Baked Chicken Taquitos
These delicious baked chicken taquitos are filled with a creamy, cheesy, flavorful chicken mixture, rolled up and baked.
These chicken taquitos are fantastic.
They were simple to prepare, came together quickly and are much healthier than the fried variety.
They reminded me a little bit of the Crispy Chicken Wraps, mostly in the ease of preparation and use of pre-cooked shredded chicken with a creamy, cheesy base.
The flavor of the taquitos is simple and delicious without a lot of spiciness and heat.
These are definitely going on our meal rotation – my kids loved the crispiness of the tortillas and my husband though they were awesome, too. Quick, delicious and definitely worth making!
What to Serve With This
Served with a light green salad and some fresh fruit and veggies (or perhaps this delicious fruit concoction) and this is a perfectly perfect meal for any night of the week!
Baked Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup green salsa
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 green onion, sliced finely (white and green parts to equal about 2 tablespoons)
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 cup grated monterey jack or pepper jack cheese
- 14-16 small yellow or white corn tortillas
- Kosher salt
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix softened cream cheese, green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic powder. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
- You can prepare this step ahead of time (which I did – I made it the morning of). Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
- Working with a few tortillas at a time, place 3-4 between two damp paper towels and microwave for 30-45 seconds, until tortillas are soft and pliable and don’t crack while rolling. Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a soft tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges. Roll up tightly (but not so tight that the tortilla cracks).
- Place filled taquitos seam side down on the baking sheet, making sure they don’t touch each other. When ready to bake, spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and lightly sprinkle some kosher (coarse) salt on top.
- Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown. Serve immediately. Taquitos can be dipped in in salsa, sour cream, guacamole, or any other combination you can dream up (my kids liked ranch dressing – go figure).
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: adapted from Our Best Bites
Thanks for another easy dinner. I didn’t have green salsa, so I put in some green chiles. Also, I fried them because a skillet doesn’t heat up my kitchen nearly as much as turning on the stove. I made these before from Our Best Bites, but for some reason, I liked them much better this time. I think it’s the magic of Mel 😉
These are so delicious! And easy. And quick. And so thankful you shared and continue sharing your talent, skill, life, and heart with all of us!
In which step in the process do you freeze them?
Good luck in your move.
Welcome to Wisconsin! What part will you be moving to?
Hi Karen, this is a really old post! We’ve since moved to Green Bay and then to Minnesota. 🙂
Hi, can I know what is the green salsa , and if I want to freeze , before baking or after baking
Thank you.
The green salsa is like salsa Verde…I usually buy the Herdez brand. When I make these, I bake them, let them cool and then freeze in a ziploc bag. Hope that helps!
I made these last night and they were great!
I have made these a bunch of times over the last few years. I have seen recipes all over with just slight variations. I tried yours tonight and they were delicious. I, like your kids, like to dip them in ranch, but I mix the ranch with a bit of salsa. Fiesta Ranch 🙂
I have made a double batch before and froze just the filling. I defrosted it in the fridge over night and rolled as normal. Tasted great.
I’m going to answer my own question and leave some input: Yes, the tortillas don’t unravel. 🙂 I also found that the underside of my tortillas got crispy, but the tops did not. I attribute this to the spraying on top, so I am going to leave that out next time I make these. They were great! Coming from a Texan who has high standards on Tex-Mex and Mexican food-way to go, Mel! Will definitely be making these again! Thank you for the recipe. I’ve tried a handful of your recipes and have liked many of them! 🙂
Hi Mel,
I usually make chicken enchiladas with corn tortillas, and they don’t stay together….I was wondering if these unroll when you’re trying to eat them. This is baked at a slightly higher temperature than I usually bake my enchiladas, so maybe they just crisp up?
Thanks!
Jenny – it helps to heat up the corn tortillas a bit before rolling. I’ve had some brands of corn tortillas stay together better than other ones. Sadly I can’t remember which ones are the best! But heating them slightly definitely helps.
What a great recipe, Mel! I made this for my family last night and we all devoured them. So quick, easy, and delicious. Thanks so much!
If you were to make these vegetarian, what would you use in place of the chicken? Thank you so much! Love your website!
I have no idea, Georgia! Possibly some rice or other filler? Maybe even some beans.
