These homemade chicken taquitos are fried to crispy perfection on the outside and loaded with tender white meat chicken, spicy, pepper jack cheese, and punchy seasonings on the inside. They’re a delicious Mexican-inspired feast that makes the perfect appetizers or main dish for your next Taco Tuesday.
Living in Texas, Mexican and Tex-Mex foods are a huge part of my cooking. Wherever I look, I see tacos, taquitos, burritos, nachos, and other delicious Mexican or Mexican-inspired dishes, and that inspires me to make more of them, as well. That means that Taco Tuesday is a very real, very important part of my family’s life. I’ve been making tacos, nachos, burritos, and the like most Taco Tuesday for years. My family loves to help cook up all that delicious goodness and then sit around the table and enjoy it together. It’s as much about being together as it is about eating.Â
Lately, I’ve been trying to mix things up and make recipes that aren’t just tacos or burritos. I’ve been trying to make recipes that are delicious and authentic, but that aren’t the things that I’ve always made before for every other Taco Tuesday. That’s why I started making these chicken taquitos.
Chicken Taquitos
These chicken taquitos are super crispy and delicious. Corn tortillas are wrapped around pan-seared chicken pieces seasoned with chili powder, Slap Ya Mama seasoning, and other spices, spicy pepper jack cheese, and lime juice. It all comes together as the tortillas are pan-fried to crispy perfection!Â
They’re a great way to mix things up when tacos, burritos, and other such standards are feeling stale, and they’re also the perfect hand-held Mexican treat for parties or dipping. I’ve been making these a lot for my family, and they’ve been getting rave reviews. There’s nothing better than that golden-fried crunch giving way to juicy chicken and all of those spices. It’s pure Tex-Mex perfection!
Tips
These chicken taquitos are very easy to make. It’s a simple matter of cooking the chicken in the pan, filling the tortillas, and frying them. These are easy tips that will ensure your chicken taquitos come out as perfectly as possible, so don’t skip them.
Moisten the Tortillas
Be sure to remember to moisten your tortillas with a damp paper towel and microwave them to keep them soft. This will keep the tortillas from cracking as you roll them and falling apart as you fry them.
Don’t Brown the Chicken
Usually, we want to get our chicken golden brown when we cook it in a pan, but not for this recipe. You’ll be shredding the chicken, so getting a golden crust will actually make the recipe more difficult. Cook the chicken on medium heat as directed to cook it through without developing a golden crust. This makes it simple to shred for the taquitos.
A Tight Roll is Key
Be sure you roll the taquitos up as tightly as possible. A tightly-rolled taquito will hold together better, fry better, and cook more uniformly in general. It also helps keep all that delicious filling inside the rolled tortilla where it belongs.
Don’t Overfry the Taquitos
Remember not to fry the taquitos for too long. When you see the words “golden brown” always lean more toward golden and less toward brown. You want your taquitos to be crispy and gold and not burnt. Take them out of the oil as soon as you see a nice, uniform golden color.
Variations
One of the things I love so much about these chicken taquitos is how much you can play with them. At their core, taquitos are nothing more than meat wrapped up in a fried tortilla, so there are a few things you can do to switch them up. They’re so much fun to play with because it’s always a tasty outcome!
Change the Meat
This recipe calls for shredded chicken, but you can use any kind of meat you like. Shredded pork or beef work very well in this recipe. Simply cook the meat up nice and tender and shred it!
Change the Cheese
I love pepper jack cheese, but almost any cheese works in this recipe. Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby Jack – anything at all! Try all your favorite cheese varieties and see which ones work best for you.Â
To Heat or not to Heat
If you love spicy food, feel free to up the heat by adding some finely diced jalapenos to it. You can even throw in some red pepper flakes! If you’re not a fan of heat, leave out the Slap Ya Mama seasoning, as that’s where the majority of the heat in this recipe comes from.Â
Serving Chicken Taquitos
My favorite way to serve these chicken taquitos is to simply set them out on a platter on the table and let everyone take as many as they want. It’s the perfect addition to any taco bar setup, as well. Simply set out your taquitos, taco shells, fillings, and toppings, and let everyone take what they want!
These taquitos are perfect for dipping, as well, so I always have various bowls of dipping condiments on hand for them. Serve them with guacamole, salsa, sour cream, or any of your other favorite dipping sauces!
Storing Chicken Taquitos
These taquitos will keep well in the refrigerator for up to four days in an air-tight container. For longer storage, you can freeze them for up to three months. To freeze, place the taquitos on a cookie sheet and put in the freezer, then transfer them to an air-tight, freezer-safe container, or heavy-duty freezer bags.
Have Chicken Taquitos for Your Next Taco Tuesday
These chicken taquitos are so good, and they’re so easy to make. It only takes a few minutes of cooking and then pan-frying to deliver delicious little tubes of tasty Mexican goodness that everyone loves. Give this recipe a try, and I know you’ll love it. In fact, I can almost guarantee that you’ll end up making this delicious recipe more often than you might think!
Ingredients Needed to Make Chicken Taquitos
- Chicken Breasts
- Limes
- Slap Ya Mama
- Garlic Salt
- Paprika
- Pepper
- Chili Powder
- Oregano
- Basil
- Butter
- Pepper Jack Cheese
- Corn Tortillas
- Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil
(Actual measurements listed in the recipe card below.)
How to Make Chicken Taquitos
- In a large bowl, add chicken, olive oil, lime juice, and seasonings. Toss to coat chicken pieces.
- Using a large skillet or frying pan, heat butter over medium heat and add chicken pieces. Cook chicken until thoroughly cooked, approximately 7-10 minutes.
- Remove from pan and shred chicken pieces. Set aside.
- Place corn tortillas in a moistened paper towel and microwave for about 10-15 seconds prior to filling so tortillas will not fall apart.
- Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.
- Add shredded chicken and cheese to tortillas, tightly roll up. Place seam side down into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides. Can use toothpick to hold tortillas together, if needed.
- Once browned, remove from pan and place on plate lined with paper towels.
- Serve with homemade guacamole, salsa, sour cream, or your favorite dipping sauce.
Try These Crispy Chicken Taquitos Today
Here are a few more delicious recipes that can be found on the blog:
And here are some BBQ Brisket Tacos you might enjoy as well from Great Grub, Delicious Treats.
Ingredients
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1½-2 inch pieces
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 tsp Slap Ya Mama
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp pepper
- ½ tsp chili powder
- ½ tsp oregano
- ½ tsp basil
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1-2 cups pepper Jack cheese, shredded
- 12-15 corn tortillas
- 1-2 cups olive oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add chicken, olive oil, lime juice, and seasonings. Toss to coat chicken pieces.
- Using a large skillet or frying pan, heat butter over medium heat and add chicken pieces. Cook chicken until thoroughly cooked, approximately 7-10 minutes.
- Remove from pan and shred chicken pieces. Set aside.
- Place corn tortillas in a moistened paper towel and microwave for about 10-15 seconds prior to filling so tortillas will not fall apart.
- Heat oil over medium high heat in large skillet.
- Add shredded chicken and cheese to tortillas, tightly roll up. Place seam side down into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides. Can use toothpicks to hold tortilla together, if needed.
- Once browned, remove from pan and place on plate lined with paper towels.
- Serve with homemade guacamole, salsa, sour cream or your favorite dipping sauce.
Here are a few pics that are the perfect size for pinning to Pinterest.
