Sarahritchie17 Because who doesn’t love taquitos!
With the ongoing pandemic, we’ve all been doing a lot more cooking at home. Today I wanted to share a fun and easy meal that makes for awesome comfort food. It’s not the healthiest recipe you’ll find, but I promise, it’s worth the lactose.
I like that this recipe is only five ingredients, requires little prep, and can be done in less than 40 minutes.
This recipe was inspired by and modified from https://family.Disney.com/recipes/crock-pot-taquitos/
If you like the set it and forget it mindset when it comes to cooking, that crock pot version linked above is great! If you’re more of a last minute type, use the recipe I put together below. My recipe is what I learned when I forgot to set up the crock pot ahead of time and still wanted to make this meal that evening when I got off work.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 1 lb Chicken Breast Tenderloins
- 1 packet Taco Seasoning (or less depending on how spicy you like your food)
- 6 oz Cream Cheese (block form)
- 1 cup Taco Blend Shredded Cheese
- 8 small or medium size Flour Tortillas
Start by preheating your oven to 400. Use a lined baking sheet pan to cook the chicken tenderloins. I like to line my pan with tin foil for this first step, so I don’t have to worry about cleaning the pan between cooking the chicken and cooking the taquitos at the end.
Cook chicken for 10 minutes; then flip each tenderloin, turn the pan, and cook for an additional 7-8 minutes until cooked through. You can slice into them to check for doneness because they’ll end up shredded apart anyways! Don’t turn off the oven. We’ll need it again shortly.
Side Note: I also cook chicken like this to shred for salad and quinoa bowls. When prepping it for bowls, add salt and pepper or seasonings and marinades. Super easy way to meal prep a lean protein for the week!
While you let the chicken cool for a minute, cut the cream cheese into blocks and microwave in a large bowl for 30 seconds to soften.
Add chicken and taco seasoning to bowl. You can use as much or as little taco seasoning as you want. You might have to try this recipe a few times to figure out what’s perfect for you and your family. If you have no idea, start with 2/3 of the packet. You really can’t go wrong though!
Time to shred and mix it all up! Use two forks to shred the chicken and combine with the cream cheese and taco seasoning.
Add shredded cheese and continue to mix until well-combined.
If you have a fancy tortilla heater, use that, but if you don’t, then heating each one in the microwave for 10 seconds will have a similar effect. I’ve read that adding a damp paper towel helps too, but I’ve never done that. The goal here is just to soften the tortilla enough to make it easier to roll.
As the tortillas come out of the microwave, scoop some taquito mix into a line close to you on the tortilla. Roll the tortilla forward. You can add some more shredded cheese in here if you like ‘em extra cheesy.
Placed your rolled taquitos on a lined baking sheet and spray with olive oil if you have it on hand (not necessary; just helps them crisp nicer).
Bake 7-10 minutes until the ends are golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with salsa and sour cream (and margaritas for the adults).
Bon Appetit!
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Cheers!
Sarah
