Chipotle Chicken & Bell Pepper Tacos

These chipotle chicken and bell pepper tacos are loaded with all things good- juicy, smoky-sweet chicken, colorful bell peppers, creamy guacamole and salty cotija cheese. And the best part? You can have them on the table in about an hour!

Perfect. Weeknight. Dinner.

Do you celebrate Taco Tuesday?

What’s not to love about Taco Tuesday? It’s flexible & fast & always feels a little bit like a party. And really, you can have Taco Tuesday any day of the week because it comes together quickly.

We have lots of variations of taco night at our house depending on what’s in the fridge/freezer/pantry and who’s going to be sitting around the table that night. The type of meat and sauces/salsas may change but we always have these bell peppers & onions, a choice of flour or corn tortillas and LOTS of guacamole.

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Isn’t Chipotle a Restaurant?

Chipotles are dried, smoked jalapenos. Adobo is a smoky, sweet sauce. This recipe calls for chipotles in adobo, which you can find in short cans at the grocery store (check the international or Latin aisle). You won’t use the entire can for this recipe but you can store the remainder, covered, in the fridge for 1-2 months (I suggest transferring from the can to a glass jar or container). I find myself adding it to everything from salad dressings, to soups to eggs.

The first step to making these tacos is to make the chipotle dressing. You’ll use part of it as a marinade for the chicken and serve the remainder to drizzle over your finished tacos. I have to thank my daughter, Hannah, for introducing me to this chipotle dressing because it’s become a staple ingredient at our house. I almost always have a jar of it in my fridge because it’s that good!

Because GUACAMOLE :)!

Ok. I am a huge guacamole fan! The main ingredients for guacamole are ripe avocados, fresh cilantro, and lime juice- you can’t have guac without them. For my guacamole I also use finely diced red onion, garlic and green hot sauce. This version is simple and quick and you can feel free to spice it up with diced hot peppers, add some chipotles for smokiness, a little diced tomato or whatever else your heart desires. Check out this guacamole post for more on choosing avocados, storage and how-to!

Flatten Your Chicken Breasts

Why? Because they’ll absorb more marinade, cook faster and cook more evenly. Place them between two pieces of plastic wrap or in a large ziplock freezer bag and lightly pound from the center out until they’re an even thickness of about 1/2 inch. Don’t pound too hard or you’ll tear them. You can use a mallet, a rolling pin, or even the rounded side of a can from your pantry. I found this mallet on Amazon last year and love it’s rounded sides and the way the weight is distributed.

While The Chicken Marinates…

• While the chicken marinates you’ll make the guacamole, cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the surface to keep it from browning, and set it aside to let the flavors develop.
• Next, preheat the oven to 350 and wrap your tortillas in foil.
• Cut up the onion and bell peppers. Place tortillas in the oven and set timer for 10 minutes.
• Sauté onions in a little oil for 3 minutes, stirring constantly so they don’t burn. Add peppers and continue stirring until crisp tender, about 4 minutes more. Remove from skillet, set aside on platter and cover to keep warm.
• In the same skillet you cooked the peppers and onion in, add a drizzle of oil and cook chicken 3 minutes per side, only lifting once to turn so that it develops a nice color. You may need to do this in batches if the pieces are large. Sprinkle with a little kosher salt when they’re done (for great flavor use the lime version of this citrus salt if you have it). Remove to a cutting board and cover with foil while you cook the rest of the chicken.
• When timer goes off, turn off the oven but leave tortillas inside the oven to stay warm.
• Cut chicken across the grain into thin slices and place on a platter with vegetables. Serve with guacamole, chipotle dressing, cotija cheese, sour cream and lime wedges.