Golden and crispy, these chicken taquitos have an addictive crunch and a cheesy, tomatoey filling you’ll love. Topped with avocado and crema, you might just add a taquito night to your weekly menu.
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Why You’ll Love These Chicken Taquitos
You’ll definitely be making several batches at a time once you see how easy and yummy these taquitos are.
- Easy: There aren’t any complicated steps you need to worry about. Just fill, roll, and fry!
- Freezer-Friendly: Cook them straight out of the freezer for an almost-instant meal even on the craziest weekdays. I always make a triple batch of these for another easy dinner or snack later!
- Versatile: You can choose from a ton of different filling options depending on what you have at home. I shared all my favorites below in the post.
- Family-Friendly: If the little ones don’t like veggies or spices, leave them out. You can easily change up the filling in these taquitos to make them fit everyone’s tastes. Since they are individually stuffed, you can also easily make some spicy and others not.
If you love taquitos, make sure to also check out these favorites: cream cheese chicken taquitos and cheesy beef taquitos. Not in the mood for taquitos? Try our arroz con pollo recipe or make some homemade chicken empanadas!
Recipe Ingredients
Mexican chicken taquitos are super easy to make but packed with flavor thanks to some simple spices. Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for exact amounts.
- Oil: Vegetable, corn, and canola oil are perfect for this.
- Veggies: We’ll be using roma tomatoes, onion, and fresh garlic.
- Seasonings: Ground cumin, smoked paprika, salt and ground black pepper.
- Shredded Chicken: A rotisserie chicken works perfect, or you can make your own with my best shredded chicken or instant pot shredded chicken.
- Mexican Crema: Feel free to use sour cream. You can also add a little water to sour cream to thin it out to be the consistency of Mexican crema.
- Shredded Cheese: I love Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Monterrey Jack, or a Mexican Blend. However, you can use any shredded cheese you prefer or have on hand.
- Tortillas: Corn tortillas are traditional, but flour tortillas are also delicious! Use whichever you prefer.
Other Taquito Filling Ideas
In case you’ve got any of these in the fridge, feel free to use them as your filling.
- Beef: Shredded beef or even ground beef, like carne molida or my spicy taco meat, would be delicious in these. You could also use something like Birria!
- Shredded Turkey: You could absolutely use some shredded leftover Thanksgiving turkey!
- Shredded Pork: Like cochinita pibil (don’t add any extra sauce if using this), or go for a Mexican Puerto Rican fusion with some pernil!
- Leftover mashed potatoes
- Refried Beans: Bean and cheese taquitos are my kids favorite!
How to Make Chicken Taquitos
Making taquitos is just like making tacos, only you have to roll them. Check the recipe card at the bottom of the post for more detailed instructions on how to make them.
- Cook the Veggies: Cook the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a pan until softened. Add the cumin, paprika, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
- Add the Chicken: Mix in the chicken, crema, and cheese. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Fill the Tortillas: Add 2 tablespoons of filling to each tortilla and roll it up tightly. Do this for all the tortillas and filling.
- Fry: Heat the remaining oil in a pot. Add several taquitos to the oil and let them fry until golden on all sides. Don’t overcrowd the pot.
- Serve: Remove the taquitos from the heat and set them aside. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings.
Tips for Success
Follow these tips for the perfect crispy taquitos every time:
- Prep-Ahead: Roll the taquitos as usual but don’t fry them. Keep them in the fridge for up to 3 days and fry right before serving.
- Don’t Over Stuff: It’s tempting to add a lot of filling to your tortilla, but this will make them impossible to keep closed and fry.
- Use a Toothpick: Pin the taquitos closed with a toothpick if they’re opening up. This way you won’t have a taquito disaster once they hit the oil, with the filling falling out.
- Use a Cooling Rack: To keep them crispy once cooked, place them on a wire rack to cool instead of on a plate. This allows the steam to escape and won’t soften the taquitos.
