This cheesy salsa chicken enfolded in a flakey homemade crust will soon become the meal your family requests! Eat them warm or freeze them for an easy weeknight meal.
Chicken Salsa Pockets are A Family Favorite for Sure!
I concocted these on a whim one night and they ended up being a huge hit with everyone in our family.
They were gone in a flash and I had to make more since Jesse was wondering what happened to them the next day!
Don’t you just love it when simple ingredients come together and become a family favorite?
Ingredients for Chicken Salsa Pockets
For the Dough:
- 1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F.)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons oil (I used olive oil.)
- 2 1/2 cups flour (I used unbleached, but I think half white, half whole-wheat would also work well.)
For the Filling:
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 2 cups cooked and shredded chicken
- 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
How to Make Chicken Salsa Pockets
1 Preheat oven to 500ºF
2. In a large bowl (or stand mixer) sprinkle yeast over warm water and mix until dissolved.
3. Add sugar, salt, oil, and flour and mix well.
4. Dump the mixture onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, until a soft dough forms.
5. Divide into 8-10 pieces.
6. Roll each piece into a ball and flatten with a rolling pin to form a small circle.
7. In a medium bowl, mix salsa, chicken and cheese.
8. Place a large spoonful onto each dough circle.
9. Fold dough over and seal tightly.
10. Bake on a greased cookie sheet in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until browned.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can purchase refrigerated pizza dough or crescent roll dough if you’re short on time. I’d suggest following the baking directions on the packages for the dough (likely 375º or 400º).
Feel free to use your favorite cheese — specifically anything that pairs well with salsa and chicken. A Mexican queso blend would be fantastic!
Again, you can use whatever you have in the house, but if you’re going to buy something, look for a chunkier canned salsa (not fresh salsa) as they are less watery and won’t make your dough soggy.
Yes, for sure. Any type of cooked chicken will work for this recipe.
Let them cool completely and store them in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
Remove the desired number of pockets from the freezer and warm them individually in the microwave for about two minutes or until heated through.
OR, warm on a cookie sheet in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through.
Other Recipes You Might Enjoy
- Homemade Pizza Pockets
- Stuffed Pizza Bread
- Savory Crescent Chicken Pockets
- Pepperoni Rolls
- Ham and Cheese Pockets
- Bean and Cheese Burritos
Easy Salsa Chicken Pockets
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup water it should be 105-115ºF
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 2½ cups flour I use unbleached all purpose
For the Filling
- ½ cup salsa
- 2 cups shredded chicken cooked and shredded
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500ºF
- In a large bowl (or stand mixer) sprinkle yeast over warm water and mix until dissolved.
- Add sugar, salt, oil, and flour and mix well.
- Dump the mixture onto a floured surface and knead for 3-5 minutes, until a soft dough forms.
- Punch dough down and divide into 8-10 pieces.
- Roll each piece into a ball and flatten with a rolling pin to form a small circle.
- In a medium bowl, mix salsa, chicken and cheese.
- Place a large spoonful onto each dough circle.
- Fold dough over and seal tightly.
- Bake on a greased cookie sheet in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until browned.
Nutrition
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I tried these for dinner tonight, and they were GREAT! Thanks for the recipe! I even have left overs to send with my husband for his lunch tomorrow. 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed them!
I just made these and they were great! I used half whole wheat flour and the dough still turned out terrific–nice and fluffy and it didn’t need to rise. Thanks!
What is the name of the salsa that you use for the chicken pockets?
Any salsa should work — I’ve use Pace or whatever else I have on hand!
Is the temp correct, it says cook at 500*, I want to make sure before I make these.
Yes. 🙂
Thanks for including dough recipes that don’t take 2 hours to rise, need to be punched down and rise again for another 1/2 hrs. I only do those for Thanksgiving or Christmas! 🙂
I love all your tips. My mom and I have a new blog that we featured you on, because you are one of my favorites to read everyday. Please take a look, I’d love to know what you think.
This is a pathetic question, but is there any way to make these using some type of refrigerated dough or canned biscuits you can buy at the store? I like the idea of making pocket sandwiches, but I hate the idea of making my own dough. Maybe crescent rolls or something?
For these, I’d suggest using refrigerated pizza dough. I’ve also heard you can buy really yummy freshly-made pizza dough very inexpensively from Costco or Sam’s Club (I think it’s at the bakery?)
Do you use all purpose flour or bread flour? I can’t ever get my pizza pockets quite right. I want thin crust, not a big, fluffy dinner roll with a dab of filling inside, which is what they always turn into. Yours look great, though, so I think I’ll try your crust recipe instead of my regular bread recipe.
I always use all purpose flour. This crust recipe is a big winner, in my opinion. I definitely recommend trying it!
Do they really bake at 500? I don’t think I’ve ever set a temp that high, so I just wanted to double check. These look good enough for me to make another attempt at overcoming my chronic yeast failure. 🙂
YUM! (Editorial note: you left “pizza” in the “To serve” section) 😉
I just made the little lasagnas tonight, I left out the ricotta since I didn’t want to pay for it and I filled them with pepperonis, so they ended up more like pizzas than lasagnas. But delicious! We’ll see how they do thawed!
I *knew* I was going to do that! And I even double-checked! 😉 Thanks so much for pointing it out so I could fix it. Lasagna cups are planned for tomorrow — unless I change my mind and make Corn Dog Muffins. 🙂
Mmm! You know, I have a ton of leftover chili verde in the fridge and I think I’m inspired to make them into pockets tonight!
The Chicken Salsa Pockets look really yummy and I know they would be a big hit at our house too. I will be making these soon.
I made some Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins. Only thing is I did not have a cake mix so I made up my own then I realized all I had was canned butternut squash not pumpkin. But they turned out so good. I love it when a recipe turns out even when you have to change it up a bit.
Do you let the dough rise at all?
This particular recipe doesn’t have to rise. It rests enough while you’re making them that it’s delicious without extra rising time.
Hey, the salsa in your picture is from Vermont, where I am–that salsa is great. Not cheap though, maybe it’s cheaper there :o) Thanks for the idea as to what to do with my left over chicken that I’ll have tomorrow night!
It’s so yummy, but definitely not cheap — unless you get it from Vitacost with free credit. 😉
These look very yummy! I made some desserts to go with lunch :). I made the energy bites and pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.
I hope you do some holiday freezer cooking challenges. I would like to fill my freezer for the holidays!