Baked Chicken Taquitos

Whether you’re making them for dinner, snacks or appetizers, these Baked Chicken Taquitos are simply perfect! This easy recipe uses leftover rotisserie chicken making this a quick and simple meal you’ll want to make on repeat.

We love to make Baked Chicken Taquitos in our home. They make a great party appetizer, game day snack, or even meal. We’ll use any excuse to make them really as they are always a crowd pleaser.

Taquitos are basically small rolled up tacos that are stuffed with meat and cheese and typically fried. We baked our taquitos to keep them on the healthier side and believe me, you won’t be disappointed. They are cheesy, delicious, and loaded with tasty toppings.

Not only are these chicken taquitos a tasty meal everyone will love, but they are easy to make too! Using a rotisserie chicken makes this baked taquito recipe as simple as it gets.

We love having leftover rotisserie chicken around here as those leftovers can be transformed into so many delicious meals. These baked taquitos are one of our favorites to make along with other family favorites like Chicken Pot Pie, Easy Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Noodle Casserole, and The Easiest Pulled Chicken Tacos.

A rectangular platter of baked chicken taquitos topped with lettuce, shredded cheese and diced tomatoes and served with lime wedges.

Why we love Baked Chicken Taquitos

  • Baked taquitos are basically mini rolled up tacos and who doesn’t love tacos? This recipe is always a crowd pleaser.

  • Taquitos make the perfect party appetizer and can even be made in advance so you can enjoy your event! We especially love making them for game day, Cinco de Mayo celebrations, or even a regular Taco Tuesday app.

  • This baked taquito recipe can be made into a meal when paired with tasty side dishes like Mexican rice or my Healthy Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad.

  • You can put that rotisserie chicken to good use in this recipe!

  • Baking the taquitos makes them healthier then a fried version. Although they are baked, they still come out super crispy!

  • They’re delicious!
Baked chicken taquitos topped with shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, queso fresco set on a white rectangular platter.

Ingredients in Baked Chicken Taquitos

  • Chicken: leftover rotisserie chicken is what I use to make these easy chicken taquitos. You can also use up leftover chicken breast or thighs from last night’s dinner. You can also use leftover turkey for this recipe or a different protein like beef.

  • Cheeses: Monterey jack cheese and cream cheese are mixed with the chicken and seasonings and then stuffed into the taquitos to make them cheesy and delicious!

  • Lime juice: Adds a nice citrus zing.

  • Seasoning: chili powder, paprika, cumin, salt.

  • Mini tortillas: corn tortillas are typically used to make taquitos. They also help make this recipe gluten free. If you wish to, though, you can use flour tortillas. I often prefer using them as they are easier to work with and don’t tear as easily. The tacos should be the small size (street taco sized). Larger tortillas are used to make flautas.

  • Cooking oil

**Note: Ingredient quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.**

How to make Baked Chicken Taquitos

  1. Prepare a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

  2. Make your filling. In a medium sized bowl, combine shredded chicken with the seasonings, cheeses, and lime juice until well combined.

  3. Roll your taquitos. Spoon a heaping spoonful of the chicken mixture in the center of a mini tortilla and roll the tortilla (like a burrito but leave the ends open). Place the taquitos seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. If you find they are opening up, you can use toothpicks to prevent the taquitos.

  4. Bake. Brush the taquitos with cooking oil and bake them for approximately 15 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown on the edges and crisp up. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Remove the toothpicks if you used them.

  5. Serve. Serve the taquitos on their own or top with your favorite toppings.
Closeup of baked chicken taquitos topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and queso fresco.

Toppings for taquitos

You can serve the taquitos as they are but they are even better when loaded up with tacos or served alongside dips. Below are some of my favorite toppings and dips:

  • Additional shredded cheese. I mean, more cheese is better than less cheese.
  • Cilantro
  • Lettuce: finely chopped
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Queso fresco: crumbled
  • Diced avocados
  • Sour cream
  • Dips: Salsa, guacamole, Pico de gallo, or Queso Blanco Dip.

Storing leftovers and reheating

Once cooled, leftover taquitos can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. They will keep for a few days when stored correctly.

To reheat them, place the taquitos on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake in the oven at 350F until they are heated through. You can also heat them through in an air fryer if you have one.

Can you freeze taquitos?

Taquitos can easily be frozen for future snacking. To freeze the taquitos, prepare them as instructed in the recipe card but do not bake them. Instead, arrange them on the baking sheet and place the whole baking sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours. Once they are frozen solid, you can transfer the taquitos to a freezer bag and place them back in the freezer.

To bake the frozen taquitos, place them on a parchment lined baking sheet without defrosting them. You can bake the taquitos at 425F as you would the unfrozen ones, except that you will have to add extra minutes of cooking time to account for them being frozen.

Closeup of baked chicken taquitos topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and queso fresco.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! Happy snacking!

-Cathy

You may also like:

Beef Empanadas
Queso Blanco Dip
Taco Stuffed Mini Peppers
Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos with Mexican Street Corn Salsa

A rectangular platter of baked chicken taquitos topped with lettuce, shredded cheese and diced tomatoes and served with lime wedges.

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Catherine
Whether you're making them for dinner, snacks or appetizers, these Baked Chicken Taquitos are simply perfect! I made these using leftover rotisserie chicken so making them was quick and easy!
5 from 1 vote
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 35 minutes
Course Appetizers, Dinner, Healthy Snacks
Cuisine Mexican
Servings 16 taquitos
Calories 78 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 2 cups chicken cooked and shredded
  • 1 cup Monterey jack cheese shredded
  • 1 tablespoon lime juice
  • 3 tablespoon cream cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • salt to taste
  • 16 mini tortillas corn tortillas or flour tortillas
  • 1 teaspoon cooking oil

Optional toppings:

  • additional shredded cheese
  • salsa
  • cilantro
  • lettuce, finely chopped
  • tomatoes, diced
  • queso fresco, crumbled
  • avocados, chopped

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • In a medium sized bowl, combine shredded chicken with the seasonings, cheeses, and lime juice until well combined.
  • Spoon a heaping spoonful of the chicken mixture in the center of a mini tortilla and roll the tortilla (like a burrito but leave the ends open). Place the taquitos seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. If you find they are opening up, you can use toothpicks to prevent the taquitos.
  • Brush the taquitos with cooking oil and bake them for approximately 15 minutes or until they begin to turn golden brown on the edges and crisp up. Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Remove the toothpicks if you used them.
  • Serve the taquitos on their own or top with your favorite toppings.

Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.

Nutrition

Calories: 78kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 66mgPotassium: 47mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 139IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 59mgIron: 1mg

The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.

Keyword baked chicken, cinco de mayo, game day, leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, taco tuesday, tacos
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