Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos & Flautas
How to make air fryer taquitos with corn tortillas, or air fryer flautas with flour tortillas! With a deliciously cheesy chicken & bean filling, or just bean & cheese for vegetarian taquitos.
Equipment
Ingredients
Air Fryer Taquitos
- 8-12 oz shredded chicken or pulled rotisserie chicken (2 cups)
- ½ cup salsa
- ½-1 cup refried beans (optional) or black beans
- 3 oz shredded Mexican cheese (¾ cup)
- 12-16 taco size tortillas (6-8-inch) flour or corn*
- sour cream as "glue" to seal taquitos (or sub refried beans)
- cooking spray
Rolled Taco Topping Ideass
- guacamole
- sour cream
- shredded lettuce
- whatever you like!
Instructions
How to make air fryer taquitos:
- Preheat air fryer to 400°F (200°C).
- In a large bowl, combine shredded chicken, salsa, refried beans, and cheese.
- If using corn tortillas: Heat corn tortillas between damp paper towels in the microwave for 20-30 seconds, until warm. (See notes section.) No need to do this with flour tortillas.
- Working with one tortilla at a time, arrange 2-4 Tbsp filling along one edge and roll up the tortilla tightly. (Careful not to overfill!) Seal with sour cream or refried beans as your “glue.”
- Repeat until you have a small batch (4-6) ready to air fry. Continue assembly while each batch cooks.
- Place homemade taquitos or flautas in the air fryer seam side down, leaving space between for them to crisp up. Spray the tops with cooking spray to help them brown.
- Air fry taquitos for 5-7 minutes, then check every 1-2minutes until crispy as desired. (No need to flip halfway unless you want to.)
- You can keep air fried taquitos warm in the oven on low heat (175°F or 80°C) while the other batches cook.
- Serve warm with your favorite rolled taco toppings!
- Yields ~12-16 air fryer taquitos or flautas, depending on size.
Video
Notes
How to keep corn tortillas from cracking when making taquitos:
- Place 1-2 corn tortillas between damp paper towels and microwave ~20-30 seconds, until warm. (Or wrap in a damp paper towel and briefly heat in the oven.)
- Fill & roll up the tortilla while it’s warm, then seal with sour cream.
- For best results, air fry corn taquitos soon after rolling—once the tortillas start to cool, they’re more likely to crack. (I had more success air frying these in smaller batches of 2-3 at a time. )
- Use fresh corn tortillas if you can find them—they tend to be more pliable & won’t crack as easily. Or make your own homemade corn tortillas so they’re extra fresh!
Nutrition Notes:
Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos with Corn Tortillas
Per taquito, yields 16:110 calories | 3g fat | 13g carbs | 1.5g fiber | 1g sugars | 8g protein
148mg sodium | 19mg cholesterol
Air Fryer Chicken Flautas with Flour Tortillas
Per flauta, yields 16:190 calories | 7g fat | 22g carbs | 1.5g fiber | 1g sugars | 9g protein
389mg sodium | 19mg cholesterol
Nutrition
Serving: 1chicken taquito with a flour tortilla | Calories: 190kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 389mg | Fiber: 1.5g | Sugar: 1g