Cheesy Jalapeno Popper Baked Beef Taquitos + Video
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These Baked Taquitos with jalapenos, beef, and gooey cheese will knock your socks off. Make this recipe for dinner or freeze some for later! This delicious recipe is perfect for game days, parties, and more. The whole family will love this easy weeknight meal.
Beef taquitos are the ultimate game day snack or party appetizer, and these are loaded with plenty of jalapeno popper flavor!
The lean ground beef paired with the crispy corn tortilla creates a great recipe without taking much time to do. I love recipes like this that use simple ingredients while giving maximum flavor.
You can whip these up for game day events or have these easy taquitos as fun treats for home.
Baked Taquitos Recipe
Cook up a large batch of these easy oven taquitos to serve everyone at once, or freeze them for whenever a future craving strikes.
If you can’t get enough of these spicy flavors, you’ll love my jalapeno popper meatball and pretzel bomb versions of this recipe.
There’s even a cheesy jalapeno dip if you want to double down on the heat!
Round out your feast with some crock pot buffalo wings and this copycat version of Hooter’s deep fried pickles.
Oven Taquitos Tips and Tricks
- Don’t overstuff! Adding more than 1 tablespoon of filling to each taquito will cause corn tortillas to separate.
However, flour tortillas can hold up to 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. - Rolling tip: Fresh tortillas are more pliable and easier to work with.
If you’re still having trouble, microwave a few at a time for about 20 seconds with a wet paper towel on top. - Swap out the meat. Ground turkey or chicken would be just as delicious, and both are a wonderful lean alternative.
- Make clean-up a breeze! Line your pans with aluminum foil before adding nonstick spray. When it’s time to do the dishes, just toss the foil in the trash!
- Adjust the heat. New Mexico chile powder is earthy and a bit sweet, so these jalapeno cream cheese taquitos shouldn’t be too spicy.
That said, feel free to reduce the amount by half for a milder flavor. Or, add extra if you dare!
Oven Taquitos Serving Suggestions
Set up a station with a variety of different dipping options and let everyone create their own plate!
Guacamole, sour cream, homemade salsa, or creamy nacho cheese sauce would all be delicious with these baked taquitos.
Baked Taquitos Recipe FAQ
To prevent this from happening, add a dab of the mixture on the inside end of your tortilla. Then, roll up the jalapeno cream cheese taquitos and press down gently to seal.
Having these delicious taquitos with the seal side down puts enough pressure on the seam that the goodness stuffed inside shouldn’t pour out while baking. And worst case scenario, if it does? Scoop it up and put it into a bowl, add toppings and eat.
The more practice that you have making these cheesy beef taquitos, the more you’re going to have the rolling process down without issue. I’ve been doing this for years – and I’m still loving the process and have recruited the rest of the family to help in the prep and rolling as well.
Absolutely! In fact, this is the perfect recipe to make in advance since beef taquitos keep well for up to 6 months.
Simply follow the recipe as directed, but do not bake. Place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and freeze until solid. Then, transfer them to a resealable storage bag and store in the freezer for later.
When you’re ready to eat, bake them straight from the freezer at 425°F for 20 minutes or until tortillas are crisp and the edges begin to brown.
While I think that these ground beef taquitos are perfect just like they are, you can easily swap out the ground beef mixture and use something else. You can turn them into chicken taquitos by using ground chicken or even adding shredded pork instead.
It’s all about enjoying your favorite things! I like to create a little taco out of mine by piling high my favorite toppings. Melted cheese on the tops of the tortilla creates a tasty base, and then I’ll add a variety of green chiles, my favorite salsa, black beans, chili powder, pico de Gallo, and anything else that I’m craving at the moment.
You’ll notice that the tops of the taquitos are going to look different for each person because everyone creates and eats them in their own delicious way. The main difference will be the adding toppings!
In a way, it is! Once you take a closer look, you’ll see that the small tortillas and juicy beef create an epic taco base. I think that these homemade beef taquitos have a bit more mixture to them, which I think is the best part.
I also like the texture of the crispy taquitos as well when the cooking time is done. To me, the little differences might be small compared to eating a regular taco, but the differences are there.
Enjoy!
With love, from our simple kitchen to yours.
