Teriyaki Chicken Taco

Tacos made with Teriyaki Sauce?!?!? Yes please!

I love tacos and when I saw the Teriyaki Chicken taco recipe I knew it's a must try! It's sweet, tangy, savory with a hint of Pineapple. Everything you love about Teriyaki Chicken is wrapped into a taco :o) It's a tad bit time consuming but well worth it. Plus, if you're looking for a shortcut, just use your favorite bottled teriyaki sauce to marinate the chicken instead of making the pineapple teriyaki sauce. 

Pineapple Chicken Teriyaki Tacos 

(Todd Wilbur Recipe) 

1 3/4 cups water

1 tablespoon cornstarch

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup canned pineapple chunk (chunks sliced into quarters)

1/4 cup pineapple juice , from can of pineapple chunks

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

12 chicken tenderloins

12 (7 inch) flour tortillas

2 cups shredded cheese

4 cups iceberg lettuce , chopped very thin or shredded (optional)

1 1/2 cups canned pineapple chunks (chunks sliced into quarters)

1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes (about 2 medium tomatoes)

1/2 cup chopped green onion (green part only)

Sour Cream (Optional) 

Make the teriyaki sauce by whisking cornstarch into the water in a medium saucepan. Add remaining ingredients, then bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes or until thicker. Let sauce cool before you use it for marinating.

When the sauce is cool, measure out 1 cup of sauce and set it aside. Use the remaining sauce to pour over chicken tenders in a medium bowl. Cover chicken and let it marinate for at least 6 hours. Overnight is even better. When chicken has marinated, preheat a large skillet over medium/low heat. Wipe the pan with a little oil. Remove the chicken from the marinade (and toss out the marinade) and sauté chicken in the pan for 8 to 10 or until chicken is cooked through and browned on both sides. Slice each chicken filet into 3 or 4 pieces and spoon all the chicken into a medium bowl.

Microwave the leftover 1 cup of teriyaki sauce in the oven for 30 to 60 seconds or until it's hot. Pour the sauce over the sliced chicken in the bowl.

When you're ready to build the tacos, preheat another skillet over medium heat. Toss a tortilla into the pan for a minute, then flip it over and add 2 to 3 tablespoons of shredded cheese across the center of the tortilla. Let the tortilla sit in the pan for about a minute or so (until the cheese starts melting) then remove the tortilla and immediately spoon the equivalent of one chicken tender into the tortilla (3 or 4 chunks of chicken). Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons of leftover teriyaki sauce from the cooked chicken bowl over the chicken in each taco. Arrange about 1/3 cup shredded lettuce over the chicken in each taco. Follow that up with 1 to 2 tablespoons of pineapple chunks, 1 to 2 tablespoons diced tomato, and a couple pinches of chopped green onion. Repeat process for remaining tacos.


*You can use your favorite bottled Teriyaki Sauce if you don't want to make the sauce at home.