Grilled Chicken Tacos with Pumpkin Seed Sauce Recipe

By
Carrie Vasios Mullins
Carrie Vasios Mullins is a contributing writer at Serious Eats.
Carrie Vasios Mullins
Carrie Vasios Mullins is the former national editor at Serious Eats, with a focus on all things sweet.
Learn about Serious Eats' Editorial Process
Updated March 21, 2025
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Carrie Vasios

Tacos are filled with slices of grilled chicken and topped with a nutty pumpkin seed sauce

Note: if you can't find tomatillos, substitute yellow or green tomatoes and increase lime juice by 1 teaspoon.

Sauce adapted from Mexico One Plate At A Time by Rick Bayless.

Recipe Details

Grilled Chicken Tacos with Pumpkin Seed Sauce Recipe

Prep 20 mins
Cook 55 mins
Active 30 mins
Resting Time 5 mins
Total 80 mins
Serves 4 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 24 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast

  • 3 ounces hulled untoasted pumpkin seeds

  • 1 large clove garlic, peeled and sliced

  • 1/4 white onion, peeled and sliced

  • 3 tomatillos

  • 1 leaf romaine lettuce, torn into pieces

  • 1/2 jalapeño pepper, stemmed and roughly chopped

  • 1/3 cup chopped cilantro

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 1 teaspoon lime juice

  • 1 avocado, sliced

  • 8 corn tortillas, warmed

Directions

  1. Heat a heavy sauté pan over medium high heat. Add pumpkin seeds. When you hear first pumpkin seed pop, begin to stir the seeds, toasting just until all seeds have popped from flat to round. Let seeds cool. Set aside 2 tablespoons for garnish.

  2. Place garlic and onion in a food processor. Blend until roughly chopped. Add pumpkin seeds and blend until roughly chopped.

  3. Add tomatillos, romaine, jalapeño, and cilantro to food processor and pulse until mixture is a lightly chunky purée.

  4. Heat oil in a medium sauce pot over medium high heat. Add pumpkin seed sauce and stir to combine. Simmer for 10 minutes.

  5. Add one cup water. Simmer sauce for another 20 minutes, until reduced and darkened in color. Stir in lime juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

  6. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Let chicken rest for 5 minutes then slice on the diagonal.

  7. Top each tortilla with slices of grilled chicken. Top with pumpkin seed sauce. Garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds and slices of avocado.

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
686Calories
30gFat
44gCarbs
62gProtein
×
Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories686
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 30g38%
Saturated Fat 5g27%
Cholesterol 145mg48%
Sodium 160mg7%
Total Carbohydrate 44g16%
Dietary Fiber 15g52%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 62g
Vitamin C 19mg93%
Calcium 97mg7%
Iron 4mg22%
Potassium 1320mg28%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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