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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
Top marks for flavor! But, and this is probably totally a me being dumb thing, I couldn’t seem to keep the tortillas from splitting or staying rolled; so my end result was very, lets say, “deconstructed”. I’m thinking that maybe the tortillas that I used were too small, but they were the only corn tortillas that I saw, so I figured they must be the right size. Aside from that, these were delicious and they were super crispy (even without flipping b/c I had maybe 3 that were “flip-able” haha).
Hi Laura! I am so glad you enjoyed these taquitos! Did you place them seam side down? xTieghan
These are SO GOOD. I’ve made them 4 or 5 times now and I’m obsessed. It’s now officially in our recipe rotation! 🙂
Thank you so much Sarah! That is so great to hear! xTieghan
So I made these last night and they are incredible! I love avocados but I’ll be honest normally I’m a tiny bit bored with the creamy mellow flavour, well not with the creme recipe here, the tangy flavour of the jalapeño and cilantro knocked my socks off. The taquitos themselves were so easy and delicious I will never succumb to gas station taquitos again (or maybe I will … but these are a million times better!)
Wow love to hear that Elsa!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I was hesitant about this recipe because the ingredients seemed so simply. But wow. Just wow. My family LOVED this and we will make it a part of the recipes we use rountinly. Very good!!!
Love to hear that! Thank you so much for trying this one, Ash! xTieghan
delish
Thank you Kayla! xTieghan
The flavor is amazing! I’ve made this twice now, but each time all of the tortillas crack open while cooking. I’m not sure if it’s the brand of tortillas (I used the corn tortillas from Aldi) or if I’m doing something wrong.
Hi Monica! Are you placing them seam side down? Also, did you warm them enough? Please let me know! xTieghan
These turned out ok. Mine fell apart in the oven. I had to make them without the adobe peppers so it really was just enchilada sauce, oregano, cheese and beef. I also tweaked the avocado sauce, I blended plain greek yogurt with half an avocado, water, lime juice and salt. My kids liked them so that’s all that matters.
Hi Melissa! I am really glad you enjoyed this, but I am sorry it fell apart! Is there anything I can do to help? xTieghan
These were amazing and so easy to make! Absolutely love chipotle peppers in anytning! Hubby loved the avocado crema. Just perfection. Thank you Tieghan!
Thank you Priya!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
These were a HIT! Though I did the chipotle, red enchilada with beef and then made green Chile chicken (added a little cream cheese for creaminess) and they were amazing. A fabulous duo.
Any advice on making ahead of time? Are they freezable? Would you do everything but bake them and freeze them like that?
Thanks for sharing your amazing talents!
Hi Kate,
So glad you enjoyed the recipe! I have not tried to freeze these but yes I would assemble up until the baking point and then freeze. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
A basic, simple way of preparing chiken that’s fool-proof.
Yes!! I hope you try this and enjoy! xTieghan
Crispy Chicken Tinga Taquitos ! Super tasty – great recipe. The Avocado Lime Crema is a home-run! Such simple ingredients – bring such a refreshing punch! Thank you – this will be a go to !
Thank you so much John! That is so amazing to hear! I hope you continue to enjoy recipes of mine! xTieghan
Made this yesterday (almost) exactly as written and we absolutely loved it! I didn’t have pickled jalapenos for the avocado sauce, that’s all I did differently. Also made a homemade pineapple salsa alongside. Thank you for sharing – this was easy and delicious!
That is so great! Thank you so much for trying this Bethany! xTieghan
We really loved the taste of these taquitos! We oiled them on one side (a little on the second side because we weren’t sure), then rolled them up and let them sit on the baking pan for about 15-20 minutes before we baked them. During that 15-20 minutes they started to bust apart. We baked them anyways and they all broke to some degree. But….. they were delicious.
Hi Lorrie! I am glad these turned out so well for you! Thank you! xTieghan
Oh Hellll yea. I made these tonight and as the world’s slowest cook I can say these are so simple and quick! Super delicious and would make very little changes. I did add some of the adobo sauce from the chipotles and a jalapeno to add a little more heat but damn, Gina, these are supreme. As a single lady, I made enough for tonight and can’t wait to make stuffed peppers with the left-ovys. YUM. MAKE THIS. TONIGHT.
Thank you so much Bizzie!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
What am I doing wrong? I oiled the tortillas and put them in the oven and they won’t get crispy 🙁 am I using the wrong tortillas?
Hi Jasmine,
Are you using corn tortillas? Those are key! Please let me know how else I can help you! xTieghan