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Switching up taco night with these baked Crispy Chicken Tinga Taquitos with Salty Lime Avocado Crema….plus all the toppings. Because extra sauce and extra salsa make everything better. Ground chicken seasoned with smoky chipotle peppers and pantry friendly enchilada sauce is mixed with cheese, rolled up in tortillas, and oven-baked. These taquitos are crunchy on the outside, but spicy and cheesy inside. Serve with a creamy, salty lime avocado crema sauce, and a mix of your favorite taco toppings. These come together in minutes and are so delicious…the perfect weeknight dinner.
Taquito Wednesday anyone? I know it’s not a thing, but maybe we should make it one. Because I’m overly excited to share this easy recipe with you guys. These taquitos are so good, they’re the kind of food you could eat once a week…at least.
I’ve told the story many times before, so I will not repeat it. Most of you know I grew up eating tacos once or twice a week. My brothers and I loved them as kids and still do to this day, but then, who doesn’t love tacos? They’re fun, typically cheesy, served with plenty of sauces and salsas, and all-around delicious. Love me a good taco!
But you know? Sometimes it’s nice to switch things up, do something just a little different. Different like instead of usual tacos, make crispy baked taquitos, which might just be better. It just depends on the filling. But hey, one thing’s for sure…taquito is a pretty fun word to say. Yep, cheesy, but kind of brightens my mood a bit.
Sooo, let’s make some taquitos!
The idea…
The idea for these Crispy Chicken Tinga Taquitos came from two sources. Source one, very old, very retired HBH blog content from all the way back in October of 2012. Our very first year of HBH! I shared a taquito recipe and it’s crazy to believe that I have not made taquitos since. When I randomly came across the post, I immediately thought how fun it would be to make newly updated taquitos.
PS. if you have an extra minute and want to take a look and see just how horrible our photos (and writing for that matter) were that first year, scroll through this post. Fun to see our growth!
Source two, my eldest brother…of course. Creighton has been inspiring a lot of recipes these days. His love for anything Mexican with double…scratch that…triple the sauce has been helping me come up with some fun recipes lately. Love having so many family members to inspire new recipes. Don’t know what I’d do without them.
Now, onto the details.
Pick up some ground chicken, turkey, or even ground beef. Just be sure to use what your family loves most, personally I like chicken, but my brothers are all about ground beef.
Brown the meat, add chipotle peppers plus a little red enchilada sauce. The peppers and sauce are KEY. Chicken tinga is made using canned chipotle peppers. They have a smoky, slightly spicy flavor. I love to use them whenever I have the opportunity. The enchilada sauce keeps the meat saucy, flavorful, and prevents the meat from drying out in the oven.
Added bonus? I always have these two ingredients in my pantry!
The next step is crucial…
Ok, that’s way too dramatic, but just go with me on this.
Once the meat is browned and seasoned it’s time to make the actual taquitos themselves. Instead of frying, which is traditional, I much prefer to oven bake. It’s healthier, easier, and to be honest, I like the flavor so much better. You taste the food, not the fried oil.
Here’s the key, you must rub each tortilla with olive oil before rolling up the meat. This is the trick to getting the taquitos crispy all around. Once the tortillas are oiled, roll up the meat and cheese inside. Then oven bake, and ten or so minutes later you’ll have crispy taquitos.
That salty lime avocado crema? Yep, you need that too.
Sure, sour cream is traditional, but whipped avocado crema is just so much better. I used fresh cilantro and plenty of lime and stirred in some pickled jalapeños for a spicy, tangy kick. This is the perfect sauce to dollop onto each cheesy, crunchy taquito.
I like to serve these up alongside sweet pineapple salsa or mango salsa, shredded lettuce, and plenty of fresh limes for squeezing. You can never have too many toppings.
And lastly? I see these taquitos as the perfect reason to make a random Wednesday night spicy margarita. Yep, it’s a good idea.
Watch the How To Video:
Looking for other Mexican night recipes? Try these!
One Skillet Saucy Chicken Tortilla Enchilada Rice Bake
Sheet Pan Hawaiian Pineapple Shrimp Tacos with Creamy Jalapeño Special Sauce
Lastly, if you make these crispy chicken tinga taquitos with salt lime avocado crema, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Crispy Chicken Tinga Taquitos with Lime Avocado Crema
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 591 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for rubbing
- 1 pound ground chicken, beef, or turkey
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 2-3 chipotle peppers in adobo finely chopped, use to your taste
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup red enchilada sauce homemade or store-bought
- 16-20 corn tortillas warmed
- 2 cups shredded Mexican cheese
- pineapple salsa, shredded lettuce, and pickled onion, for serving
Lime Avocado Crema
- 1 avocado, halved
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup pickled jalapeños
- juice from 2 limes
- kosher or flaky salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. 2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over high heat. When the oil shimmers, add the ground chicken and onion. Cook, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until the chicken is browned, about 5 minutes. Add the chipotle peppers, oregano, and salt. Add the enchilada sauce and 1/4 cup water. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly around the chicken, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.3. Warm the tortillas for 30 seconds to 1 minute in the microwave, until pliable. On a baking sheet, rub the tortillas with olive oil. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the chicken down the middle of the tortilla. Add a sprinkle of cheese, then roll up and place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 5-8 minutes, then flip and cook another 5 minutes more, or until the cheese has melted and the tortillas are crisp. 4. Meanwhile, make the Lime Avocado Crema. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Season with salt. 5. Serve the taquitos topped with avocado, pineapple salsa, and any other desired toppings.
