Chicken Bacon Ranch Tortilla Pockets
Chicken Bacon Ranch Tortilla Pockets
Ingredients
- 16 oz chicken breast cooked & shredded
- 8 slices turkey bacon low sodium
- 8 oz neufchatel cheese fat free
- 13 g ranch seasoning
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- ¼ cup chives chopped, tops only
- 8 tortillas whole wheat, low sodium
- 1 large egg whole
- 1 tsp water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray generously with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cook the turkey bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate to cool, then chop into small pieces.
- In a large bowl combine the Neufchatel cheese and ranch seasoning. Stir until smooth and fully combined. Add the shredded chicken breast, shredded cheddar, chopped turkey bacon, and chopped chives. Stir until everything is evenly mixed.
- In a small bowl beat the egg and water together to make the egg wash. Set aside.
- Lay a tortilla flat on a clean surface. Spoon one eighth of the filling mixture in a line down the center of the tortilla, leaving about an inch of space at the top and bottom edges.
- Fold the top and bottom edges of the tortilla in over the filling, then roll from one side like a burrito, tucking the edges as you go. Brush the seam with egg wash to seal it closed. Place seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
- Spray the tops of the pockets lightly with olive oil spray and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Bake for 15 to 18 minutes until the tortillas are golden and crispy on the outside. Allow to cool for 2 to 3 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
These started a whole thing in this house… The kids absolutely love when I bake a full batch of these different tortilla pockets for them to be able to grab and heat up quick once they walk in from school. But this was the first….
And I mean… chicken bacon ranch is one of THOSE flavor combinations.
These tortilla pockets take that combination, wrap it in a whole wheat tortilla with Neufchatel cheese and cheddar, and bake everything until the outside is golden and crispy and the inside is melty and packed with flavor. Eight pockets in under 30 minutes, at 353 calories each, and they are the kind of thing that works for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow.
The egg wash sealed burrito fold is what makes these different from a standard wrap. The tortilla gets brushed closed before it goes in the oven, which keeps everything tucked inside as it bakes and gives the outside that satisfying crispy exterior that a cold wrap or a microwave version just cannot replicate. It looks and feels like something that took more effort than it did.
What Makes These Work
Neufchatel cheese is the base of the filling and it does a lot of work here. It is lower in fat than regular cream cheese but has the same creamy, rich texture that binds everything together and carries the ranch seasoning throughout every bite. Fat free Neufchatel keeps the calories in check without sacrificing the creaminess that makes the filling worth eating.
Turkey bacon gives you that smoky, savory note you expect from a chicken bacon ranch combination at a fraction of the fat of regular bacon. Cooking it until crispy before chopping and mixing it in is important because soft bacon in a baked pocket will steam inside the tortilla and lose its texture entirely.
The egg wash seal sounds like a small detail but it is what keeps the pocket from opening up in the oven and spilling the filling onto the baking sheet. Take the extra 30 seconds to brush the seam before placing them down.
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Start
Make sure your shredded chicken is fully cooked before it goes into the filling. This is a great recipe for leftover rotisserie chicken or meal prepped chicken breast, which makes the prep time even faster than the 10 minutes listed.
Do not overfill the tortillas. One eighth of the mixture per pocket sounds like a precise measurement but it is the right amount to allow you to fold and seal them cleanly. Too much filling and the tortilla will tear when you try to roll it or the seam will not hold.
Place the pockets seam side down on the baking sheet immediately after sealing. This keeps the weight of the filling pressing the seam closed as it bakes rather than pulling it open.
Reheat leftovers in the oven at 375°F for about 8 minutes or in the air fryer for 3 to 4 minutes to bring back the crispy exterior. The microwave works but the tortilla will go soft.
