They’re not paleo. They’re not gluten free. They’re not really even legit taquitos, but these things taste so good! Slice them in thirds for the perfect Super Bowl party munchies, or serve them for dinner when your kids have friends over. Everyone loves these.

I’ve taken the liberty of doubling the recipe here because these freeze beautifully, and they’re so good that you’re gonna want more, more, more! And frankly, they’re too much work to just make a small batch. If you’re gonna go through the effort of roasting and pulling chicken, might as well get a few meals out of it.

Serves: 4

Taquito Ingredients:

2/3 c. cream cheese (full-fat or light is ok. avoid fat-free)
1/2 c. green salsa (I like Victoria or Herdez)
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
4-5 Tbsp. thinly-sliced green onions
1/4 small can of diced black olives (optional)
4 c. shredded cooked chicken
2 c. grated jack cheese
small-size flour tortillas

For the chicken, I like to oven-roast a few whole chickens, pull the meat, and set it aside to cool. Save bones to make soup stock later. You could also cook up a few breasts or thighs on the stove, or even use pre-cooked chicken. Do what’s right for you.

Preparation:

Set out cream cheese and tortillas so they warm up and soften a bit.
Preheat oven to 425.
Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Don’t even try to do these right on the cookie sheets. They stick. Don’t ask me how I know that…
In a large bowl, add salsa, cream cheese, lime juice, spices, green onions, and black olives. Stir to combine.
Fold in chicken and grated cheese.

Assembly:

Place 2-3 Tbsp of chicken mixture at the lower edge of tortilla. Roll up tortilla and place seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat until the tray is full.
Bake 15-20 min or until crisp and the ends are starting to become golden brown.
Remove from sheet and set on rack or plate to cool.

If you’re making extra to freeze:

Assemble as instructed, and place on baking sheet. Put baking sheet in the freezer until the taquitos are solid, and then you can store them in freezer bags. When you want to serve, pull out the amount you need, and bake at 425 for 20-25 min.

Lime Crema Ingredients:

1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch powder mix
1 C. mayo
1/2 C. buttermilk (regular milk works ok for this, too)
2 Tbsp lime juice (about 1 lime)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 C. green salsa (Victoria is my choice for this sauce)

Preparation:

FYI: Lime Crema is just a fancy way to say creamy lime ranch sauce.
In a blender, combine buttermilk, mayo, ranch powder packet, garlic, salsa, and lime juice. Blend until smooth. If you don’t have a blender, dump it all into a mason jar and shake it like a Polaroid picture.

Hint: This sauce tastes better if you make it ahead of time and store in the fridge for a few hours to let it set up.

We’ve been trying to be more health conscious in our home, and in case you are too, I’ve included some basic nutrition information for this recipe. Please keep in mind that these numbers are specific to the brands I use. Your mileage may vary. Also, my math might be wrong, so just take these with a grain of salt…

Serving: one taquito
Calories per serving: 225
Carbohydrates per serving: 17 g
Protein per serving: 14 g

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Adapted from Our Best Bites.