Description
These Baked Chicken Taquitos are a delicious and easy-to-make Mexican-inspired dish featuring tender shredded chicken cooked in an Instant Pot with taco seasoning and salsa, rolled in corn tortillas with cheddar cheese, then baked until golden and crispy. Perfect for a flavorful appetizer or main course served with guacamole or salsa.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken Filling
- 1 1/2 pounds chicken breasts
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- 1 1/2 cups salsa
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Taquitos
- 10 corn tortillas
- Vegetable oil or non-stick spray, for brushing
Instructions
- Prepare Instant Pot: Pour 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of the Instant Pot to create steam and prevent burning.
- Add Chicken and Seasoning: Place 1 1/2 pounds of chicken breasts in the Instant Pot and sprinkle with one packet of taco seasoning evenly.
- Add Salsa: Pour 1 1/2 cups of salsa over the chicken, mixing slightly to ensure some salsa gets under the chicken to avoid burning during cooking.
- Pressure Cook Chicken: Seal the Instant Pot lid and set it to cook under high pressure for 12 minutes if using fresh or defrosted chicken breasts, or 17 minutes if using frozen chicken breasts.
- Shred Chicken: Perform a quick pressure release. Once the lid unlocks, remove it and use two forks to shred the chicken inside the pot. Stir the shredded chicken thoroughly into the salsa mixture.
- Preheat Oven: Preheat your oven to 425ºF (220ºC) to prepare for baking the taquitos.
- Warm Tortillas: Wrap 10 corn tortillas in a clean towel and microwave for 60 seconds to make them pliable and easy to roll.
- Assemble Taquitos: Lay warmed tortillas flat. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the chicken mixture onto each tortilla and sprinkle with a bit of shredded cheddar cheese. Roll the tortillas tightly around the filling.
- Prepare for Baking: Place the rolled taquitos seam-side down on a baking sheet. Brush each taquito lightly with vegetable oil or spray with non-stick spray to enhance crispness.
- Bake Taquitos: Bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until the taquitos turn golden brown and crispy on the outside.
- Serve: Serve the baked chicken taquitos hot with guacamole, salsa, or your favorite dipping sauces.
Notes
- Microwaving tortillas wrapped in a towel prevents them from cracking and helps in easy rolling.
- If you don’t have an Instant Pot, you can cook the chicken in a slow cooker or stovetop with similar seasoning and salsa but cooking times will vary.
- For extra crispness, broil the taquitos for 1-2 minutes at the end of baking, watching carefully to avoid burning.
- Vegetable oil can be substituted with olive oil or avocado oil depending on preference.
- Use gluten-free corn tortillas to make this recipe gluten-free.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 32 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Instant Pot and Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: baked chicken taquitos, instant pot taquitos, chicken taquitos recipe, easy Mexican appetizers, baked taquitos, taco chicken, healthy taquitos
