Oven Baked Chicken Taquitos are flavorful, cheesy, and crispy. Serve them with Cilantro Lime Dressing, salsa, and/or guacamole. They’re so easy to make and always a hit!
These Baked Chicken Taquitos are one of our favorite Mexican meals! We like to pair them with a side of Spanish Rice and Refried Beans or Cilantro Lime Rice and Seasoned Black Beans.
Baked Chicken Taquitos
Skip the fried taquitos and enjoy these crispy baked ones that have a cheesy chicken filling! They’re sure to become a family favorite, especially if you serve them with Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing.
Ingredients for Chicken Taquitos:
- Cream Cheese– This makes the filling extra creamy! Use full fat.
- Salsa Verde– This gives the taquitos a great flavor but if needed, red salsa can be used instead.
- Taco Seasoning– Any taco seasoning will work. I like McCormick’s.
- Cilantro– Always say yes to cilantro! It adds such delicious flavor.
- Green Onion– Only add the green part since they are mild and soft.
- Lime Juice– This brightens up the flavor and adds moisture to the filling.
- Cheese– I prefer Colby Jack but cheddar, Monterey Jack, and Pepper Jack work too.
- Cook Chicken– Use rotisserie chicken or easily make your own Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken!
- Flour Tortillas– The fajita tortillas are the perfect size!
- Oil– Any neutral oil will do. I am lazy so I actually just grab my cooking spray and do a quick spritz over the top of each. The oil helps the taquitos brown and crisp.
- Salt– This is for the top of the taquitos. It’s not totally necessary but highly recommended.
HOW TO MAKE CHICKEN TAQUITOS:
Time needed: 30 minutes
- Preparation
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or greased foil.
- Make Chicken Mixture
In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, salsa, taco seasoning, cilantro, onion, and lime juice. Add cheese and shredded chicken and stir until combined.
- Fill and Roll
Fill each tortilla with 3-4 tablespoons chicken mixture evenly spread in a line down the middle leaving about 1/2 inch on each end. Tightly roll and place seam side down on the pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and mixture.
- Bake
Brush or spray or the top of taquitos with oil. Sprinkle with a kosher salt or sea salt. Bake for 14-16 minutes or until golden and crisp.
- Serve
Serve with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and/or Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing.
FAQs
Yes! Make all the chicken mixture and then refrigerate until ready to use (up to 3 days in advance). Fill and roll the tortillas with the chicken mixture when ready to bake.
When I make this for my small family, after making the chicken mixture, I assemble and bake half the taquitos for dinner the first night. The next night, all I have to do is quickly fill, roll, and bake.
You bet! BUT… they need to be heated up first so they don’t crack and fall apart when rolling up. Wrap the stack of tortillas in a damp paper towel and heat for about 20-30 seconds in the microwave until warm and pliable. They may also need a few more extra minutes baking to brown.
Yes! After rolling, place on a pan covered with plastic wrap and freeze for 30-60 minutes until firm enough that they won’t unroll. Place taquitos together in a freezer safe plastic bag, removing all air. When ready to bake, take out of freezer, brush with oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake as normal (may need a couple extra minutes). Use within 3 months.
If you have leftover baked taquitos, store in a Tupperware in the fridge. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.
TOOLS USED TO MAKE THESE TAQUITOS:
- Half-Sheet Pan– These pans are the best! I’ve had the same 4 pans since I got married (11 years ago!) and they are in great condition. I use them all the time for sheet cakes, cookies, roasting vegetables, baking chicken…
- Pyrex Mixing Bowls with Lids– I love my mixing bowls with lids because then I am able to stack things up with the fridge. For this recipe, I mix everything together in the bowl, pop the lid on, and place it in the fridge until I’m ready to make the taquitos.
- Lemon/Lime Squeezer– This makes squeezing limes/lemons a breeze, especially for recipes that require a lot of juice.
LOOKING FOR MORE MEXICAN DISHES? CHECK OUT THESE:
- Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
- Slow Cooker Beef Barbacoa
- Mexican Rice Casserole
- Cafe Rio Sweet Pork
- 3-Ingredient Salsa Chicken Tacos
Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1/4 cup salsa verde
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 1 green onion, chopped (only the green)
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 cup Colby Jack, Cheddar, or Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded
- 2 cups cooked chicken breast, shredded
- 12 flour tortillas, 6-inch fajita size
- Kosher salt or sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or greased foil.
- In a large bowl, mix together 3 ounces cream cheese, 1/4 cup salsa, 1 tablespoon taco seasoning, 1/4 cup cilantro, 1 onion, and juice of 1 lime.
- Add 1 cup shredded cheese and 2 cups shredded chicken and mix until combined.
- Fill each tortilla with 3-4 tablespoons chicken mixture evenly spread in a line down the middle leaving about 1/2 inch on each end. Tightly roll and place seam side down on the pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and mixture.
- Brush or spray or the top of taquitos lightly with oil. Sprinkle with a kosher salt or sea salt.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes until edges start to brown.
- Serve with salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and/or Creamy Cilantro Lime Dressing.
Would there be any way to freeze this? I have made this several times and love it but would like to make some ahead of time…have you ever tried freezing the filling, or all of it?
Jillian- I haven’t ever tried to freeze these but I would recommend just freezing the filling. I think the tortillas would get soggy when thawing it.
I have frozen these and it works well! I just wrap each one in plastic wrap and put them in a ziplock. Thaw and bake as usual. So handy!
Thank you! I had a recipe like this somewhere but lost it….so now I have another one. Looks delicious!!
Elizabeth-
Oh I hate when that happens! Glad you now have this one! It is one of my favs! 🙂
I love Mexican food, and these look amazing! Coming over from Tasty Tuesday. Pinning!
Mexican food is the BEST! Thanks for stopping by Amy!
These look so good! I just pinned them, because I am definitely trying them. I have a feeling my family would love these! Hoping that you’ll come link them up over at Tasty Tuesdays!
Thank you Michelle! And I just linked them up to Tasty Tuesday so thanks for the invite! 🙂
You totally have me craving Mexican food now with all that talk of cheesy taquitos and Spanish Rice! These look SO awesome and would be perfect for a summer meal.
Haha! I’m glad I got you to crave some Mexican food Alexandra! I feel like I crave it almost all the time!