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    Home » Appetizers

    Easy Copycat Montana's Antojitos Recipe.

    December 1, 2020 by Karen 89 Comments

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    THIS right here is the genuine, authentic recipe for Montana's famous antojitos.  A Mexican street vendor favourite, antojitos ( which translates literally into snacks ) are the perfect party appetizer. Crispy on the outside, filled with gooey cheese on the inside. 

    A woman's hand with red nail polish, picks up a sliced antojito to dip in sour cream from a white plate.

    Skip right to the recipe.

    It was a bit of a "thing" for me to get this recipe so I do hope you'll make it.

    For those of you who haven't heard the story, there was a certain fella in my extended family whom we referred to as Uncle Shifty. It just suited him. Because he was shifty.

    He used to manage a Montana's restaurant chain where they served  deliciousssss antojitos.    Really good antojitos.

    At the time of his employment at the restaurant we didn’t see Uncle Shifty on a regular basis, but when we did he’d sometimes show up with an antojito or two. Once for Christmas he showed up with 30 of the snacks.

    Sadly I didn’t have room in my freezer for them so I gave away 5 steaks to free up space. Yes. They're that good.

    Every time I got one of those crispy slices of creamy spiced Mexican perfection I’d scarf it down, throw my hands in the air and scream “done!”, Survivor-style. The drawback to this (aside from looking like a lunatic) was I never took the time to actually look inside one to see what made it taste so good.

    So after years … and I mean years of asking Uncle Shifty what was in these chain restaurant antijitos I got the entire recipe. Or more specifically earned the entire recipe. It was a struggle on many levels.

    When Uncle Shifty would call the house I'd ask about the antojitos. One phone call with him I might get the first 3 ingredients and then a story about his new car.

    The second phone call I might get the oven temperature and a recap of his latest sexual escapade. This went on and on. I heard a lot of things I didn’t need to know in order to get this recipe and now I’d like to share it with you. The recipe that is, not the accompanying stories.  

    You do not want those.

    An assembly line of ingredients line a marble counter as a woman spreads cream cheese on tortillas.

    Table of Contents

    • What are antojitos??
    • Montana's Antojitos Recipe
    • Antojitos

    What are antojitos??

    Don’t know what an antojito is? Don’t worry about it. If you like tasty, delicious appetizer treats you’ll like em. You dip them in sour cream!

    They're the ultimate finger food full of diced vegetables, hot sauce, peppers and lots of cheddar and cream cheese.  Best of all you can eat them with one hand while jumping up and down on the couch, while  leaving your other hand available for holding a beer. This is a virtue that comes in handy during Superbowl season.

    A tortilla gets slathered with cream cheese first, and then you start piling on the rest of the toppings.

    Would you like to save this stuff?

    We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.

    Karen Bertelsen assembles antojitos in her kitchen.

    Add finely diced peppers and onions over the cream cheese.

     

    Tortillas topped with brightly coloured diced vegetables and cheddar cheese.

    You can never go wrong with a handful of cheddar cheese. Ever.  

    A stack of antojitos rolled up like cigars on a marble countertop.

    Then it's just a matter of rolling them up like a cigar and baking them in the oven.

     

    Slices of Antojitos on a round white plate, set on a wood cutting board with a gold bowl filled with sour cream for dipping.

    I make a TON of these for every Christmas Eve.  I always fully intend to serve them all but at the last minute throw ¾'s of them in the freezer for myself when no one is looking. 

    They're that good.  They're greedy good.

    Montana's Antojitos Recipe

    Antojitos

    These crispy on the outside, filled with flavour and gooey on the inside antijitos can either be a meal themselves, or a nice side to a Mexican meal.  But what they're BEST for is an appetizer. These antojitos can be preassembled then frozen until you're ready to cook them.
    4.65 from 31 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Appetizer
    Cuisine: Mexican
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 374kcal
    Author: Karen

    Ingredients

    • 8 large Flour tortillas white crisps up the best but whole wheat if you lean that way
    • 1 package Cream cheese either spreadable, or regular left out to soften a bit
    • 16 Pickled jalapeno peppers diced very fine
    • 2 jalapeno peppers diced very fine
    • 1 red pepper diced very fine
    • 1 red onion diced very, very small
    • 1 bunch green onions sliced very thin
    • 1.5 cups Shredded cheddar cheese
    • 1 bunch Parsley chopped fine
    • Hot sauce Melinda’s is the actual brand used in the chain, if you can’t find it use Tabasco, or Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

