Kid-friendly Chicken Taquitos, rolled tortillas filled with ground chicken and cheese and baked until crispy, are perfect for making ahead and keeping stashed in the freezer! Perfect for back-to-school lunch!
Chicken and Cheese Taquitos
Stash these crispy chicken taquitos in your freezer for a quick lunch or after- school snack that you can reheat anytime. The protein-packed filling, made with ground chicken and cheese, is incredibly flavorful, and you can use either flour or corn tortillas (I find flour much easier to work with). They reheat well in the oven or air fryer and are delicious served as an appetizer with salsa and guacamole for dipping. If you want a shrimp version, you’ll love my shrimp taquitos!
Why This Recipe Works
I love homemade taquitos! They’re like quesadillas, but rolled up—perfect for dipping into salsa. I tested them with both corn and flour tortillas. Tommy preferred the corn, while Madison liked the flour (and honestly, the flour were easier to roll since the corn tends to crack). She loved them so much she ate them all week, so I ended up making a second batch to keep in the freezer.
- Great for school lunch if your kids don’t mind eating them cold.
- Freezer Friendly: They freeze and reheat well, so I like to keep them stocked in my freezer for fast meals and snacks.
- Kid Friendly: Taquitos are basically just tacos but crunchier, so they’re a good recipe to try if you’re looking for ways to switch things up for your children.
- Dietary Restrictions: Weight Watchers-friendly, gluten-free (depending on your tortillas), high-protein, dairy-free (if using DF cheese)
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are all the ingredients for this easy chicken taquito recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Taco Seasoning: Garlic powder, cumin, kosher salt, chili powder, and dried oregano season the chicken.
- 93% Lean Ground Chicken means it contains only 7% fat, making it a fantastic low-calorie protein option.
- Onion infuses the chicken with flavor.
- Liquid: The meat simmers in a mixture of tomato sauce and water to prevent it from drying out.
- Tortillas: Choose your favorite corn or flour tortillas based on your family’s preference.
- Cheese: The shredded Mexican cheese blend melts and helps hold the taquitos together.
- Vegetables for Serving: To turn these taquitos into a full meal, serve them over shredded iceberg lettuce and pico de gallo for a quick salad, and dip them in guacamole or sour cream. To save time, look for premade pico and guac in the produce section of your supermarket.
How to Make Chicken Taquitos
These chicken taquitos require minimal effort–just three easy steps! See the recipe card at the bottom for printable directions.
- Cook the Taco Meat: Place the ground chicken in a large skillet over medium heat. Once it’s broken into smaller pieces and no longer pink, sprinkle it with the spices. Add the onion, water, and tomato sauce, then simmer for 20 minutes.
- Roll the Taquitos: Microwave 3 tortillas at a time to make them easier to handle. Spread the chicken mixture on the bottom of a tortilla and sprinkle with cheese. (Don’t overfill them or the chicken mixture could seep out.) Roll the tortilla up and place it on a greased, foil-lined sheet pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Bake the taquitos for 15 minutes at 400°F, until golden and crisp.
- Top with your favorite taco fixins or serve them over lettuce.
Variations
- Protein: Swap ground chicken with lean ground turkey or ground beef.
- Taco Seasoning: If you have a favorite taco seasoning, feel free to use it instead of the individual spices.
- Cheese: If you can’t find a shredded Mexican cheese blend, cheddar or Monterey Jack will also work. If you can’t eat dairy-free, look for a shredded plant-based cheese.
- Adjust the heat: If you’re serving these as a game-day appetizer for adults, feel free to add minced jalapeños to the chicken to make them spicier.
Serving Suggestions
Tex-Mex Favorites
If you’re packing these for your kids’ lunch, just add some fruit to complete their meal. If you’re eating them at dinner and don’t want to make the salad, here are some more ideas for what to serve with chicken taquitos:
Meal Prep Tips
Chicken and cheese taquitos are a great choice for meal prep because they last in the refrigerator for 4 days and reheat nicely. Here’s what you need to know about freezing and reheating them:
- To freeze: Let the taquitos cool completely after baking, then place them in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Transfer to the freezer and store for up to 3 months.
- To reheat in the oven: Preheat it to 400°F. Place the frozen taquitos on a parchment-lined baking sheet and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, or until heated through.
- To reheat in an air fryer: Preheat the appliance to 380°F for 3 minutes. Air fry frozen taquitos for 8 minutes, flipping halfway through.
FAQ
You can use either type of tortilla. However, flour tortillas are easier to work with, so I usually choose those. Use corn for gluten-free
Microwaving the tortillas in batches makes them more pliable and prevents cracking. Also, as soon as you roll them up, place them seam side down on the baking sheet. Once they bake, the cheese melts and the tortillas harden so that they won’t fall apart.
More Back-To-School Ideas You’ll Love
For more easy lunch ideas, check out these five delicious back-to-school recipes to inspire your kids’ next meal! If you have picky kids, be sure to check out my kid-friendly recipe collection.
