Air Fryer Chicken Tacos

These air fryer chicken tacos are juicy, flavorful, and quick and easy to make! I used the Ninja Foodi but you can use any air fryer. Delicious tender chicken with cheese, avocado, shredded lettuce tomatoes and sour cream wrapped in your favorite tortilla, these are an instant hit! After marinating, they can be made in under 30 minutes.

This was inspired by our roasted cauliflower and black bean tacos and pairs well with this delicious cilantro lime guacamole. For another fun taco variation try our jerk chicken tacos. Or try another easy air fryer meal of Air Fryer Quesadillas.

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Instructions
• 2 Options for Serving:
• Substitutions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top tip
• Recipe

Ingredients

• raw chicken breasts, thighs or rotisserie chicken*(see substitution section on how to make with shredded rotisserie chicken)
• tortillas of choice
• toppings of choice
  • suggested:
  • cheese
  • shredded lettuce
  • sour cream/ greek yogurt
  • guacamole
  • chopped tomatoes
  • cilantro
  • salsa of choice
• ⅓ cup lime juice
• olive oil

For the taco seasoning:

• chili powder
• cumin
• paprika
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• crushed red pepper flakes
• dried oregano
• corn starch
• salt
• pepper

-OR- 2 packages taco seasoning

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

First, marinate the chicken. Cut chicken into 1 inch or smaller pieces and place in a bowl. Add all taco seasonings in a bowl and stir with a whisk until well blended. Place lime juice in bowl of chicken and stir to coat. Sprinkle the taco seasoning into the bowl and stir until evenly coated. Refrigerate 2-24 hours. The tacos can be made immediately, but the flavor will not be as full.

Preheat air fryer to 375*F. I use the Ninja Foodi XL for our chicken tacos, which I love because it has plenty of space for anything I'm air frying and has great versatility. Use a brush and coat the bottom of the basket with vegetable or avocado oil. The smoke point of olive oil is too low, don't use it! Spread the marinated chicken across the bottom of the basket. If your air fryer is small you may need to cook in 2 batches.

Cook for 6 minutes, then flip the pieces of chicken. Stirring them well and spreading them back out also works.

Cook and additional 6 minutes then check for doneness. The internal temperature of chicken should reach 165* F. Check your thickest pieces to ensure they are done! Cook and additional 2-3 minutes if needed.

2 Options for Serving:

1- Assemble Like a Normal Taco:

Spread the meat on the tortilla, top with veggies, sour cream and cheese, then fold into a taco.

2- Air Fry the Entire Taco (our favorite!)

Place the meat and cheese on half the taco. Air fry at 400* for 30 seconds.

Fold the taco so that the meat and cheese are inside the shell, but on the upper half. This will weigh down the tortilla and keep it folded. Air fry for 2 minutes, flip and air fry for 90 seconds.

Remove from air fryer and peel apart the taco and put toppings on. Serve immediately. This was our favorite way to eat them. They are crunchy and melty and flavorful and just absolutely delicious! Not as pretty as the normal assembly, but so tasty!

Substitutions

• Rotisserie Chicken- Instead of raw chicken feel free to use a shredded rotisserie chicken. Marinade as directed above. Air fry at 375 for 3 minutes or until hot, turning the meat at minute 2. Do everything else as directed above.
• Taco or other seasoning- while we highly recommend the homemade taco seasoning for the optimal flavor, 1 ½ packets of taco seasoning or other flavored seasoning such as Fajita will work too.

Variations

• Spicy - add jalapenos or serranos, or our favorite hot sauce.
• Deluxe - add guacamole, refried beans and/or pico de gallo.

Equipment

• Air Fryer, we recommend the NINJA FOODI but any will do

Storage

Store ingredients unassembled and separately in air tight containers in the refirgerator for up to 5 days. Reheat meat and assemble as desired.

Meat can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

Top tip

Marinading takes time. The longer the chicken can marinate the better. Start it marinating in the morning before work, or the evening before or even 2 hours earlier if possible.

Print

Recipe