Air Fryer Mini Tacos with Chicken and Ricotta Crema
Air fryer mini tacos – not just for taco Tuesday
If you’ve been here for a while, you’ve tried some of my favorite Mexican inspired dishes, like chili cheese enchiladas, air fryer beef taquitos or chicken enchilada casserole. For this recipe, I wanted to keep it classic, with the good old fashioned taco.
And the best way to eat tacos? In miniature form! I guarantee you, these mini chicken tacos will be a hit with the whole family. Kids, adults, grandma and grandpa will go crazy for these.
With crunchy shells, juicy chicken, shredded cheese and fresh ricotta crema, these crispy mini tacos make the perfect appetizer, delicious snack or weeknight meal. I added a recipe for homemade ricotta cilantro crema, but add your favorite dipping sauces and favorite toppings to make incredible tiny tacos.
For a full Mexican food buffet, make these tacos with my Easy Spanish Rice, 5 Layer Dip and beef and bean tostadas.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- 148 calories and 14g of protein per taco.
- Crispy chicken tacos in less than 30 minutes.
- Have as a quick snack or weeknight meal.
Can you make these tacos in the oven?
I use my air fryer all the time. From air fryer cauliflower bites to air fryer egg rolls, this little machine can do it all. I like cooking mini tacos in my COSORI Air Fryer because it’s the best way to get a crispy shell using less oil than pan frying. If you don’t have an air fryer or prefer to bake them, follow the same instructions listed below but bake on a baking sheet at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 14-18 minutes until crispy.
Can I make this gluten and dairy-free?
Yes. To make these gluten and dairy-free, use your favorite gluten-free tortillas and omit the cheese or use a dairy-free cheese. For the sauce, you need to substitute the ricotta and Greek yogurt with your dairy-free choice.
Ingredients and Substitutes:
These are the main ingredients and substitutions. See recipe card below for full ingredients list and instructions for this taco recipe.
Chicken Breast: ground chicken, ground turkey, ground beef, rotisserie chicken or just cheese
Mini Corn Tortillas: you can also use flour but corn will crisp up best
Taco Seasoning: use my homemade taco seasoning or purchase store-bought
Shredded Cheddar Cheese: or Mexican cheese blend
Ricotta Cheese: substitute with cottage cheese for a high protein twist
Greek Yogurt: can substitute with cottage cheese
Cilantro
Lime
Dietary Modifications
- To make these gluten-free use your favorite gluten-free tortillas.
- To make dairy-free omit the cheese or use a dairy-free cheese. For the sauce, you need to substitute the ricotta and Greek yogurt with a dairy-free option.
How to make Air Fryer Mini Tacos and Crema
Step 1: prep your chicken
Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the raw chicken breast. Boil for 15-20 minutes until no longer pink. Once cooked through, shred with a fork and add to a mixing bowl.
Step 2: prep your sauce
While the chicken is boiling prep your sauce. Add all the ingredients to a high-speed blender and blend until it is completely creamy and no chunks remain. Set aside for topping your tacos.
Step 3: season the chicken
Preheat the air fryer while you season the chicken with taco seasoning. Add 1/4 cup of water and mix together well so all of the chicken is covered in seasoning.
Step 4: prep the tortillas
Wet a paper towel and wrap the corn tortillas with the towel. Microwave for 20 seconds to soften so they’re easy to work with.
Step 5: fill the tacos
Spray the air fryer with non-stick cooking spray. Fill each taco with cheese and chicken – see notes. Fold in half and add to the air fryer pan. Spray the tops with cooking spray. Repeat for as many tacos that can fit in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
Step 6: cook the tacos
Cook the tacos in the air fryer at 400 degrees F for 4 minutes. Cooking time will vary depending on your air fryer, so check them and remove when taco shells are crispy and golden brown. and top with crema, chopped red onions and cilantro.
Add your favorite taco toppings
Top your air fryer tacos with crema, sour cream, chopped red onion, cilantro and extra shredded cheese. Or just eat them straight out of the air fryer.
Serving and storing notes
Serve the tacos as a stand-alone meal or with refried beans and rice on the side.
Store leftover tacos in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days. I suggest only making enough tacos you know you’ll eat, and store the meat in a separate container so the tortilla doesn’t get soggy.
If you do pre-make them and have extra, heat them in the air fryer to get them back to the original crisp.
