10 Recipes

Smash Tacos

Smash tacos in a hot skillet — Chicken Caesar, Garlic Butter Shrimp & Steak, Big Mac, Greek, and Jalapeño Popper — for fast weeknight dinners the kids ask for.

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Chicken Caesar Smash Tacos with Caesar Sauce

A delicious fusion of crispy chicken tacos filled with Caesar salad and served with a creamy Caesar sauce for dipping.

15 min620 cal35 g proteinServes 435 saves

Keira Lauzze

Ingredients

1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 clove garlic, grated
to taste salt
1/2 head (2–3 cups) romaine lettuce, finely shredded
1/2 cup pepperoncini, sliced
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 lb ground chicken
1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s aglio olio seasoning or any chicken seasoning
to taste salt and pepper
6–8 small flour tortillas
as needed avocado oil for frying

Instructions

1Make the Caesar Sauce: Whisk together mayonnaise, yogurt, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, lemon juice, grated garlic, and salt until smooth.
2Prepare the Salad: Toss shredded romaine, sliced pepperoncini, grated Parmesan, and half of the Caesar sauce until well combined. Mix the remaining sauce with 1-2 tablespoons of water to make it smoother for dipping.
3Prepare the Tacos: Mix the seasoning into the ground chicken. Spread the chicken mixture onto each tortilla, pushing it to the edges.
4Cook the Tacos: Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Place the tortillas chicken-side down, press down briefly, and cook for 2-3 minutes until browned. Flip and cook for another minute to crisp the other side.
5Assemble and Serve: Fold the tacos, place on a baking sheet if keeping warm, and fill with Caesar salad. Serve with the remaining Caesar sauce for dipping.

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Ground Meat Pressed Right Into The Tortilla

The trick is simple: press raw seasoned meat straight onto a tortilla, then crisp it in a skillet so the crust and the shell cook together. You get taco night without browning meat in one pan and warming tortillas in another.

Cooks on Pepper reach for these on the nights everybody wants something different, since the same pound of ground chicken or beef turns into Caesar, Greek, or Big Mac style depending on what sauce goes on top.

Every recipe here starts with that same press-and-crisp method: Chicken Caesar Smash Tacos with Caesar Sauce, Garlic Butter Shrimp & Steak Smash Tacos, Cheese-Crusted Jalapeño Popper Smash Tacos, Greek Smash Tacos, and McChicken Smash Tacos.

Quick Tips

1
Press the meat thin
Spread about 2 to 3 ounces of raw meat all the way to the tortilla edge, no thicker than 1/4 inch, so it cooks through in a few minutes.
2
Start meat side down
Lay the taco meat side down in a hot skillet for 3 to 4 minutes to build a real crust before you flip it.
3
Crisp the cheese first
For the jalapeño popper and Big Mac versions, sprinkle cheese in the dry pan for 30 seconds, then set the tortilla on top so it fuses into a crust.
4
Sauce after cooking
Keep the Caesar sauce and any lettuce off the heat and add them in the last minute so they stay cool and crunchy.