Chipotle Chicken Tacos: Make This Simple and Spicy Recipe

Looking to give your taco Tuesday a sweet and spicy kick? Look no further than my chipotle chicken tacos with pineapple and avocado salsa! The smoky – spiciness balances perfectly with the sweet pineapple and the avocado gives a gentle coolness. Slap some cheddar cheese on that and you have a savory contrast in one delicious bite.

And for those of you wondering, “what is a chipotle pepper anyway?” Well, wonder no more. It is actually a smoked, dried, ripe jalapeno pepper and it’s so good someone named a whole restaurant chain just after this very pepper. The peppers are found dried, but more often, in a can, soaking in a lovely adobo sauce. I am using dried for this recipe, but feel free to use the adobo version (no need to steam it in that case!).

The chipotle in these chipotle chicken tacos are it. The perfect tacos of shredded chicken in a lovely chipotle sauce combined with a fresh pineapple, avocado salsa, shredded cheese, and extra crunch from purple cabbage will make you want taco Tuesday every night. So give in and enjoy these tacos and let me know how you like them compared to my chicken fajitas!

Serves 4 – 6

Tools Needed:

A food processor to make the sauce and perhaps a mixer to shred the chicken, but you could also do it by hand. I use a Kenwood mixer and it has been life changing.

Wine Pairing Suggestion:

Skip the wine tonight and go straight for a spicy or skinny margarita!

Ingredients:

For the chipotle chicken:

2 large chicken breasts

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

4 dried chipotles (or 1/2 can of chipotles in adobo)

1/2 onion, sliced

4 cups of chicken stock

Juice of 1/2 lime

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 teaspoons of salt; divided

1 teaspoon of pepper

1 teaspoon of chili powder

For the pineapple avocado salsa:

1/2 cup pineapple, finley diced

1 avocado, finely diced

1/2 red onion, finely diced

1 jalapeno, finely diced

Juice of the other half of the lime

1/2 cup of cilantro finely diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

For the tacos:

12 corn tortillas, warmed

1 cup of red cabbage, shredded (or iceberg lettuce if you prefer)

Plenty of cheddar cheese

Instructions:

1. Add the chicken breasts, chipotle peppers, smashed garlic, lime juice, sliced onion, and plenty of salt into a stock pot with the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 20 minutes.
2. In the meantime, make the pineapple avocado salsa by combining all of the ingredients and mixing well.
3. Drain the chicken, reserving about 1/2 cup of the liquid. Allow to slightly cool.
4. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the chicken breasts with 2 forks or with your magic mixer.
5. In a food processor, combine the sliced onion, smashed garlic, chipotle peppers, tomato paste, salt, pepper, and chili powder with 1/2 cup of the chicken stock. Pulse to combine.
6. Pour the chipotle sauce over the shredded chicken and mix well.
7. To prepare the perfect taco, take one tortilla and add a half handful of cheese. Top it with about 2 tablespoon of the shredded chicken and 1 heaping tablespoon of the pineapple salsa. Top with a smattering of purple cabbage and you got yourself one delicious chipotle chicken taco.

If you like this, you will absolutely love my chicken tinga tacos!