Make the BEST Jalapeño Popper Chicken Taquitos in Your Crockpot!
Love jalapeño poppers with cream cheese as an appetizer?
Well, if those flavors are appealing to your taste buds, you’ve gotta try making this cream cheese chicken taquitos recipe in the Crockpot slow cooker to create crispy delicious spicy taquitos at home. This is sort of a two part process to throw all the ingredients in a slow cooker and then roll up and bake the taquitos, but I promise it’s so simple and well worth the effort!
The result is a crispy tortilla on the outside and the most AH-MAZING cheesy creamy spicy chicken filling on the inside! My family is seriously OBSESSED with this Crockpot recipe, and I think yours will be too!
I think this could be a wonderful freezer meal prep idea!
Here’s how’d I accomplish this: Consider compiling these taquitos and freezing them on top of a sheet pan instead of baking right away. Once frozen, transfer them to a freezer-safe bag, and then heat them up a few at a time in the air fryer until browned and cooked! Genius.
Tips for making the BEST Crockpot jalapeño popper chicken taquitos:
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- You can use corn tortillas if desired instead, but make sure to warm them up in the microwave first so they’ll be easier to work with. I prefer using flour tortillas, so I guess these should technically be called chicken flautas. But whatever you call them, they are delicious! I think even making simple tacos with this filling would be yummy too!
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- Spraying your taquitos with non-stick cooking spray first is the key to making sure they get nice and crispy! I also used a baking sheet pan with a metal cooling rack on top to bake them which also helps them get crispy all around.
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- Feel free to change up the chicken filling ingredients as desired. For instance, I added 1/4 cup of sliced jalapeños for flavor, but you could omit or add in green chiles for a less spicy take.
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- I seasoned my chicken using Mexican-inspired ground spices, but you could add a taco seasoning packet instead as a shortcut idea.
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- I have made this in the past using onion & chive cream cheese instead of plain and that was delicious too!
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- If you cook the filling and think there’s too much liquid, shred the chicken well and keep cooking a tad longer with the lid open. The liquid will cook down a bit!
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- Consider serving alongside your favorite salsa, guacamole, sour cream, etc. I topped mine with chopped cilantro and this yummy guacamole salsa.
Jalapeño Popper Chicken Taquitos
yield: 6 SERVINGS
prep time: 20 MINUTES
cook time: 4 HOURS 20 MINUTES
total time: 4 HOURS 40 MINUTES
Shredded jalapeño popper-flavored chicken gets rolled in tortillas for delicious & slightly spicy chicken taquitos!
Ingredients
- 3-4 raw chicken breasts (2 lbs total)
- 1/2 an onion, chopped
- 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
- 8 oz. cream cheese
- 1/4 cup sliced jalepeños, from the jar
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 20 mini flour tortillas (6-inch taco size)
- 8 oz. bag of shredded Mexican blend cheese
- non-stick cooking oil spray
Directions
1
To your Crockpot slow cooker, add chicken, onion, cilantro, cream cheese, jalapeños, spices, and chicken broth. Close the lid.
2
Cook for about 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low until chicken is cooked and easy to shred. It helps to open the lid and stir the contents a couple of times during the cooking process. Shred chicken and stir well using kitchen tongs.
3
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add a couple of tablespoons of chicken and about a tablespoon of shredded cheese to a tortilla and roll into taquitos. Place on a baking sheet and repeat the process until all the remaining meat and cheese are used.
4
Spray the taquitos with non-stick cooking spray. This will help them to crisp up. Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes until the tortillas are slightly browned and crispy.
5
Top with salsa, cilantro, or sour cream if desired. Enjoy!
Additional Notes
Recipe inspired by lecremedelacrumb.com
These chicken jalapeño popper taquitos are a must-try idea!
They have a little bit of a kick but are not super spicy. We love a few of these as an easy dinner, but you can make a tray as a yummy appetizer too! My kids love these so much and enjoy dipping their homemade taquitos in sour cream.
Warm-up any leftovers in the air fryer for a few minutes and they are fantastic to eat during the week for quick meals.
See what my teammate Jenna had to say after making this chicken taquitos recipe:
“Well, the whole family loved these and we are all officially big fans! I LOVE how easy it was to throw everything in the slow cooker. These also reheat really nicely in the oven the next day. I think fresh jalapeños could be awesome in this recipe but jarred sure makes it easier with less prep. I found it super easy to use a hand mixer to shred the chicken up. The whole process was super easy and the flavor was amazing! I will definitely be making these again since everyone ate them up!”
Check out 25 easy Crockpot slow cooker meals using just 3 ingredients!
