This Chicken Taquito recipe is one of the all-time most popular recipes on Our Best Bites. The story behind it is interesting, too. I was actually making something entirely different that I planned on entering into a recipe contest. That recipe was somewhat of a flop, but the filling I came up with was amazing and I thought it would make an incredible filling for a crispy taquito. So I said forget-it to the recipe contest, and re-worked the filling in these crispy oven-baked taquitos, and turns out it was one of the best decisions ever, as this recipe has become a beloved family favorite all over the country.
Ingredients Needed
- Cream Cheese
- Green salsa
- Lime
- Cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder
- Cilantro
- Green onions
- Chicken – any kind of cooked shredded chicken will work. Rotisserie chicken is great and works well!
- Pepper jack cheese
- Tortillas – more notes on tortillas below, but you can use corn, flour, or un-cooked.
- Salt
- Cooking spray or oil
Here’s a photo walkthrough of the recipe!
How to Make Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos
This is just a quick overview, you’ll find a printable recipe at the end of this article.
- Combine a sauce of cream cheese, green salsa, fresh lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic, cilantro and green onions.
- Mix in shredded cooked chicken and pepper jack cheese and this is the easy flavor-packed filling.
- Now just roll them up in the tortillas of your choice.
- I like to rub them with a bit of oil to help the outsides crisp up and sprinkle the tops with just a bit of kosher salt.
- Bake them up in the oven until they’re golden and crisp on the outside. You might see cheesy filling spilling out the edges and that’s okay! After they come out of the oven you can take a spoon and push it back in.
What tortillas should I use?
You can really use any tortillas you like. I originally created this recipe with small corn tortillas but over the years people kept telling me they loved them with flour so eventually I started doing that too and that’s what you see in my photos. But you can use whatever you like!
- Corn tortillas – you’ll want to buy them fresh so they are less likely to crack. Wrapping in a few damp paper towels and warming in the microwave will help keep them soft and rollable.
- Flour tortillas – I use the soft taco size flour tortilla (which produces about 12 taquitos). They will crisp up brown on the ends, but stay soft in the centers. They’re easy to work with and work great for freezing or making ahead.
- Fresh/raw tortillas – if using this style of tortilla, you don’t need to cook the tortilla before rolling! You can just roll up raw and they cook quickly in the oven. This style of tortilla tends to puff up when baked so you might get some puffs or splits during baking, but they taste delicious.
Serving Suggestions
Here’s some recipes that pair nicely with these taquitos if you want to bulk it up into a bigger meal!
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup 3 oz cream cheese (low fat is fine, avoid fat free)
- 1/4 cup green salsa
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 3 Tablespoon chopped cilantro
- 2 Tablespoon sliced green onions
- 2 C shredded cooked chicken 10-12 oz
- 1 C grated pepperjack or plain jack cheese about 4 ounces
- 12 soft taco size tortillas
- kosher salt
- cooking spray or olive oil
Instructions
For the filling
- Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir.
- Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic, cilantro and green onions.
- Add chicken and cheese and combine well. (You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.)
For the taquitos
- Heat oven to 425℉. Line a baking sheet with parchment or spray a baking sheet or foil-lined baking sheet with nonstick spray.
- If using corn tortillas, work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave, wrapped in damp paper towels until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If using flour tortillas use them at room temperature or warm them slightly in the microwave if they aren't super fresh. If using fresh, uncooked tortillas you can roll them raw.
- Place about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1 inch from the edges. Roll up tortillas and place seam down on a baking sheet, not touching one another. Spray lightly with cooking spray, or lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.
- Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. Dip in sour cream, or our favorite: Creamy Lime-Cilantro Ranch.
- Air Fryer Instructions: All air fryers will cook differently, but in mine I do 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. I suggest checking them at the 6-8 minute range.
For the freezer instructions
- Prepare the taquitos through rolling them out and placing them on the baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze until solid, then transfer to a large freezer bag. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 425 and place the taquitos on a lined baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
Questions & Reviews
Angie, ya there actually is a difference in the salsas. Green salsa is made mostly from tomatillos, cilantro, lime, and jalapenos. The flavor is definitely different. But if you don't want to buy it, go ahead and throw in some regular salsa. It won't taste quite the same, but it will still be good!
What is the difference between green salsa and original (red) salsa? I have tons of regular salsa and I'd like to avoid buying green if I can. Is there a great difference in flavor?
Made these. Loved them. Ate way too many. Rationalized in my favor because they weren’t fried. Thanks for the recipe.
