Name: Ground Chicken Taco Meat
Cook time: 10 min
Ingredients: 1 pound ground chicken; 4 tablespoons olive oil ((canola oil or vegetable oil works too)); 3 tablespoons chili powder; 2 tablespoons cumin powder; 2 tablespoons onion powder or flakes; 2 tablespoons garlic powder; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 4 tablespoons water; 1 tablespoon lime juice ((we use the juice of half a lime))

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Ground chicken taco meat is a lighter version of traditional ground beef taco meat. Ours is boldly spiced, super delicious, quick and easy for any busy night. It will have you declaring this recipe your new dinner BFF.

Ground chicken taco meat in a cast iron skillet with cheese, tortilla shells, salsa, and lime.

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We switched to using ground chicken taco meat on Taco Tuesdays.

Why?

Extra lean ground beef costs dolla dolla bills y’all.

It’s currently almost 4 dollars more expensive per pound than a pound of ground chicken where we live.

And since generally double the recipe to make 2 pounds that adds up even more.

It’s at least a few extra fixings for taco night that you can buy with the savings or hey, even another meal.

And also our kids will eat chicken more regularly than they will eat anything else and like these better.

If you are ground chicken skeptic, fear not!

This ground chicken taco meat is boldly flavored, satisfying, and so easy and is a good substitute for Easy Ground Beef Tacos.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

Ground chicken taco meat ingredients: ground chicken, lime juice, olive oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt, dried onion, and water. Other ingredients for tacos: salsa, tortillas, cheese, and cilantro.

Here’s what we use for ground chicken taco meat.

Ground Chicken – You can use either the all white meat or the mixed chicken. They both have similar low fat counts and basically the same flavor. As mentioned, though this completely misses the point, you could sub in ground beef or other ground meats and have the same results. But then you are not making ground chicken
Olive Oil – You could add in canola oil or vegetable oil instead. This just helps the chicken not stick to the bottom of the pan and helps to make the chicken a bit less dry.
Water – This helps to add moisture to the chicken when cooking.
Fresh Lime Juice – We add this at the end to give the ground chicken a fresher flavor.
Seasonings – Of course, you can cheat and use one of the pre-made taco seasoning packets. We use chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, a bit of salt, and onion powder or flakes. When we don’t make it for the kids, we often add red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to add some extra heat to the tacos.
Fixings – Since you are presumably making tacos with ground chicken taco meat, you will want to have your favorite taco fixings readily available such as shells, avacado, taco sauce, fresh cilantro, salsa, cheese, and so on.

You do not need any fancy kitchen supplies, but it is always helpful to have:

How to Make Ground Chicken Taco Meat

1. Cook the ground chicken taco meat in a skillet.

Ground chicken with seasonings in a cast iron skillet. — Cook with the seasonings.

Pour in the olive oil to a pan and set the heat to medium.

Add in the ground chicken and use a sturdy spatula to break it up into smaller chunks.

After spreading the ground chicken around the skillet, dump in the spices and water.

Stirring frequently, cook until the chicken has fully cooked through or about 10 minutes.

Ground chicken taco meat in a cast iron skillet.

It is generally done when the chicken has turned opaque.

2. Assemble and serve.

If you plan to make tacos, get out all the stuff you want to serve with them.

Build up the tacos or let your family make their own.

Serving

Ground chicken tacos with salsa, cheese, lime, and a cast iron skillet with more. — Serving ground chicken tacos.

Presumably you are making ground chicken taco meat to make tacos.

In this case, you will want to make sure you have your favorite fixings, such as:

taco sauce
lettuce
avacado
jalapenos
onions and peppers
cheese
fresh cilantro
homemade tomato salsa
peach salsa
pineapple mango salsa
pineapple habanero salsa
sour cream
cheese sauce

If you like, you can add the chicken meat to cheese quesadillas, a taco salad, or eat it with a fork like our son does.

Storing

Ground chicken taco meat tacos with cheese and salsa. — Serve as tacos with your favorite fixings.

To store, place the ground chicken taco meat in an air tight container in the fridge for up to about 3 to 5 days.

You can also freeze the meat if you like by following similar steps of placing in a freezer safe container.

It should stay fresh for up to about 6 months.

To reheat, thaw frozen meat and either gently heat in a skillet over medium low heat or toss in the microwave for a few seconds until it reaches a desired temperature.

Tips and Tricks

Picking up a ground chicken taco with salsa and more tacos in background. — Ready to eat!

We love very well-seasoned ground chicken taco meat. Feel free to reduce the amount of chili powder you use or any of the other spices to better suite your preferred flavor. In fact, if you have a set ratio you use in ground beef tacos, you can use the same ratio in chicken tacos. Our seasoning guides are a suggestion and will make flavorful, somewhat spicy chicken meat.
Want more heat or different flavors? You can add in red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and other peppers for more spice.
You can other ingredients to the ground chicken as it cooks. Onions, fresh garlic, and bell peppers can all add some additional flavor to the taco meat. For added heat, you can also add in freshly chopped jalapeno peppers, chipolte peppers, or other hot peppers.

Other Taco Recipes

Here are some other taco recipes you can try:

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