Chicken Flautas, or as their commonly known in other regions “taquitos”, are small little rolled tacos. They use corn tortillas for their crispy exterior, and a variety of fillings for the delicious insides.

In this recipe we’ll be using chicken, but you could optionally use beef fajitas, or pulled pork. Many people add cheese or peppers to their flautas. Like their cousin the taco, there’s a million ways to make it. Experiment to find your favorite.

Most flautas are fried in oil, but we’re going to make this a little lighter by just spraying our taquitos with an oil before we oven bake them. I like to use the Canola Oil that is compressed and commonly used as a non-stick spray.

Let’s dive into our quick and easy recipe for Chicken Flautas.

Prep Time: 12 min    Cook Time: 10 min

Ingredients:

• 8 Corn Tortillas
• 1 Cup Shredded Chicken (more if you like them extra meaty)
• 1 Tbsp Mexican Seasoning (I use El Mexicano’s Carne Asada)
• Oil Spray (Vegetable Non-Stick)
• Salsa Verde (for topping)
• Sour Cream (for topping)
• Cilantro (for topping)

Directions:

1. Preheat Oven to 425°F
2. Shred the Chicken into small pieces, and season with your choice of Mexican seasonings. See note below.
3. Warm up the tortillas by wrapping them in a slightly damp towel and putting them in the microwave for 30 seconds. Rolling cold tortillas will break and crumble.
4. Grab a sheet pan or baking dish and line it with aluminum foil (this makes clean up super easy). Spray with your non-stick spray (or vegetable oil) so nothing sticks.
5. Fill each tortilla with half a small handful of chicken–on the edge, not the center. Then roll the tortilla up tightly.
6. Place each rolled tortilla in the baking dish (or sheet pan) seam down; this keeps them from unrolling.
7. When all the flautas are on the pan, spray them with your non-stick vegetable oil spray to help them crisp up in the oven. This is much healthier than oil frying them, but the end product is just as delicious.
8. Bake for 10ish minutes or until golden brown.
9. Top with salsa verde, sour cream, and cilantro

Notes: 

• For The Chicken: It’s best to use a rotisserie chicken, but this recipe is also great with leftover chicken. I actually used leftover smoked chicken thighs. Just chop it up with a knife, or hand shred it into little pieces.
• For The Seasoning: 1Tbsp is a good starting point, but you should taste the chicken after you’ve seasoned it and decide if you need more. If it’s too spicy, remember that the tortilla and sour cream will cool it down and tame some of that spice.

We hope you enjoy this easy Chicken Flauta recipe!