Achiote Grilled Chicken Tacos

Name: Achiote Grilled Chicken Tacos
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 2 h 50 min
Yield: 15 tacos (serves 4 to 6)
Ingredients: 2 pounds chicken tenders, boneless skinless breasts (halved crosswise into cutlets), or boneless skin-on or skinless thighs; ⅔ cup apple cider vinegar; ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice; 2 tablespoons ground achiote/annatto seeds; 2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano; 2 tablespoons kosher salt; 1 to 2 tablespoons chile powder; 2 teaspoons agave nectar; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 4 cloves garlic; corn tortillas

User Reviews

4.8

27 reviews

Excellent

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
Marinating Time
2 hrs
Total Time
2 hrs 50 mins
Servings
15 tacos (serves 4 to 6)
Calories
110 kcal
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Mexican

Achiote Grilled Chicken Tacos

Megan Mendez

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These easy Grilled Chicken Tacos marinate in a tangy combination of orange juice, apple cider vinegar, achiote/annatto and other spices. This simple recipe yields a super juicy and flavorful grilled chicken perfect for loading up your tacos!

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Ingredients

Servings

2 pounds chicken tenders, boneless skinless breasts (halved crosswise into cutlets), or boneless skin-on or skinless thighs
⅔ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons ground achiote/annatto seeds
2 tablespoons dried Mexican oregano
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 to 2 tablespoons chile powder, preferably arbol
2 teaspoons agave nectar
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
4 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
corn tortillas, warmed

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Instructions

Put the chicken in a large, heavy duty zip top plastic bag. Add the apple cider vinegar, orange juice, annatto, Mexican oregano, salt, chile powder, agave nectar, allspice, turmeric, and garlic. Seal the bag closed and massage the contents of the bag to coat both sides of the chicken evenly with marinade. Alternatively, put the chicken in a glass or ceramic bowl, add the spices, turn the chicken to coat evenly, and cover with plastic wrap. Marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours or up to overnight, turning the chicken a few times to marinate evenly.
Prepare a medium fire for direct heat cooking in a grill. Bring the chicken to room temperature and remove from the marinade.
Place the chicken, on the grill rack directly over the fire and cook, turning after about 5 to 7 minutes for breasts or tenders or after 10 minutes for thighs. Cook for another 5 to 7 minutes (or 10 minutes for thighs) on the other side. If the chicken is starting to burn or cook too quickly, move to a part of the grill with indirect heat and continue to cook. The chicken is done when an instant read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 165°F.
Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and chop into small pieces. Serve the chicken with the warmed tortillas, salsa, and toppings of your choice.

Notes

You may use any of your favorite taco toppings here, but some of my recommendations include salsa verde (my favorite), sliced avocados or guacamole, chopped white or yellow onion, chopped tomato, and chopped cilantro.
Make your own chiles de arbol chile powder: stem and seed dried chiles de arbol and grind them up in a spice grinder.
This recipe uses kosher salt (aka cooking salt, kitchen salt, coarse salt outside of the US). My preferred brand of kosher salt is Diamond Crystal. If you are using table salt, definitely scale down the salt as that is a saltier type of salt! The type of salt will make a big difference in how salty your food tastes, so keep that in mind.
Adapted from Tacolicious.

Nutrition Information

Show Details

Serving 1taco (no toppings) Calories 110kcal (6%) Carbohydrates 12g (4%) Protein 13g (26%) Fat 1g (2%) Cholesterol 37mg (12%) Sodium 982mg (41%) Potassium 21mg (1%) Fiber 2g (8%) Sugar 2g (4%)