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.
These come together fairly quickly, and an awesome bonus is that these freeze (unbaked) beautifully so you can make extra and have a meal for later.
You’ll need some cooked, shredded or diced chicken for this recipe. You can use a mix of dark and/or white meat, or whatever is easiest. For me, easiest is often a rotisserie chicken from Costco.
The “creamy” component in this recipe comes from a couple of things. For starters, I use a little bit of cream cheese. It melts together with the shredded jack cheese to make an awesome creamy texture that coats the chicken.
You can use either plain Jack cheese, or pepper jack if you’d like a little more heat.
Some other things go in there for tons of flavor, like some green salsa,
green onions, fresh lime juice, and plenty of seasonings.
Just mix it all up and your filling is done.
You’ll place a few tablespoons on small flour, or corn tortillas and roll them up tight. You’ll want to keep your filling about an inch away from both ends because it will leak out the ends. Another trick is to roll them tight. Don’t be loosey-goosey or they’ll fall apart.
Once you get them all rolled up, you can either bake them immediately, OR
save them for later. I’ve taken these to friends in a bag like this one below. They’re great in the fridge for a few days and you can bake them up as needed. Or you can freeze them and bake them straight from the freezer. It’s totally worth it to make a double batch so you can pop one in the freezer!
To bake them immediately, lightly spray a foil-lined baking sheet with non-stick spray, or brush lightly with oil. Place the taquitos in a single layer, not touching each other, and then lightly brush the tops with olive oil, or give them a quick spray of non-stick spray and sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.
Bake them in the oven until they turn golden brown, especially on the edges.
You can see how the bottoms totally crisp up
and while that outside tortilla is perfectly crisp, the inside layers are soft and awesome.
These are seriously amazing.
It is absolutely mandatory to serve them with our Creamy Lime-Cilantro dressing for dipping, but they’re also good with good ol’ salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.
If you’ve seriously never tried these, today is your day. Put them on your menu plan!
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 for extra yumminess, use grilled taco chicken!
- 1 C grated pepperjack or plain jack cheese
- small flour or corn 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.
- Stir to combine and then add 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 foil and lightly coat with cooking 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 straight from the fridge, it helps to warm them in the microwave so they're easier to roll.
- Place 2-3 T of 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.
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 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
Wanna make it a meal?
Serve with a side of Black Beans and a simple green salad with Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing. Wash it down with some Brazilian Lemonade!
Looking for the beef version? It’s right here!
Lastly, recently this recipe was noted in an article in the Chicago Sun-Times where the author noted that they were “some of the best taquitos I’ve ever had”
I’ll take it!
Questions & Reviews
We love these! However to make it simpler, (I’m a teacher & always looking for shortcuts) we quadruple the batch, add 2 full cream cheeses, a whole bunch of both cilantro & green onions (it was pretty close when I measured), then we mix it & just freeze the mix (no tortillas). Oh & we just use whatever cheese is in the fridge, sometimes a mix. It makes like 8 meals for our family! Thank you so much!!
Sara, how many tortillas will this recipe make?
Also for the person who asked about shredding the cheese, I believe if she freezes it for about 30 minutes, it may be easier to shred.
Makes about 12-16 depending on how full you make them.
This recipe is awesome. I substitue any salsa, any kind of citrus juice we have (sometimes OJ) , don’t normally include cilantro (don’t care for it) or the green onions. I usually double the batch and use a whole slab of cream cheese and extra shredded cheese. I bake the chicken and then shred the chicken in a stand mixer and freeze the unused shredded chicken to use later in other dishes. Totally unforgiving recipe, I can alter and adjust to my families tastes and it is always a winner.
I have a question! How many taquitos does this make? As a single college girl are we talking about one meal with leftovers or am I going to need to throw a party?
I make these all the time and everyone loves them. I started adding homemade refried beans in the tortilla and it pumps these up even more. thanks for the great recipe!
Goodness you really did a number on this dish. I had to pin it. I love the fact that it’s baked. It’s also one of those dishes that look like you did a lot of work and it was relatively easy.
Yup these are the BEST. It’s probably the recipe I refer newbies to the most. Very impressive at showers/parties when all people have ever had is the nasty, deep fried, no filling ones from the big box store. Love the update!
I love this recipe!! Thanks for another winner! I make these all the time, and double it to freeze. A definite family fave. I stir in a little honey too and it’s a must try! It takes it to the next level!
