I love to try new food but sometimes I get into a rut and I end up eating the same thing over and over again. There’s something to be said for a routine. It’s easy and familiar and comfortable. Who’s with me? I can get my grocery shopping done quickly because I know where every item is located. Plus, I can whip up the meals like Speedy Gonzales with my eyes closed. (My inner lawyer says “Please don’t attempt to cook with your eyes closed.”)
However, sometimes it’s refreshing to step away from my ordinary food patterns. Over the weekend I tried mascarpone for the first time. Since it’s an Italian cheese you may be expecting that I used it in an Italian dish. Nope. It is an ingredient in these taquitos, a Mexican meal. What the what?! It works, you’ll see. 🙂
These corn tortillas are filled with ground turkey, spinach, black beans, and mascarpone.
Turkey And Spinach Taquitos Recipe
(About 6 servings)
Ingredients:
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided per the directions
- 1 large onion, minced
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 cups spinach leaves, chopped
- 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup mascarpone
- 18 to 20 corn tortillas (6 and 1/2 inches each)
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions:
- In are large pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil over Medium heat. Add the onions, salt, and pepper, and cook them until they are soft (about 6 minutes).
- Add in the ground turkey and cumin. Cook until the turkey is cooked through.
- Add the spinach and cook until it’s wilted.
- Turn off the heat and add the black beans. Don’t be gentle while stirring in the beans, you want to break them up a little bit so they aren’t all whole.
- Stir in the mascarpone. Set the filling aside.
- Set the oven to a broil setting and move a rack close to the top.
- Place a small skillet over Medium heat.
- Brush each side of the tortilla with a little olive oil. Place it in the hot skillet and cook each side for about 30 seconds. The goal is to get them warm and soft so that they are easy to roll.
- Spoon about 1/4 cup of the filling onto the warm tortilla, spread it out so it is in an even line and roll it up into a cigar shape.
- Place the tortilla seam side down on a baking pan.
- Repeat steps 5 through 10 for the remaining taquitos.
- Sprinkle them with cheese.
- Place the baking sheet on the top rack in the oven and broil them for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
What’s better than a taco? Well, my husband would say nothing. But how about some taquitos? Essentially it’s a rolled up taco using a small corn tortilla filled with beef, cheese, or chicken.
Hello velvety goodness! Look at what that luscious mascarpone does to the filling. Truth be told, you could eat this stuff right out of the pan at this point. I did. My husband did too. 😉
Corn tortillas tend to crack or tear easily if you bend them too far so it’s important to warm them up to get them nice and soft for rolling.
Fill the tortilla immediately while it’s still warm and soft.
Roll it up like a cigar (seam side down on the baking sheet) and top it with some yummy cheddar cheese. Easy cheesy.
If you’ve never had mascarpone, it’s sort of a cross between cream cheese and sour cream. It makes the turkey and spinach mixture super creamy, which is perfect for filling these taquitos. I think it gives this meal a unique but tasty touch.
I love it when I can hide (I mean add) my veggies in a convenient rolled up taco like form. 😉 The spinach, ground turkey, and black beans are an awesome combo. I like that it’s slightly different from the usual fillings that you’d see in Mexican restaurants.
I love the contrast of the soft filling to the crunchy corn tortillas to the melted cheddar cheese on top. I’m pretending to have made a Mexican-Italian fusion meal because it’s a Mexican dish with Italian cheese in it. How cool is that if you love both cuisines?!
Having a food blog inspires me to step outside of my comfort zone and try new foods, whether that be a healthier rendition of a dish or simply a new ingredient. I’m already thinking of other ways to use marvelous mascarpone.
Slightly adapted from: Giada DeLaurentiis
Here are some other awesome Mexican meals.
Yum, these sound so delicious!
Thanks!
I was feeling in a major recipe rut last month. Kept making the same few recipes over and over. But now that spring is here I’ve been inspired to create all these new meals! I’m going to have to add this one to the list, because I’ve never made taquitos before! Not sure why, Mexican is by far my favorite food. Love that you can bake these. I love dipping them in sour cream, then salsa, then guac. Gotta have lots of dips : )
These would be perfect for all of those dips! Yum. 🙂
Yum! I love taquitos! This is such a fun spin in adding turkey and spinach! Pinned!
Thanks so much!
I am a huge fan of mascarpone! I only really discovered it a few years ago and can’t get enough. And tacquitos … gosh I haven’t made them in so long. Love the sound of these with the spinach!
I feel like I’m on a tacquitos kick now. 😉
Great idea! I do like taquitos and that filling, oh that filling. Yum!
Yum indeed. 🙂
I don’t think I’ve had mascarpone outside of tiramisu – adding it to a Mexican dish is so intriguing to me! In a good way, of course. Love the creamy filling ingredients. I’m definitely going to have to try this one! 🙂
Mascarpone is so versatile…I love that it can be used for sweets and savory. 🙂
I’m the same as you, Tina. I fall back on my old familiar recipes a lot, but I also love to find new ideas, especially when they’re as easy-sounding as this. I’ve been seeing a lot of recipes lately using ground turkey and loving the idea. I might have a go at making this!
I use ground turkey quite a bit in general. It’s leaner than ground beef and I can hardly tell a difference in taste, especially here when it’s surrounded by all that wonderful mascarpone. 😉
Ha! I had to laugh at the inner lawyer comment…mostly because it sounds so much like The.Boy.
So fun to use a new ingredient in a crazy way! These taquitos look awesome!
I guess us lawyers tend to think alike. 😉
Woah…this looks delicious. And easy! I love the mascarpone addition…and the reference to Speedy! 🙂
Haha…thanks!
I love the addition of mascarpone in this recipe. These look delicious and a great way to sneak in some spinach.
Thanks so much! 🙂
Haha, Boyfriend’s dad is a lawyer and he would probably encourage the “eyes- closed” baking.
I love this- I’ve been wanting to try marscapone for a long time, and adding it to turkey and spinach taquitos sounds fantastic! Definitely will have to try this recipe over the summer.
Great photography in this post as well!
Thank you for your sweet compliments! 🙂 I think this is a great recipe to give mascarapone a try. 🙂
Yum, these look delicious! I love taquitos and the idea of incorporating mascarpone cheese in them. I love my routine, but would easily change it up for a plate full of these 😀
Hehe…awesome!
These do sound like an unique meal indeed! I’m loving the Italian/Mexican combo, and spinach are always a winner in my book!
Happy Friday Tina! xx
Happy Friday Consuelo! Thanks. 🙂
I was feeling the same way last month but now with spring upon us and lots of fresh fruits and veggies in the market I am up to trying some new things just like your delicious taquitos.
Yes, all the fresh fruit and veggies have inspired me too. 🙂
That mascarpone filling has me super intrigued!!! This looks amazing!
Oh it’s soooo good. 🙂
I love taquitos and what a great idea to add mascarpone cheese – it sounds so creamy and delicious! I get stuck in a dinner rut a lot too so can’t wait to change it up with these – pinning 🙂
Awesome! Thanks for pinning. 🙂