(Recipe can be found on the site The Slow Roasted Italian here.)
Step by Step Instructions:
These fabulous Jalapeno Popper Taquitos will be on your dinner table very soon, and here’s what you’ll need: Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, 4 cups of shredded Colby-Jack cheese, 8 ounces of Cream Cheese, 3-6 Jalapenos chopped with seeds and ribs removed (I used 3 large ones but wish I would have used more), Ground Cumin, Chili Powder, 6 Inch Flour (or Corn) Tortillas (Note that with Flour Tortillas you’ll need around 24 and with corn tortillas you’ll need about 48), Salt, 16 ounces of Lean Ground Beef, and 1 pound of cooked Bacon.
Start off by preheating your oven to 425 degrees. Then grab 2 baking sheets and line them with aluminum foil. I used the nonstick foil, but it’s not necessary. Then spray the foil lightly with cooking spray. Set the baking sheets aside.
Heat a large, nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Then add the ground beef and jalapenos. Use a spatula to break up the beef into small chunks and cook until the meat is completely cooked through.
Once the meat is cooked, carefully drain the drippings in the pan.
Measure out the spices you will need including 1 tablespoon of chili powder (I didn’t have New Mexico chili powder, but if you do – great!), 1 teaspoon each of Cumin, Onion Powder and Kosher Salt, plus 1/2 teaspoon of Garlic Powder.
Add the spices to the cooked ground beef along with a cup of water.
Stir the spices until the meat is coated completely.
Cover the meat and let it continue to cook at medium-high heat for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the cover and continue to let the mixture cook until all of the liquid is evaporated.
As the meat is cooking, crumble the cooked bacon.
When the liquid is completely evaporated, add the bacon to it and stir to combine.
Place the cream cheese in a large bowl…
…and add the meat mixture.
Then stir until the mixture is well combined.
Add the 4 cups of shredded Colby-Jack cheese to the bowl.
Stir the cheese and meat together until it’s fully mixed and now you’re ready to fill your tortillas.
To multitask, grab a large cutting board and place 4 tortillas on it. If you’re using flour tortillas add about 2 tablespoons of filling to the bottom third of each tortilla. If you opted for corn tortillas only 1 tablespoon of filling.
Okay here’s where it gets a little messy. Using your fingers, spread out the filling along the bottom half or third of the tortilla. You’ll have some filling on your fingers so smear it at the top of the tortilla as you’ll see in the above photo.
Tightly roll the tortillas being careful not to rip them. The extra bit of filling that I smeared at the top of the tortilla helps to seal the taquitos so they don’t unroll on the baking sheet. Then when you are finished rolling all of them, spray the tops of all of the taquitos lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle salt over the top. This is kinda genius as the spray helps the outside get a little crispy and the saltiness enhances the flavors in the taquito as you eat them… but I digress. Bake the taquitos for 15-20 minutes.
After 15 minutes, my taquitos were lightly brown on the edges and the filling was melty and smelled fabulous. Serve these while they are still warm and enjoy. You could use your favorite dipping sauce like salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or cheese sauce, but honestly these taquitos really didn’t need anything. The crispy outside and melty inside were the perfect combo and weren’t dry or in need of sauce at all in my humble opinion. I cannot wait for you to try these! Perfect for a weeknight meal or to serve a crowd at your next party. Happy rolling!!
Makes 24 taquitos with flour tortillas or 48 taquitos with corn tortillas
3-6 jalapeños, 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 of water
1 cup bacon crumbles (1 pound cooked and diced)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 cups shredded Colby Jack cheese
24-48 6″ small flour tortilla or corn tortillas*
cooking spray
Preparation Instructions:
1. Start off by prepping your ingredients by cooking the bacon and chopping the jalapenos.
2. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. At this point you can also grab 2 baking sheets. Line them with foil and you can spray them lightly with cooking spray.
3. Grab a large skillet and turn the heat to medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and jalapenos to the pan and break up the ground beef so it’s in fairly small pieces so it’s easier to roll.
4. Once the beef is cooked add the chili powder, cumin, onion poweder, salt and garlic powder to the meat along with a cup of water. Stir the mixture and cover for 10 minutes.
5. After the meat has cooked for 10 minutes, remove the lid and let it continue to cook until the liquid has evaporated.
6. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the bacon crumbles.
7. Put the softened cream cheese in a large bowl and add the meat mixture to it. Stir to combine. Then add the shredded Colby-Jack cheese and combine the filling.
8. Time to fill the taquitos. Place 4 tortillas on a cutting board. If they are flour tortillas place 2 tablespoons of filling on the bottom third of the tortilla. If you’re using corn tortillas, go with 1 tablespoon. Then tightly roll the tortillas and place on the lined baking sheet.
9. Once all of the tortillas are rolled up, spray the top of them lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle salt over the top.
10. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until they outside is crispy and the edges start to turn brown. This took about 15 minutes for me. Then remove from the oven and serve warm.
*Reheat in the oven at 375 for 5 minutes for best results!
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