Baked Chicken Taquitos

Baked Chicken Taquitos that are ready in just 30 minutes! These easy taquitos are welcomed by people of all ages. Serve these crispy chicken taquitos with my homemade cilantro salsa sauce, guacamole, Pico de Gallo, and Mexican street corn casserole. For another quick chicken dinner packed with Mexican flavors, try my Instant Pot Chicken Taco Bowls.

Why This Recipe Works

• Great way to use leftover chicken. Have any leftover chicken from dinner the other night? Need to use up some rotisserie chicken? This is a great way to repurpose leftovers into something utterly delicious! 
• Easy dinner. This recipe is perfect for Friday night dinners or for busy weeknights because it is easy to make and doesn’t take a lot of time.
• Great freezer meal. If you like making freezer meals, this is a great one! You can double or even triple this recipe and store the extras in the freezer to use for lunches or dinners later on. 
• Packed with flavor! There are some great flavors in this recipe! The fresh cilantro, green onions, salsa, Greek yogurt, etc. are some of my favorite elements on the filling. It’s so tasty! 

Ingredient Notes

• Chicken: This can be cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken that is shredded or chopped. Just make sure it’s cooked before making the taquitos mixture.
• Cream Cheese: The cream cheese adds a nice tangy flavor and, of course, a creamy texture! 
• Greek Yogurt: I wanted a really creamy filling for these oven baked taquitos, but I didn’t want to use an entire block of cream cheese. Using Greek yogurt helped provide the creaminess I wanted but a bit healthier option. 
• Cheese: Feel free to use whatever cheese you prefer. Great options would be cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, pepper jack cheese, Colby jack cheese, etc.
• Green Onions: The green onions adds a nice flavor to the mixture as well as a variety of texture.
• Salsa: Use whatever spice level you and your family likes. 
• Cilantro: The fresh cilantro is my favorite element of this baked chicken taquitos recipe. It adds such a nice freshness and Mexican flavor flair to the dish.

Step-By-Step Instructions

1. Make the chicken taquitos filling. In a large bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients: shredded chicken, cream cheese, greek yogurt, salsa, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, coriander, salt, green onions, cilantro, and shredded cheese. Stir until everything is combined.

2. Add the filling to the tortillas. Place a few tablespoons of the chicken mixture on each tortilla, roll up tightly and place seam side down on a baking sheet with a silicone mat or sprayed with nonstick spray.

3. Brush with butter or olive oil. For added crispiness brush the tops of the cream cheese chicken taquitos with some melted butter or a spritz of olive oil prior to placing in the oven.
4. Bake at 425ºF for 16-20 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with cilantro salsa sauce. (See recipe card below).

Recipe Tips

If you want a nice and crunchy, golden brown taquito, you can brush a small amount of butter over the torillas prior to baking them. If you’d rather not use butter, use a spritz of olive oil.

Use whatever cheese you’d like. I used Colby Jack cheese because I always have that in my refrigerator. To add a little more heat, you can use pepper jack cheese. Monterey Jack would be delicious too.

You want the cream cheese to be really soft before adding it to the bowl so it is easier to stir. To get it to a good stirring stage, I’ll put it in a microwave safe bowl and microwave it for 15-20 seconds. Doing this will make everything much easier.

To prevent the tortillas from cracking or breaking while you roll them, let the tortillas come to room temperature prior to rolling or put them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm them up so they’ll roll more easily.

Note: This will make a different number of taquitos depending on how much filling is in each tortilla.

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Store the baked chicken taquitos in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, place on a lined baking sheet and bake at 425ºF for about 16 minutes or until warm and crispy. You can spray them with olive oil again to help the outsides get crispy. 

To freeze, let the baked taquitos cool completely before storing them in an airtight container or Ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. To freeze the taquitos before baking them, flash freeze them on a baking sheet until solid (for about 30 minutes) and then transfer to a Ziplock bag or airtight container and freezer for up to 3 months.

Remove from the freezer and bake from frozen at 400º for about 20-25 minutes or until warmed through. 

FAQs

More Chicken Recipes

• Avocado Chicken Wraps
• BBQ Chicken Sandwich Recipe
• Dijon Mustard Chicken
• Curry Chicken and Rice
• Chicken Salad Sandwich recipe

This recipe was originally published on Sept. 4, 2019. It was republished on Jan. 12, 2022, to include additional information and photos.