BBQ Chicken Tacos with charred tortillas are loaded with tangy sauced chicken, a black-bean-veggie mix, and the best creamy cilantro sauce.
Pair these tacos with an easy salad like Panzanella Salad or Fruit Salad Recipe.
BBQ Chicken Tacos
Life gets busy, so I’m always looking for ways to keep meals simple. Tacos are one of the first things that come to mind—and while ground beef tacos make it to my table almost every week, I’ve taken easy to the next level with these BBQ chicken tacos!
Thanks to a few shortcut ingredients, they come together in minutes. I top them with my go-to creamy cilantro lime sauce (I almost always have a jar in my fridge!).
Ingredients In BBQ Chicken Tacos
- Rotisserie Chicken and BBQ Sauce: Use your favorite BBQ sauce, I love Stubbs.
- Cherry Tomatoes and Red Onion: Chop them small so they mix in well.
- Black Bean and Corn: Rinse beans and thaw corn before using.
- Tortillas: Warm or toast them so they bend without breaking.
- Green Cabbage: Mix with sauce just before serving to keep it crisp.
- Cilantro Lime Sauce: Make it ahead of time—it tastes even better after sitting in the fridge.
How To Make BBQ Chicken Tacos
- Sauce: Blend lime juice and zest, garlic, cilantro, jalapeño, mayo, and sour cream. Refrigerate.
- Chicken: Mix shredded rotisserie chicken with BBQ sauce. Warm if needed.
- Veggies: Combine chopped tomatoes, red onion, black beans, and corn.
- Cabbage: Toss shredded cabbage with some cilantro-lime sauce.
- Tortillas: Grill or microwave until warm, then fold BBQ Chicken Tacos.
- Assemble: Layer cabbage, BBQ chicken, and veggies on tortillas. Add optional avocado and cilantro. Drizzle with sauce and serve.
Quick Tip
If you have time, make the creamy cilantro-lime sauce in advance; it gets more and more flavorful as it sits! Plus, with the sauce done, dinner assembly is a breeze!
Toppings
- Avocado: Add thin slices to each taco or mash with salt, pepper, and lime juice to make guacamole. Skip if you don’t like avocado.
- Veggie Salad: Mix drained black beans, thawed corn, halved cherry tomatoes, and chopped red onion. You can swap in red bell pepper if you’d like.
- Cilantro: Sprinkle chopped cilantro on top of the BBQ Chicken Tacos, if desired.
- More Sauce: Drizzle extra cilantro-lime sauce over the tacos right before serving.
More Taco Recipes
BBQ Chicken Tacos
These BBQ Chicken Tacos with charred tortillas are loaded with saucy chicken, a black bean veggie mix, and a creamy cilantro-lime sauce!
Equipment
- Blender or mini food processor
Ingredients
Tacos
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce
- 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
- 1/3 cup diced red onion
- 1 (15-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn thawed, or corn cut from a cob
- 12 to 15 corn tortillas or flour tortillas, street-taco-sized
- 3 cups shredded green cabbage
- Serving suggestions see note 1
- Cooking spray optional
Cilantro Lime Sauce
- 2 limes
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 of a large bunch cilantro 1 loosely packed cup
- 1/2 jalapeño 1 heaping tablespoon, or 1 full jalapeño for spicier dressing
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/2 cup sour cream I use fat-free
Instructions
- Zest and juice limes to get 1/2 teaspoon zest and 3 tablespoons juice. Add juice and zest to a blender or mini food processor with minced garlic, cilantro, 1/2 the seeded jalapeño (or more for a spicier sauce; add slowly if you like less heat), mayo, and sour cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Blend or pulse until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
- Pull chicken from the bones and shred or chop. Add BBQ sauce and mix to combine. If chicken is cold, warm it through in a pan over low heat.
- In a large bowl, combine chopped cherry tomatoes, diced red onion, drained and rinsed black beans, and corn.
- Remove 1/2 cup of the cilantro-lime sauce, and toss it with shredded green cabbage to combine. Set aside.
- Spray both sides of the tortillas with cooking spray and “grill” tortillas on stovetop over the open flame until slightly charred. Alternatively, warm (covered with a damp paper towel) in the microwave. After tortillas have been warmed or charred, quickly fold them in half so they will fold easily when assembled.
- To the tortilla, add the dressed cabbage, a few spoonfuls of BBQ chicken, and a few spoonfuls of the veggies. If desired, add avocado and fresh cilantro to each taco. Drizzle with extra cilantro-lime sauce and enjoy!
Video
Recipe Notes
Note 1: Here are some optional serving suggestions: fresh cilantro, fresh limes, and 1 large avocado.
Storage: Store leftover BBQ chicken, black bean mix, and sauce separately in airtight containers in the fridge. Leftovers will last up to 3–4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
Serving: 1taco | Calories: 302kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 339mg | Potassium: 316mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 222IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These were excellent – my whole family loved them! They come together quickly and are easy!
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks so much Shannon!
I’ve made this recipe a couple of times, my husband requests it. If I don’t feel like making the sauce I just drizzle on homemade ranch dressing. Five stars, delicious tacos!
I love it! Thanks so much for your comment Mollie! 🙂
Very good and tasty. My husband liked it. I made his cream with the spices in it. I’m not a very spicy person, so I left those out. We enjoyed it.
So thrilled these were a hit!
How do you recommend charring the corn tortillas without a gas stove? Is there a method for an electric range or another technique entirely? Thank you.
I’d spray both sides with cooking spray and cook in a heated skillet over medium high heat until lightly charred, maybe 15-20 seconds per side?
Can I make this with boneless skinless chicken thighs instead ??
Absolutely! 🙂
making these for the second time tonight! thanks for the great recipe!
Oh yay! So great to hear! Thanks for the comment 🙂
these tacos look amazing!
Taco night is always one of our very favorites! These look fantastic Chelsea! Have a great weekend!!
These tacos are just calling my name, Chelsea!