- Spicy: Want to add some heat? You can add a pinch of cayenne pepper or 1 to 2 diced chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.
Chicken Taquito Topping Ideas
Make sure to add your favorite for the most authentic taquitos de pollo!
- Salsa: Try my restaurant style salsa or salsa ranchera. If you prefer green salsa, we love this easy salsa verde!
- Avocado: Feel free to use guacamole.
- Pico de Gallo
- Mexica Crema: Sour cream works too.
- Cilantro
- Shredded Lettuce
- Diced Tomato
- Cotija Cheese: Crumbled Mexican queso fresco is also delicious.
What to Serve with Mexican Taquitos
Chicken taquitos are often eaten on their own for lunch or dinner. However, you can definitely add a couple of sides like Mexican rice or refried beans. For something a little more soupy, try my frijoles charros and frijoles de la olla.
How to Store & Reheat Leftovers
Taquitos are best served fresh. Once they’re stored, they begin to soften. But if you do have leftovers, here’s how to handle them.
- Store: You can refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: To reheat them, pop them into the air fryer at 400°F for 2-3 minutes, for best results.
- Freeze: For longer storage, prepare them and skip the frying. Place them in a freeze-friendly bag or container and freeze them for up to 3 months. Thaw them for 30 minutes before frying as usual.
FAQs
Taquitos de pollo are a popular Mexican dish made of deep-fried flour tortillas with a shredded chicken filling. The filling can be as simple as plain rotisserie chicken or it can be slightly more seasoned like this recipe. Once ready, they are topped with shredded lettuce, diced onions and tomatoes, avocado, etc.
Taquitos and flautas are essentially the same thing, except taquitos don’t necessarily have to be rolled. They can be folded in half like regular tacos too. In terms of ingredients, they’re quite similar. Both are made with corn tortillas and have a meat or veggie filling like chicken or mashed potatoes.
No! You have more options than frying on the stove! We love air fryer taquitos and you can also cook them in the oven.
Bake: Preheat oven to 425°F. Place the taquitos seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly brush or mist the outsides with cooking oil. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping half way through baking, until golden brown and crispy.
Air fry: Preheat the air fryer to 375°F. Place the taquitos in a single layer, in the air fryer basket, seam side down. Mist the outsides with cooking spray. Air fry for 4 minutes. Flip the taquitos and lightly mist them with oil again, then air fry for 2 to 3 more minutes, until crispy. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining taquitos.
More Mexican Recipes To Try
Taquitos de Pollo (Chicken Taquitos)
Ingredients
- ½ cup oil, divided
- ⅓ cup diced tomato
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup cooked and shredded chicken
- ½ cup Mexican crema, or sour cream
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheese
- 12 corn tortillas, or flour tortillas
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Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon of the oil. Cook the tomato, onion, and garlic for 3 minutes, then season with cumin, smoked paprika, salt, and black pepper. Stir well, then add the chicken, sour cream, and cheese. Remove from the heat.
- Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling into a tortilla (not in the center, but along one side – check step by step photos in the post for visual guidance) and roll up the tortilla tightly.
- In a deep skillet, heat the remaining oil to 350°F.
- Carefully place the seam side down in the hot oil. Brown all sides, then remove and continue with the remaining tortillas. You can cook a few taquitos together at a time, just make sure you don’t over crowd the pan.
- Serve the taquitos immediately with your favorite toppings.
Notes
- Bake: Preheat oven to 425°F. Place the taquitos seam side down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Lightly brush or mist the outsides with cooking oil. Bake for 15 minutes, flipping half way through baking, until golden brown and crispy.
- Air fry: Preheat the air fryer to 375°F. Place the taquitos in a single layer, in the air fryer basket, seam side down. Mist the outsides with cooking spray. Air fry for 4 minutes. Flip the taquitos and lightly mist them with oil again, then air fry for 2 to 3 more minutes, until crispy. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining taquitos.
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