Our Baked Chicken Taquitos are the ultimate snack food for any day of the week!
These crispy oven-Baked Chicken Taquitos are also a great way to use up leftover chicken. But let’s face it – the star of this easy and delicious snack is the Southwestern Red Chile Sauce we used to make the super flavorful filling. (You can see that sauce recipe here.)
Simply sauté some red peppers, scallions, garlic and jalapeños in a little extra virgin olive oil until tender, then add shredded chicken, the Southwestern Red Chile Sauce (or other favorite enchilada sauce), and some chicken stock. Cook until the sauce has thickened. Then roll the taquitos mixture in corn tortillas along with a generous sprinkle of shredded cheese and fresh cilantro. Place the rolls on a sheet pan and bake until crispy and heated through.
With football season just around the corner – these Baked Chicken Taquitos are definitely going to make a regular appearance on our game day menu. But you can also make these ahead and bake them anytime the craving for a delicious snack hits.
No dipping sauce is needed – but if you’d like – feel free to serve these with some of that Southwestern Red Chile Sauce on the side. Enjoy!
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PinIngredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ large red bell pepper sliced into thin strips
1 small bunch scallion bottoms, sliced
½ tablespoon garlic, minced
1 small jalapeno chili, seeds and stems removed, diced fine
½ cup prepared Southwestern Red Chile Sauce (or Enchilada Sauce)
½ cup chicken stock
¾ pound cooked chicken, shredded
¼ cup peanut oil
16 corn tortillas
½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
2 ½ cups cheddar cheese, shredded (you could also use jack cheese or pepper jack cheese)
Instructions
In a large sauté pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat and add red pepper strips, scallions, garlic and jalapeno and cook 3-4 minutes until vegetables are tender.
Add red chile sauce, chicken stock and cooked chicken and reduce to a simmer.
Simmer for 15 – 20 minutes until the mixture has thickened. Remove from heat.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a small sauté pan over medium high heat, place peanut oil and once hot, using tongs, place one tortilla at a time into oil and cook for about 5 seconds per side. Remove to paper towels. This process will soften up the tortilla so it can be rolled.
Brush a sheet tray with a little peanut oil.
Lay out the 16 tortillas and divide the cheese and cilantro between them, running it down the center.
Divided the filling over the cheese and cilantro. Roll each one tight and place seam side down on the prepared sheet tray, (two rows of eight) making sure to leave space as you set each down.
After all of the taquitos have been rolled and placed on the prepared sheet tray, seam side down, brush each with a little more peanut oil.
Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy hot right out of the oven.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
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If I were to make this 1-2 days before serving it, would you recommend baking it when made and reheating when serving it? It seems the tortilla shells might become soggy if I were to wait to bake it the day it’s served. What do you recommend?
Funny you should ask. I made these for a Halloween party this very evening. I made the filling yesterday and refrigerated it overnight, then fried the shells this morning, filled and placed the sheet tray in the fridge. When I baked, I was worried that the filling would be cold so I covered them for 15 minutes then uncovered for 15 more. They were unfortunately soggy. I tried leaving them in for 10 more minutes but the shell started to fall apart. This is one of those recipes that doesn’t fare well made in advance. If I was going to try these again, I would have everything ready including softening the shells, then fill, roll and bake just before serving.
That said, everyone scoffed them up, soggy and all.
Thanks for the quick and very informative reply! The recipe looks great and I’m eager to try it this weekend. As a side note – info on recipes about cooking ahead and/or freezing is so helpful. I tend to cook on the weekend for the workweek ahead and also of late am taking meals to people for the same type of use. I’m always looking for recipes and techniques to accommodate this.
Love your website!!
Thank you for that. Moving forward, I’ll try to talk about make-ahead meals and how to freeze related to each recipe if appropriate. When I was a bachelor working two jobs, Sunday was my make and freeze day. I used a vacuum sealer and sealed and froze individual portions, then just threw a bag in a pot of water when I got home. Today, I do this for my parents who are in their 80s, so there is a need to talk about this. Thanks for the idea.