These scrumptious Southwest Chicken Roll-Ups are true to the region’s love of spicy food and great flavor profiles. These party-perfect appetizers don’t disappoint!
These take just 15 minutes to assemble and 1 hour to chill while you get on with other party dishes or kick back and relax. And, if you really love planning ahead like me, then these Southwest Chicken Roll-Ups are ideal for making ahead and storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
Spruce up your snack or appetizer table by including a batch or two of these creamy chicken stuffed tortilla pinwheels together with these Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, BBQ Chicken Nachos and Healthy Deviled Eggs! Everyone loves these and you an easily customize them for any dietary preferences or occasions!
Table of contents
- Extra Spicy: Add in some extra diced jalapeños, and hot sauce, or include cayenne pepper to the seasoning for a hotter flavor profile.
- Swap Meat: Use leftover shredded chicken or replace chicken for turkey.
- Swap Cheese: Substitute Pepper Jack cheese, mozzarella cheese or parmesan cheese for cheddar, or your own favorite. Just make sure that it’s the type of cheese that will grate easily.
- Less Heat: Reduce the number of jalapenos and use dill pickles instead should you prefer a milder version.
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free tortillas.
- Additions: Add in some delicious extras such as corn, olives, avocado, and bacon.
- Tortillas: Use store-bought tortilla wraps or make your own dough.
- Garlic: If you don’t have garlic salt, you can add garlic powder instead.
- Italian Version: Use ingredients such as marinara sauce, slice of ham, and fresh parsley.
You can store your roll-ups in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Wrap them in plastic and place in an airtight container for freshness. You could store them uncut or already cut into slices.
You also have the option of freezing your fully assembled roll-ups. This is great news if you are planning a party or event and want to plan ahead. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Then, place your sliced roll-ups on the tray in a single layer, allowing them to freeze. Once frozen, wrap them in plastic wrap and store in Ziploc bags or an airtight container in the freezer. To serve, thaw the roll-ups in the fridge overnight. Serve chilled on a platter with other snacks.
You can serve these roll-ups on a snack platter with crackers and dips. They also make great wholesome snacks for kids’ parties or other casual social gatherings. You could also serve them sliced as is or with a toothpick inserted.
These chicken tortilla pinwheels take flavor inspiration from spicy Southwest cuisine owing to ingredients such as Rotel tomatoes and diced jalapenos! If you love your food with a kick of heat then don’t overlook these Southwest Chicken Roll-Ups!
- These roll-ups are great for making a day ahead of serving if you are planning on hosting an event. I suggest that you store them whole (i.e. not sliced), wrapped in plastic wrap in the refrigerator. You can then slice them just prior to serving.
- Make sure to chop your chicken into very small pieces so that there’s an even distribution in the mixture that can be enjoyed throughout the roll-up. Home cooked chicken breast, leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded chicken or even canned chicken will work.
- These are intended to be served chilled so make sure that you remove them from the refrigerator only when ready to serve to hungry guests!
Southwest Chicken Roll-Ups
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz. package cream cheese softened
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt
- ¼ cup sliced green onions green parts
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 2 cups diced cooked chicken (I used rotisserie meat, diced very small)
- 1 10 oz. can Rotel loosely drained, a bit of the juice is fine
- 1-2 tablespoons finely diced jalapeno seeds and core removed (more or less to taste)
- 1 cup canned black beans drained and rinsed
- 4 burrito-size flour tortillas
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, use a hand mixer or wooden spoon to beat together cream cheese, sour cream, pepper, chili powder, and garlic salt.
- Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to gently mix in green onions, cheddar cheese, chicken, Rotel, jalapeno, and black beans. Stir until evenly mixed.
- Place each tortilla on a sheet of plastic wrap.
- Spread about 1 cup of the mixture over the face of each tortilla. Roll the tortilla up tightly and wrap the plastic wrap around it to hold the shape.
- Refrigerate for a minimum of one hour to allow the flavors to combine and to firm up the tortilla and mixture for slicing into pinwheels.
- Slice the tortillas into ¾-1” sections. Serve.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator 2-3 days.
Notes
- Roll-ups can be made up to a day in advance. Keep whole in a wrapped tortilla and wrapped in plastic wrap. Slice just before serving.
- Additional optional add-ins: salsa, hot sauce, more jalapenos, corn, olives, pepper jack cheese, avocado, bacon.
- Chop the chicken pretty small so that it spreads out in the mixture a makes a more uniform filling. Use leftover grilled or rotisserie chicken. You could probably even use canned chicken.
Nutrition
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