Grilled Chicken Tacos with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

2 reviews

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It’s time to leave bland, boring chicken tacos by the wayside. These grilled chicken tacos are seasoned with a punchy taco seasoning and topped with homemade roasted tomatillo salsa for a chicken taco that puts all others to shame.

Grilled chicken tacos loaded with cilantro and cheese with text overlay - Grilled Chicken Tacos.

Grilled Chicken Tacos

It’s always a good day for tacos in my mind. And when you have tacos THIS delicious, every day probably needs to be Taco Tuesday. I’ve found that all it takes is a good seasoning and some extra fun toppings to take a bland taco and make it memorable.

These grilled chicken tacos are anything but spectacular. These are bold chicken tacos with all the robust flavors of the grill and a fresh grill-roasted tomatillo salsa that will liven up your regular old weekday.

Chicken being seasoned with Hey Grill Hey Fiesta Rub.

Ingredients for Grilled Chicken Tacos

Here’s what you’ll need to make these tacos.

My Hey Grill Hey Fiesta Rub is the perfect taco seasoning for all your Mexican and Mexican-inspired meals. You can purchase a bottle from the Hey Grill Hey Store or make some from scratch using my recipe for Homemade Fiesta Rub.

These tacos also have an amazing roasted tomatillo salsa that makes them extra flavorful. Here’s what you’ll need to make this salsa:

  • 4 tomatillos
  • 1 jalapeno
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 medium yellow onion
  • 1 Tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 cup cilantro
  • juice of 2 limes
  • Hey Grill Hey Fiesta Rub, to taste

Chicken thighs on the grill.

How to Make Grilled Chicken Tacos

Let’s fire up the grill and make ourselves some tasty grilled chicken tacos!

  1. Preheat. Get that grill nice and hot at 450 degrees F. You also want to ensure that the grill heat is consistent across the grates for the best results.
  2. Grill the veggies. Add the veggies to a grill basket and drizzle with avocado oil. Grill them up for around 5 minutes and then set them aside to later make into the salsa.
  3. Season. Snag a bottle of Hey Grill Hey Fiesta Rub and season the chicken on all sides.
  4. Grill the chicken. Place the seasoned chicken directly on those perfectly preheated grill grates. Grill for 4-5 minutes, flip and continue to grill until the chicken reaches 175 degrees F (these are chicken thighs, so they are best cooked to 175 degrees F instead of 165 degrees F).
  5. Make the salsa. Place all the grilled veggies in a blender with cilantro and lime juice. Blend well. Add in Fiesta Rub to taste. You can also season with simple salt and pepper instead of the Fiesta Rub if desired.
  6. Heat the tortillas. Before you turn off the grill, toss the tortillas on there to heat them through.
  7. Assemble the grilled chicken tacos. Remove the warmed tortillas from the grill to a serving platter with the chicken, toppings, and salsa. Allow your guests to assemble their tacos themselves, or dish them up before serving warm.

Seasoned chicken breast on the grill reading 175 degrees F.

Tips for Grilling Chicken Tacos

Here are some tips for making these amazing grilled chicken tacos.

  • Make a double batch of salsa. This recipe will make enough salsa to cover all of your tacos, but if you love a good tomatillo salsa make double! This gives you extras for a snack the next day, but I also believe that salsa sometimes tastes better after the flavors have had a chance to meld together overnight.
  • Prep your ingredients before you start cooking. This little bit of prep work makes the final assembly process go much smoother. The best tacos have warm tortillas, hot meat, and fresh toppings and if you’re taking too long to crumble your queso fresco after your chicken is cooked, you’ll be eating cold tacos.
  • Shoot for even heat on the grill. Normally, I recommend two-zone heat for better temperature control, but we need the grill space to fit the salsa and the chicken. A nice even high temperature of around 450 degrees F will cook everything perfectly while giving you some good crispy char on both the vegetables and the chicken.

Grilled chicken tacos loaded with cilantro and cheese.

More Grilled Taco Recipes

Check out these other tasty grilled taco recipes from Hey Grill Hey below!

Grilled Chicken Taco Recipe

Follow the recipe, and let’s make some really good food! If you loved this recipe, please leave it a 5-star review and sound off in the comments section below!

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Grilled Chicken Tacos

By: Susie Bulloch
5 from 2 votes
It's time to leave bland, boring chicken tacos by the wayside. These grilled chicken tacos are seasoned with a punchy taco seasoning and topped with homemade roasted tomatillo salsa for a chicken taco that puts all others to shame.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings6 people

Video

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Ingredients
 

  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 2 Tablespoons Hey Grill Hey Fiesta Rub recipe in notes section
  • 12 flour or corn tortillas
  • assorted taco toppings I like cilantro, onions, lime wedges, and queso fresco

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Instructions
 

  • Preheat. Preheat your grill to 450 degrees F with even heat across the grill grates.
  • Grill the veggies. In a grill basket, add the tomatillos, jalapeno, garlic, and onion. Drizzle with the avocado oil and toss lightly to coat. Place the basket on the grill and close the lid. Cook for 5-7 minutes, flipping the vegetables occasionally. Remove the roasted vegetables from the grill and set aside to cool.
  • Season. Season the chicken thighs on all sides with Fiesta Rub.
  • Grill the chicken. Place the seasoned chicken thighs on the grill grates, close the lid, and grill for 4-5 minutes before flipping. Close the lid and continue grilling until an internal thermometer reads 175 degrees F. Remove the chicken to a platter and tent lightly with foil. Rest for 10 minutes before chopping.
  • Prepare the salsa. Transfer the roasted and cooled vegetables to a blender or food processor. Add in the fresh cilantro and lime juice. Puree until desired consistency and add in the Fiesta Rub (or salt and pepper) to taste and transfer to a serving dish.
  • Assemble the toppings. Prepare your cheese, cilantro, lime wedges, and onions.
  • Heat the tortillas. Use the hot grill to thoroughly heat your tortillas.
  • Assemble. Load the hot tortillas with grilled chicken, tomatillo salsa, and all of your favorite toppings before serving.

Notes

Fiesta Rub

Nutrition

Calories: 334kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 144mg | Sodium: 228mg | Potassium: 581mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 358IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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About

FOUNDER/BBQ BOSS LADY

Susie is the BBQ Brain behind the Hey Grill Hey website. Her passion for smoked meats and developing fun, new recipes have landed her on the Food Network, cooking turkeys with Shaq, and on a couple of Guinness World Records. When she’s not grilling, she is hanging out with Todd and their three kids, preferably outdoors!

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Recipe Rating




Reader Reviews

2 Reviews

  1. John says:

    Wow! I made these tacos last night, big hit with my guests! The roasted tomatillo salsa will become a staple in the refrigerator. Super easy and terrific flavor, better than any salsa verde I’ve purchased in stores.

  2. Charlene says:

    These are so easy to make yet packed with flavor! Followed the recipe exactly and loved the fiesta rub. Thank you!!