These rolled tacos are filled with shredded chicken, cheese, and creamy corn for a delicious and easy recipe. Fried to crispy perfection, you’ll never buy the store-bought version again.
Whenever my family has leftovers from Thanksgiving, Christmas, or even a weeknight dinner, I like to use the leftovers to make these tacos. You can use leftover chicken, turkey, or ground beef to make homemade taquitos.
Honestly, any Mexican food is a great way to use up leftovers. My taco casserole and these gluten-free tacos are great options as well when you find yourself with excess food.
Not only are these taquitos convenient, but you can freeze them and reheat them in the microwave, just like the store-bought versions. Make a batch or two and freeze them for an after-school snack or a busy weeknight dinner.
Why you’ll love these rolled tacos
- It’s a great way to use leftover chicken, turkey, or beef
- You can freeze them and reheat in the microwave for a quick snack
- They’re much healthier than store bought taquitos
- Make them in under 30 minutes with ingredients you already have
You’ll need…
- Chicken – Using leftover chicken, rotisserie chicken, or turkey is a great way to save some time.
- Corn – Frozen or canned corn will work for this easy recipe. If you’re using canned corn, make sure to drain it.
- Cheese – You’ll need freshly grated cheddar cheese and cream cheese.
- Flour – I like to use a blend of gluten free flour but you can use whatever flour you’d like.
- Milk – Full fat or skim milk yields best results. Do not substitute for plant based milk.
- Tortillas – Corn tortillas or another type of gluten free tortillas are my go-to. Make sure whatever kind you use is soft and easy to roll.
- Taco seasoning – Our gluten free taco seasoning takes any taco recipe to the next level
What is the difference between taquitos and rolled tacos?
Rolled tacos are bigger versions of taquitos so they can fit more filling. Either can be made with corn tortillas or flour tortillas. We choose gluten-free flour tortillas because I wanted a bigger size portion.
Gluten-Free Tortillas
There are lots of store bought varieties of tortillas available now or you could make them homemade. These gluten-free tortillas from Meaningful Eats are perfect and go great with shrimp tacos too.
The easy steps to rolled tacos
Step 1: Make the filling
In a large saucepan, combine green chilies, chicken, cream cheese, and a few other ingredients until combined.
Step 2: Prepare
While your vegetable oil is heating in a separate pan, spread the cream cheese and corn mixture in each tortilla.
Step 3: Fry
Wrap the tortilla, secure it with a toothpick, and fry in hot oil for one minute on each side or until golden brown.
Step 4: Serve
Serve warm with your favorite toppings.
Pro tip: After the tacos are done cooking, place them on a paper towel to drain excess grease.
How to make the spicy queso
Step 1: Combine ingredients
In a medium sauce pan, add all of the queso ingredients.
Step 2: Cook!
Cook over low medium heat until hot and smooth. Make sure to stir frequently.
How do you keep taquitos rolled?
Placing a toothpick in the rolled taco keeps it together while frying. Simply remove them after cooking before serving. To make rolling easier, heat tortillas in the microwave before rolling.
Helpful tips
- Do not overfill – Do not overfill the tacos or the sides of the tortilla will not close. This will leave you with a big mess. If you have extra filling, just make more taquitos and freeze them.
- Use fresh tortillas – If you’re anything like me, you have old tortillas sitting in the fridge or pantry. It’s best to use fresh tortillas for this recipe as they roll better and taste better.
- Let the grease cool – Do not pour the grease down the sink! Let the grease cool and throw it away in the trash can.
Variations
There are tons of different ways you can spice up these crispy taquitos. Like most taco recipes, there’s tons of wiggle room to make them just how you like. Here are some ideas…
- Add beans – Feel free to throw in some black beans, chick peas, or refried beans.
- More cheese – Who doesn’t like extra cheese?
- Type of meat – Use ground beef for beef taquitos, chicken, turkey, shredded pork, etc.
- Spice – Add jalapeno peppers or hot sauce.
What to top on homemade chicken taquitos
The topping possibilities are endless and are up to your personal preference. While the spicy queso is delicious, here are some more options…
- Sour Cream
- Jalapeños
- Lettuce
- Pico de gallo
- Tomato sauce
- Hot Sauce
- Ranch Dressing
- Cilantro
- Lime juice
- Green Chilies
- Whole30 Paleo Ranch
Storage
Storing – After cooking, leftover chicken tacos can be stored in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge. To reheat, simply wrap in a damp paper towel and microwave for 1 minute.
Freezing – You can also freeze cooked rolled tacos in freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Throw into the microwave for a minute or two for a quick lunch or snack. I don’t recommend freezing them uncooked.
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Rolled Tacos with Spicy White Queso
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup cooked turkey or chicken shredded
- 1 1/2 cup frozen corn
- 8 ounces Cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour divided
- 2 cans green chilies
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion salt
- 1/2 cup milk divided
- 1 package gluten-free flour tortillas make sure they’re soft so you can roll them
- 1 cup coconut oil or deep fryer filled with oil
- 8 ounces white cheddar cheese
- 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese
- 3 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- In a sauce pan, combine one can green chilies, cream cheese, corn, turkey, 1 T all-purpose gluten-free flour, cumin, onion salt & 1/4 C milk and cook over low to medium heat until cream cheese has softened and mixture is spreadable
- Meanwhile, heat your oil until 300°
- Place 3 tablespoons cream cheese and corn mixture in each tortilla and spread
- Starting at one end of the tortilla roll it up and secure with a toothpick
- Place in hot oil and fry one minute on each side
- Remove from oil and place on a paper towel lined plate to let excess grease drip off
- Serve warm with hot spicy white queso or your favorite toppings
- To make the queso, in a sauce pan combine white cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese, 1 T Glutino all-purpose flour, one can green chilies, butter and milk
- Whisk well and cook over low medium heat until smooth and hot
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on October 9, 2017. It’s been updated with more information and pictures.
Hi, I'm Chandice!
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Karen Middleton says
These look delicious. Could I cook these in an Air fryer?
Chandice says
Definitely, great idea!!
Darissa says
These look so good and I’m looking forward to trying them. We bake flautas using corn tortillas, but I really want to try this recipe! What type of gf flour tortillas do you use that hold up well when deep frying? We’ve tried before without success. Thank you
Chandice says
Hi Darissa, I just used Mission gf flour tortillas. They worked well. 🙂