When we lived in DC, Shawn was obsessed with Taquitos from 7-11. You know the ones that sit there all day on the little rollers? Yeah, those. When I discovered how easy it was to make baked flautas, it was only a matter of time before I recreated his favorite version, stuffed full of spicy Buffalo Chicken. This was the result of trying to satisfy his craving.
I was always too sketched out to try the ones from 7-11 – I stuck with coffee or, if I happened to be at the one location genius enough to make them, Slurpees made with Crystal Light pink lemonade – so I didn’t have much of a guideline to work with but, if I do say so myself, these are pretty darn good. Shawn happily scarfed them down, so I think its safe to say they have his seal of approval too.
As I developed this recipe, I took some of the most popular requests from my flauta recipe into account – namely using chicken breasts instead of thighs and eliminating the beer. In order to balance out the drier cut of chicken and add some extra nutrients and fiber, I added mashed white beans to the filling. They have a mild flavor and you can’t tell they’re in there (Shawn had no idea!) but they keep the filling nice and moist.
I also used corn tortillas instead of flour. I love the flavor and the less delicate nature of the corn tortillas, but they were more difficult to work with. Moistening the dry tortillas and microwaving them for 30 seconds helps make them more pliable, but no matter how careful I was with them, they still had a tendency to split and crack. It meant that some of the Taquitos weren’t nearly as pretty as others; if you plan on serving these to guests, you might want to plan on making a few extra just in case (but the ugly ones were still delicious!)
Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless Chicken Breasts
- ½ Onion finely chopped
- 1 cup Chicken Broth
- 2 cups Water
- ½ cups Buffalo Sauce I like Franks Red Hot
- 1 cup Shredded Fat Free Mozzarella
- 1 can 15.5 ounces Cannellini Beans, mashed
- ½ teaspoon Paprika
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- 18 6- inch Corn or Flour Tortillas warmed
- ¼ cup Sour Cream full or reduced fat
- 3 tablespoons Blue Cheese Crumbles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Put the chicken and onions in a deep sided saute pan and cover with the broth and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the liquid and shred it. In a large bowl, mix together the chicken, onions, Buffalo sauce, mozzarella, beans, and spices. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling in the center of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla up, then place seam-side down on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Spritz the tops of the taquitos with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn them over and bake for until 10 minutes, or until crispy.
- Combine the sour cream and blue cheese crumbles, mixing vigorously. Serve the taquitos with the sauce.
Is it just me or is there nothing in the instructions about the mozzarella cheese? I assume I am to add to the chicken?
Yes, so sorry about that – I can’t believe I never noticed that! Yes, mix it in with the chicken and the rest of the filling. I’ve updated the recipe to include it. Thanks fo pointing out the omission! 🙂
I made these. My husband and I loved them! I think next time I’ll add more cayenne (I like hot). 🙂 As a side note, I did not have cannellini beans, but used butter beans with no problems. I shredded the chicken with my Kitchen-Aid, then added the (drained and rinsed) beans and mashed them with the chicken mix. I then added the rest of the ingredients and mixed. We will definitely make these again!
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To prevent the tortillas from cracking, wrap just a few at a time in a slightly moistened towel before microwaving. Keep them covered in the towel, removing one at a time as you fill and roll. I have found that if you stack them close together, seam side down in a freezer friendly container you can keep some frozen and bake them fresh anytime.
Love this, cant wait to try it out on my family!
~Jamie
THIS!!!!
Love it.
This is a GREAT idea!! I LOVE Frank’s Red Hot. I have a similar recipe, but I cook the chicken with the Franks in a crock pot! I’ll have to make taquito’s the next time I make my buffalo chicken.
http://brokenyolks.blogspot.com/2012/07/buffalo-chicken.html
looks fabulous!!
Frank’s Red Hot – I put that %*#$ on everything! LOL
These look great and I really do love their hot sauce. will be trying these for sure 🙂
Us too. I’ve even been known to eat in on Pringles.:D