Tried these tonight … So delicious! Restaurant quality. Yum! Served them with black beans, shredded lettuce, avocado, tomato, sour cream, salsa. Something for everyone. Soooo good! Thank you, Mel.
Made these for dinner tonight and I’m SO glad I did. I had 12 tortillas in the fridge, wasn’t sure what to do with them and from now on, I will make this with them. Great flavor, love how crunchy they get and fun to eat. A real winner.
so, so good! i didn’t have green salsa, so i used regular mild. i threw in 1/4 low fat sour cream. i also had medium sized tortillas, so they were more like crunchy burritos. one kid loved, the picky-picky one, not so much. but two out of three is a keeper around here. thanks so much for the awesome recipe!
The first time I made these, I was a little incompetent at the rolling, so they tasted good but looked like they were for family only. 🙂 So this time I tried them quesadilla-ish (just spread it on 7-8 corn tortillas to almost the edge, topped with another tortilla, quartered them, then went on with your recipe to the end. WOW! They were awesome and didn’t get so oozy that they fell out the sides. They are delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
So delicious, I can’t even begin to tell everyone! You have to add these to your recipes, you won’t be sorry. So yummy.
Erin – I’ve never frozen them but I believe someone commented above in the comments that they had and it worked out fine.
Mel, these are great! I’m making them again tonight. (Although this time I will not roll them until I’m ready to bake. Last time the tortillas split in the fridge. Whoops! They were still really good.) Have you had any luck freezing them? Thanks for another great recipe!
Forgot to add that I misread the ingredients and used flour tortillas and they were still awesome. I still warmed them in the microwave, but they were super easy to roll up.
Made these the other day. Love that they were baked and not fried. My husband could not stop raving about them! I didn’t tell him there was green salsa in them – haha! Love, love, love this recipe and can’t wait to try it again!
Okay so no green salsa in the house would normal red be okay?
Guess who? :o) So I had never, ever used cilantro until your Salsa Verde Tostadas which were incredible!!!! When I first made those I grunted through every bite like I had never had good food in my life! The cilantro was very evident & very wonderful! Much like that recipe, this one had me grunting. Cilantro rocks. My husband & I LOVED these Taquitos!!! This will be a regular around here!
Hi Melanie,
I know I’ve commented on these before (and by the way, I think I ended up making them the day of for the co-op dinner I talked about in my first comment, don’t remember since it was so long ago now), but I make them all the time and love them and thought I would share that we have recently made them with flour tortillas and they turned out great too. It worked better for my 2 year old since it’s a bit harder to bite a corn tortilla. We love them both ways.
Had these in the freezer but didn’t want to turn my oven on in this heat. They re-heated really well in the microwave. I did make with flour tortilla so it was like eating a creamy chicken burrito but I really enjoyed it.
Just made these tonight! Delicious! The little rascals cracked in the oven- I’ll have to try a different brand of corn tortillas next time. Thank you for all your wonderful recipes!
wonderful recipe! we had these last night and my 3 year old especially loved them. He said it was fun food! He likes to dip things, so we had cheese dip, guacamole, sour cream, and refried beans as dipping sauces. He was in heaven! This will be a great addition to my menu! THANKS!
Thanks, Jennifer! Love all the dipping options!
These were great being a native Texan I cooked my chicken breast in a crockpot with a can of Rotel ( which I know you can’t get everywhere but if you can try it). My girls loved them and baking them worked great. I like the healthier aspect of not frying. I do not know how I can across your website but I look forward to trying more recipes!
Andrea – I really like rotel for the flavor it imparts, too. Great idea to add it to this recipe!
You say you cook a bunch of chicken in the crockpot, shred and freeze for later. How long do you cook, on what setting, boneless or bone-in chicken and how much chicken broth? I use shredded chicken all the time. Making a large batch and freezing will make dinner go so much quicker.
Emily – I usually cook about 6 frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts at a time. I lay them in the crockpot, pour about 1/2 cup chicken broth on top and cook on high for about 4-5 hours. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks so much!! That takes all the guess work out of my menu planning…just the way I like it 🙂
BTW–what sides did you serve with it?
Shelly – I usually serve these with a lot of fresh veggies and fruit, a green salad and sometimes a rice pilaf or spanish rice.
Yummmm! These look good. They are going on my menu for this week!
Recipe #2 of yours in less than a week. 🙂 We had these tonight and they were very good. Thank you!
