Dinner
Chicken and nopal tacos
Each serving has 374 kcal, 31.6 g of protein, and 7.6 g of fiber, or 8.5 g of protein per 100 kcal. Ready in 15 minutes; makes 1 serving.
Per serving
- 374 kcalCalories
- 31.6 gProtein
- 7.6 gFiber
Calculated ingredient by ingredient from USDA FoodData Central. 8.5 g of protein per 100 kcal.
- Prepared by
- Alex Gonzalez
- Published
- Sources
- 9 primary
No clinical review. No advertising from drug companies and no affiliate links.How we work
Ingredients
- 60 g2 ozcorn tortillas (2 small)
- 80 g3 ozcooked chicken breast, shredded (about 1/2 cup)
- 80 g3 ozcooked nopales, cut into strips (about 1/2 cup)
- 50 g2 ozchopped tomato (about 1/4 cup)
- 15 gchopped onion (about 1 1/2 tablespoons)
- 15 gcrumbled queso fresco (about 2 tablespoons)
- 30 g1 ozsliced avocado (2 or 3 thin slices)
- Cilantro, lime juice, and salt to taste
- Salsa to taste
Directions
- Warm the nopales in a dry skillet for 3 minutes.
- Add the shredded chicken and heat 2 minutes more, stirring.
- Warm the tortillas on a comal or in a skillet.
- Fill the tortillas with the chicken and nopales.
- Top with the tomato, onion, queso fresco, avocado, cilantro, and a squeeze of lime.
Why it is filling
Nopales have very few calories and a lot of water, so they add volume to the taco with hardly any energy. The shredded chicken provides the protein, and a small amount of avocado adds fiber and unsaturated fat. Two small tacos let you eat slowly and stop when you feel full.
In numbers, each serving has 31.6 g of protein and 7.6 g of fiber, with an energy density of 113 kcal per 100 g of the dish. In the satiety index by Holt and colleagues (1995), the foods that were most filling per calorie were those with more protein, fiber, and water and less fat.
If your appetite is small
- If two tacos are a lot, make one and save the filling: it keeps for 2 days in the fridge.
- If spicy salsa doesn’t agree with you, serve it on the side or leave it out.
Nutrition facts
| Nutrient | Per serving |
|---|---|
| Calories | 374 kcal |
| Protein | 31.6 g |
| Carbohydrates | 36.9 g |
| Fiber | 7.6 g |
| Fat | 12.1 g |
| Approximate weight | 330 g (12 oz) |
How it is calculated
Each ingredient contributes its per-100 g values from the site’s food database, multiplied by the amount in the recipe. Seasonings, water, and lemon or lime juice are not counted. It is an approximation: the actual size of the foods and how you cook them shift the result a little.
| Ingredient | Amount | Calories | Protein | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corn tortilla | 60 g | 133 kcal | 3.4 g | 3.1 g |
| Cooked chicken breast | 80 g | 121 kcal | 23.2 g | 0 g |
| Cooked nopales | 80 g | 12 kcal | 1.1 g | 1.6 g |
| Tomato | 50 g | 9 kcal | 0.4 g | 0.6 g |
| Onion | 15 g | 6 kcal | 0.2 g | 0.3 g |
| Queso fresco | 15 g | 45 kcal | 2.7 g | 0 g |
| Avocado | 30 g | 48 kcal | 0.6 g | 2 g |
To plan your meals
- Daily protein calculator: an indicative protein range per day and per meal, to see how much of it this recipe covers.
- Weekly menu for small appetites: seven days of small portions with the protein spread across meals, ready to print.
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Sources
Nutrition values for each ingredient (USDA FoodData Central) and the satiety reference, with the access date.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, corn, without added salt (FDC ID 173241).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Tortillas, ready-to-bake or -fry, corn (FDC ID 175036), sugars value.accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Chicken, broilers or fryers, breast, meat only, cooked, stewed (FDC ID 171478).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Nopales, cooked, without salt (FDC ID 169388).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Tomatoes, red, ripe, raw, year round average (FDC ID 170457).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Onions, raw (FDC ID 170000).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Cheese, fresh, queso fresco (FDC ID 172223).accessed .
- U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.USDA FoodData Central: Avocados, raw, all commercial varieties (FDC ID 171705).accessed .
- European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (PubMed).Holt SH, Miller JC, Petocz P, Farmakalidis E. A satiety index of common foods. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995;49(9):675-90.accessed .