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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
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
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Instructions
Make It Now:
- Place the chicken breasts in your slow cooker. Rub both sides of the chicken with all of the taco seasoning. Add water or broth.
- 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. Drain off any excess liquid in the slow cooker.
- Add cream cheese and salsa to the shredded chicken and stir until cream cheese is melted.
- 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.)
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- 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.)
- 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 5. 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 6.
Method 2 (From Frozen): Follow Steps 6-8, 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.
Notes/Tips
- For Instant Pot instructions, try our Instant Pot Chicken and Cheese Taquitos.
- Storage Tip: A great way to store this freezer meal or leftovers is in our favorite reusable freezer bags.
- 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.
