Baked Chicken Taquitos

There is not enough good things I can say about these baked chicken taquitos! Check out the original recipe here. They are pretty healthy, and taste amaaaazing. I was able to get in a really filling dinner for not a lot of calories, and still feel like I hit that spot in my stomach that’s always hungry for Mexican! What… don’t you have that spot?

Even my mom loved them (and then made her own when I wasn’t home!), and she counts calories.

The only not-so-healthy part of this was the cream cheese, so I used fat-free. You could probably also use non-fat plain Greek yogurt instead, but I haven’t tried it.

Baked Chicken Taquitos (Very Culinary’s recipe)

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup salsa (I used ChiChi’s mild)
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
• 12 large whole-wheat tortillas
• Salt
• Cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with foil, lightly coated with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients (except the tortillas.)
• Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).
• Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.
• Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone, making sure the taquitos are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt (don’t skip the salt!)
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until crisp and golden.
• Dip into plain non-fat Greek yogurt or sour cream.

One tip is that if you are planning on making enough for leftovers… do not cook them! Separate the shredded chicken mixture and the tortillas, then combine and bake when you are ready to eat. Trust me, they do not taste good if you try to reheat!