Chili-Lime Skillet Chicken Tacos
Diced chicken thighs seared hard in a chili-lime rub, piled into charred tortillas with a crunchy lime-cabbage slaw.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Written
Method
-
Toss the diced chicken with the chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, and salt until evenly coated.
-
Stir the cabbage with the juice of one lime and the mayonnaise in a bowl and set aside to soften while you cook the chicken.
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat until shimmering, then add the chicken in a single layer and let it sit undisturbed for 2 minutes until the underside is deeply browned.
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Stir and continue cooking until the chicken is browned all over and cooked through, another 4-5 minutes.
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Warm the tortillas directly over a gas flame or in a dry skillet until charred in spots and pliable.
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Fill the tortillas with the chicken, top with the lime slaw, cotija, and cilantro, and serve with the remaining lime wedges.
Notes
The dice matters more than the marinade here: cut the thighs small and they cook through in the same five minutes it takes to get real color, so you get char without dry meat. Skip the slaw’s rest time and it’s just wet cabbage — even five minutes in the lime and mayo turns it into something closer to a quick coleslaw.
No cotija on hand, queso fresco or a squeeze of crema works just as well. This also holds up as a make-ahead lunch: keep the chicken, slaw, and tortillas separate and build it cold.