Juicy, tender salsa chicken wrapped in tortilla shells and baked to crunchy perfection make these baked chicken taquitos a must try for your next grab and go meal.
This post is sponsored by Foodland Hawai’i. As always, thoughts and options are my own.
I mean I don’t know about you, but I love me a good grab and go dish. Something super easy, portable, and kid friendly makes it even better.
And sure you can buy yourself a bag of the premade stuff, but homemade taquitos reign supreme in our house.
As a busy working mom, having dishes that can be made ahead of time and stored helps the day go by so much smoother. Whip up a big batch of these, serve some fresh, and store the rest in the freezer for a later time.
That’s right, these are perfect for freezer storage and reheating. More on that in a bit. But first,
Ingredients for baked chicken taquitos
- Boneless, skinless chicken thighs. You can totally use boneless, skinless chicken breast here or even bone in cuts if you’d like. I enjoy thighs as they have a little more flavor and do not tend to dry out as much as some other cuts of chicken.
- Chicken broth. A low sodium option works great here. Don’t worry there’s lots of flavor with the rest of the ingredients.
- Maika’i Original Chunky Salsa. This can be found at your local Foodland near the other salsas. They also carry other flavors like black bean corn salsa, garlic chipotle, and pineapple salsa.
- Taco seasoning. Grab your favorite packet or make it from scratch
- Cream cheese. If you’re trying to keep it on the lighter side you can omit this. Cream cheese cuts down on the spice and gives it a creamier texture and taste.
- Flour tortillas. You can also use corn tortillas here. Flour tortillas are more pliable and a little easier to work with.
- Shredded cheese. Grab your favorite cheese for this. I like to use colby jack, Mexican blend, or triple cheddar.
See, this chicken taquitos recipe only calls for a few ingredients and it comes together so easily.
While this is a chicken taquitos recipe, you can use beef, pork, or seafood as well.
The first step to these chicken rolled tacos is well of course the chicken. This recipe uses a 6 quart Instant Pot for this process to give you the most juicy, tender, fall apart meat. It will easily fit in the 3 quart or 8 quart as well.
Don’t you worry, if you don’t have an Instant Pot. You can also make the salsa chicken in a Crock Pot or on the stove.
Then all you have to do is roll it up, bake it, and enjoy!
What to serve with baked chicken taquitos?
- Extra salsa
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Topped with cilantro
- Really any of your favorite taco add ons
How to store?
These taquitos taste amazing fresh, but they also make a great meal prep option that can be stored for later use. Place cooled taquitos in an airtight container and place in the refrigerator. These will keep for about 4 days.
Can you freeze chicken taquitos?
You bet. Like I mentioned earlier, these make for amazing freezer food. You can opt to freeze prior to baking or after. Place taquitos on a sheet pan and place in the refrigerator for a few hours to par freeze. Then place in a zip top bag or airtight container and freeze. These will keep for 3-6 months.
How to reheat?
If reheating from the freezer, allow it to defrost or zap it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds then bake, toast, fry, or air fry to bring back the crispiness.
Other great chicken recipes
How to make baked chicken taquitos?
- For the salsa chicken: Place the chicken, chicken broth, Maika’i Original Chunky Salsa and taco seasoning in the inner pot of a 6 quart Instant Pot. Place the lid on and set to sealing.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 15 minutes and allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes. Quick release the remainder of the pressure by turning the knob to venting.
- Once the pin has dropped, open the lid and shred the chicken using two forks. Then stir in the cream cheese until well combined.
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil.
- For the taquitos: Next, add shredded chicken and cheese closer to one edge of a flour tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly and place seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat until all tortillas have been rolled.
- Spray nonstick cooking spray over the tops of the tortillas and place in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until gold brown and ENJOY!
Baked Chicken Taquitos
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 jar Maika’i Original Chunky Salsa
- 3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 4 tablespoons cream cheese
- 12 6 inch flour tortillas
- 2 cups shredded cheese
Instructions
- For the salsa chicken filling: Place the chicken, chicken broth, Maika’i Original Chunky Salsa, and taco seasoning in the inner pot of a 6 quart Instant Pot. Place the lid on and set to sealing.
- Cook on manual high pressure for 15 minutes and allow natural pressure release for 10 minutes. Quick release the remainder of the pressure by turning the knob to venting.
- Once the pin has dropped, open the lid and shred the chicken using two forks. Then stir in the cream cheese until well combined.
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Line a baking sheet with foil.
- For the taquitos: Next, add shredded chicken and cheese closer to one edge of a flour tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly and place seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat until all tortillas have been rolled.
- Spray nonstick cooking spray over the tops of the tortillas and place in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until gold brown and ENJOY!
Notes
Nutrition
© Relle Lum for Keeping It Relle. Please do not copy and paste or screenshot recipes online or on social media. I’d love it if you share a link with a photo instead. Mahalo!
Tried this recipe? Tag me on social. I’d love to see and share it.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/keeping.it.relle
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/keepingitrelle
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/keepingitrelle
Tried and love this recipe? Please give it a rating.
Pin for later.
When do add taco seasoning
Aloha Christina. In the beginning, along with the chicken, chicken broth, and salsa. Mahalo.
loved the flavor of these
This looks delicious. I need to make this recipe.
We all loved this chicken!!
So easy to make and the kids loved them
Aloha, I’m a haole on the mainland. This looks like it is a great recipe and I’m wanting to make it for a granddaughter who is nuts about taquitos. Not having Maika’i Original Chunky Salsa available where I live, I’m tempted to just substitute whatever is on hand, but I’d really like to know if there’s something in the salsa you call out for that I’d need to know about so I can flavor-match it. Mahalo!
Aloha April. If you can’t get your hands on the Maika’i salsa you can replace it with your favorite salsa. Have a great day.