Slow Cooker Jalapeño Popper Chicken Taquitos
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Cream cheese, jalapeños, and chicken all come together in these irresistible crispy taquitos! This is an amazing go-to crockpot recipe you’ll make again and again! Serve these up as a main dish or they’re perfect for game day appetizers – either way you can’t go wrong!
Still hungry? Look no further than my Slow Cooker Cream Cheese Chicken Taquitos, Instant Pot Chicken Taquitos, and Slow Cooker Creamy Chipotle Chicken Taquitos.
I know I’ve told you about my affinity for spicy foods. I probably even told you about the origin of that spicy food love with really goes back to my childhood days when I’d do anything and everything my big brothers told me to. That includes going down a laundry chute head first, and eating a fresh, raw jalapeño – straight up.
Oh yes, 9-year old me was as fearless as little 9-year old tomboys come. My brothers told me to eat it, so I did. And It was crazy-hot, the kind of heat that just cannot be quenched, not with milk (even though everybody swears by it), and not by baking soda (oh my gosh that was a taste I’ll never forget – in a bad way!). It was just one of those things you have to wait out and hope for the best. In the end, my tastebuds were still intact (much to my astonishment) and a bewildering new flavor craving had begun.
A craving for the heat that only comes from seed-bearing peppers.
Yep, that’s how it all started, my love affair with all things spi-say. You wouldn’t believe the flavor combinations I’ve tried (and loved) over the years. To this day I adore jalapeños on my cream cheese bagels and every now that then you’ll find me dipping Lays potato chips in Taco Bell hot sauce. I know, strange things. But after that kind of history, it shouldn’t be hard to imagine why I keep a GIANT jar of jalapeños in my fridge and create things like jalapeño popper taquitos.
Hold your horse though, you heat-fearing people, because I have good news for you. These are completely customizable to meet your own personal heat standards. If you’re like me and can’t get enough of that spicy goodness, you can load these babies up with as many jalapeños as your little heart desires. For the rest of you who love a good jalapeño popper but don’t want to burn your mouth to high heaven, just put a few less in there. I promise you that the cream cheesiness cuts through a lot of that heat so you just get the best of all those nummy flavors without injuring your tastebuds. And if you really wanna cool em down, dip them in ranch or green goddess dressing! If you’re looking for a little more kick – go for the salsa or Tomatillo Ranch Dressing!
Sing it with me – Let’s get it started hot, let’s get it started in here…
I don’t remember the rest of the lyrics. So we’ll just leave it at that.
More Recipes to Try
- Cheddar Jalapeno Pretzel Bites – the snack you didn’t know you needed.
- Jalapeño Poppers with Bacon – a little heat, a lot of flavor, and totally addictive.
- Skinny Jalapeño Popper Dip {6 ingredients} – six ingredients. Endless snacking happiness.
When you make this recipe, snap a photo and tag me on social – I love connecting with you and seeing what you’re up to in the kitchen!
Slow Cooker Jalapeño Popper Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 3-4 chicken breasts, frozen or thawed
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ⅓ cup jarred whole or sliced jalapeños, roughly chopped (or more, to taste)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 16 taco-sized tortillas , (I prefer flour but corn tortillas also work well)
- 1 ½ cups shredded cheese , (colby jack, monterey jack, Mexican blend, mozzarella – use your favorite!)
Instructions
- Add chicken, 1/2 cup water, cream cheese, jalapeños, 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did you spray the taquitos themselves in step 6 with cooking spray?
Yes – give them a good spritz before you throw them in the oven 🙂
This recipe is awesome! Made it for dinner tonight & it was a big hit. Crock pot meals are my favorite for so many reasons, one being I get to smell this deliciousness going all day. Mmmm. I think I’ll try what other commenters did & use green chiles next time, we LOOOOOVE green chiles around here. 🙂 Thanks for sharing, this is definitely a keeper!
Made the taquitos and the dipping sauce for dinner with beans and rice. It was so good! The dipping sauce is super yummy too the kids liked it on their beans! So easy to make too!
I made these for dinner yesterday. Put them in the crock pot around 12. Around 6 my boyfriend asked me what he should do with this soup and tortillas. Ha. I guess I’m going to serve it over rice or something. It tastes good, but the consistency is far from chicken tacos.
Hi Karyn – they’re taquitos, not tacos 😉 But also, there will be liquid in the bottom of the crockpot. You just use a fork to scoop out the chicken mixture and put it in the middle of each tortilla. Works like a charm and everybody loves this recipe!
Love this, so amazing and the tomatillo dressing. My family is obsessed now.
Hi! What side dishes would you recommend with these?
Some of our favorite are chips and queso, guacamole, or salsa! Sometimes we also have a side salad with southwest ranch or a similar dressing. 🙂
I just served these for dinner today and they were a hit! I am not the primary cook at home, but this was so easy! For the dip, we went simple and used a salsa/salsa con queso mix out of a jar. SO GOOD! Thanks for the excellent recipe!
I love when I stumble across amazing recipes like this! And then it leads me to the rest of your amazing recipes! Can’t wait to try out a few! Love everything about your website/blog… Just perfection. Bookmarking to my home screen
Thanks Lisa! I post almost every single day so hopefully you’ll find plenty to keep you around!! Food is kind of what we’re about around here so if you like good food, you’re in the right place!! 🙂
I like your recipes so want all of them!
So, my mouth was watering the ENTIRE time I was reading this post. I have a strange love (to others at least) with spicy foods. I am going to have to try jalapenos on my bagel! (Einstein’s Bagels sells this jalapeno “schmear” that is to die for.) Love this post, love your blog. Consider me a new follower!
Yayyyy! A spicy-loving-friend! I could use more of those in my life. I have always LOVED spicy foods and things that would burn someone else’s mouth taste like heaven to me!! and I adore the jalapeño schmear from Einsteins!!! I can eat it with a spoon!