but this recipe is legit. Don’t be like me, back this sh*t up, print it, whatever because you will love this recipe. I’ve added in some smoked paprika or ground chipotle to get some extra smokiness but otherwise this recipe is near perfection.

  18. Not once do you mention whether to chop the chicken before or after you marinate and cook it.

    1. Looking at the pictures of the finished product, looks like the chicken was cut last. No char on any sliced area.

    2. Really? OK, it should be self explanatory, but please marinate the chicken whole (not diced), grill or cook at your desired method, then let rest for a few minutes and dice into bite-sized pieces.

    3. I would say the whole peice of chicken. Only because it says a time per side that it is cooked. And it should come out more juicy that way. Make sure you let it rest before cutting.

      Funny though you are right.. it doesn’t say to cut up after either. So technically you could use chicken tenders and not cut them at all if you like. :0)

  19. Good base but how can lime juice be “optional” – it made the recipe. Have made this several times and it’s always great but find adding a bit of honey and chipotle powder kicks it u to another level. Thank you for the inspiration

  20. Our new go-to marinade! Great flavor but not too spicy (you could easily spice it up if desired) . We really liked the paste consistency, it did really well to coat the chicken and stay on while being grilled. Restaurant-quality look and taste!

  21. We do Mexican food a lot for my family of 4. One of my kids does not like ground beef, so I am always looking for other meat options. This was perfect! Everyone loved it. I cut breasts into strips (about 4 per breast half) to get marinade on more surface area. I made 1 1/2 times the recipe for 2.5 pounds of chicken. It was plenty. They turned out perfect. This will definitely be in regular rotation in our house.

    1. So glad you were able to make this work for your family, Holly! 🙂

  22. This is one of the easiest and most flavorful marinades/sauces for chicken! I marinated chicken thighs for about 50 minutes for a last minute dinner. I grilled them up, chopped, and added to rice bowls with lettuce, pintos, avocados, tomatoes and cheese. My family LOVED them! Will definitely make again.

  23. This was delicious! I added an extra tablespoon of lime juice,, but no other changes. I will definitely use this recipe again.

  24. I made this last night for the family and we all enjoyed the flavor. I followed the recipe exactly, But, (Don’t you just hate it when someone completely changes the recipe and then continues to review it, especially if they don’t like the results. Like, I tried this chicken recipe but used cinnamon rolls instead and they tasted funny…. Well DUH!) I thought I had limes in the fridge but nope… So… I used margarita mix from costco (with the alcohol) I was thinking… yup, that’s mostly lime juice right? Turned out nice and moist even using chicken breast. Marinated for about 2 hours cuz I was running late, but I can see that an overnight in the fridge would be even better! This recipe is a keeper for my family. Thanks

  25. This was SO GOOD, even though I messed up and used 1 TB instead of 1 TSP of cumin and paprika 😆 It was super flavorful to say the least. I did add extra olive oil and lime juice to sort of tone it down. I’m going to make it again very soon, and definitely more than 1 pound!

  26. These were great! Will definitely save this recipe and make again!

  27. I made this yesterday for Cinco de Mayo which fell on Taco Tuesday this year 🙂 My family DEVOURED this! The flavors are amazing. I let the chicken marinate overnight and seared/cooked it in a cast iron pan the next day. The cast iron pan created an amazing char. As some have commented, the spice blend comes together as a paste/wet rub rather than a wet marinade but don’t get caught up in technicalities. Just try the recipe – sooooo good!!

  28. Absolutely delicious! The mix added the perfect flavor to our chicken for tacos.

    It appears there has been some discussion on the mixture turning out to be more like a paste. This was my experience as well. I ended up adding a little more lime juice and olive oil until the consistency was where I wanted it to be (more like a marinade than a wet rub). I then used a zip lock bag to shake the marinade and chicken around until evenly distributed and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours. Turned out amazing and will definitely be using it again!

  29. Holy cow!!! My family LOVED this and couldn’t stop Raving about how delicious it was. I made ground beef and chicken for tacos and the chicken went so fast! I will never make chicken any other way again! A few minutes in the grill tops it all off. Can I say FLAVOR! And also this is exactly why my husband married me. Thanks for making me look like a chef! Forget packaged seasonings this is bomb!

    1. I’m glad your family enjoyed the chicken, Tiffany!! <3