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Baked Beef Taquitos (Cheesy Jalapeno Recipe) + Video
Ingredients
- 3 jalapeños, 3-6, diced (more for spicy, less for mild)
- 16 ounces lean ground beef, about 88%
- 1 tablespoon New Mexico chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup bacon crumbles, 1 pound cooked and diced
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 4 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
- 24 small flour tortilla or corn tortillas, 24 – 48 6 inch tortillas
- cooking spray
Instructions
- Heat oven to 425°F. Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil and lightly coat with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large (10 inch) skillet over medium-high heat cook ground beef and jalapeños, until cooked through. Break beef up with a spatula as it cooks. Add all seasonings and 1 cup of water. Stir and cover with the lid. Cook 10 minutes, remove the cover and continue to cook until water evaporates. Remove from heat. Add bacon. Stir to combine.
- Meanwhile, place cream cheese in a large bowl. Set aside.
- Add cooked beef mixture to cream cheese and stir until combined well. Add cheese and stir again until completely combined.
- Layout 4 tortillas at a time and add 1-2 tablespoons of mixture to the lower 1/3 of the tortilla. Roll the taquito tightly without tearing the tortilla. Place taquitos seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat until the baking sheet is full, being careful not to allow the taquitos to touch. If the taquitos are unrolling or tearing, see cook’s note for tips.
- Spray taquitos with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake 15-20 minutes until the tortillas are crisp or the ends begin to brown.
Video
Donna’s Notes
Nutrition
All nutritional information is based on third party calculations and is only an estimate. Each recipe’s nutritional value will vary depending on the ingredients used, measuring methods, and portion sizes.
Originally published September 2014, updated and republished January 2024
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Wonderful recipe. I can hardly wait to try it. But, for extra crispiness, have you tried frying these little beauties. I am going to try them with the corn tortillas, but I think I'd like to fry them rather than bake them. Just wondering if you've done that and, if so, how they turned out?
I have not fried them. Prefer the oven (so much easier), but they would be extra delicious and decadent if fried. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
These look amazing!! Perfect for game day snacking. I'd eat way too many. 🙂
says put filling on 1/3 of tortilla and roll? Do you fold the other 2/3 up before rolling or what? why not fill from top to bottom?
Seriously bevbailey? You're kidding, right?
Seriously bevbailey? You're kidding, right?
NO see picture above & it's easier to roll forward instead of backwards 🙂
If you are going to freeze them, do you still spray with cooking spray & sprinkle with salt before freezing?
Yes I do. I have finished so all I have to do is pop them straight in the oven. Enjoy and let us know how it goes.
I just tried these! Thanks oh so much for this recipe. My husband loves me again. 🙂
What is 16oz of lean ground beef?? Is that 1lb???
Yes
Will so be trying this. Have chicken in the fridge. Think I was grind it up and use it for this..
Looks yummy, I'm going to try these! Thanks for sharing!
wanted to watch the video but couldn't find anywhere to to watch, I did copy the recipe to take camping. Thanks for sharing.
I saw it in the bottom right hand corner on this sight.
Corn or flour tortilla`s..You say corn is best but then you say flour hold`s 2 tbl perfect???
I just made these for dinner! AMAZING! Thank you for the wonderful recipe, I doubled it and did a sheet pan for the freezer.
did you use flour or corn tortillas??
These sound better than the freezer ones. Never cooked with jalapeños, do I remove the seeds or chop them up with the rest of the peppers?
Your Video does not Work!!! No picture!
Hi Paula,
If you scroll down the the recipe card you will find the video there. Hope this helps!
TSRI Team Member,
Holli
I made this for my picky kids and they devoured them. Absolutely a hit with my family. Spicy and flavorful! I will be freezing these for easy snacks!
I have made with corn tortillas but I found it impossible to roll without cracking them, flour tortillas were way easier to work with
Corn tortillas will roll much easier after place on top stove in oil and fried just a few seconds on each side drain on paper towels!
I made these and wow they were amazing. My husband enjoyed them and I took left overs to work and became a huge fan with everyone. The video worked just find for me.
Hi DeAnna!
We’re so glad that you and your husband enjoyed!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
Wowza! These taquitos were a breeze to whip up. Donna and Chad really know how to make cooking easy and delicious!
Hi Emma!!
We’re so glad you enjoyed!!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn
Wow I tried these …fantastic. I air fried them at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes. AWSOME.!!!
Hi!
We’re glad you enjoyed the recipe!
TSRI Team Member,
Devlyn