Everyone loves these cheesy taquitos! They’re filled with chicken, cream cheese, salsa, and spinach and are great as appetizers or even a main dish.
Also known as flautas, these chicken taquitos are loved by the entire family. Rolled and fried to perfection, we love to serve this dish with Mexican rice and salsa!
family-Favorite Taquitos
We have Mexican food EVERY week!
Without fail, we are having tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas or taquitos one day during the week and the kids love them. I’m so grateful for that because I love these recipes too, and they’re usually really easy to make.
Today, I wanted to share our favorite taquitos recipe – Cream Cheese and Chicken Taquitos.
What are TAQUITOS? A Mexican dish consisting of a small tortilla that is rolled around a filling of meat and cheese and then deep-fried.
They are very similar to the flautas we make all the time, but they have cream cheese, salsa, and baby spinach mixed in with it too. Tacos are usually folded, and these taquitos are rolled.
Since my husband LOVES cream cheese, I knew he’d love this recipe and to no surprise, everyone else does too. It’s easy and so delicious.
How to make Taquitos
These chicken taquitos are so great as appetizers or as a main dish. And we love that that are quick to make. Here is how we make them:
OIL. Begin by heating ½ inch oil on medium heat in a frying pan.
MIX. While the oil is heating up, mix together cooked, shredded chicken, cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, co-jack cheese and spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste.
ROLL + FRY. Once the oil is hot enough, add a few tablespoons of the chicken/cream cheese mixture along the center of the corn tortilla and spread out. Roll up and set seam side down (using tongs) into the oil.
DRAIN OIL. Cook these until golden brown on both sides and continue doing this until the mixture is gone. Set on paper towel lined plate to drain the oil and serve warm.
SERVE WITH SOME OF THESE FAVORITES:
Recipe Tips
Having a hard time getting your corn tortillas to roll without cracking? Wrap a stack of corn tortillas in some damp paper towels and microwave for 15-30 seconds until warmed up.
The reason why many tortillas crack or break is because they are not warm enough.
How to keep taquitos rolled up? Add your mix, roll and then use metal tongs to hold the taquitos in the oil with the seam-side down until they stay rolled. You can also add toothpicks to the center of each taquito before frying to keep them in place.
Can you use flour tortillas? Yes – the kind of tortilla – corn tortillas or flour tortillas is what most believe if the difference between a taquito and a flauta. No matter what you use, both make these delicious!
VARIATIONS: There are so many ways to change up these taquitos. Here are a few examples:
- Change up the meat: Shredded beef and pork are also great options.
- Change up the spices and salsas: cumin, garlic, garlic pepper, chili powder – these can all change up the flavor. You can also change up the salsa in the mix to change the flavor. Sweet Salsa verde or tomatillo salsa are great!
- Change the Toppings: Shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, or pico de gallo.
FAQ
Can you bake taquitos? Yes, you can! We even have a recipe for it. Be sure to check out our Oven Baked Chicken Taquitos.
Can you make these taquitos ahead of time? You can definitely make the chicken/cream cheese mixture ahead of time. We typically do this when we know it will be a busy night.
To make ahead, just store and cover in the fridge for up to 24 hours in advance.
Can you freeze taquitos? The cream cheese and chicken mix freezes well. We just place in freezer-safe Ziploc bags and get as much air out. They day I’m ready to make them, I just pull them from the freezer and let them thaw completely, which is perfect for those crazy busy days.
What to serve with taquitos?
The options are endless, but here are some of our favorites:
- Mexican Rice
- Easy Refried Beans
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Red Cheese Enchiladas
- Esquites
- Homemade Tortilla Chips
And don’t forget all the things to dip them in: Red Salsa, Green Salsa, Guacamole, Cilantro Ranch Dressing, Avocado Ranch Dip, Queso Blanco.
For more taquito recipes, check out:
Cream Cheese and Chicken Taquitos Recipe
Ingredients
- vegetable or canola oil for frying
- 3 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 6 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1½ cups baby spinach stems removed and chopped
- 1½ cups shredded Colby Jack cheese or Mexican blend cheese
- ½ cup salsa store-bought or homemade, page XXX
- ⅓ cup sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas (or flour tortillas)
Toppings
- shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, sour cream, Pico de Gallo
Instructions
- Fill a saucepan with ½ inch of oil and heat over medium heat to 350 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, in a large bowl mix together chicken, cream cheese, spinach, Colby Jack cheese, salsa and sour cream. Add salt and pepper.
- Once oil is hot enough, add a few tablespoons of chicken–cream cheese mixture to the center of a tortilla and spread out. Roll tortilla up and use tongs to place it seam side down in hot oil. Cook until golden brown on both sides, 2–3 minutes per side. Set on paper towels to drain.
- Repeat until all tortillas have been filled, rolled and fried.
- Serve warm with your favorite toppings.
Video
Notes
Make Ahead: You can mix the filling as described in Step 2 up to 24 hours in advance. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
Corn Tortillas Cracking? If your corn tortillas are cracking when you roll them, wrap a stack of corn tortillas in some damp paper towels and microwave for 15–30 seconds until warmed up. The reason many tortillas crack or break is because they are not warm enough.
Recipe adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
My family loved them. Made a large batch and didn’t last. Make more today.
I adapted this a smidge but basically, this was a slamming good recipe that I will be using going forward. Changes: canned chicken (don’t judge), chive flavored cream cheese, Aloutte spreadable cheese, hot sauce and a good bit of Worcestershire. I warmed my tortillas in the micro to make them pliable but because I live my life in excess, I probably overstuffed them. Spritzed with cooking spray and they came out crispy after several times in the air fryer. They were molting lava so don’t bite into them right away!
Love these! Do you have an air fryer version?
Awesome
Recipes
Have been making this recipe for months and it is absolutely delicious! My family loves quesadillas so I use the filling-add a little spice and make quesadillas out of it. Really fantastic recipe!
Going to try making these… just because I can and they sound delicious!
Yay! Hope you enjoy them!
How do you cook chicken ???
Did I miss that ?
You would start with chicken that is already cooked (so we didn’t include the cooking instructions for the chicken). There are lots of options for that… you can bake, boil, instant pot, grill, use rotisserie chicken, etc. Here’s a quick and easy way to bake chicken if you need some instructions: https://lilluna.com/baked-chicken/
Hi Kristyn
Can these be made in the air fryer? What temp do you suggest?
I was looking for a beef taquitos recipe to add to our repertoire, so I subbed ground beef w/a little Fajita seasoning for shredded chicken. I don’t deep fry anything, so I sprayed w/olive oil and baked at 425 degrees for 12 minutes. Fabulous! If I remake them with chicken, I would use tomatillo sauce ala chilaquiles.
2 carbohydrates per serving seems way too low if it includes the corn tortilla. Is the nutrition profile for only the filling and oil? Thanks!
Yummy! There CAN’T BE only 2 carbs, unless you are counting the tortilla they are rolled in!
If mean that you’re NOT counting the tortilla… Sorry
We’re doing Mexican for Christmas. Do you NOT warm up tortillas before filling? I have 7 people to feed so I will definitely have to double the recipe.
So yummy and easy to do on a busy week day!
Delicious! I used left over rotisserie chicken. So easy and huge hit with the fam!
Loved them ..but how do you keep the corn tortillas from cracking or tearing while you roll them? I had to use flour tortillas.
So delicious!!
Thank u gonna definitely try this
Hope you enjoy!!
You don’t need any help to play with and it is a great t
Okay, but not great. I would cut the cream cheese in half.
On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 6.
Too much junk on the website, as far as adds, I understand a few but this is ridiculous
My entire family loved these.