These chicken taquitos are stuffed with seasoned shredded chicken and cheese, then baked or fried to crispy perfection. Serve these taquitos with your favorite dipping sauces for a fun party snack or meal!
Chicken taquitos are an easy yet unexpected appetizer that’s perfect to feed a crowd – I’ve included instructions for both baking and frying these crispy bites of goodness!
I have to admit, for the longest time I thought of chicken taquitos only as a food you buy in the freezer section of the grocery store for a quick snack. Homemade chicken taquitos are SO much better than the store bought frozen kind, and they’re fun to assemble too!
How to make chicken taquitos
The first thing you’ll need to make chicken taquitos is cooked shredded chicken. You can use leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, whatever you have on hand is fine! The chicken is mixed with spices and a blend of cheeses to make the filling for your tortillas.
After your filling is ready, it’s time to stuff the tortillas! You’ll want to put a few tablespoons of the meat mixture on one end of each tortilla, roll them tightly, then secure them with a toothpick. The toothpicks ensure that the taquitos won’t unroll during the baking or frying process.
The final step is to cook them up! You can either bake or fry these chicken taquitos. Baking the taquitos is healthier and less messy, but you won’t get the same deep golden crispy crust as you will with frying. The taquitos take just 4-5 minutes to fry up in oil, but if you choose the baking route it will take more like 15-20 minutes before they’re ready to eat.
The taquitos shown in these pictures were fried, although I’ve made this recipe both ways so it’s really up to your personal preference! You’ll want to remove the toothpicks before you serve them, and you can add any variety of toppings and dipping sauces.
I like to add a drizzle of sour cream and some fresh pico de gallo to my chicken taquitos. Other great options are ranch, guacamole, grated cotija cheese, chopped cilantro leaves, there are so many possibilities!
I also love that these taquitos make great leftovers; simply warm them in the oven or toaster oven until hot and crispy. My kids adore these chicken taquitos so I make them quite frequently. No need to buy the frozen version when you can have fresh, hot taquitos any time!
More mexican favorites
Chicken Taquitos (Baked or Fried)
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 12 small corn tortillas
- oil if frying
- cooking spray if baking
Instructions
- Place the chicken, salt, pepper, chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, cheddar cheese and Monterey Jack cheese in a bowl. Stir until combined.
- Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and place on a plate. Microwave for 1 minute or until tortillas are warm and pliable.
- Lay out the tortillas on a flat surface and divide the chicken and cheese mixture among the 12 tortillas. Roll up each tortilla tightly and secure with a toothpick.
- To fry the taquitos: Heat 3/4 inch of oil in a deep pan to 350 degrees F. Add 3-4 taquitos and fry until crisp and golden brown, 3-5 minutes. Repeat with remaining taquitos.
- To bake the taquitos: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the taquitos in a single layer on a sheet pan coated with cooking spray. Spray the tops of the taquitos with the cooking spray. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
- Remove toothpicks, then serve.
Notes
- Nutritional information is for the baked taquitos as it is difficult to determine how much oil the taquitos will absorb during the frying process.
Shareen says
I have a Cinco de Mayo gathering tomorrow for maybe 30-40 people. Can I make the taquitos ahead of time to make tomorrow’s prep easier?
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
Agata says
Absolutely delicious! Thank you for this recipe 😊
Megan H. says
Thank you for this recipe! I finally found something all three of my boys loved! These were quick and easy. I used some crockpot shredded chicken I already had, and flour tortillas since I didn’t have corn. I opted to bake them and they turned out really crispy! I served them with a dipping sauce lof sour cream and taco seasoning. SO yummy! Adding this to our favorites!
Erika says
When you baked them , did you spray them w cooking spray to make them crispy?
Thank you
Rae says
Can you fry these ahead of time and reheat in the over?
Sara says
Yes that’s fine!
Jen says
One of our favorites! I have my hubby pick up a rotisserie chicken from Costco to make this even easier to make. Love it!
Uncle Willie says
Sam’s has monster Chicken 🐓 ret to go $5.88.
Just had one,best Ever.
Will do taquitos tomorrow with some of the leftover z.
Lisalia says
I’m embarrassed to admit that we have purchased these from a frozen section before… and yeah they were okay. But homemade… SO EASY and so so delicious! Thanks for this easy to follow recipe. We’ll never need to buy them frozen EVER again! Our new favorite.
Jacci Dannenhauer says
I add a spoonful of salsa to the mix and a half can of drained black beans.
Jacque Hooper says
Served these for a small gathering at my house and they did not disappoint! Enjoyed them with sour cream, salsa and avocado and everyone loved them! Putting these on my go-to list for tasty appetizers!
Terri says
These Taquitos were ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!! I used the breast meat from a rotisserie chicken from Sam’s. I added a 4 oz can of green chiles. To complete the meal I prepared a box of Zataran’s Cilantro Rice and Goya Black beans. The entire meal only took an hour.
Sam A says
I used this recipe as a base but put my own spin on it! I used leftover cilantro lime chicken that I had made a few nights ago and put a half a block of cream cheese in it and extra sharp cheddar cheese. I then put them in the air fryer at 4 min each at 390 degrees F. My husband enjoyed it and so did I! It made a big batch so I will be freezing.
Claudia says
Recipe sounds great. Quick questions: can you use flour tortillas? Thanks!
Sara says
Yes that’s totally fine!
Erin says
Canned chicken from Costco worked great .
Marsha says
Thank you for sharing. I buttered a griddle, doubled the recipe and made quesadillas with your filling for my large family. It was faster and almost as good as frying.
Haley says
These were great! For the record, I turned leftover red beans and rice into the filling. I added taco seasoning and shredded chicken and cheese to my red beans/rice and it made like 60 taquitos!
Also, I didn’t need to use the toothpick trick if I put the taquitos seam-side down on the cookie sheet.
Bunyberries says
👍🏼😉 Same thing I did they turned out perfect I add a green onions because we love that flavor!
Linda says
Great! We loved these
Elizabeth says
Delicious! I multiplied the recipe by 2 1/2 and made with shredded rotisserie chicken. Rolled them up and froze them and then put them in freezer bags to fry from frozen later. Making that many used about 1 Costco rotisserie chicken worth of meat…all told it was about $0.33 per taquito. I can get them at Aldi for $0.25 apiece (prob with way less chicken and way more filler!), but these definitely taste better so if I have the time I will definitely make them from scratch.
Alesha says
Thank you so much! Our usual taquitos from Aldi have been unavailable due to a recall. I used some leftover chicken breast and baked them but they came out kind of dry- I think using leftover dark meat might work better for us. Still tasty! Will try using flour tortillas next.
Jennifer B says
I’m planning to make my own corn tortillas from scratch. Just wondering if I still need to cook the tortillas first before I roll the taquitos, or if I can make them with the raw tortilla dough and just deep fry them?
Sara says
I’m concerned that they wouldn’t hold together with uncooked dough, I think it would be better to cook the tortillas first!
Kelly says
Yes, it is better. Takes a little longer but worth not having your tortillas come apart. That’s what I do for corn tortillas. You don’t need to with flour since they don’t tear as easily. This is a good versatile recipe for enchiladas, tacos, etc. You can use the same seasoning for potato, cheese and onion also.