    Instructions

    • Spread tortilla with a layer of cream cheese. Not too little, not too much.
    • Dot with hot sauce. Use a lot of you like things hot, use little if you don't. Using a small icing spatula or knife, spread the hot sauce out over the whole tortilla so it’s even.
    • Systematically top with remaining ingredients. Because you have so many ingredients, you don’t need to load them on. Just a nice amount. Your tortilla should be filled with toppings but not so full they're building up over each other. Go easy on the jalapenos if you don’t like too much heat.
    • Roll the tortilla up like a cigar. A big fat cream cheese filled cigar.
    • Lay seam side down on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees. For extra crispiness brush the antojitos with olive oil before cooking.  
    • Once the antojito is cooked and has cooled slightly, slice on the diagonal into 6 to 8 pieces. Serve with sour cream.  

    Notes

    It’s important to dice all the ingredients very small and evenly so they cook through. If they’re too big they’ll be uncooked and crunchy. You may have some leftover ingredients (red onions and peppers) and may need to dice up some more (pickled jalapenos).

    Nutrition

    Calories: 374kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 53mg | Sodium: 587mg | Potassium: 128mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 1200IU | Vitamin C: 25.6mg | Calcium: 186mg | Iron: 0.8mg

    There are things I now know about Uncle Shifty that I can never unknow so please, do me a favour and share this recipe with everyone you know. It will ease my mind to know that what I have endured will have helped at least one person to have a tasty snack.

    My mind is even FURTHER eased by the fact that this year? I might not have to share them at all.

    →Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←

     

    Easy Copycat Montana\'s Antojitos Recipe.

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    Reader Interactions

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    1. EC

      February 03, 2025 at 4:29 pm

      Thank you! The recipe share is appreciated.

      Reply
      • Karen

        February 03, 2025 at 4:54 pm

        It's really and truly the Montanas recipe. Except I think the restaurant serve theirs with a spicy oil on the sour cream? They're really good! ~ karen!

        Reply
    2. Annie

      February 03, 2025 at 3:28 pm

      Going to try these but make them into balls with raw tortillas for friend’s annual “Super Balls” game day competition.

      Reply
      • Karen

        February 03, 2025 at 4:53 pm

        Balls?! A, that's a hilarious idea for a food competition. And how are you going to make them into balls?? I'm so curious. ~ karen!

        Reply
        • Annie

          February 08, 2025 at 6:46 pm

          Balljitos worked in test run pre-game day. I used raw flour tortillas cut to round asian dumpling size with a mug stencil and knife.
          Since cow dairy hates me, I subbed soft goat cheese for the cream cheese and manchego for cheddar. Also, swapped yellow onions for red onions, since they hate me too.
          Plus, added cilantro.
          If I actually pinch the dough proper dumpling style with warm water, they hold the ball shape.
          No matter what they looked like, I ate 10 dipped in salsa. Balljitos could win Superballs . . .

    3. Drunkle's niece

      February 11, 2023 at 3:34 pm

      "Uncle Shifty"....I really did laugh out loud at that. Gonna start using that nickname for my uncle...the one we currently refer to as "Drunkle" because, well, he likes to drink....a lot. Hahaha

      Reply
      • Kathleen M Budacki

        February 12, 2023 at 9:37 am

        We have a “Thanksgiving Uncle”.

        Reply
      • Karen

        February 12, 2023 at 11:14 am

        Sounds like Uncle Drunkie and Uncle Shifty could become fast friends. Or get into a bar fight with each other. ~ karen!

        Reply
    4. Meg

      February 11, 2023 at 1:01 am

      These look so good, and my life is conducive to trying new recipes again, so I'm gonna try these soon. I should've checked your blog last year when I had NO idea what to do with the jalapeños I grew last year. (It's good I only had like 3 as the deer got to them first.... this year it's fence time, so I can grow food for us, instead of solely for the local fauna.)

      Reply
    5. Jennifer Fossum

      January 09, 2022 at 3:36 pm

      I don't know whether to kiss the ground you walk on or curse your name forever for introducing me to such an irresistable snack. So...I guess both.

      Reply
    6. Roxanne

      February 11, 2021 at 3:33 pm

      Omg! I love your instructions which I find hilarious.... perhaps add a line. ‘Use brain’.

      Reply
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    My name is Karen Bertelsen and I was a television host. In Canada. Which means in terms of notoriety and wealth, I was somewhere on par with the manager of a Sunset Tan in Wisconsin.

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