Chicken Taco-Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Prep Time: 2 hours | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes | Serves: 4
I am in love with my DIY Taco Seasoning. Finding ways to use it is super-fun and tastes so yummy! See the links below for more recipes that use my taco seasoning.
The time accounted for in the recipe is 2 hours and 45 minutes. I marinate my chicken for 2 hours. You are welcome to cut that time down for a quicker dinner. Of course, the longer you marinate, the better the flavor will be. And pounding your chicken to about an inch thickness will help in a shorter cook time.
A note on potatoes… scrub them! Even if you purchase ones that come wrapped in plastic that boast they’re washed and ready to be microwaved in their wrapper, unwrap them and scrub them. They are still dirty. You can feel the grit when you unwrap them. Just take the extra time to scrub, dry them, and coat with oil, salt, and pepper. You can still use the microwave to cook them, but they’ll at least be clean.
This recipe makes a “wet rub” for the chicken. It is basically a dry rub with minimal wet ingredients like oil, broth/water, and an/or an acid like lime juice. The main ingredient in this wet rub is my DIY Taco Seasoning, which creates a wonderful-tasting chicken to shred for baked potatoes. Any leftover shredded chicken can be used for tacos, taco salad, or frozen for a later use.
There are a few different ways you can cook your potatoes. The recipe instructions and Notes below the recipe give some ideas.
Top with any of your favorite toppings. I have listed quite a few, but feel free to add any you may love!
Enjoy!
Chicken Taco-Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Ingredients
Wet Rub:
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning, my DIY Taco Seasoning, or a 1-ounce store-bought packet
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, or to taste
- freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
- 2 - 3 tablespoons low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 - 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- 2 chicken breasts, flattened slightly if very thick
Potatoes:
- 4 baking potatoes, scrubbed
- 3 tablespoons oil, divided
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly-cracked black pepper, to taste
Toppings:
- Butter
- Shredded cheese
- Queso
- Sour cream/crema
- Salsa
- Jalapenos
- Sliced green onions
Instructions
- Pour the taco seasoning, oil, lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste in a zip-top bag, and seal. “Massage” the bag to distribute the marinade evenly. It will be paste-like. If you want the marinade more fluid, add more stock.
- Place the chicken breasts in the bag. Massage the bag to thoroughly and evenly coat the chicken.
- Marinate the chicken in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes, up to 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Prick the potatoes all over with a fork.
- Rub the potatoes with 2 tablespoons of the oil, salt and pepper to taste.
- Bake the potatoes in the preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour, or until a fork pierces easily to the center of the potato. See Notes for alternative cooking methods.
- If you can time it, in the last 20 minutes of the potatoes cooking, remove the chicken from the marinade (discard marinade).
- In a skillet or shallow pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil. Saute the chicken breasts, browning both sides, and cooking until a thermometer reads 165 degrees. Remove the chicken to a cutting board. Rest for about 10 minutes.
- Using two forks, shred the chicken, cover and keep warm. Alternatively, you can thinly slice the chicken.
- When the potatoes are finished cooking, remove them from the oven, carefully (potatoes will be HOT) cut a slit in the top of each one and top as desired.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
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