Southwest Chicken
Craving something crispy, cheesy, and full of bold flavor? These Southwest Chicken Egg Rolls, Wontons, and Bowls bring together the smoky spices of the Southwest with tender chicken, black beans, corn, peppers, and just the right kick of heat. Whether you’re rolling them into golden eggrolls, tucking them into crispy wonton wrappers, or piling everything into a hearty meal bowl, this versatile filling is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. Perfect for game day snacks, easy appetizers, or a weeknight dinner with a twist!
Smokey, tangy flavors flood this chicken with a warm flavor to be enjoyed in many ways!
How to serve this Southwest Chicken Recipe
- It’s great over a bowl of rice for a cozy meal
- Serve it in a bowl and add some cornbread
- Wrap it in lettuce for a low-carb option
- Closed wonton bites
- Open wonton “cups”
- Wrap it in tortillas or egg roll wrappers and brown them
- Meal prep it into burritos, brown them. Then reheat + eat
- Place it over a salad
- Heat and serve as a dip, and serve it with tortilla chips
- Serve it with a fried egg on top for a great breakfast or brunch meal
What gives this chicken its southwest chicken flavor?
Southwest seasoning combines the spices of cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, coriander, garlic powder, and onion powder. Use taco seasoning if you want a shortcut!
Making it into a sauce by adding:
- water
- chicken bouillon
- cornstarch
Whisk the taco seasoning with the water, chicken bouillon, and cornstarch until smooth. Heat it in a skillet, the cornstarch will thicken the sauce. Make it as saucy as you’d like if you’re serving it over rice, keep it a little less saucy if you’re serving it as an appetizer, as you won’t want the wonton or tortilla to get soggy.
Ingredients
- chicken breasts (or chicken thighs)
- black beans
- frozen corn
- onion
- peppers (bell, anaheim, poblano, jalapenos)
- cilantro
- cheese (monteray jack, cotija)
How do I make this into wontons or other appetizer sized items
Use wonton wrappers, eggroll wrappers, or tortillas.
How can the appetizers be cooked?
Bake in the oven, cook in the Air fryer, or fry in oil.
All are delicious options!
I really love the tortilla version. The Southwest Chicken mixture is wrapped in flour tortillas, rolled up, and heated to a golden brown in a hot skillet with a little oil.
Tortillas can be less finicky than wontons, and I always have flour tortillas in the fridge, so give this version a try!
Oil the wonton wrapper so they crisp up nicely. I like this sprayer (and it makes a great gift too). I use avocado oil. I prefer this sprayer to the types that you purchase that taste like chemicals. Another option is to use oil and a silicone brush to lightly oil the wontons or tortillas.
Great toppings to add to the Southwest Chicken Recipe:
- Add sliced avocado
- fresh lime juice
- diced tomatoes
- sour cream
- hot sauce
- cheese, cheese and more cheese, can you have too much cheese 🙂
Homemade avocado ranch
creamy, tasty, and a great item to add to these southwest chicken appetizers
- avocado
- sour cream
- parsley
- dill
- cilantro
- lime juice
- garlic paste
- salt
- hot sauce
Mix all the ingredients in a food processor, immersion blender, or similar until smooth and well blended.
One bite in and you get the amazing flavor of seasoned chicken, black beans, corn, peppers, onions, and cilantro!
Southwest Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded or diced
- 1 16oz can black beans, drained
- 2 cups frozen corn, regular can use fire roasted corn
- 1 large red bell pepper, diced or other favorite peppers like, anaheim, poblano, jalapenos)
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 2-4 oz shredded cheese, Monteray Jack Mexican cheese blend, cheddar, or mozzarella
- 1 oz crumbled cotija cheese
Seasonings
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Making them into appetizers:
- wonton wrappers or
- flour tortillas
- More serving options are listed below.
Instructions
- Cook chicken in a skillet, oven, slow cooker, instant pot, or use rotisserie, or leftover cooked chicken. Shred or dice chicken.
- In a skillet, add cooked chicken along with all the seasonings (including cornstarch) with a 1/2 cup of water and bring it to a simmer.
- Add the black beans, corn, onion, peppers, cilantro, and cheese.
- Lots of serving suggestions below (or check my post for other fun appetizer options)
- Place the cooked filling into wonton wrappers or tortillas, the wontons can be folded into triangles or envelope shapes or baked in a muffin pan (check the post for more details).Flour tortillas are another great option. Cook as desired until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
- They can then be baked (350°), air-fried, or fried in oil until golden brown.Serve with the avocado ranch dip recipe in the post.
Notes
- It’s great over a bowl of rice for a cozy meal
- Serve it in a bowl and add some cornbread
- Wrap it in lettuce for a low-carb option
- Closed wonton bites
- Open wonton “cups”
- Wrap it in tortillas or egg roll wrappers and brown them
- Meal prep it into burritos, brown them. Then reheat + eat
- Place it over a salad
- Heat and serve as a dip, and serve it with tortilla chips
- Serve it with a fried egg on top for a great breakfast or brunch meal