This post was originally published on April 15, 2020
These were great!
Yes, some of the tortillas split, but it was no big deal.
I put the tortillas on parchment paper, and they easily came off the sheet.
Also, I did not flip the tortillas mid-way through baking, I just baked them seam-side down for about 12 minutes.
Delicious!!!
Thank you so much Mary! xTieghan
Made these tonight. I had trouble with the corn tortilla breaking and falling apart so I made tostadas instead. Flavor is good. I used Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce. We added sour cream to the guacamole for a creamer texture and to carry the avocado further for our family of 6. Elote corn off the cob as a side and we were set. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Jonesy!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
These were so good – thank you. I replaced the chicken with black beans and crumpled tofu and added green peppers (cooking for kids) and everyone loved it.
Thank you so much Amy! xTieghan
Made this last night!!! So yummy, everyone loved it! Keeper for sure!
Thank you so much Jenni! That is so great to hear! xTieghan
These were amazing but I had a lot of trouble with the corn tortillas. I warmed them up and put covered them with olive oil but some of them kept falling apart and wouldn’t stay rolled up on the pan. Any recommendation or more specifics that would help this? Despite that, they were still AMAZING!
Hi Kristen,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe and I am sorry you had issues with the tortillas. Next time be sure they are generously coated with olive oil and try not to over fill them. I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I tried these with the beyond meat brand to make it vegetarian and it came out SO good!
I will say the only thing I had trouble with was getting the corn tortillas to come out as golden as your picture, but the flavor was still all there! ?? wish there was a video on this one too!
Amazing!! I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe, Irene! xTieghan
I am a huge HBH fan and loyal to your recipes! I had a big issue with the corn tortillas crumbling on this one. Unfortunately, they broke easily even after microwaving them and the filling could not be contained. The flavor was delicious otherwise.
Hi Tara,
So sorry you had issues with the tortillas. Next time try warming them in the oven or on the stovetop. Also please be sure to generously coat them with olive oil, this is key. I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi! I made these tonight and while they were good, mine totally fell apart and found the corn tortilla didn’t really crisp up and we had to eat with a fork and knife. I ended up with 10 Taquitos, so my guess is I over stuffed these (your recipe says 16 – 20 tortillas) and that may have been one of the culprits. The tortillas ended up tasting more stale and oddly chewy and oily. They were totally pliable and warm before I rolled them, that wasn’t really the issue. Also for this afraid of spice, I wimped out and used one chipotle chili and 2 spoonfuls of adobo sauce and the spice was barely noticeable. I increased oven temp on the halfway flip point to see if I could get to crisp, but didn’t work. Next time, if a next time, I would use 2 chili’s. Severed with a margarita and we still enjoyed, just totally not anything like you made. It was so embarrassing I couldn’t post on Instagram!
Hi Hillary! I am really sorry you had trouble with this recipe. If you would like help, please let me know! Otherwise, I hope you love other recipes of mine! xTieghan
Made these tonight and they were delicious. Had to use flour tortillas because that is all I had.
Thank you so much Keri! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was such a tasty meal. I used three adobo peppers and it definitely brought some heat. The avocado cream pacified the heat and was delicious on its own. I paired the taquitos with a mango salsa.
Thank you so much Robert! Sounds amazing! xTieghan
Made these yesterday and they were so good but a bit on the spicy side for me. When I reheated them today they were the perfect spice level. I made the avocado crema to go with them as well but really liked them with sour cream as well. Thank you for another delicious recipe!!!
Hi Jolie! Well I am glad the leftovers were just perfect haha! Thank you so much for trying this! I hope you are staying well! xTieghan
Just made these…and loved them! The avocado sauce is what makes these amazing and addicting! Thanks for the great recipe!
Thank you Carla! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Taquitos on crack! WOW! This is my first recipe attempt after stumbling upon HBH, and she did not disappoint! I have been looking for recipes that are similar to the 4 & 5 star restaurants here in Los Angeles and she delivered! So good, I cannot wait to try more.
Wow what a compliment!! Thank you so much April, I am so glad you loved this one! xTieghan
Loved these! To make vegetarian, I replaced the ground chicken with two can of chickpeas that I mashed. I will for sure make these 1000000 more times!
YES!! Thank you so much Macie! xTieghan
Made these tonight for dinner. As I did with your oven-baked tacos (can’t remember the name) I used flour torillas because hubby and I don’t like corn. The taquitos came out a little fatter than yours but soooooooo crispy and good. I only used 2 chipotles although they were rather large, and so they packed quite a bit of heat. I think next time I might use 1 or 1 1/2 only. I use Trader Joe’s Hot and Sweet jarred jalapenos for the crema. My husband DOES NOT LIKE avocado, or those jalapenos. BUT, he ate more of the crema than I did! So good. I took turns dipping the taquitos in the crema, sour cream, and a George Peach and Vidalia Onion hot sauce that I love so well. The sweetness tasted great with the spice. Thank you! Can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch!
Haha wow! I am so glad you both loved this recipe Kristen!! Also, the best when people end up liking something they thought they wouldn’t! Thank you for trying this one! xTieghan