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 Hispanic 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 chicken tacos 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 (aka Flautas) are rolled. Since my husband LOVES cream cheese, I knew he’d love this recipe and it’s become a family favorite since!
How to make Taquitos
These have definitely become family favorites, and I love how easy they are to make.
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.
Baking, Making Ahead + Storing
Can you bake taquitos? Yes, you can! We even have a recipe for it, so GO HERE to get our baked chicken taquito recipe.
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.
Another thing I love about this recipe is that they are great to make as the main dish or even an appetizer. Either way, I know you’ll love these Cream Cheese and Chicken Taquitos because they are DELICIOUS!
What to serve with chicken taquitos:
For more taquito recipes, check out:
- Avocado Taquitos
- Spinach & artichoke Taquitos
- Jalapeno Popper Beef Taquitos
- Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Chicken Taquitos Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups chicken cooked and shredded
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1 1/2 cups colby jack cheese
- 1 1/2 cups baby spinach chopped and stems removed
- 12 6 inch corn tortillas
- vegetable or canola oil for frying
Instructions
- Heat ½" oil in a sauce pan on medium heat.
- In a large bowl mix together the chicken, cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, co-jack and spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Once oil is hot enough (place hand over pan, above oil, to feel heat), add a few tablespoons of chicken/cream cheese mixture to the center of a tortilla and spread out. Roll up and set seam side down in oil using tongs. Cook until golden brown on both sides.
- Repeat until all the tortillas are filled, rolled and fried.
- Set on paper towels to drain.
- Serve warm and ENJOY!
Video
Recipe adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice
My whole family loved these!!!! Easy and tasty!
Not good at frying them some fell apart but love added green chile from NM hatch.
These were *so* easy to make. I’ve made chicken tacos before but this was my first time making taquitos. They were a big hit! I love that spinach is added but you can’t really taste it. Any way I can get extra vegetables into my kid’s diet, I am all about!
My whole family loves these, and with 6 picky kids that doesn’t happen often.
This is on our meal rotation and is super yummy! Kids love it!
Delicious and simple
These are so easy and yummy! My kids love them too!
I have made these. They are very good. My husband and grandchildren love them. Can not made enough .Thank you for sharing this recipe .
You are so welcome!! I am so glad you all like them! Thank you!
These are delish! Have you tried these in an air fryer?
Thank you! I have not tried this specific recipe in the air fryer. I’d have to test that out.
I make these all the time for me and my kids – We always eat way too many because they are sooooo good! Quick and easy too 🙂 Thank you for the recipe <3
You are so welcome!! Glad you all like them! Thank you!
My family and I LOVE this recipe! I’ve made it four times now, and it is a keeper!
Yay!! Thank you so much!
Put together the mix and tasted. Too bland. perfect for those who do not like surprises. Added 1Tsp cumin and 1 Tsp chili flakes and 1/4 Tsp chipolte powder. This now tastes Mexican. I don’t use the pan fry method. I tried it several times, but I could not see any difference than with precise deep frying methods. The last time my best variants were strictly to the recipe with spicing as described. This is an extraordinary recipe. I also use a little orient influence. I close my taquitos with bamboo slivers. No bamboo slivers? Wooden toothpicks work fine. close the middle and both ends.
Chicken I roasted for 15 minutes at 450 in my convection. Came out slightly raw. 18 minutes would have been ideal. Well covered with dry rub taco mix on a grill. Looking for avocado cream sauce. Will keep you advised.
Thank you for sharing what you did! Sounds great!
Great details and video showing how to make them properly ♡♡♡
Thank you 🙂
These sound so great. Quick question: Is it OK to omit the salsa? Can something else substitute?
You can substitute pasta sauce for the salsa in the recipe if you’d like. Or you can also make your own homemade salsa and adjust the spiciness to just how you like it. Here is a link to my homemade salsa recipe- Homemade Salsa. Hope this helps!
These are fantastic! A family favorite!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed the taquitos!
Mine weren’t as “pretty”, but oh so delicious!
Mmmm flavor is most definitely the most important! 😉 So glad you enjoyed them!
Which salsa do you mean please?
Whichever kind of salsa is your favorite! No specific brand or heat level… whichever you prefer. If you need a recipe for homemade salsa, we have one here: https://lilluna.com/homemade-salsa-recipe/
Can these bee prepared ahead of time- froze- and baked till hot?
Absolutely!! We have a recipe specific for baked taquitos too, if you want to check that out: https://lilluna.com/baked-taquitos/
It was successfully yummy for all ages in my family!
I didn’t have spinach handy, so I replaced the green with chopped chives. Delicious. Some corn tortillas ripped and some busted in oil, but overall it is an easy recipe. Frying in oil happened to be the most dangerous experience with this one because the fallen content splashed and popped in oil like firecrackers on stovetop. I shielded myself with the biggest pot cover I had. Bottom line, oil temp has to be medium, and oil level could be as low as half the roll.
Thanks so much for the tips on using the oil for frying in this recipe. Super helpful! I appreciate it! I’m so glad your family enjoyed it!