This Chicken Taquito recipe is one of the all-time most popular recipes on Our Best Bites. They can be made in a variety of sizes and on any type of tortilla you like (more details below) and also work great as a freezer meal! These are a go-to for me when taking a meal to a friend. I love rolling them up and including baking instructions so people can bake them when they’re ready. They also work well for making ahead and keeping in your own freezer. You can pull them out for a busy weeknight dinner, or just one or two at a time for a snack in the air fryer.
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.
- Low Carb Tortillas – These work great with low carb style tortillas as well as lavash bread.
Dipping Suggestions
These are great simply served with sour cream on the side, but if you want to kick it up a notch, pair it with my Lime-Cilantro Ranch or some homemade guac and salsa!
Cafe Rio Copycat Creamy Tomatillo Dressing (Lime Cilantro Ranch)
Guacamole
Cantina-Style Salsa
Take a Meal
I love taking this recipe to friends when I’m delivering a meal. I prepare until the rolling step and skip brushing in oil and salt (they’re still great without that step and it’s simpler just to skip it, but that’s up to you! You can also include on the instructions to brush with oil or spray with non-stick oil spray before baking). Just stack the rolled taquitos in a zip-top back or other container and include baking instructions. Some things you can mix and match with this meal depending on what you have time for:
- Sour cream or a container of my homemade Lime-Cilantro Ranch for dipping
- A side of rice and beans
- A bag of chips and a jar of salsa
- A bagged salad
- Fresh fruit
- A quick treat like cookies or a pint of ice cream
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup 3 oz cream cheese low fat is fine, avoid fat free
- ¼ cup green salsa
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoon sliced green onions
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken 10-12 oz
- 1 cup grated pepperjack or plain jack cheese about 4 ounces
- 12 soft taco size tortillas or tortillas of your choice
- kosher salt
- cooking spray or 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.
- The amount of filling you use will be different depending on what size tortilla you use. For soft taco size tortillas place about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1 inch from the edges as you roll to prevent filling from leaking out. Roll up tortillas and place seam down on a baking sheet, not touching one another.
- Spray each taquito lightly with cooking spray, or lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with just a little bit of kosher salt, if desired.
- Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the ends start to get golden brown and crisp. Different types of tortillas will bake differently so set a timer for less and keep an eye on them. Sometimes seeing a bit of filling coming out is a good indicator. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. If filling has leaked out just use a spoon to push it back in.
- Dip in sour cream, guacamole or my 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.
Notes
Nutrition
More recipes to love!
Here’s some recipes that pair nicely with these taquitos if you want to bulk it up into a bigger meal!
Questions & Reviews
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?