Sheet pan chicken tacos stuffed with black beans and shredded birria chicken and cheese, then baked to crispy perfection! These crispy baked chicken and black bean tacos are so easy to make, you can even peel the chicken ahead of time and store it in the fridge or freezer. Just pull out and heat in a saucepan when you are ready to make the tacos!
Served with a creamy birria style aioli and fresh guacamole they are a win for the whole family! Don’t have the time to make my birria chicken? Easily use a store-bought rotisserie for these tacos.
Ingredients
- Chicken thighs
- Onion
- Tomatoes
- Quajillo chile pepper
- Arbol chiles
- Bay leaf
- Oregano
- Paprika
- Garlic powder
- Ground cinnamon
- Cumin
- Salt
- Chicken broth
- Chipotle aioli
- Juice from chicken
- Dairy free yogurt
Instructions
- Remove stems/seeds from dried peppers.
- Place chicken into a pot. (If your chicken is not slightly covered with broth, add ¼ cup more). Over medium high heat, bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to medium and add lid. Allow to simmer for about 1 hour until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Carefully remove chicken from pot and place aside.
- Remove bay leaves and toss into the garbage.
- Once sauce cools slightly, pour into a high speed blender and pulse until liquid forms. If sauce is too thick, slowly add greek yogurt until your desired consistency is met.
- To assemble your tacos:
- Preheat your oven to 425° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Layer corn tortillas on the baking pan. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush olive oil on the corn tortillas. Flip them over then place them in the oven for two minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and layer each tortilla on one side only. Start with your black beans, then shredded chicken, red onion, and a little more cheese. Fold the other side of the tortilla over and press down on the tortilla. You can also use a toothpick if any of them will not stick.
- Once you have finished assembling your tacos, place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 to 17 minutes until the cheese has melted and your tortillas are slightly crispy.
How to store the Chicken Tacos
To store chicken and black bean tacos, first, remove any toppings from the tacos and place them in separate containers. This will prevent the toppings from getting soggy and the tacos from becoming too moist.
Equipment
- Sheet pan: A sheet pan is used to bake the chicken tacos. It's important to choose a sheet pan that is sturdy and large enough to hold all the ingredients without overcrowding.
- Mixing bowls: You'll need mixing bowls to toss the chicken with spices and oil before cooking, and to mix any toppings.
- Blender: You will need a good blender to blend your chicken.
FAQ
How do you know when the tacos are done baking?
The edges will be a light golden brown. They will continue to crisp up once removed from the oven.
Are these tacos healthy?
Yes! We use the oven to create a crisp instead of frying them in oil. Want to take it a step further, just leave off the cheese for a lower calorie/lower fat taco.
The good news is these are naturally gluten-free as we are using corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.
Looking to make this dairy-free?
Just use your favorite dairy-free shredded cheese instead of regular cheese.
Pro tip
These crispy chicken and black bean tacos are great for a large crowd. Prepare multiple sheets of tacos and place them in the oven at once to serve a large group of people.
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📖 Recipe
Sheet pan chicken tacos
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound chicken thighs boneless (breasts can be used for a white meat option)
- 2 tablespoon onion minced
- 1 can tomatoes fire roasted diced
- 1 guajillo chile pepper dried
- 2 arbol chiles dried
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon ground
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup chicken broth
- Chipotle aioli
- Juice from chicken
- 2-3 tablespoon yogurt dairy free
- 2-3 cups shredded cheese Mexican or cheddar
Instructions
- Remove stems/seeds from dried peppers.
- Place chicken and all chicken ingredients into a pot.onion, canned tomatoes, chile pepper, arbol chiles, bay leaf, oregano, paprika, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, salt and chicken broth. (If your chicken is not slightly covered with broth, add ¼ cup more). Over medium high heat, bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to medium and add lid. Allow to simmer for about 1 hour until chicken shreds easily with a fork.
- Carefully remove chicken from pot and place aside.
- Remove bay leaves and toss into the garbage.
- Once sauce cools slightly, pour into a high speed blender and pulse until liquid forms. If sauce is too thick, slowly add greek yogurt until your desired consistency is met.
To assemble your tacos:
- Preheat your oven to 425 °F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Layer corn tortillas on the baking pan. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush olive oil on the corn tortillas. Flip them over then place in the oven for two minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and layer each tortilla on one side only. Start with your black beans, (black beans are linked in the first paragraph above) then shredded chicken, red onion, and a little more cheese. Fold the other side of the tortilla over and press down on the tortilla. You can also use a toothpick if any of them will not stick.
- Once you have finished assembling all of your tacos, place the pan in the oven and bake for 15 to 17 minutes until the cheese has melted and your tortillas are slightly crispy.
Maryam Loukili says
These are literally from heaven like especially with the black beans, like it’s so good I will definitely make this more often
NKendrick says
Thank you so much! Happy that you enjoyed them!
Trish says
Hi, I’m confused by you saying “ all the chicken ingredients “ and you don’t say what we do with the liquid we have in the blender and you mention black beans but they are not on the ingredient list.
NKendrick says
Hi, the black beans are linked in the very first sentence of the blog at the top. The chicken ingredients are the seasonings listed under chicken thighs up until the aioli. The liquid in the blender will blend into the chicken adding to the moisture of your chicken. I hope this helps.
SpicySalsarita says
The ingredient list doesn’t list cheese, but your instructions stay to layer chicken, beans, and cheese. What is the recommended cheese?
NKendrick says
Thank you, i have updated it! I recommend Mexican or cheddar!
margie mcgee says
What do you do with the chiles?
NKendrick says
Hi! You can remove them after cooking or combine them with tomatoes, sour cream/or dairy free yogurt and make a sauce!