Thanks, LadyJayPee! Glad you liked these little taquitos!
I had to let you know that these were a huge hit!! My husband can’t wait to eat the left overs for lunch. I can’t wait to make these again for my family. It was also really nice to be able to do most of the prep work while my kiddos were taking a nap. Thanks again.
Kim, so, so glad these were a hit!
So I have been making a lot of meatless meals lately partially because it saves time and the other half because I don’t like to handle raw meat very much. My husband was polite but I could tell that I wasn’t winning him over or going to be turning him vegetarian anytime soon. So I told him to pick out a recipe from your site and this is what he picked. We are making these tonight and I am excited to feed him something that I know he is going to love. I also love being able to cook the chicken in the crockpot making it easy on me and my raw meat aversion. These look wonderful! Thank you for time after time giving me great meals to feed my family.
Kim – I hope you and your husband like these baked taquitos. They are definitely a family favorite. Let me know you you end up liking them (either way!).
Just made this tonight and they were YUMMY! My son even ate them! Which is amazing because he will hardly ever eat anything “new”. I did leave out the cilantro and green onions b/c my hubby doesn’t care for those and I used cheddar cheese b/c my monterey jack cheese was frozen solid. It was very filling…I barely ate 3….I should of stopped at 2. Anyways we decided it was keeper, thanks for sharing this recipe!
Carlie – thanks for the comment to let me know these worked out. Seriously, isn’t it the best when your kids eat something you wouldn’t expect them to eat? I love that!
Oh my. These WERE SO GOOD. The filling is amazing. I usually totally dislike cilatro (my husband thinks I’m crazy), but wow, I’m a believer now. I would eat this filling without the tortillas!
The Three Amigos – I love to see your comments pop up since you are so good to check in and let me know when you’ve made something. I’m really glad you like these, even with the cilantro! Thanks for letting me know.
Hi Lindsay – I am really glad you like these taquitos. As for the chicken, I usually put between 4-6 frozen chicken breasts in my crockpot and pour in about 1/2 to 3/4 cup chicken broth. I cook them on low for about 6-7 hours. Hope that helps!
I don’t know if you’ll even get this since this is an older post, but I have to say that I LOVE this recipe! I have made it a lot! I was just wondering if you could tell me about how much chicken and how much chicken stock you put in your crock pot when preparing shredded chicken. I have so many recipes that call for cooked shredded chicken and preparing the chicken is my least favorite part. Your crock pot idea is such a great idea!!! I’m not great with the crock pot so if you could let me know the chicken to liquid ratio I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for all of your WONDERFUL recipes!!!
Lindsay
Hi Jodie – thanks for the welcome. I’m glad to know there are some “instant” friends in this area! We are slowly getting used to it out here but love it so far (we used to live in the Rapids area in central WI before leaving the state for a few years and now returning).
I just found your blog. I just saved many recipes to try, including these 🙂 They all look so good! Oh, and I live about 25 miles south of Green Bay. Welcome to the area (although I see this recipe was posted a while ago)
best wishes and good luck in your move, melanie!
sadly, the only taquitos i’ve ever had came from the freezer section and they were nasty. these are much more appealing, and assuredly more easy on the hip area. 🙂
Good luck with the move! We’re in Indiana, & the move from Utah to the Midwest was definitely an adjustment, but we love it! I know you will too! (Although you may have to adjust baking times to account for humidity; I’m still trying to re-figure out my cookie recipe!)
These look so good, I ‘m for anything that the kids and hubby will love!!
These look really good…I’m looking forward to trying them!
Thanks, Liz! What a nice comment. Thanks for checking in to let me know these taquitos worked out for you!
Hi Abbi – thanks for checking in to let me know you’ve made some of the recipes from this site. I’m glad you liked the taquitos – they were such a hit with my family so I’m glad others are enjoying them also!
Anonymous – thanks for your comment! It’s fun to have a semi-connection with Green Bay since your in-laws live there. It is a beautiful area and we are excited to move there (and I’ve heard great things about Bay Beach). I’m also glad your son liked the taquitos – I feel satisfaction when I know picky eaters (like the ones in my house) are eating food there moms have slaved over!
Liz – thanks for letting me know about this! I’m definitely going to freeze some for quick lunches/dinners. Thanks for being the guinea pig and trying it. 🙂