This Chicken Taquito recipe is one of the all-time most popular recipes on Our Best Bites. They can be made in a variety of sizes and on any type of tortilla you like (more details below) and also work great as a freezer meal! These are a go-to for me when taking a meal to a friend. I love rolling them up and including baking instructions so people can bake them when they’re ready. They also work well for making ahead and keeping in your own freezer. You can pull them out for a busy weeknight dinner, or just one or two at a time for a snack in the air fryer.
Ingredients Needed
- Cream Cheese
- Green salsa
- Lime
- Cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder
- Cilantro
- Green onions
- Chicken – any kind of cooked shredded chicken will work. Rotisserie chicken is great and works well!
- Pepper jack cheese
- Tortillas – more notes on tortillas below, but you can use corn, flour, or un-cooked.
- Salt
- Cooking spray or oil
Here’s a photo walkthrough of the recipe!
How to Make Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos
This is just a quick overview, you’ll find a printable recipe at the end of this article.
- Combine a sauce of cream cheese, green salsa, fresh lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic, cilantro and green onions.
- Mix in shredded cooked chicken and pepper jack cheese and this is the easy flavor-packed filling.
- Now just roll them up in the tortillas of your choice.
- I like to rub them with a bit of oil to help the outsides crisp up and sprinkle the tops with just a bit of kosher salt.
- Bake them up in the oven until they’re golden and crisp on the outside. You might see cheesy filling spilling out the edges and that’s okay! After they come out of the oven you can take a spoon and push it back in.
What tortillas should I use?
You can really use any tortillas you like. I originally created this recipe with small corn tortillas but over the years people kept telling me they loved them with flour so eventually I started doing that too and that’s what you see in my photos. But you can use whatever you like!
- Corn tortillas – you’ll want to buy them fresh so they are less likely to crack. Wrapping in a few damp paper towels and warming in the microwave will help keep them soft and rollable.
- Flour tortillas – I use the soft taco size flour tortilla (which produces about 12 taquitos). They will crisp up brown on the ends, but stay soft in the centers. They’re easy to work with and work great for freezing or making ahead.
- Fresh/raw tortillas – if using this style of tortilla, you don’t need to cook the tortilla before rolling! You can just roll up raw and they cook quickly in the oven. This style of tortilla tends to puff up when baked so you might get some puffs or splits during baking, but they taste delicious.
- Low Carb Tortillas – These work great with low carb style tortillas as well as lavash bread.
Dipping Suggestions
These are great simply served with sour cream on the side, but if you want to kick it up a notch, pair it with my Lime-Cilantro Ranch or some homemade guac and salsa!
Cafe Rio Copycat Creamy Tomatillo Dressing (Lime Cilantro Ranch)
Guacamole
Cantina-Style Salsa
Take a Meal
I love taking this recipe to friends when I’m delivering a meal. I prepare until the rolling step and skip brushing in oil and salt (they’re still great without that step and it’s simpler just to skip it, but that’s up to you! You can also include on the instructions to brush with oil or spray with non-stick oil spray before baking). Just stack the rolled taquitos in a zip-top back or other container and include baking instructions. Some things you can mix and match with this meal depending on what you have time for:
- Sour cream or a container of my homemade Lime-Cilantro Ranch for dipping
- A side of rice and beans
- A bag of chips and a jar of salsa
- A bagged salad
- Fresh fruit
- A quick treat like cookies or a pint of ice cream
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 3 ounces cream cheese low fat is fine, avoid fat free
- ¼ cup green salsa
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoon sliced green onions
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken 10-12 oz
- 1 cup grated pepperjack or plain jack cheese about 4 ounces
- 12 soft taco size tortillas or tortillas of your choice
- kosher salt
- cooking spray or 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, 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 parchment or spray a baking sheet or foil-lined baking sheet with nonstick 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 use them at room temperature or warm them slightly in the microwave if they aren't super fresh. If using fresh, uncooked tortillas you can roll them raw.
- The amount of filling you use will be different depending on what size tortilla you use. For soft taco size tortillas place about ¼ cup of the chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1 inch from the edges as you roll to prevent filling from leaking out. Roll up tortillas and place seam down on a baking sheet, not touching one another.
- Spray each taquito lightly with cooking spray, or lightly brush with olive oil and sprinkle with just a little bit of kosher salt, if desired.
- Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the ends start to get golden brown and crisp. Different types of tortillas will bake differently so set a timer for less and keep an eye on them. Sometimes seeing a bit of filling coming out is a good indicator. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving. If filling has leaked out just use a spoon to push it back in.
- Dip in sour cream, guacamole or my Lime-Cilantro Ranch.
- Air Fryer Instructions: All air fryers will cook differently, but in mine I do 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. I suggest checking them at the 6-8 minute range.
Notes
Nutrition
More recipes to love!
Here’s some recipes that pair nicely with these taquitos if you want to bulk it up into a bigger meal!
Questions & Reviews
I just made your cilantro dressing and it is as good as cafe rio! yay!!! These taquitos are getting ready to go into the oven as I type this but I was wondering if you had any nutritional information for these? calories most importantly. Thanks!!
Went to Nutritiondata.com and was able to get apx nutritional values per taquito (if you make 8).
Made with flour tortillas – about 285 caleries in each taquito
Made with flour tortillas and fat free cream cheese – 263 calories in each
Made with corn tortillas – about 231 calories in each
made with corn tortillas and fat free cream cheese – about 207 calories in each
When I make them, I get 17-20, and I buy tortillas that for some reason are only 85 calories per, rather than 110 like the rest seems to be. With cilantro-lime ranch dressing, mine turn out to be 202 per with 1 T. dressing
I made these this evening– Well, I say I made THESE, but it's more accurate to say that I used your recipe as a starting point.
I didn't have any cream cheese, so I substituted vanilla yogurt and added extra cayenne (I coat my chicken liberally in hot sauce, cayenne and chili powder before browning it in a pan) and cilantro to counteract the sweetness. We ran out of salsa verde, but I added a chopped tomato and roasted red pepper to add a little bit of veggies to my meaty-cheesy mixture (I'm incapable of stopping at a "sprinkle" when cheese is involved). It was still delicious even after I was done messing with it!!! I'm making a wimpy (non-spicy) version for my mom tomorrow.
I love your site and I LOVE this recipe <3
Just thought I would let you know that I made these last night for my husband and he said it was one of the best things I've made!!! YAY!! It's a favorite!! Thanks ladies:) I have to admit, they are very tasty… lots of flavor!!
These were AMAZING! I can't wait to make them again. Thank you!
Made these tonight… AWESOME! I used fat free cream cheese and forgot to put the jack cheese in, but they were still packed with flavor and SO GOOD! Thanks for sharing!
Yum these look de-lish!
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I blogged about it and linked it at this site:
http://tylerandkrista.blogspot.com/2011/02/need-something-tasty-for-dinner.html
We absolutely loved it! They were so easy to make and I love it when my finished product actually looks like yours! These were a HUGE hit!! Thanks again!
So I just finished making these for my husband and I and they are delicious!!!! I'm eating one as I type. Anywho Chris, my husband, is such a picky eater YOU HAVE NO IDEA! He devoured them. I topped it off with my famous spanish rice and salsa and wow what a yummo and easy dinner! Thanks for sharing!
These are wonderful! Made 'em last night for dinner and then I had them for lunch AND dinner today! 🙂 I heated them up in the toaster oven and they were still crispy and delicious. Great recipe! Thank you!
Mmmmm, these were awesome! Definitely going into the regular rotation. Thank you so much!