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Take your taco night up a notch with these Air Fryer Chicken Tacos. Ready in less than 20 minutes, this family-friendly meal is one that everyone will love!

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Tacos are one food group that my kids will always eat.

As a Registered Dietitian, I’m very comfortable with offering my kids new foods, expecting it to take several times for them to try and like something new.

But, anything to do with tacos is a slam dunk, which makes me feel good.

These air fryer chicken tacos are a bit heavier than my shrimp tacos, which I love in the summer months.

These can actually be more like chicken fajitas, with all the toppings!

You can follow this same recipe with other meats, such as steak, beef, and even shrimp. The cooking time may vary, but the seasonings and dip will transfer well.

I do recommend marinating the chicken for a few hours ahead of time, if you can remember.

I like to just do it overnight. It adds more flavor and depth.

It’s not a make-or-break if you forget to do it, though. These air fryer chicken tacos will still taste great.

Why Sarah Loves this Recipe

“Any recipe that comes together quickly and my kids will eat is a win in my book and these chicken tacos in the air fryer are just that! My kids love adding their favorite toppings too.”

Why We Love Air Fryer Chicken Tacos

• Easy to modify– If you have a kid who likes toppings and one who doesn’t, it’s easy to modify or add/remove certain ingredients! You can also enjoy crispy air fryer chicken tacos or soft ones – make them to your liking!
• Quick family-friendly dinner- Everyone looks forward to taco night? This air fryer chicken tacos recipe is well-loved, by kids and adults. It’s our favorite to make for a crowd, having bowls of toppings for everyone to just decorate their own.
• No standing at the stove – With three small children, it’s hard to stand still anywhere- someone always needs something! No more standing at the stove, making sure the chicken doesn’t burn. The air fryer does it all for you, with perfect seasoning and even cooking – just remember to flip halfway!

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this recipe.

• chicken tenderloins – I love Butcher Box since they are already sliced into tenderloins. You could also use shredded chicken, rotisserie chicken, or boneless chicken thighs depending on your preference.
• corn or flour tortillas – I used corn but either works
• red bell pepper
• onion – I love a red onion for extra flavor, but any onion works
• shredded cheese
• minced garlic
• spices – cumin, paprika, lime juice, salt, pepper
• avocado oil

Then, for the yogurt avocado sauce, you’ll just blend greek yogurt, acovado, lime juice, garlic, salt and pepper together.

It’s a fun dipping sauce that is creamy and flavorful.

You can also add your favorite toppings. Some of our favorites include:

• beans
• avocado slices
• cabbage
• lettuce
• cotija cheese or favorite cheese
• greek yogurt or sour cream
• pico de gallo
• tortilla chips
• sliced tomatoes
• fresh cilantro

AIR FRYER ESSENTIALS – I love to keep some go-to’s on hand for my air fryer recipes. Here’s what I recommend using:

Fast Instant Read Thermometer – You’ll use this more than you know! It works for meat on the grill or stove or oven, too. It’s super fast and the large screen is easy to read.

Reusable Air Fryer Liners – I love these for easy cleaning!

Plate Gripper – This is great for HOT things when they come out of the air fryer. Take care and don’t burn yourself.

Tongs – Tongs can be helpful for transferring seasoned items and then hot items after cooked in the air fryer.

How to Make this Recipe

1. Firstly, I would recommend marinating the chicken a few hours ahead of time.

It gives the chicken so much more flavor. You can even do it overnight if you’d like.

2. Then, you’ll preheat your air fryer and add your marinated chicken, peppers and onions to the tray.

3. Cook for 14-16 minutes, flipping halfway, or until chicken is cooked through.

4. Then, remove the chicken from the air fryer basket. You can then layer on your tortillas.

If you want crispy tacos, place the layered tortillas back in the air fryer basket and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until they start to crisp and cheese melts.

5. Top with avocado and your favorite toppings, and serve with tortilla chips and salsa.

You can also serve the chicken, peppers and onions in a rice bowl instead of tortillas, which is also delicious!

Storing Chicken Tacos

Store your leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.

Store the avocado yogurt dressing separately from the chicken to prevent it from getting soggy.

Tips Short Cuts to Save Time

Here are some of my favorite shortcuts for this chicken taco recipe in the air fryer.

• Marinate your chicken overnight. You don’t want to spend 2 hours doing it when you want to make these delicious chicken tacos!
• Pre-make the avocado yogurt – You can blend the avocado yogurt sauce the day before. Make a big batch to use on nearly everything!
• Use bagged cabbage – I love a bagged salad kit or cabbage blend for quick toppings.
• Use a taco spice packet or your favorite pre-mixed spice blend for easy measuring.
• Use pre-cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken to skip the cooking chicken part.

• Ground Turkey Taco Quinoa Skillet
• One pot Taco Tortellini
• Cheesy Beef Taco Pasta
• Chicken pasta with Coconut milk

Continue to Content

Yield: 4-6 servings

Air Fryer Chicken Tacos

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Take your taco night up a notch with these Air Fryer Chicken Tacos. Ready in less than 20 minutes, this family-friendly meal is one that everyone will love!

Prep Time 2 hours

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients

Tacos

• 1 lb chicken tenderloins (I love Butcher Box), thawed and sliced into strips*
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium red onion, diced onion
• 4-6 corn or flour tortillas
• ½ cup shredded cheese

Chicken marinade

• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 3 T lime juice
• 3 T avocado oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Yogurt Avocado sauce

• 1 avocado
• 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 Tbsp lime juice
• Salt/pepper to taste
• 1 tsp garlic

Instructions

1. In a large bowl ziplock bag, combine chicken peppers, onions, chicken and marinade ingredients and mix or shake well. Store in fridge
   for 2-3 hours. If you’re not able to do this marinade ahead of time, that’s ok.
2. When marinade is ready, Preheat air fryer to 380 degrees F.
3. Add peppers, onions and marinated chicken to air fryer in a single layer. Cook for 14-16 minutes (flipping halfway), or until cooked through as measured by food thermometer.
4. While chicken is cooking, make your yogurt avocado sauce by combining ingredients in a blender.
5. Take chicken, peppers and onions out of air fryer and move to a plate. 
6. At this point, you can layer the chicken, peppers and onions on your tortillas and enjoy. If you’d like crispier tacos, add tortillas to bottom of air fryer (still at 400 degrees) and layer with cooked chicken, peppers and onions and shredded cheese.
7. Air fry for 2-3 more minutes, or until cheese melts and tortillas start to crisp.
8. Top with avocado yogurt and serve with any additional toppings.
   

Notes

Optional toppings: beans, avocado, lettuce, cabbage, cheese, pico de gallo,
tomatoes, etc

Serving size = 1 taco

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 438Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 313mgCarbohydrates: 36gFiber: 6gSugar: 8gProtein: 33g

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