I just made these a week ago and my family loves them, especially with the cilantro lime dipping sauce! I’m gonna make another batch to freeze since I have leftover ingredients. Thanks so much for the yummy recipe!
Hands down one of my FAVORITE OBB recipes. I make these at least monthly and my kids LOVE them. Thanks for reposting it for others to enjoy!
These are absolutely a favourite in our family, and my go-to meal to bring new moms and stock for myself when a baby’s on the way! Love the updated photos!
This is one of my all time favorites! And I didn’t know that they freeze well, so thank you for adding that. But in the original post you give some great tips for rolling corn tortillas that you left out of this one- and it just doesn’t work if you don’t have those tips! Maybe add that for new readers?
These are delicious! This is one of my favorites from you guys. I made the filling in the morning a few weeks ago, came home and stuffed these guys, and dinner was ready sooo fast. I am going to be making a double batch of these babies…well maybe a triple batch…and freezing them for easy lunches or a dinner when we have baby #2 in October. And your cilantro lime ranch is just soooo yummy and easy too!
My husband LIVED on these taquitos after I gave birth. I used corn tortillas (a little trickier, but delightful) and froze them. This recipe bought me some much needed mommy time. “Want more taquitos?…Then watch the baby for a few hours so I can whip up a batch!”
Not that this recipe takes hours, but I took my sweet time (and took a nap). 🙂
We love these topped with sour cream, lettuce, and diced tomatoes!!! yum now I want to make them again 🙂
I usually end up subbing a small can of roasted green chiles, instead of the green salsa because I always have those on hand and it works just fine. Yup, these are on frequent rotation at our house and a hit with the toddler as well. I need to make them again soon!
This is truly one of our family favorites. I even made them for my husband’s surprise birthday party. They were a huge hit with all of our guests too! I always serve it with the lime-cilantro dressing. I’ve even dipped fries and veggie roll-ups in the dressing. To. Die. For.
And I always double the recipe and freeze a bag of taquitos for later.
These taquitos are one of our family’s most favorite recipes ever!! My boys refer to them as “Mom’s Famous Taquitos” and I have you to thank for that! 🙂 I’m thinking we need to make these tonight!
How many taquitos does the recipe make?
One of my family’s favorite recipes. I always double it and freeze a bunch.
A) I and my family LOVE this recipe with so much of our being – I always make a triple batch.
B) I tried freezing them, and they work fine! They aren’t as presentable – the corn tortillas disintegrate a little while cooking – so I wouldn’t serve frozen ones to company,but they taste just as good.
I made them all the way until the cooking stage, covered tightly with plastic wrap and foil, then froze. To cook, I take the plastic off then recover with foil, bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then 450 for 20. Yum yum yum.
This truly amazing. I made it with a side of coleslaw, it was delicious. Thank you for sharing it.
How many do you usually get from one recipe?
We’ve loved this recipe for years now. Recently I’ve realized that my body doesn’t like carbs as much as I do. My kids requested this for dinner and I made it as a quesadilla instead (higher filling to tortilla ratio,equally less carbs for me) and it was great. The filling is also really good in a lettuce wrap. Maybe you’ve already tried these options or thought of this, but I thought I’d share that we LOVE this recipe and have found new ways to love it as well. Happy Cooking, we sure love this site!
I made these tonight using whole wheat flour tortillas (the 16 oz guerrero brand that comes with 11 tortillas in a pack). I had to omit the cilantro to save my marriage, and since I didn’t have shredded pepper jack, I substituted 1/2 cheddar and half monterey jack. I doubled the recipe and got 15 large taquitos. They were super yummy, and with a side of black bean/corn/onions/bell peppers skillet, 2 taquitos was plenty to fill up my husband. So glad I have enough for lunches now through out the week. Thanks for the recipe.
A variation of the baked taquitos: Use mashed avocado to replace the cheeses.
I had some fresh corn on the cob so I boiled up a couple of ears and stripped it and added it to the meat mixture. Very good
Made these tonight and they were delicious!!! Thank you!!
I made these tonight for our Cooking Club. Yet again you guys were a hit! I have never been let down by a recipe I get from you! Thanks again 🙂
I triple the recipe to freeze and keep for compassionate service meals. I learned the hard way not to triple the chili powder and to use Monterey cheese. I also double the cilantro dressing. Again, I learned the hard way not to double the garlic. It’s a great meal to freeze and give a new mom or someone baking instructions!