These chicken taquitos are stuffed with seasoned shredded chicken and cheese, and then baked, fried, or air fried until crispy, crunchy, and golden brown. Serve with shredded lettuce and your favorite Mexican toppings for an easy dinner recipe or appetizer ready in only 30 minutes!
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Let’s talk about one of my favorite Mexican dishes – taquitos! They’re one of those meals that everyone in my family is always excited to eat. They’re crispy and crunchy, filled with flavorful chicken (or beef), and best of all, they’re quick and easy to make. My husband never says no to taquitos, and there never seem to be any leftovers!
What are taquitos?
Taquitos (also called tacos dorados, rolled tacos, or flautas) are a popular Mexican dish made from small rolled-up corn tortillas filled with meat, cheese, or beans. The tortillas are secured and closed with a toothpick and then baked or fried. Taquitos are typically served with shredded lettuce and various condiments like Mexican crema and pico de gallo.
How to Make Chicken Taquitos
To make chicken taquitos, you’ll need some cooked shredded chicken. You can use any leftover chicken you have in the fridge, use a store-bought rotisserie chicken, or you can make your own shredded chicken at home.
To season the shredded chicken, toss it in a mixing bowl with some easy-to-find Mexican spices like chili powder, ground cumin, and a few others. Then comes the fun part – assembling the taquitos!
To assemble, place a heaping spoonful of shredded chicken and shredded cheese onto a warm tortilla. Fold one side over the filling and tuck it in as tight as you can. Roll up the rest of the tortilla and secure the seams together with a toothpick, like in the photo above.
How to Keep Your Tortillas From Cracking
The trick to keeping corn tortillas from cracking when making taquitos is warming them up until they’re very soft and pliable. The easiest way to do this is by wrapping the tortillas in some damp paper towels and microwaving them for 1-2 minutes to help create some steam. The steam created by the moist paper towels helps to keep them from drying out and makes them foldable.
Once all the tortillas are warm and pliable, I like to put them in a tortilla warmer or wrap them in a clean kitchen towel and place them inside a large gallon-sized Ziploc bag to help them retain heat and moisture.
Bake, Fry, or Air Fry!
One of my favorite things about making taquitos at home is having the option of baking them or frying them. Typically the taquitos you order at a Mexican restaurant will be fried, but baking them is a great option if you’re looking for a lighter weeknight dinner or simply don’t have any frying oil on hand.
To bake: Brush a little olive oil or cooking spray on the tops of each taquito. Place them in a single layer on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes at 425°F. I recommend checking them at 15 minutes to see if they’re crispy and golden brown. If not, put them back in for a few more minutes.
To fry: You’ll need some canola oil or other vegetable oil. You don’t need a lot – just enough to cover about halfway up the taquito when frying. Fry in a large skillet for 1-2 minutes per side, until crispy and golden brown. To remove any excess oil, place the taquitos on a large plate or baking sheet covered with paper towels.
To air fry: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Place the taquitos in a single layer in the basket seam side down. Spray the tops with cooking spray, air fry for 5 minutes, flip and spray again, then air fry for 2 more minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining taquitos.
The best Taquito Toppings
To complete the taquito eating experience, you’re going to want to serve them with all the best Mexican toppings! Here are a few of my favorites:
- shredded lettuce
- chopped cilantro
- Mexican crema (or sour cream)
- pico de gallo
- guacamole
- cotija cheese (or more shredded cheese)
- hot sauce
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups cooked shredded chicken (or shredded beef)
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- salt, to taste
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheese (Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend)
- 18 small corn tortillas
- oil, about 2-3 cups for frying or 1-2 tablespoons for baking
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, add the shredded chicken, chili powder, garlic powder, ground cumin, onion powder and salt in a bowl. Toss together to combine. Taste and season with more salt if necessary.
- Wrap the tortillas in a damp paper towel and heat them in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, flipping the tortillas halfway through until all of them are warm and pliable.
- Place a heaping spoonful of shredded chicken and shredded cheese onto each tortilla. Tightly roll up the tortillas and secure it closed by threading a toothpick along the seam (see photo in blog post).
- To fry the taquitos: Pour enough oil into the bottom of a deep skillet or frying pan so that the oil reaches halfway up the taquitos. Heat oil over medium-high heat to 350°F (To test, drop a small piece of tortilla in the oil. If it sizzles, it's ready.) Cooking in batches, add 3-4 taquitos and fry for about 1 1/2-2 minutes per side until golden brown. Transfer taquitos to a large plate or baking sheet lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil.
