Chicken Tortilla Stack
Ryan is a huge Mexican food fan. So when I gave him a list of things I was thinking of making for dinner last week, I was not surprised that his first response was “oh the Mexican dish!” I have to admit I was not a huge Mexican food fan growing up, but have recently come to enjoy it a lot more. So in honor of Cinco de Mayo, I decided to make this chicken tortilla stack. I sandwiched a mixture of shredded chicken breasts, onions, jalapenos, black beans and guacamole between two crispy white corn tortillas. I then topped the stack with shredded cheese, and a couple more diced jalapenos. To finish, I broiled the stack just until the cheese was melted.
When I made this dish I didn’t have any left over chicken so I cooked up some chicken breasts and shredded them. If you happen to have left over shredded chicken by all means use it in this recipe. It makes things super easy.
Chicken Tortilla Stack Recipe
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts (about 2 cups)
- kosher salt and pepper
- 2 jalapenos, diced, divided
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- juice of 1/2 lime
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can of blank beans, drained
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 8 white corn tortillas
- About 1/2 cup guacamole (I made my own but you can use store bought)
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese blend
- fresh salsa and sour cream for garnish if desired
Instructions
Heat olive oil in a skillet. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook 15 minutes or until cooked through. Remove. Reserve pan drippings. Allow to cool for several minutes. Shred.
In the same pan that you cooked the chicken, add onion and 1/2 of the jalapenos. Cook 3 minutes or until slightly softened. (Note: If you're using left over chicken, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan before adding your onion and jalapeno.)
Return the shredded chicken to the pan. Stir in cumin, chili powder, lime juice, black beans and cilantro. Cook until beans are warmed through.
Turn on your oven broiler.
Heat a tablespoon canola oil in a small skillet over medium high heat. When hot, fry corn tortillas until they start to brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towel lined plate. Repeat until all are fried.
To assemble: Using two corn tortillas per stack, place chicken mixture on top of one tortilla. Spread about 1 tablespoon of guacamole on top. Place other tortilla on top. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and some of the remaining diced jalapeno. Broil until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Garnish with sour cream and salsa if desired. Serve.
Notes
Serve with an ice cold Coronoa or margarita and you have the perfect way to celebrate everybody's favorite Mexican holiday. You know, the one that people mistakenly think is Mexican independence day, but is actually celebrating the victory in a battle with the French. It is the same one that is celebrated more in the US than in Mexico, but is still a great excuse to eat yummy Mexican food and drink tequila. ;-) Enjoy!
Deseree
May 5, 2009 at 1:54 pmHappy Cinco de Mayo to you too finsmom!
Thanks Michelle!
Marta: That chicken marinated in chilies and spices sounds so delicious! I bet that the leftovers would be wonderful in this recipe! :)
Marta
May 5, 2009 at 11:57 amI actually DO have tons of leftover chicken! I had a 5 de Mayo BBQ with all my Mexican friends this weekend and they brought copious amounts of this fantastic chicken marinated in some obscure chilies and spices. It was so tasty! But there was much more than any of us could eat, so I was looking for ideas on how to use it up. this looks great! I’m glad to see you went with corn tortillas! They are SO much better than flour ones, the texture is much more pleasant.
Thanks for this recipe :)
Michelle
May 5, 2009 at 9:51 amMm. That looks really delicious!
finsmom
May 5, 2009 at 7:04 amHappy Cinco de Mayo!
Great recipe, and beautiful presentation (as always!)
zoe
May 4, 2009 at 11:17 amYum, Im with Ryan, I looove mexican food. Its so easy and good. Ive always used flour tortillas, but I never thought of frying corn tortillas..that sounds delicious! Thanks!
Deseree
May 4, 2009 at 7:02 pmzoe: You’re welcome! I like to use flour tortillas a lot too, but switched it up to corn tortillas and loved the results. :)