Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos

Back in my just married days, I spent a ton of time on an online discussion board where people shared their recipes and just chatted about food in general. Many of the members of this community were bloggers (some of these bloggers have made it really big!!! congrats!!) and they would share their newest blog posts with us. Every once in a while, one of their recipes would become widely popular on the board and it seemed like everyone was making that recipe and blogging it all at the same time. One of those popular recipes were these chicken taquitos. Everyone was making them and everyone was loving them. I jumped on the bandwagon and made them soon after and they became a family favorite in our house. Now that I have a blog of my own, I am so excited to share these because they are such a great dinner. They can be made ahead and frozen and then baked directly from the freezer. I actually made a big batch of these when I was pregnant to pull out as easy lunches while I had my hands busy with a newborn. These are very adaptable and can be changed up to include whatever you have on hand. I added black beans to the recipe here for added protein and fiber, but they are not in the original recipe and would not have to be included if you weren’t a fan of beans. You could also add corn, change the shredded chicken to pork or beef, or make them vegetarian by omitting all the meat and just using corn and beans. Whatever you decide to put in these, they will still be cheesy and crunchy, which makes these just so good.

Creamy Baked Chicken Taquitos
Source: Adapted from Pink Parsley

Ingredients:

2 cups shredded chicken (rotisserie works great here)
4 oz. cream cheese, reduced fat or regular, softened
1/2 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
15 taco sized flour tortillas
1/2 cup salsa
juice of 1/2 a lime
1 tsp. chile powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
pinch cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. onion powder
3 garlic cloves, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh cilantro (optional)

Salsa, guacamole, sour cream, avocado ranch dressing, etc. for dipping

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, chicken, and cheeses. Mix until chicken is well incorporated into the cream cheese. Add beans, salsa, garlic cloves and all the seasonings. Mix well and then add cilantro if desired. Taste your filling and add salt and pepper to taste.

Place 2 heaping tablespoons of filling onto the bottom 1/3 of your tortilla shell. Roll up tightly and place seam-side down on your baking sheet. If tortillas start to unroll, press down gently on your rolled taquito and it should stay closed. If your tortillas are cracking, heat tortillas for 30 seconds in the microwave to soften.

Once all rolled, spray taquitos with cooking spray and lightly season with kosher salt. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Serve immediately with salsa, sour cream, etc.

*To freeze, prepare the taquitos, but before baking, place the baking sheet in the refrigerator until the taquitos are completely cold.  Wrap each taquito in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, and freeze.  To bake, unwrap the taquitos and cook  in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes (no need to thaw first).