These easy baked taquitos are stuffed with tender rotisserie chicken, mild green chiles, and delicious monterey jack cheese all wrapped up in a crispy tortilla shell. These make a great party appetizer for the big game, but my kids really love it when we have them for lunch or dinner! You can put out a plate of these with a few bowls of salsa, sour cream and guacamole for a party, or pair it with rice and beans for a quick and hearty meal. I love recipes that can pull double duty!
The thing with kids is that they are so unpredictable. They have a favorite food for like months… even years. Then one day you whip it up, hoping for a nice easy meal and, low and behold, they don’t like it anymore. Not only do they not like it, but they look at you like you have 3 heads for even thinking that they might want that awful dish. How could you even think that?
We just went though this with not one, but two of my kids. My son is literally baffling me as he all of a sudden just doesn’t like bread anymore. Like, is he even related to me?!?! Since things made with bread compromised about 98% of his food repertoire up to this point, I have been a little stumped as to what the kids actually will eat now.
We have been trying some new things and have gotten a couple of winners…. and a few, well… not so much. These taquitos definitely fall on the YUM side though and we have made them a few times now with the kids asking for more each time. The best part is that, of course, they really couldn’t be simpler to make.
I have been making them with chopped rotisserie chicken, because 1. It makes the recipe super simple, and 2. Rotisserie is juicy, tender, has a great flavor which makes the hard work done.
To follow the theme of keeping it simple so I can whip it up quick and easy for the kids I just added a couple of things to the chicken to make these. First a can of green chiles. Now you might be thinking, “What? Your kids eat green chiles?!” and if I told them they probably give me all the “eew, yuck” and “gross” that you would expect, but I try to cook for my kids with flavors that I think are actually really delicious so we can all eat one meal as a family (and all enjoy it!) The green chiles are are very mild and really add flavor but not spice so it is very kid friendly.
The next thing is the rotisserie chicken. You can use other leftover chicken you have on hand, but the great flavor and tenderness of the rotisserie chicken works so well in these. Next add some taco seasoning. It gives it that familiar taste the kids love and the green chiles give it the little something extra that makes it really delicious. The last ingredient is the cheese, which everyone in the family still agrees is delicious. I use monterey jack which is, flavorful and highly addictive, ha! The cheese glues it all together both in taste and texture. If you want them extra creamy you can stir in some softened cream cheese as well, but we usually keep it lighter with just the jack cheese.
You can make these for a meal like we have been lately, but they are also a huge hit as an appetizer. Nothing is better for a party than a finger food that you can dip in all sorts of yumminess. Gimme all the guacamole! But seriously, you can make a whole tray in just a few minutes and they are full of delicious flavors and something your guests can eat easily with their hands. If you are serving as an appetizer, you can cut them in half after you get them out of the oven to make them a little smaller portion-wise.
Here’s the recipe:
Green Chile Chicken Taquitos Recipe- Step by Step
Follow along below as I outline the recipe and go through all of my tips, tricks and step by step instructions for this recipe. If you just want a quick view of the recipe, you can scroll on down to the bottom where you will find a simple recipe card.
Ingredients
- 8-10 taco sized (8 in) flour tortillas- I make it with this size but you can make larger ones if you want. Just add more filling in each one, but you will make less total taquitos
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken, chopped- Again, you can use leftovers as well if you have other chicken breast or meat you can use it as well. Just know that if it is flavored it will effect the taste of the taquitos.
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded- If you want to kick the spice up a notch you can use pepper jack instead.
- 1 can (4.5 oz) green chiles- I prefer Old El Paso brand chilis because they are chopped but in a thicker sauce rather than just water which I think flavors the mixture much better.
- 2 tsp taco seasoning- You can use store bought, or use my homemade fajita seasoning here
- 8 oz softened cream cheese (optional)- These are delicious with just the above ingredients, but if you like it creamier (and I don’t blame you, because YUM!) you can add up to 8 oz of cream cheese to your taste.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
- Mix the chicken, cheese, green chilis, taco seasoning and cream cheese if desired, in a bowl until everything is combined. If you decide to use the cream cheese, you can use some or all of the suggested amount depending on how creamy you want it. We generally leave it out all together but it certainly is yummy to have it in there!
- Lay out the tortillas and place about 1/4 cup of filling in each tortilla then roll tightly and lay seam side down on a cookie sheet. You can place them pretty close together, just make sure they aren’t touching or won’t shift into each other as you put them in or take them out of the oven.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the edges of the tortillas brown and it is crispy throughout. I would bake them 10 minutes then keep an eye on them to see how they are doing for the next few minutes. The cook time can vary based on the kind/size of your oven, the type of tortillas, the altitude and climate where you live, but basically you just want the tortilla to get crispy and the edges to get lightly browned.
- Serve immediately with guacamole, sour cream, and/or salsa for dipping. I like it all but you can do just one or a couple of dips, or if you are from Texas, some nice jalapeno ranch. I serve these with rice and beans for dinner or place them on a platter with a big bowl of dip for a party.
Hopefully your family and friends will gobble these up as quickly as we do. If you get a chance to make it, please leave me a comment and let me know, or tag me in a pic on Instagram @easyfamilyrecipes.
Hungry for more family-friendly recipes? Sign up for my free recipe club to get new family-friendly recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing daily meal-time inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Green Chile Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 8-10 taco sized 8 in flour tortillas
- 2 cups rotisserie chicken chopped
- 1 cup monterey jack cheese shredded
- 1 can 4.5 oz green chiles
- 2 tsp taco seasoning
- 8 oz softened cream cheese optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
- Mix the chicken, cheese, green chilis, taco seasoning and cream cheese if desired, in a bowl until everything is combined.
- Lay out the tortillas and place about 1/4 cup of filling in each tortilla then roll tightly and lay seam side down on a cookie sheet.
- Bake for 10-14 minutes or until the edges of the tortillas brown and it is crispy throughout.
- Serve immediately with guacamole, sour cream, and/or salsa for dipping.
- Enjoy!
(Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.)
EW says
I tired a version of these with what I had on hand: leftover thigh meat, goat cheese, jack cheese, taco seasoning, and gluten free spinach tortillas 8 inch. Since I had so much chicken meat to use, I doubled everything but the cream cheese and green chilies. Mine were like flautas, a bit fatter. I used the same oven temp and times and they came out slightly browned like the picture, but throughly hot and melty even though they were larger. I would make these again for sure. A little bit of heat left on the tongue from the spices. I wish I could post a picture.