These Chicken Enchilada Taquitos require only 4 simple ingredients to make and the best part is that they’re baked! Crunchy, succulent and delicious, you’ll be craving these morsels for days to come!
You all know I love my simple recipes and trust me when I tell you taquitos couldn’t get any easier. Long ago, taquitos were something I’d only get at Mexican restaurants or buy in the frozen section of my local grocery store. However, they’re super simple to make and they are little rolls filled with magical ingredients that made them taste incredible.
I decided to spice mine up a little bit today using some tender, shredded chicken, tossed in sweet and smokey enchilada sauce. The best part of this recipe, other than the taste, is how insanely easy they are, did I mention they only require 4 ingredients?
What Are Taquitos?
It’s essentially just a rolled up taco, that’s it! You fill a tortilla with whatever filling your heart desires, roll it up and crisp it. I like to drizzle my crispy little taquitos with hot sauce and sour cream before sprinkling over finely diced chives. Are you drooling yet?
What Is Enchilada Sauce?
Enchilada sauce is a staple in Mexican cooking. It’s full of well developed smokey flavor, a hint of heat, and is so simple to pour over any dish you want to add a little oomph to. Today I used store bought for the sake of time, but if you’d like to go homemade I must insist you try this with my scrumptious Enchilada Sauce recipe.
Ingredients
Detailed measurements and instructions can be found on the printable recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Taquitos
- Chicken – Cooked chicken breasts skinless and shredded.
- Enchilada sauce – Today I used store bought but if you’d like to go homemade I must insist you try this with my scrumptious Enchilada Sauce recipe.
- Cheese – Marbled shredded cheese shredded up so that we get some ooey gooey cheese pulls.
- Tortillas – I used whole wheat tortillas but feel free to use any kind you would like.
Toppings
- Hot sauce – Whatever kind you like! I prefer sriracha or Valentina’s but feel free to have fun with it.
- Sour cream – Will help cool down the tongue from a dish packed with a bit of heat.
- Guacamole – You can use store bought or homemade, here’s a great recipe from the blog for your own guacamole.
- Chives – Diced up fie and sprinkled over top liberally.
How To Make Chicken Enchilada Taquitos
- Preheat oven: To 400 F degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Shred the chicken: In a medium size bowl shred the chicken breast. You can also chop it up in small pieces.
- Assemble the taquitos: Add the enchilada sauce and the cheese and stir everything together until well incorporated. Lay a tortilla flat and top with a couple tablespoons of the chicken mixture. Tightly roll up the tortilla and place it in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Bake the taquitos: Spray the taquitos with more cooking spray. Alternatively, you could brush with melted butter. Bake for about 15 minutes or until tortillas turn golden brown. If you want crispier taquitos, place under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes.
- Finish the dish: Serve with any of the optional toppings and enjoy!
What Else Can I Add To My Taquitos?
There’s lots of different ingredients you can have fun with, so let’s get into them.
| Meat | Veggies | Cheese |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | Beans like pinto or refried | Feta cheese |
| Beef | Zucchini | Mozzarella |
| Pork | Mushrooms | Gouda |
| Chorizo | Carrots | Provolone |
| Celery | ||
| Diced onion |
Leftovers
You can store these for up to 3 days sealed in an airtight container. Warm in the microwave or reheat in the oven before eating.
Freezing
For freezing prepare these as noted in the instructions up to and including step 4, cover the baking dish and freeze until ready for baking. Thaw out before baking.
More Incredible Mexican Dishes To Try:
- Enchilada Meatball Bake
- Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup
- Chicken Enchilada Rice Casserole
- Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole
- Chicken Enchilada Quinoa Bake
- Chicken Enchilada Quesadillas
- Mexican Stuffed Peppers
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Chicken Enchilada Taquitos
Ingredients
- 3 pound cooked chicken breasts boneless and skinless (about 1 )
- 8 ounce enchilada sauce
- 2 cups marble cheddar cheese
- 10 medium whole wheat tortillas
Optional toppings
- hot sauce
- sour cream
- chives
- guacamole
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 400 F degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a medium size bowl shred the chicken breast. You can also chop it up in small pieces.
- Add the enchilada sauce and the cheese and stir everything together until well incorporated.
- Lay a tortilla flat and top with a couple tablespoons of the chicken mixture. Tightly roll up the tortilla and place it in the baking dish. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
- Spray the taquitos with more cooking spray. Alternatively, you could brush with melted butter.
- Bake for about 15 minutes or until tortillas turn golden brown. If you want crispier taquitos, place under the broiler for 1 or 2 minutes.
- Serve with any of the optional toppings and enjoy!
Video
Recipe Notes
- For making ahead meals, you could prepare these as noted in the instructions up to and including step 4, cover the baking dish and freeze until ready for baking. Thaw out before baking.
- If you can’t find pre-made enchilada sauce, taco sauce or buffalo sauce would be a great substitute.
- Nutritional information does not include optional toppings.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
In my neck of the woods, taquitos are made with corn tortillas. If you use flour tortillas, they are called flautas. Other than that, I never thought to put enchilada sauce inside them, sounds like a great idea and would be much moister than usual. Great idea!
While reading this my mouth watered! Another thought for the enchilada sauce or with it is my favorite ingredient, green chill. I get it in the can and use it on or inside wraps and often with tortillas, or cabbage, or even lettuce.
My husband makes wraps for leftover anything. It’s a great bite anytime of the day.
Thanks.
Hi Jo,
Thanks for this recipe! I was trying to figure out what to have for dinner last night, and came up with a similar concept (inside-out enchiladas) and your recipe was the missing link! It worked out beautifully. Thanks again for the inspiration and clear instructions! Suzy
My pleasure, Suzy, aren’t they great and so easy!
We don’t access to any kind of Mexican food here, so it would be great to make my own! You have quite a collection of taquitos and they all look great!
Yes, one can always cook up a little trip around the world. Enjoy! Or should I say Ola Gringo!
These do look so good and I am tired of the store bought, can’t wait to make these! Thank you.
Wonderful, hope you like them!
Do you add enchilada sauce to chicken before adding cheese? I cannot see where you mix it in.
The recipe has been updated and yes the sauce is added in step three with the cheese.
I didn’t see the comments from earlier until after I left my comment and then shortly afterwards the recipe was updated but I couldn’t figure out how to delete my comment.
No worries. Glad people commented so I could update recipe
hello, I read the recipe several times. When do you use the enchilada sauce just to drizzle on top. You don’t mix with chicken and cheese?
Hi Karen,
Thanks for catching this, I fixed the recipe, you add it in step 3 together with the cheese. The sauce that is drizzled at the end is just hot sauce.
I assume the enchilada sauce gets mixed in with the cheese and chicken? Not spelled out, but implied. I’m giving this to my youngest son who is on his own, trying to cook so easy is perfect and these look delicious so even better! I just have to be sure any recipe I send him spells it all out!
Hi Tara,
Yes, sorry about that. I fixed the recipe, you add it in step 3 together with the cheese.