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!
Jess-
Yes, you can just flash freeze them and pop them in a zip-lock bag. Then just bake a few at a time!
I know this is an old post, but I'm commenting anyway, because I have a question. These were a hit at our house. I'm curious, though, if I can freeze them. I'd like to make a big batch and have them to heat up one or two for lunch. Is that possible?
Thanks for sharing this! My boyfriend secretly wants to deep fry everything we eat, and I try to keep things lite so this ended up being a perfect for us.
These were a hit when I made them the first time. The second time, when my husband discovered I was making them again, I thought he was going to hyperventilate. These are AWESOME!!!
I substituted ground beef for the chicken and THEY WERE AMAZING!! I left the green salsa out (for my 2 year old's sake) and they still had a lot of fantastic flavor. Next time I think i will try the chicken. Thanks again!
These were so yummy! I used fresh garlic instead of the granulated garlic because I already had fresh garlic in our pantry. I have made baked chicken taquitos before, but these were WAY better. It's the sauce/mixture that makes these so delicious. I will FOR SURE make these again.
Thanks for the recipe!
I can't believe I waited THIS long to make these! We had these tonight and they were a hit! I'm seriously going to make another batch tomorrow to keep in the freezer. These would be awesome to pull out for kids' lunches.
I made these just to try out because I thought they would be a good party food and the are SO good!!!
Holy crap! These are AMAZING!!! Can't wait to try the beef ones. I will never eat the frozen ones at Sam's club again! Thank-you so much for sharing this recipe!!! 🙂
This chicken mixture is so amazing, I can eat it with a fork! The first time I made them as the taquitos and they were a big hit with the kids. I love the mixture so much I use it for baked chicken chimichangas! I smother them with the same green salsa, cheese and sour cream. YUMMMM!!
I love your site. Thanks for all the amazing recipes!
I swear I drool anytime I read this blog!! These are now a new family favorite. My husband has now declared Tuesday night Taquito night!
Love this site!
i made these tonight. doubled the recipe and flash froze them. they were really good fresh. i hope the frozen ones will taste just as good. 😉 thanks for the recipe.
OH MY GOSH!! I absolutely LOVE your site! I have an awesome crock pot recipe for some Sweet Pork that I serve at least once a month with some yellow Spanish rice, but I felt guilty to just but regular Ranch dressing on it because it deserved so much more!! I can't wait to try this! Thanks again for your delicious recipes and for your step-by-step photos!! and for your hard work!
This has made it into our 30 Day Meal Plan, we love them that much! Thank you, we LOVE your recipes!
We have made these several times. Delish! We have even made them without Cream Cheese to fit them in our new eating plan and they are still so good! Thank You!!!
Oh wow… these were SO good. Definitely a keeper. I also figured weight watcher POINTS… with 1/3 less fat cream cheese, they're only about 2 points each (if you use corn tortillas).
We loved them! Thanks for the recipe!
These are simply the best! My hubs ate 4 of them in one sitting!
I cannot wait to try the beef version!
Thanks you guys!
I made these for dinner tonight and they were AMAZING! So easy, so good, and we felt like we were really eating something bad!
These are amazing. We were tempted to eat them all. So yummy!
I came by to get your hoagie roll recipe b/c I want to make it on Thursday. I guess serendipity led me here. I have a similar baked taco recipe, and a few variations, which I prepare regularly. Everyone calls them those taco things. (I have pics, but no written recipe b/c I eyeball it, but I'll send you a link when I get it together.)
They are always a hit, so I used the filling as inspiration for an entry in the Pillsbury Bake Off about 2 or 3 years ago. I bought lots of Pillsbury products, toiled and experimented. I didn't win. 😉
I used this technique tonight to make crisy bean and beef burritos (flour tortillas). It worked great with them as well. The only difference is that they needed a slightly shorter time in the oven.
Thanks!
I made these tonight and they were super delicious! I'll definitely be adding this to my Google bookmarks, along with the TON of your other recipes that I have already included in my arsenal. Thanks for another great one!
I made these tonight…they were so good! They are a winner at my house. Mine were not nearly as pretty as yours though.
Hi,
I made these last night. They are DELISH! Thank you so much for posting this recipe.
These are sooo yummy… better than anything fried! I made them with corn and white tortillas since I love both. They are sooo good right out of the oven.. sticky cheese hot goodness. Always love your recipes. If you had a book I'd buy it. But I do bookmark ALL your recipes pretty much!
They have two books! Third coming soon 😉
Wow. These were SO GOOD! I made a double recipe and froze half of them. I baked the frozen ones for dinner a couple nights ago and they were just as great as the first night. Yum. Yum.
I guess I need to work on my corn tortilla rolling technique–b/c mine didn't look that pretty. But so yummy!! I will be making them again soon!!
Sorry, it was my husband who doubted it. After I read all the comments I realized I should have read before posting a question! Anyways, we had them tonight and they were DELICIOUS!!! My husband loved them and surprisingly I did too!!! (I'm probably the worlds pickiest eater) THANKS!!!
Yup Natalie- it's cream cheese 🙂
Do you really put Cream Cheese in these? Or is it Sour Cream?