We’re no strangers to the El Monterey brand here at Freezer Meal Frenzy. Their burritos got many of our staffers through our broke college years, and we’re not sure where we’d be without them. It’s hard to deny the utility of cheap burritos that taste halfway decent when you’re cramming for an exam.
Yet back when we were broke college students, we didn’t actually experiment with El Monterey’s line of frozen taquitos. Thankfully, we write frozen food reviews now, which means we’ve got the chance to finally explore this line. We’ve tried a couple varieties so far — including one that was specifically designed for breakfast — and today we’re testing out our third, the El Monterey Chicken & Cheese Taquitos.
You can cook these up in the microwave or the oven, and the oven will definitely give you a crunchier shell. However, we have to admit that in the past we’ve tended to enjoy the microwaved version a little better. Even though the shell is soggier, we think the oven-baked taquitos tend to get just a little to dry for our tastes. So today, we’re writing this review based off taquitos we heated in the microwave. (To see the full cooking instructions, check out our package scans at the bottom of this article.)
One thing we noticed right away is that these shells are a lot lighter in color than the other taquitos we’ve tried. The Extra Crispy Southwest Chicken Taquitos, for example, have a lovely orange shell, while these Chicken & Cheese Taquitos are sort of pale. The reason for this, we assume, is that these lack the corn-based batter seasoning of their extra-crispy counterparts. That actually does make these shells a little blander — in color and in flavor — than other El Monterey taquitos.
The filling also doesn’t have quite as much flavor as other taquitos. It’s a great flavor — a heavily seasoned white meat chicken with monterey jack cheese — but it’s a little bit muted. If El Monterey would have been just a little bit more generous with the portion size of the filling, we think these would have actually been great. As is, however, they’re just alright.
One serving size is three taquitos, and if you stick to that you’ll probably be fine — even if you’re counting calories. A three-taquito serving has 220 calories and 260 mg of sodium. Keep in mind, however, that these are considered a snack. Three of these certainly won’t fill you up.
The El Monterey Chicken & Cheese Taquitos aren’t our favorite taquitos in the El Monterey lineup, but they taste halfway decent and are fast to cook. If that’s all you’re looking for, you’ll probably like these well enough. If you’re looking for something a bit higher in quality, however, you’ll probably want to look elsewhere.
To learn more about the nutrition content, ingredients, or cooking instructions for these frozen taquitos, check out our package scans below.
There is next to nothing inside these things. Might as well eat a rolled up tortilla.