Tortilla Crusted Chicken Tex-Mex Restaurant Copycat Recipe

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 left over and 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 the whole family goes out to eat, 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 based on the taste from one of our favorite places for Tex-Mex food. 

This was a fun recipe for the boys to help with, they liked to crush the chips in a big ziplock bag, but it wasn’t getting them small enough. You want the chips to be crushed well to a fine crumb. The tortilla crumbs 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.

Serving Suggestions & Tips

• ​Line the pan with olive oil or cooking spray to prevent the chicken from sticking to the pan. 
• For easier cleanup, line your baking dish with parchment paper or aluminum foil. 
• Serve with a side of sour cream, guacamole, or salsa with tortilla chips. 
• Make sure to use a shallow dish so that the chicken will easily fit in it to coat. Our medium bowls work well for this.  
• Instead of boneless chicken breasts, you can also make this with chicken tenders, chicken tenderloin, or chicken strips. 
• This is a great way to use up the tortilla chip crumbs at the bottom of the bag. 
• You can also fry this chicken recipe in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once cooked, move to a wire rack to let excess oil drip off of it. 
• Garnish with fresh cilantro, sliced green onion, or a little bit of lime juice. You can also drizzle the chicken with hot sauce. 
• Spice up the chicken with some cayenne pepper, chili powder, taco seasoning, adobo seasoning, or red pepper flakes. 

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 shallow bowl 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.

Pat chicken dry with a paper towel. Then dredge the chicken first in the flour mixture, then the eggs, then cover with the chips. Make sure to coat all sides of the chicken. 

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

Bake for about 15-20 minutes in the hot oven, until the chicken is cooked through and golden brown. Baking time may vary depending on the size of the chicken.

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken Leftovers

Storage: After the chicken has come to room temperature, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate for 2-3 days. 

Reheating: The best way to reheat the leftover chicken is in an air fryer or toaster oven for about 5-10 minutes until warmed through. You can also reheat it in a large skillet over medium heat until warm.

Recipe

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 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 25 minutes 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 black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups tortilla chips (crushed)
• 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)

Recommended Equipment

• Baking Sheet

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.

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