Spicy Chicken Squash Blossom Tacos

Jump to Recipe

Have you ever experienced a squash blossom that has been stuffed and fried? They are truly magical. So magical, in fact, it’s hard to stray from the classic. But I somehow found the courage to take a risk and try something new with my beloved blossoms. These Spicy Chicken Squash Blossom Tacos are the result of that leap of faith. And now, they are this household’s favorite taco, which is a touch inconvenient because squash blossoms are not always easy to come by. So I realize this recipe may be a tease for some of you at the moment. On the other hand, it never hurts to have a recipe at the ready for any unexpected blossoms that may enter your life.

When I see squash blossoms at my local grocery store, I grab them. Not in a busy-woman-trying-to-be-economical-with-her-time kind of way. It’s a more of Gollum energy. Even if the blossoms are plentiful, I square up to the display as if I were guarding a basketball net. I just don’t see them enough and, my gosh, do I love them.

Squash blossoms are just so pretty and fun to play with and I always imagined them to be quite versatile. But their relative obscurity, at least in the grocery stores around me, always makes me hesitant to play with them. I almost always default to the ricotta-stuffed and fried squash blossom experience that I know and love.

So, after finding squash blossoms stocked at my favorite grocery store four times in a row, I felt safe buying some for experimental purposes. And those “sacrificial” blossoms gave rise to these Spicy Chicken Squash Blossom Tacos. They taste like a cross between a Baja fish taco and a chicken street taco. Basically, a taco dream come true…or at least my taco dream come true.

Essentially, I followed the same script I would follow for the ricotta-filled blossoms. But I swapped the ricotta for a sort of chicken meatball mixture. I accented it with taco seasoning superstars, like chili and cumin. And gave the mince a hint of freshness by adding finely chopped cilantro stems, shallots, garlic, and serrano peppers. I opted for masa harina and egg yolk as binders and the result was a juicy, flavorful, and pleasantly springy filling. I also found the compactness and malleability of the chicken mixture made stuffing the blossoms much easier than with the looser ricotta filling I’m accustomed to.

After filling the blossoms, I dunked them in a light tempura-esque batter and fried them to a delicate golden color. The batter itself is less imposing than a beer batter, which allows the blossoms and filling to shine. From there all that remained was to tuck the freshly fried blossoms into a white corn tortilla and top it with the usual taco-suspects. In hindsight, I think a yellow corn tortilla would provide more of a contrast between the fried blossom and the taco. Just a note, if contrast is your thing. If flavor is your thing, get the tortilla that speaks to your heart.

There isn’t much else to say about these Spicy Chicken Squash Blossom Tacos other than they are delicious and not nearly as fussy as you would think. Sure, removing the squash blossom’s stamen and stuffing them requires a delicate hand. But if you go slowly and gingerly, you can avoid most of the pitfalls associated with stuffed blossoms.

But I have to say, you will have a few tears. You’re going to bust a few blossoms – it’s inevitable. Unless of course you’re an Italian nonna who’s been stuffing squash blossoms since before you were born… I think I just created a paradox. I over stuffed a few of the blossoms and, needless to say, they aren’t pictured. But I did batter them and fry them the same way I did their more perfect siblings and they held together and tasted great. So even if your blossoms aren’t photo-ready, I’m convinced they were make for good eatin’.

So that’s everything you need to know about these Spicy Chicken Squash Blossom Tacos. They’re a fun way to while away a rainy afternoon and they taste like a trip to a very unique taco stand.

Enjoy!