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.
Jump to RecipeWe 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.
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.
Recipe
Originally Published On: April 29, 2019
Updated On: April 5, 2022
Tortilla-Crusted Chicken
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
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.
More TexMex Recipes to try
- Chili Nacho Dip
- Bean and Cheese Tostadas
- Taco Pizza
- 5 Layer Bean Dip
- Frito Pies or Walking Tacos
- Taco Tostadas
- Chicken Enchiladas
- Pico de Gallo Recipe
- Tex-Mex Queso Recipe without Velveeta
- Southwestern Salad with an Avocado Dressing
- Taco-Stuffed Bell Peppers
- Homemade Queso with Real Cheese
- Chicken Enchilada Skillet
- Two Minute Salsa
- Sheet Pan Nachos
- Chicken Flautas with Buttermilk-Avocado Sauce
- Taco-Stuffed Poblano Peppers
- How to Create an Allergy-Friendly Taco Bar
- Chicken Enchilada Suizas Skillet Dinner
- Chipotle Chicken Tacos
- Halloween Quesadillas
- Tortilla-Crusted Chicken
- Taco Dip
- Chicken Tortilla Soup (Gluten Free and Dairy Free)
What a great idea to coat chicken in tortilla chips which otherwise might have gone to waste – I bet it was delicious too!
It was so good! I was a bit hesitant, so very pleased with how yummy it really was.
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!
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.
I never thought of crusting chicken this way! It looks so good, I can’t wait to make it this weekend with my kids!
It was definitely something different for us, but it was yummy!
Yum. This recipe looks so delicious for a family meal. My kiddos love crusted chicken recipes.
Mine do, too. I just filled out my son’s “birthday book” and he even said his favorite dinner is chicken!
I was just looking for some recipes for tonight’s dinner! This looks delish and I love the fact that I can get the kids involved! Thanks for sharing!
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!
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’?
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.
It sounds delish. What a creative use of leftover tortillas. They must have added to the flavour. I need to try this soon.
The tortillas definitely added a lot of flavor. I was worried it would be too salty with the chips but it wasn’t.
Omg this chicken recipe looks absolutely delicious!!!! I’m always looking for new ways to make chicken. Will definitely be trying this method
We are, too, since chicken is the one thing that my entire family agrees on!
Yum, this looks so delicious! I know my kids will love this dish, so I can not wait to make it!!
My boys chowed down on this and were asking for seconds of it, which doesn’t happen often!
Yummy. I love trying out new recipes and this is something I never thought of. I can make this for dinner tomorrow night.
I wouldn’t have thought of it if we weren’t trying to make a copy of something my husband loves at the restaurant. I was surprised at how much I liked it!
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 🙂
It was a great way to add something extra to the chicken and use up those crumbs that often get tossed out.
It looks delicious with a beautiful golden brown crust on the outside. Using leftovers can lead to the creation of amazing recipe ideas.
Some of our best meals have come from trying to find a way to use up some leftovers that we have!
I have had this style crusting on fish but never on chicken. I totally need to give this one a go!
Interesting, I’ve never had it on fish. We will have to try that next time!