Crispy Chicken Taquitos - Easy Skillet Recipe

Today, I'm gonna show you how to make chicken taquitos. Wait until you see why these are so much better than store-bought, they're so easy, and it's a genius way to use up leftover chicken and it never tastes like leftovers. You're gonna love this. And I'm craving some chicken taquitos, so let's get started. You'll need about three cups of shredded cooked chicken. I find it's easiest to shred the chicken while it's still warm, but you can definitely use leftover cold chicken if that's what you have. You can use light meat or dark meat chicken for this. Just remove any skin and bones and finely shred it up. To that mixture, you're gonna add four ounces of cream cheese. I like to dice it up, that way it's easier to mash into the chicken. Also add one and a half cups of shredded Mexican cheese, or you can use Colby Jack cheese. Next, add half a cup of salsa verde or use green enchilada sauce. Both work great. And last but not least, add two teaspoons of your favorite taco seasoning. My favorite is the homemade taco seasoning that I have on my blog, but store-bought works fine. Mash that together with a fork until it is combined and set it aside. Because we're using small corn tortillas, it's important to warm them up before rolling them up. This helps prevent cracks and tears. Set your skillet over medium heat and warm your tortillas one at a time. It takes just 15 to 30 seconds per side or until they're pliable and easily rolled up. While it's still warm, spread three tablespoons of your chicken mixture over the center of each tortilla. Now tightly roll it up and repeat with the next tortilla. To keep my assembly line flowing, I'm usually rolling one tortilla while I'm warming up the next one. Also try to keep your filling from hanging over the edge because it can sneak out while it's frying. Repeat this process with your remaining chicken mixture and tortillas. And once they're all rolled up, I like to start frying. Set a heavy skillet or a large saucepan over medium heat and add about half an inch of oil. You'll wanna use a high heat cooking oil here. Heat your oil over medium heat to about 350 degrees Fahrenheit. I like to check the temperature with a thermometer and I will link to the one I use in the notes. Place the taquitos seam side down and use the tongs initially to hold them down for a few seconds to keep them from unrolling. Continue adding them to the pan one at a time and I like to cook about three to four in the skillet at once. Make sure you don't overcrowd your pan or it can lower the temperature of the oil too quickly. Fry the taquitos for about two to three minutes per side and flip them when the first side is golden brown. If you get them to a deeper golden brown, they'll be extra crispy. Once those are done, transfer them to a paper towel lined plate and it's time to enjoy. It is done and I am so hungry for these. It does make a big batch. Looks like this time it came out to 17. Last time it was 16. Maybe I used a little extra chicken, but it makes a lot. But you'll be so happy because these keep really well. They reheat perfectly crispy, especially if you put them in the air fryer. They are so good. Leftovers, once they're re-crisped, just like fresh. I'm telling you. And so much better than frozen. I'm gonna show you a fun way to serve these up. You can keep it simple and just dip into some sour cream or some salsa. And I have a really good homemade salsa recipe, which I will link to below. This is a fun, like more traditional way to plate it up. This is maybe how you'll see it in a Mexican restaurant. It's kind of a fun way to serve it. And because these are technically fried food, we're going to turn it into a salad. And I'm gonna show you how. Start with a little bit of greens. And all I had was romaine, but you could use iceberg. I'm gonna put down four. That looks like a good portion for me. And then just add your toppings. You can add a little bit more greens to trick everybody into this being a salad. And then I do like to add some diced tomato. You can also add some diced avocado. If you have that on hand, you can top it with some guacamole. There's so many options here, you guys. Okay, and it's just like this pop of color. So pretty. And of course, some fresh chopped cilantro. Cilantro has to go on everything. It's one of my favorite things about Mexican cuisine. I love me some cilantro. Okay, and then Mexican crema is nice if you can get it. I didn't have it, so I cheated. And I thinned out some sour cream with a little bit of milk. And we're just gonna make it work. These are so good. Even just dipped in sour cream. Just gonna drizzle some of that on there. If you have some cotija cheese, it's really good. That looks amazing, if I do say so myself. Another thing I love about this is it is really inexpensive to make. I calculated it's about $10 worth of ingredients to make this amazing lunch or dinner. And my kids even love to take it as snacks to school. Enough talking, more chomping. You ready for this crunch? Here we go. Whoa. That was such a messy bite. It is so crunchy, but at the same time, the center, the chicken is so tender and moist and you can really taste the cheese inside because it's loaded with cheese. I mean, this is so, so good. Can I take another bite, please? I think I've earned it. Wow, next level, delicious. I also love that they are fried in good oil. A lot of the frozen ones tend to be seed oils, so you know exactly what you're getting when you make them at home. I'm gonna go enjoy the rest of these. Let me know if you guys have any recipe requests in the comments. Also, let me know where you spotted Sharky. The first person to spot him in a live premiere will get a gift card. And that's it. We'll see you on the next episode of Natasha's Kitchen. I seriously feel the lettuce in my teeth as I'm talking. Worth it. Okay, bye.