15 Minute Crispy Tex-Mex Chicken Wraps
Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I am about to introduce you to the new superstar of your weekly meal plan…. (drumroll please)… Fifteen Minute Crispy Tex-Mex Chicken Wraps!!
Sorry, I tend to get a little over-excited when we’re talking about food, especially if it’s good, easy-to-make food that can be made in just 15 minutes.
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Seriously, these wraps have it all — protein & veggies to keep Mom happy, and chicken tenders for the kids (because I am yet to meet a child who doesn’t go crazy for chicken tenders, no matter how you serve them). Plus they’re very versatile — you can add ingredients you love (avocado, anyone?) or leave out ones your kids won’t touch.
While the chicken tenders help make these wraps so easy and kid-friendly, it’s the sauce that makes them so out-of-this-world-good.
This Tex-Mex Ranch Sauce is just three easy ingredients: ranch dressing, salsa (I prefer the Picante style rather than the chunky variety, but either will work) and a nice big spoonful of taco seasoning (make your own or buy it pre-made). This stuff is liquid gold — I like to make a little extra and then dip my wrap in it, too.
So let’s walk through the preparation process really quickly:
- First, prepare your Tex-Mex Ranch Sauce (AKA liquid gold) by whisking together your ranch, salsa, and taco seasoning:
- Next, prepare your chicken tenders according to package instructions (I always make mine in the oven, though that takes a little longer than the microwave), and chop into bite-sized pieces once they’re finished cooking.
The wrap assembly only takes a few minutes, but sometimes I’m guilty of sloppily throwing my ingredients inside or overstuffing my wraps.
To keep this easy, be careful with how much of each ingredient you put into the wrap. To keep the wrap from being messy, make sure you don’t spread the ranch all over the entire wrap.
- Just spread about 1 Tablespoon on the bottom half, like so:
- Then neatly stack the remainder of your ingredients on top of the dressing (staying in the lower half of the wrap — trust me it’ll make things easier at the end). Make sure you drizzle everything with a little extra dressing at the end.
It took me a long time to learn how to correctly close a wrap, I used to just roll it and make a mess everywhere.
To bring everything together neatly, first pinch the left and right side of the wrap, like so:
Then, use your thumbs to flip up the bottom half and roll it upwards over the folded sides, rolling the ingredients with the wrap as you go:
If needed, use your fingers to trap any ingredients that are trying to escape and keep them contained within the wrap, while at the same time holding the sides in place.
Then, tuck the bottom of the wrap into and under the top:
And roll it just a little bit further….
And that’s it! Secure with a toothpick if you over-stuffed (as I tend to do… whoops), cut in half, and serve alongside a big bowl of rice (or your family favorite side dish).
RECIPE: Crispy Tex-Mex Chicken Wraps (serve 6)
Ingredients:
Tex-Mex Ranch Sauce:
1/3 cup ranch dressing
1/3 cup mild or medium salsa
1 Tablespoon reduced sodium taco seasoning
Wraps:
6 Flour tortillas (10-inch)
6 Romaine lettuce leaves
2 medium-large tomatoes, sliced into 12 slices
1/2 cup frozen sweet corn kernels – thawed
1/2 cup black beans — rinsed and drained
1 lb crispy chicken tenders — cooked according to package directions and chopped
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions:
Prepare your Tex-Mex Ranch Sauce by whisking together ranch dressing, salsa, and taco seasoning in a small bowl until completely combined. Set aside.
Warm your wraps in the microwave briefly (about 15-20 seconds) and lay each out on a clean work surface.
Spread about 1 Tablespoon of Tex-Mex Ranch Sauce in the bottom center of the tortilla (leaving about 2 inches of space around the edges of the tortilla).
Top with 1 leaf of lettuce, then two slices of tomato.
Sprinkle about 1 Tablespoon of corn and 1 Tablespoon of beans over the tomatoes (try to keep everything building up on top of the lettuce — it will make it easier to wrap the finished product) and then top with a handful of chicken (about 1/3 cup).
Sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top (about 2-3 Tablespoons) and evenly drizzle remaining ranch sauce on top of chicken /cheese.
Fold the left and right side of each wrap inwards and then roll into a wrap. Secure with toothpicks, if needed.
Cut in half and serve.
Enjoy!
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Emily says
These sound like a perfect, quick lunch idea! Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday!
Karly says
These look so delicious! Thanks for linkin’ up with What’s Cookin’ Wednesday!
Emily says
Oh my, these look amazing! Thanks for sharing with the Delicious Dishes Recipe party!
Mrs Major Hoff says
These look fabulous!
Michelle says
Just made one today for my husbands lunch. I left the sauce in a container on the side so it didn’t get soggy. He LOVED it. He requested that it gets put in the rotation once or twice a week! Thank you for a simple recipe that changes things up for him!
The Busy Budgeter says
Yay! These are a hit (for everyone!) in our house too 🙂
Tamera says
How would you warm the corn and beans?
Lori Lehmann says
Since it has lettuce I did not use heated corn and beans. It made a nice cool meal on a very hot summer night.
To heat I would probably microwave both but you could also heat them in a pan on the stove top.
Lori Lehmann says
Very good! I added guacamole because we love it.
The Busy Budgeter says
Who doesn’t? ?
Victoria says
GREAT idea! I was trying to figure out what I could add to give this more bodied texture and rounded-out flavor… I think this is the answer. Now on a quest to find jumbo tortillas.
Grace says
You took the words right out of my mouth! Yum!
Jenn says
This is a great idea for a quick and easy dinner. When you’re a busy mom who is also helping her dad battle cancer… quick and easy everything is really IMPORTANT! https://cancerbomb.com/8-hacks-to-manage-your-life-when-youre-helping-your-loved-one-battle-cancer/
Katy B. says
These are delicious! I can’t get enough of the sauce and it is so simple! I definitely should have bought larger tortillas since mine were more like tacos but still a wonderful meal and very filling. Thanks for sharing!
Kay says
I can’t find the “print” so I can print the recipe. We want to make these for a 4-H cooking class.
The Busy Budgeter says
Hey Kay!
Just scroll all the way to the bottom and there should be a set of printable instructions.
Ann says
I make these for school lunches for my kids. I just use the chicken deli lunchmeat on them instead of tenders. They love them! That sauce is so good! Thanks for the recipe!