- Bento Box Turkey Club Roll Ups
- Pepperoni Pizza Bites
- Rainbow Fruit Skewers with Yogurt Fruit Dip
- BLT Roll Ups with Turkey and Avocado
- Italian Pasta Salad
Chicken Taquitos
Equipment
Ingredients
- olive oil spray
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 ½ teaspoons cumin
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 pound 93% lean ground chicken
- ½ small yellow onion
- ½ 8-ounce can tomato sauce, (4 ounces)
- ¼ cup water
- 16 6-inch flour tortillas, or corn tortillas, check labels for GF
- 4 ounces Mexican cheese blend, (1 cup)
- 4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
- 1 cup pico de gallo, drained
- guacamole or sour cream, optional for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with foil and spray with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine the seasoning from garlic powder to oregano.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Spray with oil and add the ground chicken and cook until no longer pink, breaking it into smaller pieces. When cooked through, add dry seasoning and mix well.
- Add the onion, tomato sauce and water then bring the heat down to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
- Working in batches, place 3 tortillas between two paper towels and microwave 30 seconds until they are warm and pliable.
- Place a tortilla on a clean, dry work surface and then spread 2 tablespoons filling onto the bottom third of the tortilla and top with 1 tablespoon of cheese.
- Roll the tortilla up from the bottom to surround the filling and once it’s rolled into a tube, place it on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining filling, spray the tops with oil, then bake until tortillas start to get golden and crispy, 15 minutes.
Last Step:
Please leave a rating and comment letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business to thrive and continue providing free, high-quality recipes for you.Notes
- To serve immediately: Place 1 cup shredded lettuce on each plate and top with 2 taquitos, ¼ cup pico de gallo and optional guacamole and sour cream on each.
- To freeze: Allow taquitos to cool completely then place in an airtight container or Ziploc bag. Transfer to freezer. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- To reheat in oven: Preheat oven to 400°F. Place frozen taquitos on a sheet pan and cook 15 to 18 minutes, or until heated through.
- To reheat in air-fryer: Preheat for 3 minutes. Set air fryer to 380°F and cook frozen taquitos 8 minutes, flipping half way through.
Wow Gina these turned out great! We went with shredded chicken instead of ground for a better texture and added a can of no-salt Rotel (we’re in the South, its the law!). Definitely a keeper that the whole family can enjoy. Sadly these never made it to the freezer, we devoured them in one night…
Taquitos overcooked in oven based on this recipe. It seems like a great idea so I will try again. I will use light sour cream or guacamole next time as well. I used 93% lean ground beef.
My family LOVED this recipe! My 10yo is obsessed!
Love it!
Delicious. Made this for my twin nieces today and they gave me 20 out of 10
lol, Gina.
Awesome!!♥
Great recipe! Both my teenage kids loved them. Flavor was great and easy to make.
Great for dinner and can heat leftovers for after school snacks
So happy the kids loved them!
If I could give these 10 stars I would. One of my guilty pleasures has always been those nasty (in the best possible way) frozen taquitos. These have replaced those forever. So So Good! I made them with flour Tortillas mostly because I was worried about rolling the corn and they were super easy to make. These are the best! Thank you for this recipe Gina, it has saved my diet!
These were so easy to make. And still taste great reheated! These are going to be great to batch cook ahead of time and have ready for busy weekday nights!
I used ground turkey. Other than that change I made this recipe exactly. One of ghe best skinny taste recipes ever. Easy to make and the flavor is excellent
Awesome!!
Huge hit with my husband and picky child! The flavor was really nice and well worth the prep time. Excited to try freezing a few and seeing how well they reheat. This will be super nice to have in rotation for busy weeknights!
These were really good. Definitely a keeper and will be in my dinner rotation.
Came out perfect!
I would also like to know if you can put these in the air fryer
Super easy, we tried both corn and flour and husband and I preferred the corn. He is a chef and told me it’s a keeper so that always makes me happy!
Has anyone tried cooking these in the air fryer?
Just when I think Gina’s recipes can’t get any better… she hits another home run with these chicken taquitos! These were easy and so delicious. I’m pretty sure I will always have them in my freezer!
Thanks Diane!
Tasty but corn tortillas broke in oven. Need to moisten paper towels and then cover the on tray with moist towels until the oven
I found great successful with flour tortillas. I use the Mission low card
Flour works much easier than corn.
This is great! My kids loved frozen taquitos so wanted to make these and everyone loved them.
Super easy super tasty. Loved the crunch. Next time may add black beans to taco mix. Thanks Gina
Loved these! Great reheated too
We are trying these for meal prep for our upcoming work week. They were very easy to make and they will be very easy to heat up. Thank you for the recipe and they are delicious!
Looks great! Could you use low carb tortillas?
These were excellent! I used corn tortillas as I require gluten free & they worked well after heating in the microwave. Will definitely be making these again!
These are my new favorite recipe! They are so easy and my family loves them.
SO good!
Okay
I was a little worried about making these since there weren’t any reviews yet, but they were so so good! They will definitely be going in my rotation. Thanks for another great recipe
I am so glad Sandy!! They are new so appreciate the review!
Very easy to make and very tasty! The recipe makes 10 taquitos, enough to freeze for fast healthy meals.
Yes!
I’m wondering if the kids will like them cold in their lunch boxes. Anyone?
I think they would? Or heat up and wrap in foil?
Going to make these tomorrow!