Once-A-Week Ground Chicken Tacos (15 Minutes)

• servings: 3 servings
• active time: 5 minutes
• total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound 93% lean ground chicken (see Recipe Notes)

3 tablespoons olive oil

½ yellow onion, finely diced

kosher salt and ground black pepper, to season

1 tablespoon tomato paste

homemade taco seasoning (below, see Recipe Notes)

½ cup water

for serving, as desired: flour tortillas, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream or avocado crema, salsa of choice, guacamole or mashed avocado, cilantro, etc.

1 heaping tablespoon chili powder

2 heaping teaspoons ground cumin

1 heaping teaspoon garlic powder

1 heaping teaspoon onion powder

1 heaping teaspoon dried oregano

1 heaping teaspoon smoked paprika

1 heaping teaspoon kosher salt

1 heaping teaspoon brown sugar

optional: up to ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Directions

Cook the aromatics

Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot and shimmering, add the onion. Season with a good pinch of kosher salt (a pinch of garlic powder is also delicious!) and ground black pepper as desired. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden and fragrant, 3-4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Cook 1-2 minutes longer, until the tomato paste is darkened in color.

Brown the ground chicken

Push the onion mixture to the side of the skillet. Place the ground chicken in the skillet and press it down into a thin, flat layer. Cook 2 minutes, until slightly browned, then flip and cook 1-2 minutes longer. Once the chicken is nearly cooked through, use a wooden spoon or a meat chopper to break it into fine crumbles and mix with the onions.

Season and simmer:

Add the taco seasoning to the skillet, stirring to evenly coat the chicken mixture. Pour in the water and simmer until thickened slightly, 1-2 minutes longer. Remove from the heat.

Serve

the chicken taco meat as desired. We love making ground chicken tacos with warm flour tortillas, shredded cheese, shredded lettuce, and sour cream, though the seasoned taco meat is also great on nachos, taco salads, burrito bowls, and tostadas. Enjoy!

Nutrition

• Calories: 237
• Total Fat: 16.2 g
• Saturated Fat: 3.6 g
• Trans Fat: 0.1 g
• Cholesterol: 97.5 mg
• Sodium: 226.5 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 3.6 g
• Dietary Fiber: 0.6 g
• Total Sugars: 2.1 g
• Protein: 20.2 g