Fried Cheesy Chicken Taquitos
with Salsa, Cotija Cheese & Southwest Salad
- Milk
- Soy
- Wheat
- Eggs
We love taquitos, aka rolled-up tacos with a crispy outer shell. We achieve the crunch factor by shallow frying the stuffed tortillas—full of shredded chicken and a blend of melty Mexican-style cheeses. That golden crust is the perfect canvas for salsa, sour cream, and crumbles of cotija cheese. Serve it with a fresh green salad for the perfect complement.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon
Fajita Spice Blend
1 unit
Tomato
½ cup
Cotija Cheese
(Contains: Milk)
½ cup
Mexican Cheese Blend
(Contains: Milk)
3 tablespoon
Sour Cream
(Contains: Milk)
12 ounce
Chicken Cutlets
1 unit
Baby Lettuce
6 unit
Flour Tortillas
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
4 ounce
Fresh Red Salsa
1.5 ounce
Southwest Dressing
(Contains: Eggs)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
Cooking Oil
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season all over with half the Fajita Spice Blend (you’ll use the rest later), salt, and pepper. • Heat a drizzle of oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until browned and cooked through, 5-6 minutes per side. TIP: If chicken is browning too quickly, reduce heat and cover with lid. • Turn off heat; transfer chicken to a medium bowl. Wash and thoroughly dry pan (you’ll use it again in Step 5).
• Wash and dry produce. • Trim and discard root end from lettuce; chop leaves into bite-size pieces. Dice tomato into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Using your fingers, finely break up cotija cheese in package into crumbles.
• Using two forks, shred chicken into bite-size pieces (if there is remaining liquid in bowl, stir chicken until absorbed). • Stir in Mexican cheese blend and remaining Fajita Spice Blend until thoroughly combined.
• Place tortillas on a clean work surface. Using a fork, poke a few holes in each tortilla. • Divide shredded chicken filling between one half of each tortilla. Tightly roll tortillas and place seam sides down. TIP: Secure taquitos with toothpicks, if you have them!
• Heat a 1⁄3-inch layer of oil in pan used for chicken over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot, working one at a time with tongs, add taquitos, seam sides down, gently pressing for a few seconds to help ensure taquitos stay rolled (no need to press if using toothpicks!). • Working in batches if necessary, fry taquitos, turning occasionally until browned and crispy all over, 1-3 minutes. • Remove taquitos from pan, allowing excess oil to drip off; place on a paper-towel-lined plate. Repeat with remaining taquitos. If using toothpicks, remove after frying.
• Wash and dry bowl used to shred chicken. Add lettuce, tomato, dressing, salt, and pepper; toss until evenly dressed. • Divide taquitos and salad between plates. Top taquitos with salsa, sour cream, and cotija cheese. Serve.
Poultry is fully cooked when internal temperature reaches 165°.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many loved the crispy taquitos and flavorful chicken, though some found it needed more seasoning or cheese for depth.
- Ease of prep: Quick and simple for most, but some found shredding the cooked chicken challenging or wished for pre-shredded options.
- Suggestions: Consider adding sautéed onions or garlic to the filling for extra flavor. Try baking or air frying for a less messy alternative.
- Portions: Several had enough filling for extra taquitos; a few suggested including more tortillas to use up all the chicken.
- Salad: The Southwest dressing received mixed reviews; some loved it, while others found it too strong or preferred to skip it.
Reviews from our home cooks
Didn't care for the deep-frying aspect of this. You used to offer a version where you cover the tortillas in oil and bake them. Same crunchy affect and a lot less messy. Also, it is virtually impossible to "shred with 2 forks" chicken that has been fried in a pan! I ended up cutting it up with a Chef's knife! Either provide pre-shredded chicken or have us cube it instead.
Loved this so much! Wasn't as hard to make as expected, and it helped cutting the chicken up to cook quicker. Really liked that it included a salad. Added our own onion to it and it was perfect!
Def in my top 5. Even though I burned them they still taste delicious. The seasoning for the chicken and the salsa were so good
Easier & faster than I expected, especially considering I've never manually shredded chicken before. Really good salad dressing, too.
Labor intensive but delicious. Precooked shredded chicken would speed this up. Or rotisserie chicken.
Kid favorite. A little more prep than some ways you could do this, but the product is delicious.
Super easy and fun to make. Definitely will make again in larger quantities. My kids loved them.
I used the sour cream to make a lime crema. Added lime juice, salt, and pepper. That really took it up a notch.
I really enjoyed this more than I thought I would. I LOVED the cobrijita cheese.
The filling needed more ingredients. I think some green onion and garlic would have added more depth.
