Oh man, remember those frozen Chicken Taquitos from youth - these Homemade Chicken Taquitos are those but SO MUCH BETTER! Add a little bit of my homemade chipotle salsa or my traditional arbol chile salsa and you have a perfect meal!
For those of who didn't grow up with Costco sized packages of chicken taquitos... taquitos are a Mexican dish consisting of a small tortilla that is rolled around a filling of meat and cheese and then deep-fried. We ate them EVERYWHERE when we were in mexico city 2 years ago. Homemade Chicken Taquitos are the ultimate appetizer or street food and I've been making them at home ever since. You can add cheese if you want, but the recipe below is just straight chicken. If you're going to add cheese, I'd say you need ½-3/4 cup of a great meltable cheese like Monterey Jack or Oaxaca cheese and just mix it into the chicken mixture.
That said - the below recipe takes a hand from the market with a store bought rotisserie chicken that you can doctor up with some chipotles in adobo and then roll and fry. Corn tortillas are crucial for a authentic taquito so skip the flour tortillas this time (check out chicken flautas for that :). Then just make sure to have all the fun sauces for dipping and you're in business!
And if you're making this - you might as well make my whole Mexico City inspired happy hour menu! Recipes are all linked above + below!
- To Start: El Sueno Cocktails – the recipe makes enough for 2 drinks. But it’s easily scalable depending on how many you need to serve. Also you can make this ahead of time and store in a pitcher. Just add ice into a glass and pour in. ** don’t add ice into the pitcher if you prep ahead as it will water down the taste**
- Next up: Chicken Taquitos! One of my fav quick and easy snacks ever. And puts the store bought ones to shame!
- Crispy Cheese Quesadillas are basically inside out quesadillas with marinated caramelized mushrooms and OMG they are fantastic.
- We’re rounding out the happy hour menu with a Traditional Salsa and a Roasted Hot Salsa! Both are freaking phenomenal!
Homemade Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 12 small corn tortillas
- 1 ½ cups shredded rotisserie chicken
- 1 chipotle in adobo, chopped + 1 tablespoon adobo sauce
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
- 2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 lime
Serve with
- Arbol Salsa
- Mexican Crema
- Lime Wedges
- Cilantro
- Cotija
- Sliced Radishes
Instructions
- Place shredded chicken, chipotle in adobo and sauce, coriander and 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoons freshly cracked black pepper in a bowl , toss to combine.
- To assemble the taquitos you want the tortillas to be flexible, if your tortillas are on the stiff side you can cover them with a damp towel and microwave for 10-15 seconds. Working with one tortilla at a time place a heaping tablespoon of chicken on the lower third of the tortilla spreading it to almost each of the edges, fold the tortilla over the chicken and roll tightly, secure with a toothpick. Keep the rolled taquitos under a damp towel while rolling to avoid cracking.
- Heat the oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. When oil is hot carefully place ½ of the taquitos into the oil and fry till golden brown, turning to cook both sides. Don’t crowd the pan. Total time about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove taquitos from oil and drain on a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with a bit of kosher salt and squeeze of lime. Repeat frying for remaining taquitos. Serve with Mexican crema, arbol salsa and other toppings
Sounds delicious! Can you make these ahead of time and reheat in the oven before serving? Planning a dinner party menu and want it to be super easy (will be putting our baby to bed in the middle of it; he's just a couple weeks older than your LO!).
yes that should work!
Quick, tasty, perfect!