These Baked Chicken and Bacon Taquitos are filled with a creamy bacon and chicken mixture and baked in the oven, not fried. Make a restaurant favourite here at home!
Taquitos are a Mexican dish that usually consists of a small rolled up tortilla, that has been filled with either beef or chicken and cheese. Typically deep fried, they are served with sour cream and guacamole.
My family has always been fans of Mexican food. So much so, that we served it during an International Food Day at the cottage. Each cottage involved chose a country from which to serve the native cuisine and we chose Mexico. Our menu consisted of Chicken Taquitos, chips with homemade mango salsa, homemade guacamole, Tequila punch and brownie bites topped with cinnamon whipped cream. It was a super fun day, that I am hoping we can take part in again, if the pandemic ever ends.
While it is super simple to find chicken taquitos in the frozen section of any grocery store, I decided I wanted to make them from scratch. I first made this recipe back in 2013, and this recipe is featured on the Dairy Farmers of Canada website; as the winner of the 2014 Great Cream Challenge. It is such a delicious recipe, but the original recipe was very indulgent. I've recently worked on making it more figure friendly.
Not being a huge beef eater, chicken was my protein of choice. I lightened the recipe up by using low sodium chicken stock, when cooking the chicken. Cooking the chicken in the crock pot, makes it so tender and flavourful. The chicken is infused with wonderful Mexican spices and flavours. Once cooked, the drippings are reduced to make the sauce. Mixed with low fat cream cheese and low fat milk, they help cut some of the calories in this fantastic dish. Finally, by baking the taquitos after they've been stuffed, it cuts down on the calories tremendously. I upped the nutrition level a bit, by adding delicious black beans and sweet corn. Both add extra fiber and nutrition to the dish.
The filling can be made in advance, if you know you will have a busy day ahead of you. Simply store it in an air tight container in your fridge, for up to 3 days. These are also great to freeze and have on hand. All you need to do is roll the filling in the tortillas and place on a baking sheet. Individually freeze before putting the taquitos in a freezer bag, so they won't freeze in one big clump. Take as many out as you'd like and let thaw before baking them according the recipe below.
Equipment needed to make this recipe
- Crock Pot
- forks
- skillet
- sauce pot
- whisk
- mixing bowl
- measuring cups and spoons
- baking sheet
- tongs
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp garlic minced
1 can diced green chiles
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 pieces of bacon chopped
4 oz light cream cheese softened
1 cup low fat milk
2 cups shredded Canadian marble cheddar
3 green onions diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 can black beans drained and rinsed
12 medium tortillas
Combine chicken stock, cumin, chili powder, garlic, green chiles and chicken breasts in the slow cooker. Cook chicken for 6 hours on low.
Remove chicken from slow cooker and shred using 2 forks. Once the chicken is shredded, return to the slow cooker.
Then, chop bacon into 1/4 inch pieces and cook in a skillet over medium heat. Drain on a paper towel lined plate.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Pour chicken and cooking liquid through a strainer and into a sauce pot. Heat over medium heat, until it comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes; until reduced by half. Whisk in the cream cheese until smooth and remove from heat. Stir in the cream.
Then, combine chicken with shredded cheese, green onions, bacon, corn and black beans in a large bowl. Pour in cream sauce and toss to coat.
Spread 3 tablespoons of chicken mixture down the middle of each tortilla and roll tortilla up tightly. Place seam side down on a buttered cookie sheet. Brush the tops of taquitos with freshly melted butter, and salt lightly.
Bake for about 15-20 minutes, flipping after 10 minutes.
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These look amazing!! I love that they are baked instead of fried. I can't wait to try these!
ReplyDeleteThese look delicious! I bet they would also be great in an air fryer. My sister loves any kind of Mexican food so I'll be sending this recipe to her.
ReplyDeletethis is a great snack, meal and appetizer!
ReplyDeleteYour taquitos look better baked actually. Not to mention lighter without the oil and filled with all the goodies. My fussy eater would drink a litter of water with anything slightly spicy, but I am so tempted:))
ReplyDeleteI've never have had taquitos. Looks and sounds yummy. Thank you for sharing on the Classy Flamingos blog party,
ReplyDeleteOh. Boy. I just had my dinner, and now I am hungry again! I love the baked taquitos recipe.
ReplyDeleteWe love Mexican food too and I have never made taquito's so this will be my first. I love the chicken and bacon combo, what great flavor and these are full of lots of cheese. Yum!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds absolutely amazing. My son loves taquitos, what a treat for him this dish going to be. Thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteWow I want these for lunch now but it would mean a trip to the grocers... Definitely adding to my menu plan for next week. I had to look up taquitos... but I love tortillas over the hard taco shells so it was an instant winner for me. Great recipe
ReplyDeleteThis recipe looks so wonderful. Thank you for sharing this easy to make recipe. My family loves tacos. 🤗
ReplyDeletePastor Natalie
Letstakeamoment.com
I love getting taquitos at a Mexican restaurant but never knew how to make them. These look very delicious and I like that they are baked rather than fried.
ReplyDeleteThese look so good and no I love that I can bake them!
ReplyDeletei will be making these taquitos for game night! easy finger food!
ReplyDeleteMy son loves taquitos, I will surprise him with this recipe. Thank you.
ReplyDelete