Oh what a night of some real tasty and flavorful food! These chicken and red bean tacos are a delicious way to have a Mexican themed evening in the comfort of your own home. Served here with a fresh and zingy salsa (which is also known as pico de gallo), avocado and a dollop of cream.
Tacos are easy and eventful, a different type of food experience that you can have in the comfort of your own home. Besides no one will ever make them as good as you do so it's definitely worth it. There are a variety of taco recipes that come together much quicker than cooking your own filling but if you have the time, you know it will be worth every mouthful.
How To Make Chicken And Red Bean Tacos
As quick as you can because they're that tasty and your family will love them too! Store bought tacos and you're halfway there, so let's get to the ingredients.
- We start by cooking the chicken first
- You need chicken breasts, olive oil and seasonings/spices.
- Fresh lemon
Chicken I used chicken breasts here that needed no thawing or defrosting. Buy them fresh and keep them in the fridge. Get the chicken breasts onto the kitchen counter top or sink to cool down from the fridge temperature - so room temp.
Season them well with a good pan sear before adding them with the rest of the ingredients. The searing is certainly a factor to the flavor so don't skip it. First comes the seasoning mix that you soak them in.
Used here is our Smell and Taste seasonings for this mix because you cant beat it in terms of flavor. The spices used are listed below and can be found here.
Once your chicken is seasoned and seared, set it aside while you use the same pan for the beans! Do not wash the pan please.
As a matter of fact, I know this will sound crazy but I used the same pan for everything. On the same day I made the chicken and beans (same pan) I also used the same pan for this meat sauce. Told you it sounds crazy but boy oh boy, I would pay me for that kind of flavor on flavor!
- Cook the onions and chili or jalapeño peppers for the Mexican cuisine of tacos! Jalapeño peppers are not as scary as they look especially considering that serrano peppers are have a lot more heat! Test them to see which works for your family in terms of heat levels.
- Scrape and stir the bits at the bottom of the pan while on medium to high heat making sure to get a good scrape
- Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan and if you don't like wine then use water or chicken stock. However, do remember that the alcohol will cook out although not entirely. eans - I believe the type of beans is your choice really, you can use any beans. In this recipe I went with canned red kidney beans because I love them. Fresh are even better but need more time in terms of soaking them overnight and extended cooking times. Trust me after soaking rice and lentils I was more than okay with the canned version. Just make sure you use the organic ones which I always find at Woolies.
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
I'd like to receive tips & recipes from Anosmic Kitchen.
This recipe is very easy and quick but mostly delicious if you follow the recipe card below. Remember that beans are a simple staple and can be very bland so if you are wanting to amp that taste up in terms of deliciousness then clean and natural spices are your friend.
Filling and Baking
Just a quick mention that the tacos wont stand straight up in the baking dish so I prop them up with balls of foil to help them from falling over! Add the filling, grated cheese and bake on the middle rack till the cheese has melted and the tops turn a light golden brown.
To Rinse Or Not To Rinse The Canned Beans
That is the question. Yes friends I always give my canned beans a rinse in the colander. No idea if there's a wrong or right way of perhaps rinsing or not rinsing.
What I do know is that I'm not using the beans with the thickened water/paste stuff comes with them. It could be a preservation method since they canned but we don't need to eat that. Besides, as my daughter says, 'mom, you're the only person I know who peels their chickpeas!" Oh but I do.
Take a look at my hummus recipe to see for yourself. Long before it was a discussion on the internet, I was washing and peeling. The thing is, as great a tool as the internet is, some things (most in my case) just go with your gut.
More Comfort Food Recipes
- Oven Baked Flavorful Chicken Breasts
- Spiced Harira Moroccan Soup (Vegetable)
- Pasta With Kale
- Chicken Wings
- Oven Baked Chicken and Crunchy Rice Casserole
These tacos were filled with this chicken and beef filling and the other half of the tacos were filled with this meat sauce.
Spice mix for the chicken
- 13 spice chicken - 1 teaspoon
- Involtini - ¼ tsp
- Garlic and herb - pinch
- Calabrese - ¼ tsp
- Olive oil - enough to make a paste
For a fresh and zingy addition see this homemade homemade salsa recipe.
LOOKING FOR MORE RECIPES?
Subscribe to my free newsletter and follow along Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for updates
Shop our online store for quality all natural spices.
Chicken And Red Bean Tacos
Ingredients
Seared Chicken Breasts
- 4 chicken breasts seasoned
- 4 tbps olive oil
- 50 grams unsalted butter
- ½ cup white wine water or stock
Spice and Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon chicken seasoning
- salt & pepper to taste
- ½ teaspoon Calabrese spice or 1 x fresh chili roughly chopped and deseeded for less heat
Beans
- 400 grams red kidney beans rinsed
- 1 onion diced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- ½ cup water
Tacos
- 180 grams corn taco shells 12 in a pack
- 1 fresh lemon or lime squeezed juice
- Freshly grated cheese
Instructions
- Somewhere between this recipe, heat the oven to 190°C
- Season the chicken fillets. See notes below. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet or pan and sear the fillets till golden brown, basting throughout.
- Set aside till cooled and cut into smaller pieces.
- Same pan, add the onion (there should be enough oil in the pan but please add a tablespoon of olive oil/butter if you need it) and cook till soft while scraping the pan using a wooden spoon. Add the wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan and keep scraping up any and all bits.
- Add the calabrese spice/fresh chili, beans, tomato paste, a dash of water while giving each ingredient a few seconds to a minute or so to cook in. Bring the chicken pieces (more or less bite sized) and add them into the bean sauce.
Baking
- Fill the tacos with the chicken and bean dish and top with cheese.
- Get them into a small baking dish so that they lean on each other and prop them up on the sides with foil if you must, to prevent them falling over!
- Bake till the cheese has melted and the tops are a light golden brown.
- Serve warm with a fresh and zingy homemade salsa and your favorite toppings like avocado, diced red onion, sour cream etc. or even a great guacamole!
Notes
Comments
No Comments