fried chicken tacos!! these things are so good!! 10/10 would recommend.
I am finally sharing my recipe for gluten free fried chicken (which can be swapped for regular flour). This fried chicken recipe is a fan favorite and you truly cannot tell that it is gluten free, but it’s so good. I make my chicken into nuggets for this recipe because it works the best for the taco situation.
These tacos are a crowd pleaser, pretty easy to make and can be made into burritos!
The chicken in this recipe is really the star here. Its crispy and bite size and hard to not eat all of it before it hits the tacos.
fried chicken taco notes
For the fried chicken component, its key to marinate the chicken ahead of time. The minimum amount of marinating time is 1 hour but I highly recommend letting it sit overnight in the fridge. It enhance the flavor in the chicken and gives the spices a chance to soak in.
I am a huge fan of lime on my fried chicken, huge fan. So when I make this, after the chicken comes out of the hot oil, I like to immediately squeeze fresh lime juice on the chicken. It is totally unnecessary and some people do not like that much lime, but if you’re a lime fan then I recommend giving that a try!
For the taco shell, I use corn tortillas that I heat up in a pan prior to use. You can use small or large flour tortillas. You can even skip the taco part completely and make them into a burrito.
There are a lot of pickled elements on these tacos, the zesty tangy flavours work well with the chicken. The zest can be a lot for some people and that is where the crema comes in clutch. The crema is fresh, bright and very cooling. It mellows out the zesty flavors of the pickled items. If you do not want to make the crema you can swap it out for sour cream!
trulocal
I created this recipe for truLocal aka my all time favourite meat company. Their filet mignon is superb, its next level, cuts like butter. truLocal works with local farmers to provide you with the highest quality meat. I notice the difference of quality in my food and I highly recommend you check them out! If you decide you want to give them a try, you can use my link truLocal or my code at checkout (TRUSALTEDSUNDAY) and you will get 4 chicken breasts and 1lb of bacon free in your first 2 orders! They have the best bacon around so I recommend grabbing that while you can! If you have questions about them, send me a message!
if you make this recipe, be sure to tag me on instagram or leave a comment below!
fried chicken tacos
Ingredients
Fried Chicken
- 6 chicken breasts cut into 1" cubes, I use truLocal chicken
- 4 cups milk
- ⅔ cups white vinegar
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 lime juiced
- 5 tsp garlic powder
- 4 tsp kosher salt
- 3 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp cayenne
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 ½ tsp dried thyme
- 2 cups flour can sub gluten free 1-to-1 flour
Slaw
- 1 bag coleslaw mix
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 tbsp soy sauce can sub tamari
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp paprika
Crema
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp cilantro finely chopped
- ½ lime juiced + zest
- salt
Additional
- pickled jalapeños
- pickled onions
- pickles
- cilantro
- corn tortillas
- 4 – 5 cups canola oil
Instructions
Fried Chicken
- Clean chicken and cut into 1" cubes.
- In a large bowl mix together milk + vinegar and set aside for 20 minutes. You can skip this and just use buttermilk if you prefer.
- In a small bowl mix together kosher salt, garlic powder, thyme, cayenne, paprika + onion powder. Mix to combine. Add half of the mixture to the buttermilk bowl and set the other half aside.
- Add hot sauce + lime juice to the buttermilk bowl, whisk to combine. Add chicken and mix once more until chicken is well coated, cover and let marinate for a minimum of 1 hour to overnight.
- In a large pot or wok, add canola oil and heat over medium high heat. While the oil is heating, mix together your flour and remaining spice mix.
- Once oil is hot and ready (you can test this by adding a small piece of chicken to the oil), dip your wet chicken into your dry flour mix, tossing to coat and then add to hot oil.
- Cook your chicken in 3 – 4 batches. Cook your chicken for 7 – 10 minutes or until golden brown, it will vary based on the size of your pieces. Once cooked, set chicken on a paper towel lined baking sheet to drain and then set aside for assembly.
Slaw
- For slaw, mix together soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, paprika + lime juice together in a small bowl. Pour over coleslaw mix and toss to combine.
Crema
- For crema, add sour cream, mayonnaise, cilantro, lime juice + lime zest to a small bowl and whisk to combine. If you want a thinner crema, add additional lime juice.
Assembly
- To assemble, heat up your tortillas in a pan until warm. Place fried chicken, coleslaw, crema, pickles, pickled onions, pickled jalapeños + cilantro in your warm tortilla and enjoy!
