Tortilla chips make a delicious crust for chicken breasts, served with slaw and a creamy, spicy avocado dip!
Back in 2008, I wrote up this blog post on this Tortilla Chip Chicken with Savory Slaw and Avocado Dip. I raved about how good it was. Then as I made new recipes for the blog, it fell by the wayside. Here it has sat for 15 years, with no recipe card and no updated photos.
I haven't taken any updated photos yet, because I just rediscovered the recipe, but I wanted to get a recipe card out there ASAP because I remember how good this was!
I will be remaking this and updating the photos, but please don't let the 2008 photos keep you from trying this!
Three recipes!
What I love about this recipe is that it is basically three recipes in one!
You get the tortilla chip chicken, an avocado dipping sauce, and a slaw to serve with it!
Tortilla chip chicken.
The flavor of this chicken is amazing! Not only does it get that salty, corny flavor from the chips, but you use salsa in the batter! Extra flavor!
You could use spicy salsa to give it a little more kick! I used a green tomatillo salsa because I love that tangy flavor!
Avocado dip.
Once you try this avocado dip, you're going to want to use it with everything! I use it on tacos, bowls, and fajitas, and as a dipping sauce for tortilla chips.
With avocado, sour cream, lime juice, jalapeño pepper, and cilantro, it's all the flavors you love! Sometimes I use yogurt in place of the sour cream.
Creamy slaw.
This sweet, spicy, tangy slaw is the perfect accompaniment to everything!
Creamy mayo, lime juice, honey, cayenne pepper, and coleslaw mix for the win!
This would go great with Mojo Smoked Chicken Thighs too!
Crispy, juicy with tons of flavor! This tortilla-crusted chicken is going to become one of your favorite chicken recipes!
I also love the bonus dipping and slaw recipes!
More chicken recipes!
Recipe.
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Tortilla Chip Chicken with Avocado Dipping Sauce and Slaw
Ingredients
Creamy Slaw
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- 3 tablespoons lime juice fresh squeezed
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 3 cups coleslaw mix
- 1 cup red cabbage shredded
- ¼ cup fresh chives chopped
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro chopped
Avocado Dip
- 1 avocado peeled and pitted
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup sour cream
- ¼ cup lime juice fresh squeezed
- 1 tablespoon jalapeño pepper seeded and chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
Tortilla Chip Chicken
- 8 ounces plain tortilla chips
- ½ cup salsa
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise and seasoned with salt and pepper
- olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° f.
Prepare the slaw.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise, lime juice, honey, salt, and cayenne pepper together in a large bowl.
- Add the coleslaw mix, shredded cabbage, chives, and cilantro.
- Chill in the refrigerator.
Prepare the chicken.
- Pulse the tortilla chips in the food processor until they are coarsely ground.
- Set out three dishes. In one place the tortilla chips, in the second dish mix the salsa and the egg together, and in the third dish place the all-purpose flour.
- Dredge the chicken in the flour on both sides, shaking off any excess. Then dip it in the egg salsa mixture and finally put it in the ground tortilla chips. Pat the chips on the chicken so that both sides are coated.
- Drizzle a little olive oil in an oven safe skillet (cast iron is great!) and heat up over medium-high heat. Sauté the chicken on one side until golden brown about 3 minutes.
- Flip the chicken and transfer the pan to the hot oven. Roast until cooked through, 165°f about 8-10 minutes.
- Serve with the dip and the slaw.
Prepare the dip.
- Wipe out the food process and then purée avocado milk and sour cream. Add the lime juice, jalapeño, and cilantro and pulse until smooth.
- Chill in the refrigerator.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
Original blog post.
Below you'll find my original write-up of the recipe. I was way wordier back then! That was before Jump to Recipe buttons and people wanting to just see the recipe not your story behind it!
I found this recipe, in a Cuisine at Home, Cuisine Tonight magazine. I was standing in line at Lowe's and on the cover was this tortilla-crusted chicken. It sounded amazing. I bought the magazine and made the chicken the next day. Because I don't know about you, I always have a bag or two of tortilla chips with just some crumbs and broken chips at the bottom.
I was immediately smitten with the cover recipe: Tortilla Chip Chicken with Savory Slaw and Avocado Dip. It sounded so wonderfully old school, you know, like tuna casserole with potato chips on top. It was really good. As the chicken was browning, the house smelled like a Mexican restaurant, with the scent of frying tortillas.
One thing is that it called for 8 oz of tortilla chips, that is a lot of ground-up tortilla chips, I ended up barely using half of it. So, if you try this, you can probably use less. Also, the slaw was very tasty and the avocado dip was divine. Altogether it sort of tasted like a deconstructed and then reconstructed taco salad. How's that for a recipe title, Deconstructed Reconstructed Taco Salad?
As another side note, you know how some recipes have you get out your food processor and then you use it for maybe 30 seconds? You spend more time assembling and cleaning the processor than you actually spend using it. Well, not this recipe. I used it to shred the cabbage for the slaw, pulse the corn chips, and puree the dip. The reason I am mentioning this is so that you don't do what I did, which was to wash the food processor and put it all away before I realized that I needed it again.
This post was originally published in 2008 and has been updated for 2023.
Anonymous says
Thanks for posting this. I used to make it at my old job, but forgot to copy down the avocado dip. I don't even like guacamole, but this dip is SOOOO good and the dish isn't the same without it.
Alicia says
I plan to try this, thank you!
Chris says
It may be past my eating time, but this sure does look good right about now! How I would love this in front of me...mouth watering!
Lisa says
Ooh, every part of this meal is wonderful. I must try it all. Tagging now! Thanks.
Mike of Mike's Table says
That sounds like a very interesting dish. And lol, ah the magazine obsession
bookmarked says
Hi that chicken looks really good, love the crispy topping! thanks for taking part in bookmarked recipes :-)Dell 🙂 xxoo
ley says
Ohh, wow...I'm SO making that for dinner soon! I have two avocados in the fridge, too! I just have to get some tortilla chips now. I have a bad habit of burning the breading on chicken, though...I'll have to be careful of that with the chips. : lol.
Peter M says
I can hear the crunch now and imagine the juices of the chicken running down my chin...good eats!
Pam says
Kevin - it really was crunchy, I like the technique of starting it on the stove and finishing it in the oven.
Noble - I subscribe to a billion magazines, that does not stop me from buying more at the store!
April - It's perfect for using the crumbs in the bottom of the bag.
Redforever - it's nice to know I'm not alone in my affliction!
Grace - it's a sickness I tell you. The avocado dip is wonderful, I'm going to try it with different things too.
Paula - let me know if you like it!
Paula says
Pam, I was showing the picture of your chicken to my kids when my hubby walked by. He said something along the lines of "Oh man, that looks good. Don't let me see stuff like that when I'm hungry!" Guess what I'll be making? Yum!
Grace says
"...i had to have it because i had not bought nor received a magazine in the mail for at least 24 hours."oh, how i laughed."avocado dip."oh, how i drooled.
redforever says
Seems quite a few of us have the same affliction as you do regarding buying cooking magazines.It must be a good thing if so many of us suffer this way.
April in CT says
Three bags of tortilla chips I bought recently seemed to have more crumbs than whole chips so this is perfect timing! Looks delicious and I can't wait to try it.
noble pig says
Ummm Pam this looks delicious. Avocado puree...that is so me. I am the same with magazines too...but I just subscribe to absolutely everything!
Kevin says
That does sound like a really tasty meal! I bet the chicken was nice and crunchy.