• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Get our Freezer Meal Quick Start Guide
freezer meal quick start guide

Get Our Freezer Meal Quick Start Guide

About
Free Resources
Contact

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

YouTube

TikTok

Thriving Home

Food & Lifestyle

  • Recipe Index
    • Course
      • Breakfast
      • Lunch & Dinner
      • Sides & Salads
      • Soups & Chilis
      • Appetizers
      • Snacks
      • Desserts
      • Baked Goods
      • Beverages
      • Condiments
    • Method
      • Freezer Meals
      • Stovetop
      • Oven
      • Slow Cooker
      • Instant Pot
      • Grill or Smoker
      • 6 Ingredients or Less
    • Diet
      • Gluten-Free
      • Dairy-Free
      • Vegetarian
    • Ingredients
      • Chicken & Turkey
      • Beef
      • Pork
      • Seafood
      • Pasta & Pizza
    • Holiday
      • Birthday
      • Christmas
      • Easter
      • Halloween
      • Thanksgiving
      • Valentine's Day
    • All Recipes
  • Freezer Cooking
    • Start Here
    • Freezer Meal Recipes
    • 1 Hour Freezer Prep
    • Cookbooks
  • Menu Plans
  • Shop
    • Cookbooks
    • 1 Hour Freezer Prep
    • Shop Our Favorites
    • Gift Guides
Search...
Home Recipe Index Freezer Meals

Slow Cooker Chicken and Cheese Taquitos

★★★★★ 4.9 /5 Updated: 6/16/22
Jump to Recipe Rate Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

Slow cooker chicken and cheese taquitos is a delicious meal that the whole family will love! Be sure to make a double batch for the freezer. Then, you can pull out however many you want and throw them directly in the oven for a quick weeknight dinner.

Slow cooker chicken and cheese taquitos

Affiliate links may be included.

There is a short list of meals in my house that pleases all five of us. It seems like everyone has their own aversions and favorites, which can be exhausting sometimes. Can any moms out there relate??

Now, there is an added bonus when you can find a recipe that is easy, made in the slow cooker, AND freezer friendly. This is why I love this recipe! Or, you can make them in the Instant Pot using our Instant Pot Chicken and Cheese Taquitos recipe.

Slow cooker chicken and cheese taquitos

Watch How Chicken and Cheese Taquitos Comes Together

How to Make Chicken and Cheese Taquitos in the Slow Cooker

You are going to LOVE how simple this is. Start by seasoning your chicken with some taco seasoning. Toss it in the slow cooker and add some broth. Water works fine too.

Now here’s the key: Do not overcook your chicken! Based on advice from the FDA, we wrote a whole post about how long to cook chicken in the slow cooker if you want a bit more information but for now, just follow the recipe, got it? Yeah, you got this! 🙂

Slow cooker chicken and cheese taquitos

Once that chicken has cooked, grab two forks and give it a good shred.

Shredded chicken on a cutting board


After this, rolling up the taquitos and baking them just takes minutes. I also love that I can make these in advance and pop them in the oven right before dinner (fresh or frozen).

Slow cooker chicken and cheese taquitos

How to Freeze Taquitos

As I mentioned above, another beauty of this recipe is that it’s freezer-friendly. Because of this, I almost always double the recipe. Simply follow the cooking instructions right up until baking and then freeze them in a single layer in a freezer bag.

Chicken and cheese taquitos in a freezer bag

Then, you can pull out however many taquitos you need on a busy week night and bake them directly from frozen using our freezer meal instructions below.

Side Dish Ideas

Avocado Lime Salsa

Avocado Lime Salsa

Mexican Chopped Salad

What to Do with Leftover Tortillas

If you have leftover tortillas, did you know you can freeze them? Here is the best way to freeze tortillas for later.

tortillas in a freezer bag

Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!

★★★★★ 4.9 from 8 reviews

Slow Cooker Chicken and Cheese Taquitos

This is a delicious meal that the whole family will love! Be sure to make a double batch for the freezer. Then, you can pull out however many you want and throw them directly in the oven for a quick weeknight dinner.

Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
Prep: 20 minutesCook: 4 hoursTotal: 4 hours and 20 minutes
Print Recipe Rate Pin for Later
  • Email
Units:
Scale:

Ingredients

  • 1 – 1 1/2 pounds (2 large) boneless, skinless chicken breasts (here’s where we get our organic chicken)
  • 1 ounce package of all-natural taco seasoning or 3–4 tablespoons of our homemade taco seasoning recipe
  • 3/4 cup water or chicken broth
  • 1/4 cup cream cheese (light works fine)
  • 1/4 cup mild or medium salsa
  • 8 (8-inch) whole grain tortillas
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar or pepper jack cheese (here’s how to easily shred your own to save money)
  • Optional toppings: sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, salsa, Guacamole, Avocado Lime Salsa

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions

Make It Now:

  1. Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker. Rub both sides of the chicken with all of the taco seasoning. Add water or broth.
  2. Cover and cook on LOW for about 2.5 – 3.5 hours, until it shreds easily. (Note: Chicken should be 165°F internally when done.) Shred the chicken with two forks and stir, so the seasoning is evenly distributed.
  3. Add cream cheese and salsa to the shredded chicken and stir until cream cheese is melted.
  4. Arrange tortillas on a flat surface. Top each tortilla with an equal amount of chicken mixture, leaving a little room at the edges so the filling doesn’t spill out. Top chicken mixture with 2-3 tablespoons of shredded cheese. Roll up tortillas tightly. (Freezing instructions begin here.) 
  5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 
  6. Place the taquitos on a baking sheet, seam side down. Spray the tops with cooking spray and bake for 15-20 minutes, until cheese melts and they are golden brown on top. (Note: If you have leftover cheese, you can sprinkle it over the top of the taquitos before they bake.)
  7. Serving suggestion: Top with sour cream or plain Greek yogurt, salsa, Guacamole, or our Avocado Lime Salsa.

Freeze It For Later: Complete the recipe through Step 4. Then, place rolled up tortillas side-by-side in a single later in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Seal tightly and freeze.

Prepare From Frozen: When ready to bake, you have two options:

Method 1 (Thawed): Thaw overnight in the refrigerator or in the microwave using the defrost setting. Bake as directed, beginning with Step 5.

Method 2 (From Frozen): Follow Steps 5-7, but cover the frozen taquitos with foil after spraying them with cooking spray. Then, bake for about 25 minutes or until warmed through. Remove the foil and bake another 5-10 minutes, until golden brown.

Equipment

Fresh Menu Kitchen Reusable Freezer Bags

Buy Now →

9×12 Glass Baking Dish with Lid (Freezer Container)

Buy Now →

Slow Cooker

Buy Now →

Notes/Tips

For Instant Pot instructions, try our Instant Pot Chicken and Cheese Taquitos.

Where We Get Our Chicken: We get our chicken from ButcherBox. The chicken is organic and curated from trusted farms. We highly recommend this service to source healthy meat–like uncured bacon, grass-fed beef, and wild salmon–and have used it for years ourselves.Woman holding a ButcherBox box

© Author: Thriving Home
Cuisine: Mexican Method: Slow Cooker

Did you make this?

Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!

Rate Recipe

Tag Us on Instagram

Slow cooker chicken and cheese taquitos

Be sure to try our Instant Pot Chicken and Cheese Taquitos for a faster cooking method.


Want More Easy Freezer Meals?

Be sure to check out our amazing round-up of 70+ Freezer Meals.

3.7K shares
  • Share
  • Email
Rachel Tiemeyer

Rachel Tiemeyer

As co-founder of Thriving Home, Rachel dreams about creating recipes (literally) and uses her husband, her 3 kids, and even the neighbors as guinea pigs several nights a week. She believes that good food has the power to bring families and friends closer together and continues to wake up excited about her job each day, even after 10+ years!

Read more...

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Have a question? Submit your question or comment below.

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. AvatarLisa says

    Posted on 7/18/21 at 1:31 pm

    So simple with just a few ingredients! Love how easy it is to make a few and that you can cook straight from the freezer.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 7/18/21 at 3:00 pm

      Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment/review, Lisa. Happy to hear it’s a hit in your home.

      Reply
  2. Avatarmrs kathleen m dowling says

    Posted on 7/8/21 at 10:52 am

    These are really good, easy to make, so handy, even my very fussy husband liked them, thank you

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 7/8/21 at 11:14 am

      You’re welcome! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment and review. 🙂

      Reply
  3. AvatarMaggie says

    Posted on 7/22/20 at 1:35 pm

    Hi. These sound so good. Is there a way to bake the chicken instead of using the slow cooker? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Rachel TiemeyerRachel Tiemeyer says

      Posted on 7/22/20 at 2:52 pm

      Definitely. Preheat oven to 400°F. Place chicken in a casserole dish or on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake uncovered for about 20-25 minutes, until done (reaches 165 degrees F internally or no longer has any pink in the middle).

