Tortilla-Crusted Chicken next to seasoned rice on a brown plate with a towel and fork next to the plate (with logo overlay)

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken

Use leftover tortilla chips (or crumbs in the bottom of a bag) for a crunchy crust on chicken to make Tortilla-Crusted chicken for your next Tex-Mex night.

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We have been trying very hard to be conscious of anything and everything that we throw in the garbage. This includes food and any leftovers. When we went to our favorite Tex-Mex restaurants a few weeks ago we came home with leftover chips and guacamole. After the guacamole was gone there were some chips leftover. We weren’t sure what to do with them. Justin came up with the idea of trying to make our own tortilla-crusted chicken. It’s been his go-to meal lately when we go out, so we wanted to give it a shot at home. We didn’t have a recipe to go off of, just sort of figured it out as we went along.

The boys had fun trying to crush the chips in a bag, but it wasn’t getting them small enough. You want the chips to be crushed well. They should be the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. Otherwise, they tend to fall off the chicken. We tried that with one of the chicken breasts and found out the hard way so went back and made the chips smaller. The food processor ended up working best for us.

I wasn’t sure about the meal at first, but it had a lot more flavor than I was anticipating. The saltiness of the chips adds a lot to the chicken, but it isn’t too much, either. We served this with a side of Mexican rice. I originally thought maybe chips and salsa or pico de gallo would be good with it, but that would have been too much salt for me. The rice was perfect.

Young boy in glasses dipping chicken into a bowl of flour

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken Step by Step

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp cilantro
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups tortilla chips (crushed)
  • 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 400F. Set out three separate shallow bowls. Fill the first with the flour and seasonings, whisking to combine. Fill the second with the eggs and beat them together. Then fill the third with the crushed tortilla chips.

Dredge the chicken first in the flour mixture, then the eggs, then cover with the chips.

Place the chicken on a baking sheet and repeat with each chicken breast.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Baking time may vary depending on the size of the chicken.

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken next to seasoned rice on a brown plate with a towel and a beer in the background

Recipe

Originally Published On: April 29, 2019

Updated On: April 5, 2022

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken next to seasoned rice on a brown plate with a towel and fork next to the plate

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken

Use leftover tortilla chips (or the crumbs in the bottom of the bag) for a delicious crunchy crust for chicken for your next Tex-Mex night.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course:
Main Dish
Cuisine:
American
|
Mexican
Keyword:
chicken
|
texmex
|
tortilla chips
Servings: 4
5 from 4 votes

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp cilantro
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups tortilla chips (crushed)
  • 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Recommended Equipment

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 400F
  • Set out three separate shallow bowls
  • Fill the first bowl with the flour and seasonings, whisking to combine
  • Fill the second with the eggs and beat them together
  • Fill the third with the crushed tortilla chips
  • Dredge the chicken first in the flour mixture, then the eggs, then cover with the chips
  • Place the chicken on a baking sheet and repeat with each chicken breast
  • Bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through
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Nutrition Facts
Tortilla-Crusted Chicken
Amount Per Serving
Calories 661 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 3g15%
Cholesterol 226mg75%
Sodium 828mg35%
Potassium 1033mg30%
Carbohydrates 56g19%
Fiber 3g12%
Protein 57g114%
Vitamin A 185IU4%
Vitamin C 2.7mg3%
Calcium 132mg13%
Iron 4mg22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.

26 thoughts on “Tortilla-Crusted Chicken”

  1. What a yummy idea for using up leftover tortilla chips! (though not one I would have thought of – I have a few standard recipes that are made for such purposes, that I should probably publish sometime lol…) I can just imagine how tasty they were!

    1. I wouldn’t have either if it wasn’t one of the meals my husband always gets when we are out! But it was a great way to use all those crumbs at the bottom of the bag.

  2. 5 stars
    I never thought of crusting chicken this way! It looks so good, I can’t wait to make it this weekend with my kids!

    1. It’s so fun to get the kids in the kitchen with you. It’s great time together and you are teaching them to cook which is a skill they’ll need their entire lives!

  3. What a great way of incorporating leftovers! I’m vegetarian but would love to try this out with a substitute for chicken. Would you have any recommendations’?

    1. I haven’t tried it with anything other than chicken so I’m not sure what you could substitute. But if you try something and it works, let me know because I’d love to try it, too.

  4. It sounds delish. What a creative use of leftover tortillas. They must have added to the flavour. I need to try this soon.

  5. Omg this chicken recipe looks absolutely delicious!!!! I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken. Will definitely be trying this method

  6. Never crossed my mind to use leftover tortilla chips! Although I do use a lot of leftovers for meals next day. Have to try this one for sure 🙂

  7. 5 stars
    It looks delicious with a beautiful golden brown crust on the outside. Using leftovers can lead to the creation of amazing recipe ideas.

  8. I have had this style crusting on fish but never on chicken. I totally need to give this one a go!

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