Make Ahead Baked Chicken Taquitos

What a busy week! It started with a dental appointment, but we had many visitors with a pool repair, an electrician, our lawn professional, and a plumber. It was one of those times when everything was happening at once. I also met with a friend for a belated birthday lunch that made my week, and I had a short Google Duo call with a friend from out of town. My family also squeezed in a movie this week, so the week wasn’t all about taking care of business at home.

During busy weeks, everyone has a few meals in their repertoire to throw together on a busy weeknight. Even if you are single, an empty nester or retired, sometimes schedules in the afternoon and evening warrant something quick. These Baked Chicken Taquitos are that kind of quick meal for our family. These come together within 20 minutes or less, but most often, I make these ahead and keep a big bag of them in the freezer to pull them out when time is tight, which makes dinner happen in about 10 minutes. They can bake in the oven or the air fryer. It is a go-to kind of meal to add to your dinner-time arsenal.

Ingredients

Instructions

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. In the bowl or a mixer, place the chicken, taco seasoning, Rotel, cheese, cream cheese, green onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. I use my Kitchen-Aid mixer to mix this up because it is easier and faster, but if you do not have a countertop mixer, you can use a hand mixer or a large spoon to combine these ingredients. Fold in the black beans with a big spoon.

You can now fill your tortillas. I use 1/2 cup of the chicken mixture to fill my tortillas; however, the size of the tortillas you have will dictate how much filling you can use. You may need less than 1/2 cup if your tortillas are a smaller size. You do not want your taquitos to be so full that you cannot roll them up.

Spread the filling across the middle of the tortilla. You want to spread the filling to the edge of the tortilla, but not so that it will overflow the edge when you begin folding it. Fold the tortilla up and over the filling so the tortilla overlaps the filling a little bit. Gently tuck in the tortilla along the edge of the filling so that the filling feels snug. Begin rolling until all of the tortilla is wrapped around the filling.

Place the taquitos on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray or lined with parchment paper. Spray the tops of the taquitos with the cooking spray.

Place in the oven and bake for 15 minutes. To serve, dip them in guacamole, salsa or sour cream. As an alternative, smother them with guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

To make ahead: Follow all the above steps except do not bake. Place the taquitos in the freezer to flash freeze. When they are frozen, place them in a large resealable freezer bag. To reheat, Take the taquitos out of the freezer and allow to thaw a little bit. Bake in a preheated oven for 20 minutes or until they are browned and hot. Alternatively, you can place the taquitos in the air fryer at 350 degrees. I start them at 3 minutes. If they are not done, turn them over and cook for another 3 minutes.