Chicken Caesar Smash Tacos
Seasoned ground chicken smashed onto tortillas and pan-fried into crispy golden shells, then stuffed with crunchy shredded caesar salad and pepperoncini. Two viral trends in one handheld — smash tacos meets chicken caesar — with extra sauce for dunking.
Prep
10 min
Cook
15 min
Total
25 min
Serves
6
Ingredients
Caesar sauce
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp 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
Smash tacos
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 tbsp garlic-herb chicken seasoning (aglio e olio style)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 6–8 small flour tortillas (street taco size)
- Avocado oil, for frying
Method
- 1
Whisk all the caesar sauce ingredients together until smooth.
- 2
Toss the shredded romaine, pepperoncini and Parmesan with about half the sauce until coated. Thin the remaining sauce with 1–2 tablespoons of water for dipping.
- 3
Mix the seasoning, salt and pepper into the ground chicken. Lay the tortillas on a board and spread a thin layer of chicken over each, pressing it right to the edges.
- 4
Heat a thin layer of avocado oil in a skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, lay each tortilla in chicken-side down and press firmly with a spatula for 15–30 seconds.
- 5
Cook 2–3 minutes until the chicken is browned and cooked through, then flip and crisp the tortilla side for another minute.
- 6
Fold each taco in half — a little crackle is normal — and keep warm in a low oven if working in batches.
- 7
Stuff the folded tacos generously with the caesar salad and serve with the thinned sauce for dunking.
- 8
bon appetit
Tips
- Spread the chicken thin and to the very edge — that's what makes the crispy lacy crust.
- Press hard with the spatula in the first 30 seconds; that's the "smash" that fuses chicken to tortilla.
- Stuff with salad just before eating so the crunch stays crunchy.
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