Baked Chicken Taquitos

 Crispy baked chicken taquitos with a chicken and cheese filling. These taquitos are freezer friendly for quick dinners! The whole family will love them!

If you were to ask me which recipes on my website I can’t live without, these baked chicken taquitos would be one of the first that I would name. I’ve been making these chicken taquitos for my family for over six years. Six years ago I had a two year old, and she helped me roll these taquitos for dinner. Today that two year old is nine, and she has three younger siblings. Two of which helped me make these taquitos just last week!

Get your kids in the kitchen. The more you can involve them in preparing their dinner, the more likely they are to eat it. All of my kids like these chicken taquitos, to varying degrees. When they help to make them, though, they eat so much more!

If your kids are picky, these taquitos are a great option for a kid-friendly dinner. They’re finger food. They contain tortillas and cheese. And if you roll them up tightly, it’s easy to hide whatever healthy foods you want in the filling. 😉

This simple recipe is quick to make and uses minimal ingredients, most of which you probably have in your kitchen at all times. This chicken taquitos recipe makes 12 taquitos. I recommend you double the recipe and freeze extra taquitos for quick dinners or lunches on busy days. I’ve included freezer instructions in the recipe below. You can bake these taquitos straight from the freezer, which is so convenient!

There are a few simple steps to making these baked chicken taquitos. You can use leftover cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken in this taquitos recipe. If you don’t have leftover chicken, there are a couple of easy ways to cook chicken for these shredded chicken taquitos.

The quickest and easiest way to cook chicken for these creamy chicken taquitos is to poach it. Poaching the chicken keeps it moist and juicy. We don’t want dried out chicken in our taquitos!

To poach chicken, you start by placing your chicken breasts in a large skillet or saucepan on your stove. You will add enough water to just cover the chicken. Cook, covered, over medium-high heat until the chicken is cooked through. The water should be at a low simmer while the chicken cooks and the chicken is done when it registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer.

Another way to cook the shredded chicken for these taquitos is to cook it in your slow cooker. Place the chicken and 1 cup of salsa in the your slow cooker and cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1.5-2 hours, or until the chicken is cooked through.

You can also cook chicken in your Instant Pot. My Instant Pot Shredded Chicken recipe is quick and easy!

Once your chicken is cooked, set it aside to cool while you prepare the rest of the filling ingredients. In a large bowl, you will combine softened cream cheese, salsa and spices. Stir that together until well combined. Once the chicken has cooled slightly, shred it. See my easy tips for how to shred chicken.

Stir the shredded chicken and some shredded cheese into the filling mixture. Now you’re ready to fill your taquitos! I have step by step photos of how to fill and roll taquitos in this honey bbq slow cooker chicken taquitos post. You will place about 3 tablespoons of the filling in each tortilla and then roll the tortilla up tightly.

At this point, you can bake the taquitos, refrigerate them to bake later in the day, or freeze them for another day. I’ll often prep these taquitos early in the day and refrigerate them until dinner time. This chicken taquitos recipe with cream cheese makes deliciously creamy chicken taquitos that are great for meal prep!

TIPS FOR MAKING BAKED CHICKEN TAQUITOS:

• You can use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken in these taquitos. If you don’t have either of those available, I recommend poaching or slow cooking your chicken for these taquitos. Read the text above for how to do this.
• You can add the juice from half a lime and up to ¼ cup of chopped fresh cilantro to your taquito filling, for extra flavor.
• This recipe doubles well and the taquitos freeze well. You will want to first freeze the taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet or baking dish. This will keep them from sticking together as they freeze. Then, transfer to an airtight zip-top bag and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Baking directions for frozen taquitos are included in the recipe card below.
• I like to use a combination of cheddar and Monterey jack cheese in these taquitos.
• Roll your taquitos in whole wheat, corn or flour tortillas. I find whole wheat or flour tortillas easier to work with than corn. Warm the tortillas for a few seconds in the microwave to make them soft so that they won’t tear when you roll them up.
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