Recipe
Slow Cooker Jalapeño Popper Chicken Taquitos
Slow-cooked chicken gets shredded into a creamy, spicy filling that rolls into golden, crispy taquitos. Cream cheese and pickled jalapeños do the heavy lifting, so the flavor is big without a long ingredient list. Make a double batch — the extras freeze before baking.
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed3-4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
- 32 ouncescream cheese
- 4 teaspooncumin
- 4 teaspoongarlic powder
- 1.3 cupjarred whole or sliced jalapeños, roughly chopped (or more, to taste)
- 4 teaspoonsalt
- 1½ cups shredded cheese (colby jack, monterey jack, Mexican blend, mozzarella - use your favorite!)1½ cups shredded cheese (colby jack, monterey jack, Mexican blend, mozzarella - use your favorite!)
- 6416 taco-sized tortillas (I prefer flour but corn tortillas also work well)
Instructions
- Add chicken, cup water, cream cheese, jalapeos, garlic powder, salt, and cumin to crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. (lesser times are for thawed chicken, greater times for frozen chicken)minutes before serving, preheat the oven to 425 and grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.Use two forks to shred chicken and stir it in with the other contents of the crockpot.
- Heat tortillas in the microwave for a few seconds to soften them up, this will make them easier to work with.
- Sprinkle cheese in the middle of each tortilla (just divide the cheese evenly between all of the tortillas).Top cheese with 2-3 tablespoons of shredded chicken mixture.
- Roll tortillas tightly into a log-shape taquito.
- Place taquitos on baking sheet and spray heavily with cooking spray.
- Bake 10-15 minutes until cheese is melty and tortillas begin to brown. (For crispier taquitos, switch the oven to broil for 2-3 minutes - watch carefully so they don't burn!)
- Serve warm with dipping sauces and toppings if desired.
Cook's notes
- Roll them tight and place seam-side down on the tray so they do not unroll in the oven.
- A final couple of minutes under the broiler adds real crunch; watch them closely so the tops do not burn.
- Unbaked taquitos freeze well laid out on a tray, then transferred to a bag for up to two months.
Recipe questions
- Can I use fresh jalapeños instead of jarred?
- Yes — use two finely chopped fresh jalapeños seeded, adjust to taste. Jarred are mellower and more consistent, which is why the recipe leans on them.
- Corn or flour tortillas?
- Flour roll more easily and brown nicely; corn are sturdier and give a more rustic flavor. Both work — warm them briefly so they do not crack.
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