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These tacos have no business being SO DELICIOUS!! What a wonderful answer to that monthly question of “What can/should I do with this one lb of ground meat?” Thank you so so much for our new fun lunch!!
Meg
Chicken Caesar Salad, But Fold It Up And Dunk It!
In other words, my dream come true.
I’ve seen a few videos for this method, and I felt like I needed to give it a try, and I WAS CORRECT. What a genius little dinner invention for people who love chicken caesar salad and want to eat it in every available form (it’s me)!
These are crispy taco-like handhelds, golden and crispy outsides that kind of shatter when you bite into them, with seasoned ground chicken and shreddy Caesar salad + pepperoncini smashed inside?!
Dunked in a Caesar sauce?!?!
Holy smokes! They are so yummy. And so easy.
These fall in the same family as the black bean crispies or the pizza burgers – quick little hitters that require very little from you but actually end up being some of the meals you look forward to most.
Hope you love them!
How To Make These Smash Tacos (Video)
Chicken Caesar Smash Tacos
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Super fun easy dinner – chicken caesar smash tacos! A crispy golden handheld with seasoned ground chicken and shredded caesar salad. It’s so good!
Ingredients
Caesar Sauce:
- 1/2 cup mayo
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tablespoon Dijon
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 clove garlic, grated
- salt to taste
Caesar Salad:
- 1/2 head romaine, finely shredded (2–3 cups)
- 1/2 cup pepperoncini, sliced
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Chicken Caesar Smash Tacos:
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s aglio olio seasoning, or any chicken seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6–8 small flour tortillas (I use La Banderita “Street Taco” tortillas for this)
- avocado oil for frying
Instructions
- Make Your Caesar Sauce: Whisk sauce ingredients until smooth.
- Mix Your Salad: Toss romaine, pepperoncini, parmesan, and about half of the Caesar sauce until well-combined. (For the remaining sauce – whisk it with 1-2 tablespoons of water to make it smoother for dunking.)
- Prep the Tacos: Mix the seasoning into the ground chicken. Place your tortillas on a large cutting board or tray; spread each tortilla with some of the ground chicken mixture, pushing it all the way to the edges or even slightly past.
- Smash and Fry the Tacos: Heat a thin layer of oil over medium heat (2 tablespoons or more will give you the best crispy crust). Working in batches, place the tortilla chicken-side down and press down with a spatula for 15-30 seconds. Cook for another 2-3 minutes until the chicken is browned and fully cooked. Flip to the other side for another minute to get a bit of crisping on the back side of the tortilla.
- Almost Done: Remove tacos from skillet and fold in half (the tortilla may crackle a bit when you fold them – that’s fine!). If needed, place on a baking sheet and pop in a warm oven until you’re ready to serve. When you’re ready to eat, stuff the Caesar salad inside the tacos!
- Serving: Serve alongside a dish of the remaining Caesar sauce for dipping. YUM!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: caesar tacos, smash tacos, caesar salad, easy dinner
Our family has already had this twice now & my son asked me to send him the recipe. It’s been a big hit!
These were easy to make and a hit with my whole family. I used our favorite store bought Caesar to save time. I will definitely be making them again!
I’ve tried several chicken Caesar smashed taco recipes – this one wins! Thank you! You also found another way for me to use my TJs Aglio Olio seasoning. Yummy!
I just made this for dinner tonight and what a fun twist on both a salad and a taco! Definitely going in my rotation.
Love the variations you added in this recipe. I was little concerned about calories but it was ok untill you are having a taco 😄
Made these for my teen daughter and friends and everyone loved them! I used carb balance tortillas to add extra fiber to the meal and they worked great. The biggest surprise to me was how good the caesar sauce was! We were all dunking every bite! It is so simple and quick to make, there is absolutely no reason to sub for grocery store caesar dressing. This will be added to our regular recipe rotation!
I love Pinch of Yum recipes and I’m excited to try this one! Can the sourdough Siete tortillas be used in place of the flour?
Yes!
We really enjoyed this for dinner tonight! One of my favorite meals at 2000s-era Chilis used to be their “chicken caesar pita” and this brought that back to mind in all the best ways.
This was so good! My spouse is often skeptical about new things/things he doesn’t pick out and this was such a hit – he absolutely destroyed 4 of them! We’ve made variations on the recipe since and the Caesar dressing on its own multiple times (honestly I think it’s comparable to the fussier version we used to make sometimes with anchovies!)
We made it with corn tortillas we had on hand and it worked great! The meat didn’t really stick to them but they didn’t get crumbly or fall apart.
Lindsay,
Do you have a favorite non-stick skillet? Just when I think I’ve found a good one, I see the coating flaking off…
thanks,
Carol
I am planning to make these tomorrow …what can I serve with them to make it more of. a meal/dinner? Thanks!
You could serve with the potato wedges from this recipe!
I tried these and my whole family loved them. Wondering if it would work spraying them lightly with oil and baking them?
You could certainly try that!
These were SO good!! The pepperoncini is the perfect addition. I served them with roasted sweet potato fries. My husband absolutely loved them!
that sounds like an awesome meal!
Wow this was easy and absolutely delicious!
I even swapped chicken for turkey, Trader Joe seasoning with McCormick’s Poultry seasoning, and the mayo with Follow Your Heart Vegemaise mayo.
I will be making this one a lot
Fabulous! Made twice and they are mouthwateringly good
This was so easy and delicious! Hubby loved it. We made it with Siete tortillas and it worked great. Would make a double batch next time so we have leftovers for lunch.
Is there an easy way you would make the dressing dairy free? Adding in the Parmesan after is one way I’ll do it, but do you think all mayo, rather than yogurt, would still taste ok?
Yes, it’s great that way too!
Quick question. Would ground turkey work as well in this, or would it be too dry?
Yes, works well!
Everyone in my family enjoyed this! So good.
My almost 6 year old said “these tacos are 10/10! If I could choose anyone to marry me I would choose these tacos”
I loved how easy they were after a long day at work. I didn’t have time to make the dressing so I used a Cesar salad kit and it was delicious. Will try the homemade dressing soon.
Such a good recipe! We all loved these and will definitely make them again for a weeknight supper. Easy, fresh, and definitely different than regular tacos. I didn’t have the Trader Joe’s aglio olio seasoning, so I looked up how to make my own on the internet. Still so good!
One of the best things I have made in a long time!
Another delicious recipe. Everyone raved about how yummy they were. I could just eat the salad by itself!
I forgot to put the 5 stars!
Is the pepperoncini you used fresh or pickled?
pickled!
This looks so yummy! My question is working in batches like that with one at a time. How do you keep them warm and crispy enough to make for family of five or six?
you can put on a sheetpan and keep in a 200 degree oven without toppings to keep warm.