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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
Planning these for cinco de Mayo. Not in love with chipotle, do you think the flavor will be too off with fire roasted green chilies?
Hi Joanna,
You could try that! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So easy and delicious to make!!
Thank you so much Jenny! xTieghan
Another absolutely fabulous recipe! My family loves everything I make from your recipes!
Thank you Melissa! So happy to hear that! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan! I made these last night and they were delicious but for some reason all my tortillas cracked while baking so they didn’t look great like yours. I used Corn Tortillas, warmed them in the microwave first for 30 seconds and then brushed both sides with olive oil before adding the ground chicken and cheese and rolling. Any reason why they would have cracked and how I can prevent this? is there a specific brand of tortillas you use? I’ve made your Crispy Chipotle baked chicken tacos with flour tacos before and they didn’t crack as much but were only folded in half as opposed to rolled. Thanks! Diana
Hi Diana,
I like to use Whole Foods for 365 corn tortillas for this recipe. It seems like you did everything right, the only thing I would suggest is not to overstuff them. I hope this helps! xTieghan
What brand of corn tortilla do you use? i’ve never been able to roll one without it breaking.
Thanks!
Hi Eileen! I use mission brand! Please let me know if there is anything I can help you with! xTieghan
Just made these for dinner tonight and the entire family LOVES them!! They said I could open a restuarant just selling these lolll.. Your recipe is amazing, I didn’t change a thing. Thanks for sharing, this dish will stay with us forever.
?The Toki fam
Thank you so much Kelly! That is so amazing to hear! xTieghan
I made this over the weekend and absolutely loved it!! So tasty!! It took me about twice the time, but that didn’t surprise me as I’m not super quick in the kitchen. I made sure to use plenty of oil on the tortillas, and most of them stayed perfectly together in the oven. I didn’t have any jalapenos for the avocado cream salsa, so I put a chipotle pepper in instead, and it turned out great. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Thank you Marielena! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
So so good! I didnt want them spicy because we have four kids who dont do well with spicy stuff so I used two fat teaspoons of chili powder instead of the chipotle peppers and it turned out so well! I did have to let them bake longer than the recommended time here probably because our oven sucks but they did turn out crispy in the end. Yum! I also dont have a microwave so I warmed them up in the oven a little bit and it worked just fine. Thank you and I am a new fan of your amazing cooking blog <3
Thank you so much Elisa! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! I hope you continue to love this and others! xTieghan
Wow these were amazing! I plan to use the stove top chicken on other things in the future as well. I had a similar problem as some people above. My tortillas split open even before baking, but they were still delicious! Great recipe!
Thank you so much Emma! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan,
Another amazing recipe I loved!! Firstly, let me say the pictures of these are amazing!! Honestly, your photography is simply fantastic. Whenever, I cook I am always trying to take pictures outside in daylight. I’ve also been told to take pictures from many different angles. What do you find works best for taking your amazing photographs?? Now on to the recipe the flavor was great, I used ground turkey. What is your favorite meat to use in them? Sadly, I didn’t have much luck keeping tortillas from breaking when rolling them. Do you have any suggestions to help me out?? I took a mixture of Corn Starch and water and brushed a little on each tortilla. I thought that might help keep them together. I’m looking forward to your suggestions thank you!! I hope you and your family are doing well during lockdown.
Hi Mike! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Were they warmed and oiled before you rolled the tortillas? I definitely love to ust chicken, but I am sure the ground turkey tasted just as good! Also, I take my photos inside with a lot of natural light. I hope this helps! xTieghan
These taquitos with crema were awesome! I made them for NFL draft night, and they were delicious! I will definitely be making these again; the flavors were terrific!
Thank you so much Stephanie! xTieghan
This looks AMAZING! Adding these ingredients for my grocery run tomorrow AM. Just a quick substitute question: for the avocado crema, I’ve got a husband with a strong aversion to cilantro (devastating)–would you sub a different herb, or just omit? Thanks!
Hi Jenna! You could use parsley or basil with this, or just omit! I hope you both love this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you!! xTieghan
Made this tonight it was great! I am so glad I didn’t skip the pineapple salsa, it really added a lot of depth to the dish. Mine didn’t get that brown in the oven but I think I just needed to add a bit more oil?
Hi Kristen! Yes, that is probably it! I am glad this turned out well for you Kristen! xTieghan
Delicious recipe! I made it last night and my husband said it’s one of my best Mexican dishes (which is saying something because we eat a lot of Mexican). Thank you for sharing it!
Wow that is so great! Thank you Heather! xTieghan
Hi Tieghan, Made these last night and we loved them! Will make them again but will omit the water and just put in the equivalent amount of enchilada sauce (I made a home-made one). For personal taste, I may bump up the seasonings and heat a bit too. Love the crispy, cheesy yumminess! I did find that a key (as you said) to not having them split, especially while rolling them, was to have them warmed up enough. I posted a photo and a shout-out on instagram at kellyskitchenca Thanks again for your fabulous recipes.
Thank you so much Kelly! I will have to check it out! xTieghan