Cheesecake Factory Baja Chicken Tacos
Cheesecake Factory Baja Chicken Tacos are one of my favorite! These light little bites are full of sweet & spicy chipotle chicken then topped with cheese, pickled onions and more! You get crunch, spicy and sweet in every bite of Baja Chicken Tacos! Definitely a favorite – and you’ll still have room for cheesecake!
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What’s in Cheesecake Factory Baja Chicken Tacos?
Cheesecake Factory serves up four mini corn tortillas filled with mildly spicy chicken, Mexican crumble cheese, pickled red onion and thin slices of radish. Then it’s topped with cilantro and a lime wedge. Served with Rice and Beans making it a delicious entree!
🔍 COPYCAT SECRETS UNCOVERED!
Baja flavor refers to an area of Mexico – the food is citrus-y, frequently uses chipotle peppers and has fresh veggies – that’s why these copycat tacos are perfectly Baja! Don’t miss these tips to be sure your copycat Baja Chicken Tacos are identical to Cheesecake Factory:
- Using Chipotle Sauce is perfect for this dish – I don’t love the canned ones with the actual peppers – they’re too spicy. The cans of just the sauce are my fav! Sweet & a little spicy and so much flavor in every bite! This is the key to making them like Cheesecake Factory!
- Crunchy Red Onions are the best topping – they’re sweet, tangy & crunchy! You could skip the radishes – they don’t offer much – and double up on the onions!
- Additionally – using the Mojo Criollo marinade helps keep the chicken juicy and add a citrus zing!
Cheesecake Factory Baja Chicken Tacos Ingredients
Copycat Cheesecake Factory Baja Chicken Tacos are so easy to make – we’re going to marinate them and use a sauce to cook them. This adds so much dimension to the flavor (and no extra work!). Here’s what you need for the best taco night of the month:
- Chicken – boneless skinless chicken breasts for this one
- Marinade – I only use Mojo Criollo marinade – it’s a light citrus marinade and is my fav! 1 big bottle can do 2-3 meals!
- Chipotle – The key to this is using chipotle sauce – this is the best part – but none of those pesky peppers to contend with. It adds a sweet and spicy sauce to your tacos!
- Corn Tortillas – 9x out of 10 – I’ll choose flour but Cheesecake uses corn – so I did too! They do fall apart more quickly – but 100% toasting them helps!
- Toppings – Pickled Red Onion (buy here or make your own), Queso Fresco cheese, radish slices, cilantro & a lime wedge
- Don’t want to buy special cheese? If you want a melty style cheese – go with mozzarella or monterey jack. If you want a crumbly cheese like I used – you might surprised at how great feta cheese is! That salty texture works really well!
- Next time, I would add some avocado as well – adds a cool creaminess!
- No pickled onions? Use a fresh pico de gallo for that vinegary crunch!
How to make Copycat Baja Chicken Tacos
These easy Cheesecake Factory Baja Chicken Tacos are made better when you cook the chicken breasts whole to keep them juicy! Then chop and toss in the sauce! This gets you the juiciest chicken in your tacos! Which means – EVERYBODY WILL RAVE ABOUT HOW GREAT THEY ARE!
- In a large zipper bag, marinate chicken breasts overnight in Mojo Criollo marinade.
- Heat oven to 375º. In a rimmed baking sheet, lay out chicken breasts and bake for 20 minutes until internal temp is 150-155º. (We’re going to finish them in the skillet – so they’ll be up to temp.)
- Roughly chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat large skillet and add 1 tbsp oil. Add chopped chicken and chipotle sauce to skillet. Heat for 3-4 minutes until chicken is warmed and coated.
- While chicken is heating through, in a separate skillet sprayed with nonstick spray or olive oil. Heat tortillas for 1 min per side.
- Place warm tortillas in taco holder. Add chicken and top with cheese, red onion, radish slices and cilantro.
- Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and side of black beans and rice.
Taco Holder
Make filling your soft shell tacos so much easier! This holder is just like the restaurants use!
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Supplies Used
There’s a few tools in this recipe that come in handy – most you probably have – but one – well – you might have to hit “add to cart”!
- Taco Holders – ok – they seem silly – but they’re so helpful – especially with soft shell tacos!
- Rimmed Baking Sheet – I use this all the time for making chicken – with the rack and parchment paper – for easy cleanup!
- Caraway Nonstick Skillet – this is SOOOOOO nonstick! I don’t use anything else!
- Go-to Meat Thermometer – there are many cheaper but this is what the chefs use and I love it! (I also use it as a cake tester because I can never find toothpicks!)
How to Store & Reheat
- Store chicken filling in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days
- I used leftovers and added rice & beans to make Baja Chicken Bowls with the leftovers!
- Reheat in the microwave for 90 seconds
- Just make enough tortillas for your dinner – they aren’t going to reheat well.
- The Baja Chicken would freeze fine as well if you have a lot left over. I like to use these glass storage containers.
More Cheesecake Factory Recipes
- Cheesecake Factory Buffalo Blasts
- Cheesecake Factory Spicy Chipotle Chicken Pasta
- Cheesecake Factory Avocado Egg Rolls
More Taco Recipes
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Cheesecake Factory Baja Chicken Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chicken breasts
- 2 cups Mojo Criollo marinade
- 1 tbsp oil
- 4 oz chipotle sauce
- 8-12 Corn tortillas
- 1/8 cup pickled Red onion thinly sliced (link to make own)
- 1/4 cup queso fresco cheese grated
- 2-3 Radish sliced
- 2 tbsp Cilantro minced
- 1 Lime cut into wedges
Instructions
- In a large zipper bag, marinate chicken breasts overnight in Mojo Criollo marinade.1 lb Chicken breasts, 2 cups Mojo Criollo marinade
- Heat oven to 375º. In a rimmed baking sheet, lay out chicken breasts and bake for 20 minutes until internal temp is 155º.
- Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 5 min. Roughly chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Heat large skillet and add 1 tbsp oil. Add chopped chicken and chipotle sauce to skillet. Heat for 3-4 minutes until chicken is warmed and coated.1 tbsp oil, 4 oz chipotle sauce
- While chicken is heating through, in a separate skillet sprayed with nonstick spray or olive oil. Heat tortillas for 1 min per side.8-12 Corn tortillas
- Place heated tortillas in taco holder. Add chicken and top with cheese, red onion, radish slices and cilantro.1/8 cup pickled Red onion, 1/4 cup queso fresco cheese, 2-3 Radish, 2 tbsp Cilantro
- Serve with lime wedge and side of black beans and rice.1 Lime
