Chicken Taco Towers

While I won’t go as far as to say chicken tacos are boring, they just need a little extra pizazz. So I decided to mix it up by creating some vertical tacos or what I call Chicken Taco Towers.

The key to successful Chicken Taco Towers is a biscuit cutter or a round cuter of some sort. Not only will it be necessary to cut the tortillas uniformly, but it will help you stack things.

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 avocados, diced
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• 1 can black beans, drained and dried
• 4 tortillas, corn or flour
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese and/or cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 tsp chili powder
• Juice of 1 lime
• 3 TBSP olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste

Chicken Taco Tower Close-Up

1. Using the biscuit cutter, cut circles into tortillas. (If you don’t want to discard the remnants, I would suggest cutting them into bite-sized pieces, sprinkling with salt and baking on baking sheet in an even layer at 400F to make some tortilla chips.)
2. In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil and sauté chicken pieces, lime juice, chili powder, onion, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until all chicken pieces are cooked and/or register 185F on a meat thermometer.
3. Once chicken is cooked and tortilla circles are ready, you can begin assembling the Chicken Taco Towers. Using the biscuit cutter and starting with a tortilla circle, layer beans, chicken, cheese, avocado, lettuce and tomato.
4. Be sure to move the biscuit cutter up as you stack and press down the layers firmly before adding another one. I experimented and found the beans best on the bottom. Also, I highly recommend adding chicken with cheese for a melty effect. And, I would save the lettuce for last so it doesn’t get too compressed.

If this assembly is too fancy for you, there’s nothing wrong with making traditional chicken soft tacos. The flavor will be virtually the same. Honestly, I was testing out using my biscuit cutter for layering so I was exploring.

Chicken Taco Towers are just a new look for the tacos we’ve all come to love. And let’s face, some tacos can look pretty sloppy so at least give this method a try.