Recipe Tips
- Microwave your tortillas in a wet paper towel before folding. This will help keep them from splitting down the center when stuffing and folding.
- Soak toothpicks in water while prepping and secure the tortillas with them in the air fryer.
- You can also add a “weight” by using a oven safe ramekin or similar to hold them down halfway through cooking if you do not want to use toothpicks.
Check out some of our other easy air fryer recipes!
- Air Fryer Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Air Fryer Teriyaki Chicken
- Air Fryer Breaded Pork Tenderloin
- Air Fryer Smashed Potatoes
- Air Fryer Carrots and Potatoes
If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!
Air Fryer Mini Tacos
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Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
Tacos
- 1 lbs. chicken breast boneless, skinless
- 12 Yellow Corn Tortillas Mission 25 Calories
- 1.5 cup Mexican Cheese Blend shredded
- Taco Seasoning
Taco Seasoning
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1.5 tbsp cumin
- 1/4 cup water
Ricotta Cilantro Crema
- 1/2 cup Part Skim Ricotta Cheese 124g
- 1/4 cup Fage Nonfat Greek Yogurt 56g
- 1 clove garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp lime juice
- 1/2 cup cilantro
Instructions
- Pre heat the air fryer.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the raw chicken breast. Boil for 15-20 minutes until no longer pink. Once cooked through, shred with a fork and add to a mixing bowl.
- While the chicken is boiling prep your sauce. Add all the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until it is completely creamy and no chunks remain. Set aside for topping your tacos.
- Remove the chicken from the water and shred with forks. Add the shredded chicken to a mixing bowl. Top the chicken the taco seasoning and 1/4 cup of water. Mix together well so all of the chicken is covered in seasoning.
- Wet a paper towel and wrap the corn tortillas with the towel. Microwave for 20 seconds to soften so they’re easy to work with.
- Spray the air fryer with cooking spray. Fill each taco with cheese and chicken – see notes. Fold in half and add to the air fryer pan laying them inside. Spray the tops of the tortillas with cooking spray. Repeat for as many tacos that can fit in the air fryer. Note, you may need to work in batches depending on the size of your air fryer.
- Cook the tacos in the air fryer at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 4 minutes. Remove and top with crema, chopped red onions and cilantro.
- Serving size per nutrition facts is 1 taco.
Notes
- Use rotisserie chicken to make this recipe even easier.
- You can use small flour tortillas.
- Work in batches if they don’t all fit in the air fryer, do not overlap.
- Per tortilla add 14 grams of cheese, 40 grams of chicken and use 14 grams of crema per taco for topping and dipping.
- Nutrition facts are a estimate.
Nutrition
These were amazing! But I really struggled with assembly – the shells kept breaking and were a complete mess 🙁 help? I did try wet toothpicks
Did you soften the tortillas before using them? That helps.
So good! Love being able to make all the components ahead of time and then air fry a couple tacos whenever I want them!
Prepping for the win, always! Makes life so much easier! So glad you loved it.
10/10! Healthy, yummy, easy to make. Macros are great and easy to track macros. Favorite for the whole family.
Yes! So glad to hear that!
Great recipe! My boyfriend and I both loved the tacos and crema! We did add some diced up onion and jalapeño and included in the chicken mixture which we thought was really good.
These tacos are so good, but you need that sauce for everything!!
I think I may have already reviewed these, but I’m back to say they are SO DANG GOOD. Crowd favorite at our house.
Hello .. can you use ground beef as well?
Absolutely!
So good!!! We loved them and will be adding to our rotation!
So good! It was easy & even my 8 year old was a fan.
I’ve made these twice now so I thought I would leave a review. I’m just starting out on my macro counting journey and this page is so helpful and the food is delicious! These tacos have become a household favorite. I learned on the second round to soak some toothpicks in water for a couple minutes then put them through the tortillas to hold the tacos together so they don’t blow open. Worked great! I also highly recommend making some pico de Gallo to top them with as well. The sauce is my favorite. I save the leftovers to put on my chicken and rice bowls.
these hit the spot! the sauce was delicious! our house loves all your recipes!
These were incredible. I couldn’t air fry them fast enough for my husband and kids. The flavor of the crema was amazing. And I won’t be buying store bought taco seasoning again. Thanks for all your great recipes.