Amazing! In all 5 of her years, I’ve never seen my daughter take a bite of chicken voluntarily. And she loved these! Thanks for the great recipe 🙂
These are so great! Our family loved them!!! For some reason my husband always can tell when it’s a “Sara” recipe. I’ve lied a couple of times and said I was just inspired…(please don’t sue me for copyright breaches) but my husband rarely falls for it. We loved the black beans with it as well as the creamy lime dressing. I’ve made that dressing several times and it gets better and better. Thanks so much!
These were fantastico!
I used canned chicken from Costco because I was in a hurry (2 cans for the 1 cup) and shredded it in my kitchen aid with the sauce. It was very quick and easy and great. This will be a recipe to keep when trying to make something fast.
I made these and the cilantro/lime dressing tonight for cinco de mayo!
They SO rocked!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Everything I have tried from you has been just the best EVER!
My 13 year old son has decided that these will be prepared for his next birthday dinner!
The apple streusel stuff is tomorrow! I am so excited about making it that I am a little worried I might lose sleep.
You guys should make a book.
Have you seen Blurb?
I made these last night, and while mine were not nearly as pretty as yours, they were SO good! We all agree that this recipe is a keeper!
Carrie- you really can’t taste the cream cheese, it just makes it nice and creamy and holds it all together. I say you just don’t tell him it’s in there 😉
This looks SO yummy! My husband hates cream cheese though, so could I substitute with cream of chicken soup? Would that taste funny?
He probably won’t tell the difference unless you tell him. “Oh honey I’m glad you enjoyed those tacoitos smothered in jack cheese.”
thanks for the tips on using corn tortillas–they drive me nuts when they fall apart and unwrap!
Now I’m having visions of making a huge batch of these and throwing them in the freezer for quick dinners! I love taquitos!
We just made these over the weekend. YUM! I had my husband grill the chicken first and then I shredded it. The whole family loved them. I’m making them to take to a family for dinner tonight! Thanks!
I made these for a friend who had knee surgery the other day and cant wait to try them for my family. The chicken mixture was AMAZING. and we love taquitos. the kosher salt is a great idea!
Thanks!
My gluten free children LOVE taquitos. It will be fun to make them as well.
Love these. Too cute abd packes with flavor
Making these tonight! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
OK… I’ll be a follower:)
Happy Days! I love food like this. I am also looking forward to your vegetarian recipes – not because I’m vegetarian (because I’m not), but because I have tried to find some great recipes in my attempt to become more vegetarian-like. Am I making sense? Probably not.
I made the vegetarian by using refried beans and daiya cheese! So simple & tasty 🙂
Just in time for my Cinco de Mayo party!! yay! thanx
Yum!!!! My freshman year of college, my roommate and I would go get taquitos at that true-blue Mexican restaurant in the Macey’s parking lot in Provo that’s open all night and serves stuff like brain tacos. We’d squeeze fresh lime juice all over them and it made them SOOOOOOOOOOO good! I can’t wait to try these!
I am making these. TODAY. Haha they look great!
And about the Cafe Rio dressing… we went to the opening of the Cafe Rio in Idaho falls last week and a guy a few places ahead of me in line asked the manager what was in the dressing that made it so good. The manager laughed and told him it was a secret recipe.
I smiled smugly to myself because I had a homemade tub of it in my refrigerator already 🙂
These look delish! I agree with you on making things “lighter” some things just don’t work. I have found a good trick of putting my olive oil in a spray bottle…Then you can easily spray your pans, tortilla, bread, sautee veggies etc. It will help you go “lighter” on the oil but still have the fabulous taste!
These look so yummy. I will have to add them to my menu for next week.
Also…THANK YOU for the Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing recipe. Mine is finally to the point that I can’t tell if it is mine or leftovers from Cafe Rio! PERFECT!
I have never actually had taquitos before. They sure look delicious, I think this would be a great recipe to start with!
I was reading this recipe, and seriously my stomach started growling. Looks delish!
my mouth is watering as I type this!
Yum!
These look great! I agree with the previous comment – “if it has lime and cilantro, I am in!”
We will definitely be trying these out.
If It has lime and cilantro, I AM IN! I reviewed the recipe carefully and am certain this will easily be a family favorite. I plan to have the kids help me with the OAMC and this will be a recipe for the list. Thank you for all your hard work and I am so sorry that you missed the cut off by such a small amount!
Now you are making me hungry, and these are so easy to make…