As always, another wonderful recipe idea. I will be making these for sure. Thank you.
Thanks April! Enjoy these 🤩
If you’re pressed for time, Trader Joe’s mini chicken taquitos are great in the air fryer or the oven
Oh yum thanks for sharing!
Very surprised in your tips that people actually use flour tortillas for a chicken flauta! Whhaaatttt, I would never lol. Flautas = corn tortillas all the way! I’ve always known it to be that way. Flour is definitely more for a burrito imo. Obviously always choose what you love the taste of more, but traditional Mexican recipes handed down through my loved ones are way different than the Americanized Mexican recipes google would have you believing (like, taquitos are not even a “real” thing lol.. are we talking about a tiny taco lol lol)
Hi yes, like I said in the post use what you have on hand or prefer. I am actually Mexican btw HAHA and still prefer flour sometimes, and corn other times LOL so ya use whichever you’d prefer <3
Just like Italian food, Chinese food, Thai food etc…when you go to each country they make things their own. You should see how one Italian restaurant in Italy made a hot dog, it was silly and so fun to see their version. We all have our preferences. I also grew up with authentic Mexican and perfer flour over corn for most things. To each their own. Food is very personalized.
Yes, food is definitely very personalized – I live in a border town- taquitos are corn and flautas are flour down in my parts of the US Good either way
As always looks so yummy, Lina!
Oh thanks so much! Yes, this is a keeper – so yum!
Ahh, Lina, thank you for this! I love taquitoes/flautas but the frozen premade ones give me tummy troubles. My mouth is watering at these photos. I can’t wait to make them next week! Thank you Lina!!! <3
Oh I’m glad you like this idea! I hope you enjoy 😉
Looks fantastic! Thanks Lena for another great post.
Thanks so much! You’re so welcome!
Made the chicken yesterday and will roll it with the cheese in the tortillas and bake tonight. So yummy looking. I’m going to make a copy cat Quesada sauce for dipping. Thanks for another great recipe!
Wow awesome! That’s a great way to do it. Sounds yummy! 🙌❤️
I’m not able to print this?? It’s showing a blank page? Anyone else have this problem? Thanks!
I’m not having any trouble in Chrome. You may want to switch browsers to see if that helps.
I am having the same issue. Can’t print recipes off H2S any more. I thought it was just the last recipe but I can’t do this one either.
I tried this recipe yesterday. Had everything on hand except the jalepeno peppers so threw in a can of diced tomators with green chilies instead (didn’t want to venture out in the snow) and it turned out great! My husband and (picky) daughter loved it 🙂
Any idea on how to convert this to Instant Pot?
Hi, Carrie! I’m not a big user of IPs, but I hate seeing a question go unanswered. I found a similar recipe online that may help. Here’s what I would try:
Instructions
1.Press the “Sauté” button on the Instant Pot and wait for it to heat up.
2. Heat olive oil in the Instant Pot.
3. Season chicken with a sprinkling of any of the seasonings to your liking, but not too much to burn!
3. Once olive oil is hot, add the chicken breasts and brown on both sides; about 2 minutes per side.
4. In the meantime, place cream cheese in a mixing bowl and season with garlic powder, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper; mix to combine.
5. On the Instant Pot press “Cancel” to stop sautéing.
6. Add cream cheese mixture to the Instant Pot along with ONE CUP (recipe above calls for 1/2c, but IPs NEED 1 full cup to pressurize) broth, onions, cilantro, and peppers.
7.Turn the pot on Manual High Pressure for 12 minutes; then do a quick release.
8. Remove lid and transfer chicken to a cutting board to shred it.
9. Stir the shredded chicken back into the Instant Pot; place the lid back on the Instant Pot (powered off) and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce.
LOL…I love my cat, but she constantly walks across my keyboard. Sorry…
10. Continue with step #3 as written above.
Give it a whirl! Just be sure to have enough liquid. Don’t be afraid to tweak ingredients.
Good Luck!
Thank you for taking the time to post the IP version!
Hi Lina. Thank you for this recipe. I’m planning on making them. But I’m wondering can you freeze them. I looked and can’t find freezer instructions.
Ya I would freeze them in a Ziploc bag or container after cooking and cooling, and then warm them up in the air fryer, oven or microwave for a few minutes as desired. Thanks Mary!
I made a double batch and froze these before having my first baby and they were sooo great to have on hand In The freezer. My husband was great at reheating and setting out all the toppings! Best reheated in the oven imo. Will always remind me of having a newborn☺️
Thank you for sharing this recipe. My family loves it
Oh hooray!! I am so glad!
Can I use frozen chicken breasts? And if so do I need to thaw them first?