      Reply
  4. AvatarRebecca says

    Posted on 2/16/20 at 6:11 pm

    So I made the mistake of subbing locally-made/3-ingredient corn tortillas for the wheat since I needed something GF. They tore and looked horrible UNTIL I microwaved some of the tortillas between a paper towel for about 15 seconds. WORLD of difference! The imperfect ones still tasted great but required a fork and a bib lol. Definitely make the Avocado Lime Salsa!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Polly ConnerPolly Conner says

      Posted on 2/17/20 at 6:31 am

      Glad they worked out in the end. Yea, corn tortillas won’t hold up super well!

      Reply
  5. AvatarAllison says

    Posted on 5/22/19 at 5:12 am

    Amazing! It’s so simple, yet it tasted complex and layered. This was a massive hit in my house! I’m glad I made a pile of them to freeze. This will definitely become a staple meal for us. Thank you for posting! I can’t wait to try other recipes from your blog!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      Posted on 5/22/19 at 2:08 pm

      Yay!!! Thanks for letting us know, Allison. Makes us so happy to hear this.

      Reply
  6. AvatarKari says

    Posted on 4/15/19 at 2:34 pm

    How necessary is the cream cheese?

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      Posted on 4/15/19 at 2:35 pm

      The cream cheese makes it creamy, of course, but you could leave it out.

      Reply
  7. AvatarJaneah says

    Posted on 8/28/18 at 1:40 pm

    Looks delicious! I am wondering how long the chicken would take in the instant pot?

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      Posted on 9/5/18 at 11:44 am

      We have found that 1-2 pounds of medium sized chicken breasts in the IP take 7 minutes from fresh. Hope that helps! We have the entire Instant Pot version of this recipe here: https://thrivinghomeblog.com/instant-pot-chicken-and-cheese-taquitos-freezer-meal/

      Reply
  8. AvatarKate Baird says

    Posted on 2/28/18 at 9:59 am

    Made these for the first time yesterday, and they came out PERFECT! Very simple and very tasty! I also made the Creamy Avocado Dip, and it was a perfect combo.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      Posted on 3/2/18 at 9:59 am

      Oh yum, I serve these with Creamy Avocado Dip, too. Happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe!

      Reply
  9. AvatarNicole says

    Posted on 7/29/17 at 9:36 pm

    This came out super runny for me. It was tasty but I had to figure out a way to either drain all of the liquid or thicken it up.

    ★★★★

    Reply
  10. AvatarWendy says

    Posted on 6/26/17 at 3:23 pm

    So yummy, I have made them twice now, going to make a bunch and freeze for when my kids/grandkids are home. I put them in foil and put on the grill on low, then take them out of foil and put them on grill grates for a few minutes until browned and crunchy. So good

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • RachelRachel says

      Posted on 6/28/17 at 10:28 am

      Wow, great idea to utilize the grill. I’m so glad your family enjoys these!

      Reply
Newer Comments

sidebar

polly and rachel

Welcome

We’re moms, cookbook authors, and freezer cooking evangelists. Our mission is to help your home thrive, one delicious meal at a time. Let’s make the most of your time in the kitchen! Read more.

Follow Us On Instagram!

freezer cooking

Order On:

Amazon • Target

Autographed Copy

Learn More

freezer to table

Order On:

Amazon • Target

Autographed Copy

Learn More
freezer meal quick start guide

Get Our Freezer Meal Quick Start Guide!

5 days of our best recipes & pro tips from freezer meal experts.

Reader Favorites

marinades for chicken breasts in freezer bags

7 BEST Chicken Marinades (+ Printable Recipe Cheat Sheet)

freezer meal

The 70+ Best Freezer Meals on the Planet

20 Delicious Crockpot Meals for a Crowd

smoothie packs

7 Frozen Smoothie Packs (+ Printable with Shopping List)

freezer meal update
New to freezer cooking?

Grab Our Freezer Meal Quick Start Guide!

5 days of recipes & tips from freezer meal experts.

Instagram

Facebook

Pinterest

YouTube

TikTok

About
About Us
Work With Us
Press
Recipes
All Recipes
Freezer Meals
Menu Plans
Shop
Cookbooks
1 Hour Prep Sessions
Gift Guides
Explore
Free Resources
Shop Our Favorites
Facebook Group
Privacy Policy
Accessibility
Disclaimers
Contact
© 2022 Thriving Home
Site Credits
Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled
Back to Top
3.7K shares