Healthy Chicken Tacos
These chicken tacos are a quick, healthy meal! The filling makes a tasty taco, or you can use it to top a salad. I like mine garnished with lettuce, cheese, salsa, sour cream and guacamole, but then youll have to rethink the healthy part!
These chicken tacos are a quick, healthy meal! The filling makes a tasty taco, or you can use it to top a salad. I like mine garnished with lettuce, cheese, salsa, sour cream and guacamole, but then youll have to rethink the healthy part!
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1 dash tabasco sauce
- 1 whole medium onion chopped
- 1 can tomato sauce (8 ounces)
- 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon seasoned salt (lawry's)
- 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
- 3- 1/2 cups cooked chicken chopped
- 10 whole taco shells or flour tortillias
- Carbohydrate 25.108950004325 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 15.5033900013261 g
- Fiber 7.37568752776237 g
- Protein 6.06783187597007 g
- Saturated Fat 1.25708712523366 g
- Serving Size 1 1 recipe (534g)
- Sodium 2101.80143758392 mg
- Sugar 17.7332624765626 g
- Trans Fat 0.520253000219568 g
- Calories 240 calories
Step-by-step
- Place canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add the chopped onion and garlic; saute’ until onion starts to soften and become translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Reduce heat to medium and add the tomato sauce, water, spices, Tabasco and chicken; simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Heat taco shells or tortillas according to package directions, fill with chicken and add your favorite toppings!
Swapping chopped raw chicken breast for pre-cooked poultry alters how the protein binds with moisture, requiring shorter simmer times to prevent tough, rubbery fibers. Ground cumin and chili powder contain fat-soluble aromatic compounds that require initial blooming in the canola oil at medium-high heat to extract maximum flavor before the liquid ingredients dilute the pan.
Managing Moisture and Starch
Simmering the chopped onions, garlic, tomato sauce, and water for eight to ten minutes reduces free water activity. This concentration step allows the tomato solids to coat the poultry pieces rather than pooling at the base of the skillet. Stop reducing once the mixture reaches a thick, clinging consistency; prolonged heat beyond ten minutes drives out too much moisture, causing the lean chicken meat to tighten excessively and dry out.
Achieving Structural Contrast
Crisp taco shells demand external thermal manipulation separate from the simmering filling. Exposing tortillas to direct dry heat gelatinizes remaining starches and toasts surface proteins through the Maillard reaction. Fill the warmed shells immediately before serving to prevent moisture migration from the warm tomato-chicken mixture from dissolving the brittle structural walls of the corn or flour casing.
