Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos – These crispy taco rolls of cream cheese, melted cheese, and spiced-up chicken are the best appetizer or quick weeknight meal around! Change them up by adding black beans, avocado, or even leftover pulled pork!
Every so often we come across a recipe that makes it into our rotation on a semi-regular basis. And even less often than that, it’s a meal that can be prepped in large batches and well ahead of time and then frozen.
Baked creamy chicken taquitos immediately made it into our dinner rotation. They’re simple to put together on a weeknight, and like I said can be frozen in a large batch and reheated when needed.
What Can You Add to Creamy Chicken Taquitos?
These chicken taquitos will be your best friends. I first started making them well over a year ago and one of the things I love most about them is that they are the kind of meal that you can throw almost anything into. Let’s discuss a few ideas!
- Baked creamy chicken taquitos with black beans: Sure! The black beans will add fiber to help keep you full longer and some extra protein
- Baked creamy chicken taquitos with leftover roast chicken or grilled chicken: Definitely! This is a simple way to use up leftover rotisserie chicken. I’ve made tacos with a store-bought rotisserie chicken and it’s kind of the easiest meal ever!
- Baked creamy chicken taquitos with avocado: Oh goodness yes! The avocado will add another creamy texture but also lots of healthy fats to these taquitos.
- Baked creamy chicken taquitos with spicy pepper: Spice ’em up! Have a lonely unused half of a jalapeño or poblano pepper hanging out in the fridge? Chopped it up and mix it into the chicken mixture.
- Baked creamy chicken taquitos with leftover pulled pork: Absofreakinglutely! These taquitos are absolutely outstanding and certainly one of my favorite ways to use leftover pulled pork.
- Baked creamy chicken taquitos with flour tortillas: Go for it! Making homemade flour tortillas is kind of a labor of love but there no comparison in taste and texture between homemade and store-bought. Homemade flour tortillas for these taquitos is the best idea ever.
What to Serve with Creamy Chicken Taquitos
If you’re making these taquitos as an appetizer, I would suggest you serve them with some dipping sauces on the side. Creamy ranch or avocado ranch would both be delicious!
To make a super fun appetizer meal, make some hot and cheesy 7 layer taco chicken dip on the side!
Or maybe you want to dip them in a cheese sauce? I don’t know, that sounds pretty freaking awesome too!
For dinner, I’ve served refried and black beans, on the side. Cilantro lime rice would also be a nice way to round out these snacky taquitos into a meal.
Freezing Chicken Taquitos
These taquitos are are truly a favorite around here and I certainly can’t ask for a more versatile and quick meal, especially for a weeknight. And it’s even better meal when all I have to do is pull a few ready-made ones from the freezer to pop in the oven!
To freeze chicken taquitos, simply make them according to the recipe you’re using. Then, line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and line the unbaked taquitos up so they aren’t touching on the baking sheet. This will help later one when you want to reheat frozen taquitos because they won’t be stuck together in the freezer.
Place the baking sheet in the freezer and freeze for about 2 hours or until completely frozen. Transfer the frozen taquitos to a large zip-top bag and press as much air of our the bag as you can when you seal it. Put the bag in the freezer and store for up to 2 months.
To cook frozen chicken taquitos, preheat the oven to 425° F and place the taquitos on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes then spritz the tops of the taquitos with olive oil and sprinkle with some coarse salt. Continue to bake for another 10 minutes, until the filling just starts to ooze out the sides and the edges are starting to brown.
You can also reheat or cook frozen taquitos in an air fryer. Simply place the frozen taquitos in the air fryer basket in your air fryer and bake at 425° F for about 5 minutes then spritz the tops of the taquitos with olive oil and sprinkle with some coarse salt. Bake for another 4 to 5 minutes until the edges turn golden brown.
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Yield: 10-12 taquitos
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 17 minutes
Total Time: 37 minutes
Baked creamy chicken taquitos are like crispy taco rolls made with cream cheese, melted cheese, and spiced-up chicken. They make the best appetizer or quick weeknight meal and can be easily frozen. Change them up by adding black beans, avocado, or even leftover pulled pork!
Ingredients
- 3 oz cream cheese, softened
- ¼ – ½ cup salsa
- 1 to 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1 tsp chili powder (we love using ancho chile powder in this recipe)
- ½ tsp cumin
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1 to 2 green onions or a handful of fresh chives, chopped
- 2 cups shredded cooked/diced chicken
- 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese (cheddar, pepper jack, etc. would also be good)
- 10 to 12 6-inch flour tortillas
- Cooking spray
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425° F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, ¼ cup salsa, lime juice, spices, garlic, cilantro, green onions or chives, chicken, and shredded cheese. Mix everything together until well combined and the cream cheese is evenly distributed throughout the mixture. If the filling seems too dry, add a few extra tablespoons of salsa until it loosens up a little.
- Sandwiched between two damp paper towels, briefly heat the tortillas in the microwave to make them soft enough to roll easily, about 20-30 seconds. Place a warmed tortilla on a work surface, keeping the other tortillas covered by the paper towels to avoid drying out. Using a medium-size cookie scoop, line the middle of the tortilla with a heaping scoop (about 2 to 3 tablespoons) of the filling mixture. Roll the tortilla up tightly around the filling and place it seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling, spacing the assembled taquitos evenly on the baking sheet.
- Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle a very small pinch of kosher salt onto each taquito – don’t skip this as the salt finishes off the taquitos. Bake 15-20 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. Serve with sour cream and salsa, if desired.
Notes
I tend to make a double recipe when I make these taquitos and freeze whatever we don’t plan on eating for dinner that night.You’ll just freeze the uncooked taquitos on a parchment-lined baking sheet until completely frozen (don’t let them touch or they will freeze together) and then transfer them to a plastic zipper bag.When you’re ready to eat them, toss them directly into the oven and bake for about 15 minutes then spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle a tiny bit of coarse salt on top of each one. Bake for another 10 minutes, until the filling starts to ooze out the ends and the edges are golden brown.
adapted from Our Best Bites via Annie's Eats
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