- To bake the taquitos: Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place the taquitos on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Lightly brush or spray the tops of the taquitos with cooking oil. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until they're crispy and golden brown.
- To air fry the taquitos: Preheat the air fryer to 400°F. Place the taquitos in a single layer in the basket seam side down. Spray the tops with cooking spray, air fry for 5 minutes, flip and spray again, then air fry for 2 more minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining taquitos.
- Remove the toothpicks from the taquitos and serve with shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, mexican crema and guacamole.
Isabel’s Tips:
- Want it spicy? Add in 1 or 2 minced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce to the shredded chicken mixture.
- To freeze: Allow the taquitos to cool completely. Place them in a freezer-safe container or zip-top bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- To reheat: Place taquitos on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and bake in a 350°F for 10 minutes, until warmed through.
Nutrition Information
I plan on making these soon. But, the toothpick won’t burn in the oven (?)
Hi Karen! The toothpicks won’t burn!
Another success with this one. Followed all the directions and it was delicious! It was fairly easy to cook but really feels like something you put a lot of effort in. I am so happy with how everything on here turns out I just had to start adding reviews. 100% recommend this
Mexican oregano is far better to have and use it brings out the real oregano flavor just be careful how much you a little is good but I like flavor in every thing
Im trying to learn how to make tamales but i need help
Hello! On our site we have several posts about masa for tamales and for different fillings if you wanted to check those out!
Hi! I am not a cook, but these are so easy and delicious. I baked them in the oven. My only question…they seem dry. Is that normal? Is that why you serve it with salsa or sauce?
Hi Heidi! Not necessarily, but if you found them a little dry then using a sauce or salsa will definitely help!
Is there something I may be doing wrong?
Also, they were even better when I reheated them the next day!
Sometimes baking them can make the shell kind of dry but chewy if they aren’t baked long enough and needed more time to crisp up, or they may have needed to be brushed with more oil. If the filling was dry you may try adding in a splash or so of chicken stock to your filling to help keep it moist. I hope this helps!
Hola quisiera saver si no tiene alguna receta para como hacer tacos de lengua de res, y como se cocina la lengua.
Hola Laura! Por el momento no tenemos esa receta en nuestro sitio web.
I’ve always had trouble making these rolled tacos cause I did not know how to make tortilla soft. Mine always ended up cracking and the filling came out of roll, even with toothpick. Microwave made all the difference for rolling them easy peasy. I baked them and it was so cool not messy or greasy. Thanks for all the tips too!
These were amazing! I had some leftover chicken mole, so I used that as the filling, but followed the remaining instructions exactly as written. Really, really good and so easy to make.
Esta receta es fácil y deliciosa. Es perfecto para cada persona y es muy auténtico.
Lovedddd these! I actually made threw mine in the air fryer, and they were awesome that way. The freezer details were an awesome addition.
Instead of baking in oven can the taquitos be finished in an air fryer?
Hi! This recipe hasn’t been tested this way but that’s a really cool idea. Please let us know if you tried it!
I saw your video on Instagram when you made these and was immediately excited to try them! They turned out wonderfully and made a fun dinner to share with my family during this holiday season. We will definitely be making them again! Thank you for the great and reliable recipes!
This is a really great way to prepare chicken and have on hand for all kinds of recipes! I just made a corn chowder and added chicken made with your recipe and it’s so good!
These were delicious! I fried ours and everyone loved them, which is usually not the case with three kids at the table. We had them with your corn and black bean salad and it was a great meal. Thank you!
I have been trying my best to figure out how to keep tortillas from unrolling. Now I know 🙂 who would have thought that something so simple and in my kitchen would be just the thing. Thanks for all the wonderful advise.
Can you put these in your air fryer? Mine only goes to 400 degrees – would that work?
Hi Linda, I’ve never tested this recipe using an air fryer so I can’t say for certain. In fact, I still don’t even own an air fryer! I need to get one!
i never thought of baked taquitos…thank-you for the inspiration Isabel!!!!
your husband es un amigo con fortunidad….
con paz y amour y comida del sur, tio san g
So delicious! They are way better when homemade! Everyone loved them- used some cream cheese for my vegetarian and it worked well.
You can also make the flautas with out cheese and are great and with flour tortillas it is one of my favorite foods