These Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Taquitos are stuffed with barbecue cream cheese, bacon bits, shredded chicken and more cheese. Baked to perfection, they are crunchy, creamy, ooey gooey and so quick and easy to make.
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Best Homemade Chicken Taquitos
Taquitos are amazing because they can play so many different roles and they always seem to fit right in. Need an easy dinner? How about an after school snack or game day appetizer? No matter what, Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Taquitos just seem to work. And, you aren’t going to hear any complaints!
These chicken and cheese taquitos are filled with cream cheese, BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, bacon bits, cheddar cheese and a hefty dose of shredded chicken. You can doctor them up however you’d like, serving with more BBQ sauce, diced tomatoes, fresh cilantro, sour cream or whatever other toppings you would like. We have even more suggestions for you below if you need some inspiration.
What to Serve with Chicken Taquitos
These Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Taquitos taste great served with any of the following ingredients drizzled over the top:
- Blue cheese dressing or crumbles
- Ranch dressing
- Hot sauce
- Barbecue sauce
- Guacamole
- Sour Cream
- A squeeze of lime juice
For a simple garnish, we like to toss a little fresh chopped cilantro and blue cheese crumbles. You can also add diced tomatoes, bacon bits, sliced scallions or extra shredded cheese if you’d like.
Ingredients in BBQ Chicken Taquitos Recipe
- Cream Cheese - you want to make sure the cream cheese is softened, or room temperature, so that it will mix well with the other filling ingredients.
- Ranch Dressing - any type will work.
- BBQ Sauce - use your favorite kind.
- Bacon Bits - You can purchase bacon bits, but it’s super simple to make your own. Just slice any type of raw bacon into ½” pieces, then cook in a saute pan over medium heat until golden brown and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cooked bacon bits to a paper towel to drain.
- Shredded Chicken - the simplest solution is to shred a rotisserie chicken. However, you can also cook your own chicken breasts or thighs in the oven or slow cooker and shred.
- Cheddar Cheese - use pre-shredded or shred your own. Any type of cheddar cheese will taste great, or substitute Pepper Jack for a little extra spice!
- Flour Tortillas - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, you can also try this with corn tortillas.
- Butter - melt the butter in the microwave or in a small pot over medium heat.
How to Make Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Taquitos
- Make chicken mixture. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the room temperature cream cheese, ranch dressing, BBQ sauce, bacon bits, shredded chicken and cheddar cheese. Mix with a spoon or spatula until well combined.
- Assemble taquitos. For each taquito, lay a tortilla flat on the counter and spoon about ⅓ cup of chicken filling, spreading it into a line across the tortilla from one side to the other. Roll up the taquito tightly around the chicken mixture and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet seam side down. Continue assembling all the taquitos, then brush with melted butter using a pastry brush.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10 minutes on one side, then flip the taquitos and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
- Serve. Serve immediately with your favorite toppings, such as bacon bits, ranch dressing, blue cheese crumbles, fresh cilantro and diced tomatoes. Enjoy!
Can I Make Taquitos in an Air Fryer?
Yes! Prep them the exact same way, but preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F instead of your oven.
Once the Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Taquitos have been filled and rolled, place your taquitos in the basket of your preheated air fryer and spray lightly with cooking spray or avocado oil. Make sure they are not touching - you will likely need to do a few batches.
Cook in the air fryer for about 6-8 minutes, flip them over and mist with oil again, and cook for another 3-5 minutes, or until golden brown and crisp.
Tips
- If you are having a difficult time rolling the tortillas without them breaking, you can soften them a bit in the microwave first. Just cover with a damp paper towel and microwave for about 20-30 seconds on high.
- You can add other ingredients to the filling, such as corn, onions or other seasonings such as paprika, cayenne pepper or extra salt and pepper. You could even make it Hawaiian BBQ and add some finely diced pineapple to the mix.
- These reheat great, so don’t hesitate to make a full batch (or even double).
Storing and Reheating
Make Ahead: to make ahead, you can mix the chicken filling together up to 24 hours in advance. Just store in an airtight container in the fridge, then remove from the fridge about 30 minutes prior to rolling the next day.
Storing: if you have leftover Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Taquitos, you can transfer them to an airtight container or freezer bag and store for up to 3 days in the fridge.
Reheat: the quickest way to reheat taquitos is in the microwave. Just microwave on high for 30 seconds at a time until warmed through. If you want the outside to crisp up a bit, you can also reheat in a 350 degree oven for about 5-10 minutes until warmed through.
More Chicken Taquitos
If you're looking for some more football Tailgate recipes or crowd-pleasing chicken recipes, be sure to check out this fun list of favorite family appetizers and if you're looking for more appetizers, here's a list of more we came up with.
BBQ Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup Ranch Dressing
- ¼ cup BBQ Sauce
- ½ cup Bacon Bits
- 3 cups Shredded Chicken rotisserie chicken works great
- 1 cup Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 24 small Flour Tortillas
- 2 Tablespoons Butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the room temperature cream cheese, ranch dressing, bbq sauce, bacon bits, shredded chicken and cheddar cheese. Mix with a spoon or spatula until well combined.
- For each taquito, lay a tortilla flat on the counter and spoon about ⅓ cup of chicken filling, spreading it into a line across the tortilla from one side to the other. Roll up the taquito tightly around the chicken mixture and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet seam side down.
- Continue assembling all the taquitos, then brush with melted butter using a pastry brush.
- Bake in a preheated oven for 10 minutes on one side, then flip the taquitos and bake for an additional 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.
- Serve immediately with your favorite toppings, such as bacon bits, ranch dressing, blue cheese crumbles, fresh cilantro and diced tomatoes. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Here are some more simple chicken recipes that we love!
- Baked BBQ Chicken Breast
- BBQ Chicken Salad
- White Chicken Chili
- Copycat Chipotle Chicken
- Oven-Baked Buffalo Chicken Wings
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These Oven-Baked BBQ Chicken Taquitos are crunchy, creamy, ooey gooey and so quick and easy to make. They are filled with cream cheese, BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, bacon bits, cheddar cheese and a hefty dose of shredded chicken, then baked to perfection.
Nellie Tracy
These taquitos are delicious! Will be making these a lot this summer!
Jenn
These are totally going into regular rotation! Such a tasty and easy recipe!!