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
WOW THESE ARE INCREDIBLE!! I just made them tonight and my husband and I LOVED them. Will defnitely add this to the recipe box. Thanks for sharing this wonderful and easy recipe.
OH.MY.GOSH. These are AMAZING!!! Hubby couldn’t get enough..can’t wait to make another batch and freeze some!!
I eat these about once a week now.
🙂
I made these for dinner this evening. Oh man- are they delish! And I love the fact that my hands smell like lime and cilantro! Thanks for the recipe!
I made these last night and they were DELICIOUS! I’m kind of a spice-sissy, though, so I switched out the regular cream cheese for Philadelphia Santa Fe Blend Cooking Creme and cut out the green salsa and chili powder. So good!!! I will definitely make them again – they’ve quickly become a family favorite!
So nice to have a new Mexican dish to make! They were a tad spicy for me (I’m a mild/medium salsa kind of girl), but I’ll just cut out the chili powder next time, and they’ll be perfect for my “mild” taste buds! Will definitely be making these again (and with beef too)!
I made these for dinner, along with yalls quick and easy black bean recipe and I made a side of the cilantro lime dressing, and it was a delicious dinner! 🙂 We all enjoyed it! Thanks!
I made these for lunch today, I substituted green salsa for red salsa (not sure where to find green or what it tastes like) and they were quite good. Something different from my usual checken fingers and fries. The only comment I’d make is even though I went light on the cilantro (maybe one Tablespoon if that) it was still the flavour that stood out most and I am not a huge fan of cilantro so if like me you’re not a huge fan, you need barely any as it is a very flavourful herb and it tends to overpower the other ingreedients. Also I don’t like mine super crispy so I cooked them for 7 minutes which gave them just a nice light browning on the ends and the bottom and a bit of a crunch.
A recipe I’d make again though I might replace the cilantro with fresh parsley which I like more 🙂
I ran across this recipe (thanks to Money Saving Mom) and I love your blog! These were delicious when we had them a few weeks ago. Also, I just realized I froze the remainder of them so they will be great for a quick and easy dinner tonight! Yum!
I just made these last night and they were super easy and super yummy! I made them with flour tortillas and was impressed. I LOVE Mexican Food and these are a new favorite!
I wondered if you could make bigger taquitos and drizzle some red sauce on them and shredded cheese and make enchiladas?! Mexican food sounds yummy for tonight!
Yep, that would be good!
Made these tonight, and they were delicious! But you already knew that. The best part, that you probably don’t know, is that my toddler practically inhaled these! I wasn’t sure how she would handle the spices, but they were a huge hit. Thank you so much for all your awesome recipes.
Made these tonight using your Taco Chicken (previously made & frozen). These were WONDERFUL! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
So good, so easy. A hit!
I LOVE these!! I made them last week with chicken & am making black bean ones tonight. I used flour tortillas both times & it worked out great.
These are wonderful. My picky 16 year old daughter almost ate the whole batch! We eat chicken tacos often, so I have an easy way to make shredded chicken ahead. Add boneless, skinless chicken breasts to your crock pot. However many you have. add a can of diced tomatoes (with Chilis!), diced onion, garlic, and spices or taco seasoning to your liking. cook till shredable. I package it up in 2 cup servings and freeze. then you have chicken on hand for tacos – or these yummy taquitos. only need to add a few of the ingredients depending on how you seasoned your chicken.
I made these 2 days in a row. My husband and I love it! Thank you so much!
These are so delicious!
I made these last night with flour tortillas and they were absolutely delicious. I baked four of them last night and froze the other six, so I’m looking forward to just popping them in the oven and having dinner in the near future. This is definitely a recipe I’ll be making again! Oh, I didn’t like the salt on top, though, and ended up brushing it all off. I might have been heavy handed, though.
Used this recipe tonight although I didn’t have any lime (which would have made them THAT much better) it was a HUGE hit!! So yummy and quick to make!
These are one of my favorites!!! I like to use flour tortillas. So easy and so delicious!
I have a question. This recipe calls for grated pepperjack cheese. It’s not really possible to grate the pepperjack without it becoming a mutilated ball of cheese. Do you mean shred it? It sort of affects the volume of cheese in the cup so that’s why I am asking. Thanks so much in advance. I made these taquitos today and they are amazing! I carefully measured two tablespoons of filling and some of them still exploded a bit. Next time I may use less filling or figure out a better way to stuff them. I did fold down the edges of two of the tortilla sides to make a fancy end like you did. It looked nice. I used Mission small flour tortillas. I also bought Mission extra thin small corn tortillas but didn’t get to using them yet and I think they will be perfect to use also. My daughter LOVED them. Great recipe!
You can definitely grate pepperjack cheese. If you’re having trouble, maybe try a different brand!
I made them up to the point where you are supposed to spray and bake them in the oven and then froze them in a Pyrex pan making sure the taquitos weren’t touching. I took them out of the freezer, sprayed with oil, sprinkled with salt and baked them for a few minutes longer than stated. They heated up perfectly. Next time, if I am going to freeze and bake, I will pinch and roll them up with the top and bottom closed so that the filling will not spill out of the top. These would make a great appetizer for a party as they can be made ahead of time and baked when needed. Thanks for a great recipe!
Oh and I also doubled the recipe but replaced half the chicken with two cups of canned, rinsed black beans pulsed in the food processor. The black beans added creaminess and texture and were cheaper than extra chicken. Thanks!
I just stumbled upon your blog via a pin on pinterest three days ago. I saw these and immediately HAD to make them. I’m not the biggest fan of green salsa so I opted for red and they were amazing. 🙂 My husband and I devoured them. I’ve been scoping your blog out since I found it and can’t wait to try the coconut chicken fingers!
Do you think these could be frozen? at what step do you think it would work best? I am trying to find a quick heat up for meals on the run.
I am trying it this week and will let you know how it goes.
tia
Yep, they freeze great. See this post for freezer instructions:
https://ourbestbites.com/2009/06/baked-chipotle-beef-taquitos/
Just made these for dinner. I used flour tortillas and added a can of black beans. Big hit with everyone in the family. Think we will be adding this to the “rotation”.
Thanks!
I love this recipe – so good. In fact, every recipe that I have tried from your blog is amazing. Thank-you for sharing them with us.
So EASY! My 4 kids DEVOURED them ALL! I literally had to make more in the middle of dinner for hubs and I!
Thanks SO much!!
I just made these and they came out absolutely fantastic!! 🙂 thank you!
Hey girls- totally just found your site while searching for how to cook chicken! LOVING all the recipes!!!!! I am NOT a cook, but you makes these dishes look pretty do-able even for me! 😉 QUESTION about THIS RECIPE tho- where do you get (or how can I make) the green salsa? Do you buy it at the store? I’ve seen it at restaurants, etc. but never really seen it at the store. Anyhoo, I wanna try these taquitos sooo bad!!!! thanks so much!!! =0)
Glad you found us Sarah! You can find green salsa in the regular salsa aisle at the grocery store, or in the Latin Foods aisle 🙂