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!
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Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
- Yield: 12
Description
These taquitos are an all-time reader favorite, and it’s so easy to see why. Pair it with our Creamy Lime Cilantro Dressing for a fantastic Latin dish!
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!
How do you think these would do in an air fryer? We don’t have one, but I was thinking about borrowing my father-in-laws.
they would do just fine!
We love these!! They’ve become a staple in our home.
★★★★★
Really good except I would bake at 10-11 minutes otherwise they will burn. Everyone loved them
★★★★★
Dear Kate and Sara,
I had some left over BBQ Chicken Taco meat left over from some green enchiladas I was making. Then I remembered reading about your taquitos. It is easy to assemble, all your tips were spot on and made taquitos until I ran out of little flour tortillas. I followed your freezer instructions and froze a dozen of them. I cooked the rest. I overcooked them just a bit, but they were delicious nonetheless.
★★★★★
So great to have in the freezer for teenage boys. They bake up perfectly from frozen. Will be a great meal to send to a friend in need. Thank you!
These are such a showstopper! Last time I made them I had more filling than tortillas so I just warmed it up in the microwave and use nacho chips to scoop it up and it was the best ever!! I am serving the filling tonight with nachos as a starter!!! Can’t wait! Yum!!!
Thank you for this great looking recipe! I was looking for a freezer meal to make for a neighbor who’s expecting baby #3 this month, and this is a perfect idea! Thanks so much!!
These taquitos are life changing. It’s probably the best thing I’ve learned since having brain surgery two weeks ago!
This is one of my family’s all time favorite dinners. Please please please make a recipe like this using bbq pulled pork!
Oooh, I actually have! I’ve never posted those before, I will do that just for you!
I made the original recipe but had to leave out the salsa, lime, and chili powder the first time around because I made them for company who couldn’t have much spice. I added just a bit of chipotle chili powder to make up for that. Everyone loved these so much they asked for the recipe. Since then I have made this several times as per the recipie with just one change, I use chipotle chili powder in place of regular chili powder. I poach the chicken with spices, wine, and lime juice before shredding. We love this so much that I triple the recipe and freeze this once a week so I have a quick go to meal. We love this with the Creamy Lime-Cilantro Ranch Dressing. Even Hispanics have asked me for this recipe!
Can you make these with the cook and serve tortillas from Costco? Should you cook them first or can you make them with the raw tortillas and let them bake??
Hi Sarah, I made these for my family for a number of years, but have not had them in a while. Just curious in the “new makeover” did the recipe change or is it the original recipe? I love so many of the recipes on your website!
Same recipe, new photos 🙂
So I had a lot of people over and decided to take the filling and make it into enchiladas. I put 2 scoops of filling in each tortilla, then poured a little green sauce inside (or red sauce), poured the rest of the sauce on with cheese on top and cooked at 350 for 20 minutes. The best enchiladas I’ve had in my life!!!
We use Tortilla Land tortillas, which are uncooked flour tortillas. Do I need to cook each one first before putting the filling in? Also, if I do a mix of corn and flour tortillas, is the cook time the same if they are on the same baking sheet? Thanks!
probably the same cook time- I’d just keep an eye on them. And yes, cook the tortillas first!
Wonderful The only thing I would do differently is we made the dip/dressing sauce that goes with it. It makes at least 20 Oz so in order to not have tons of left overs I would recommend cutting that recipe in half. Delicious though!
The actual taquitos are still baking, but I had some filling left and ate it with chips (the stuff is pure heaven!). I think if I add a smidge more cream cheese and a smidge more jack cheese it would make a phenomenal baked dip for when I’m feeling too lazy to fill the tortillas or for easy transport to a party! 7 minutes until taquito bliss!!!!
I would just like to say that these are not overrated in the slightest. So good and super easy–and pretty! Thanks for this great recipe! My husband and I look forward to having it MANY more times.
Yum these have been a staple in our home for years
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I’m making this tonight! I just whipped up the ranch and its sooo good. I’m very excited about this meal!
I love your recipes , we had Thanksgiving turkey cooked your way and it was great!
I wonder if I can use chives instead of cilantro , lemon instead of line and add some ricotta cheese?
Any thoughts?
I have a little bit of a zucchini problem…do you see any reason NOT to put a bit of shredded zucchini in these taquitos?
They might add too much moisture and make them watery. I would probably either press the water out after letting it sit in a strainer for a few minutes, or lightly saute it first.
OBSESSED with this recipe!! They are so delicious my family can’t stop eating these! We crave them literally every day. And that cilantro lime ranch is to die for! SO GOOD!! Thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
I have made these MANY times for my family and they LOVE it!! I was wanting to try to make them a little healthier and was wondering if I can substitute the cream cheese with plain Greek yogurt. I love your blog, I tell everyone about it. Every recipe has been a hit! Thank you!
Any thoughts whether or not the crock pot taco chicken would be a good option in this or if it would be too heavily spiced?
It would be delish!
I just made these this evening and they were OUTSTANDING!! Have some in the freezer for a quick meal next time we want them. (Which probably won’t be very long)!!
I like to make my own tortillas or use the unbaked ones from the store. Do you know if I would need to cook the tortillas before filling them, or would they cook sufficiently when baked?
We use uncooked tortillas, too. What did you discover about needing to cook them before filing them?
yes, I’d cook the raw tortillas first.
These look wonderful and easy. Thanks for the great recipe!
I live in Iceland so I can’t get jack cheese. What can I use instead??
Seriously my fave. About a year ago, I had an affair with chipotle (this blog may have contributed to that) and had to use chipotle chili powder in everything-this recipe included. Best chipotle decision ever made! The only way I ever make them, now! YUM!
These are a staple at my house! And I’ve shared this recipe (and your website!) with my ward several times. This is also my favorite freezer meal to share with friends that have just had babies. It’s because of wonderful recipes like this that people actually think I’m a good cook!! Thank you ladies!!