These tacos are packed with flavor, texture, and perfect for your Labor Day cookout. Chicken gets marinated and grilled in a sweet, smoky, spicy honey chipotle mixture that also gets used to glaze the chicken and mix into the yogurt sauce. An easy sweet, tangy, and crunchy grilled corn salsa goes over top! Make the marinade, yogurt sauce, and salsa ahead – then all you have to do is grill the chicken and corn!
Ingredient Highlight
Corn! Is rich in B vitamins, vitamins C + E, folic acid, and magnesium. Yellow corn has high levels of lutein, a carotenoid important for eye and heart health. When using fresh corn, don’t remove the husk until you’re ready to cook so the kernels stay fresh and don’t dry out.
Servings 6 People
Prep Time 15 minutes 
Cook Time 10 minutes Ingredients
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 3-4 chipotle peppers in adobo, chopped
- 1-2 tbsp adobo sauce from the jar
- 2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1.5-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
- 1 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
- 6-12 flour tortillas
- Shredded iceberg or romaine lettuce
For the corn salsa:
- 2 ears corn, shucked (or use 1 ½ cups frozen kernels)
- 1 bunch radishes, chopped into small pieces (about 1 ½ cups)
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- You could also cut the kernels off or use frozen kernels (1 1/2 cups) and char them on the grill in a cast-iron skillet while the chicken grills (that’s what I did!). You could even just leave them raw.
- Note: if buying chipotles in adobo in the can, empty it into a resealable bag or freezer-friendly container and store in the freezer. When you need it again, just thaw it out or pop in the microwave and take what you need. I do the same thing with tomato paste.
Instructions
- Heat your grill on high for at least 10 minutes, then reduce the heat down to medium-high.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the tomato paste, honey, vinegar, chipotles + sauce, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt. Transfer 2 tablespoons of the mixture to a small bowl (for the yogurt sauce). Transfer another 3 tablespoons into a small bowl or plate (we will use this to glaze the chicken later).
- Add the chicken to the large bowl and mix to coat thoroughly in the marinade.
- In the small bowl with the reserved 2 tablespoons marinade, add the yogurt and mix to combine. Set aside.
- Add chicken and corn to the grill, making sure to get as much of that marinade on the chicken. Cover and grill for 5-6 minutes or until the chicken has nice grill marks/char, then flip the chicken over (rotate the corn as needed until charred). Use the 3 tablespoons of reserved marinade and brush on top of the chicken. Cover and grill for 4 more minutes.
- Transfer the chicken and corn to a cutting board until cool enough to handle. Slice the kernels off of the cob. Slice up the chicken.
- In a medium bowl, add the corn, radish, cilantro, lime and salt and mix to combine.
- Warm your tortillas, top with lettuce, chicken, salsa, and yogurt sauce.
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Make the marinade
- Make the yogurt sauce
- Shuck the corn
- Chop 1 bunch radish (1 ½ cups)
- Chop ¼ cup cilantro
- Make the salsa (add corn later)
Substitutions:
- To make it vegetarian, use tofu instead of chicken. You can cut it into cubes, bake it until golden/crispy, then toss in the marinade.
- To make vegan, see above + use dairy-free yogurt or just top with a squeeze of lime and add avocado (or guac!). Sub honey with maple syrup.
- To make gluten free, use corn tortillas or Siete brand cassava tortillas. You could also turn this into a taco bowl or salad.
- Don’t like chipotle? Skip it and add in 1 tablespoon smoked paprika instead.
- Substitute any raw crunchy veg for the radish (cucumber, fennel, celery, carrot, etc…)
- Use a cabbage slaw instead of lettuce.
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Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer:
- Chicken: up to 4 days in the fridge
- Salsa: up to 6 days in the fridge
- Yogurt sauce: up to 6 days in the fridge
- Turn leftovers into a taco salad or taco bowl. Thin out the yogurt sauce with some water to make it a dressing. Use a bed of lettuce or grain, toss in the yogurt dressing, top with chicken, salsa, avocado, cheese, etc…
- Make a quesadilla with leftover chicken.
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