This chicken flautas recipe features shredded precooked meat and cheese rolled in flour tortillas and fried to a golden brown. Have lots of guac, salsa and sour cream ready!
Chicken Flautas
Updated on Oct. 10, 2024
A perfect party dish, chicken flautas are like taquitos, only made with flour tortillas instead of corn. Filled with cheese and seasoned shredded chicken, they’re rolled, fried until golden, and served with any of your favorite dips, salsas and condiments. Prepare chicken flautas as a snack, appetizer or main course along with other traditional Mexican foods.
While our chicken flautas recipe calls for deep-frying, the flautas can also be baked or made in an air fryer. Best of all, once you know the technique for how to make chicken flautas, you can stuff your flautas with any meat, vegetable or bean filling you enjoy.
What are flautas?
Flauta means “flute” in Spanish, referring to the snack’s long, slender cylindrical shape. Flour tortillas are more common for flautas, but you can also make a chicken flauta recipe with corn tortillas. Taquitos are similar but generally smaller, shorter and nearly always made with corn tortillas. Flautas are fried in some oil on the stove, which results in crisp and flaky (thanks to the flour tortilla) treats often paired with guacamole and salsa.
Ingredients for Chicken Flautas
- Shredded chicken: This is a great recipe for leftover chicken, whether a store-bought rotisserie chicken, homemade roast chicken or something like this simple salsa chicken.
- Cheddar cheese: If you have the time, buy a block of cheddar cheese and shred it yourself. The pre-shredded stuff usually includes ingredients that keep it from clumping and prevent it from melting nicely. Milder cheddar gets extra gooey, but aged cheddar has a deeper flavor, so choose whichever you prefer.
- Canned green chiles: Often made from Hatch or Anaheim chiles, these are a Tex-Mex staple. Use mild or hot canned chiles as desired.
- Salsa: Mixing salsa into the meat helps keep the chicken moist as you cook the flautas. Use your favorite store-bought salsa or make some homemade Mexican salsa. Whether you buy it or blend it, have enough to use in the recipe and extra to serve as a topping.
- Seasonings: Salt and pepper season the filling of our chicken flautas recipe.
- Flour tortillas: Use your favorite flour tortilla brand or make homemade tortillas from scratch. They’re easier than you think!
- Oil for frying: You’ll need oil to fry your flautas. The best oils for frying, like vegetable, canola and sunflower, have a high smoke point.
- Optional toppings: Don’t skimp on the toppings when you serve flautas: tomato salsa, pico de gallo, guacamole and plain sour cream are standard offerings.
Directions
Step 1: Make the filling
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, shredded cheese, green chiles, salsa, salt and pepper.
Step 2: Stuff the flautas
Spoon a scant 1/2 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll tightly and secure with toothpicks. Place seam-side down on a baking sheet until your oil is ready.
Step 3: Fry your rolls
In a cast-iron or electric skillet, heat oil to 375°F. Fry flautas in batches, cooking them one minute per side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and remove toothpicks. Serve with desired toppings.
Recipe Variations
- Modify the meat: Instead of chicken, consider using an equal amount of shredded beef burrito filling, Mexican pork, roasted turkey breast or any other leftover cooked meat.
- Spice it up: Add chili powder, coriander, cumin, chipotle or homemade taco seasoning to the chicken filling.
- Dress up the filling: There are plenty of ways to personalize this chicken flauta recipe, including adding pinto beans or Instant Pot black beans, using Monterey Jack cheese in place of the cheddar, or adding fresh or frozen sweet corn kernels.
- Add some veggies: Give your chicken flautas recipe a healthy boost by adding diced onion, bell pepper, zucchini, shredded spinach, sliced mushrooms or all of the above.
- Do more toppings: Make the toppings more exciting! Season the sour cream with lime juice and zest, mix up some chili mayo to use as a dipping sauce, or offer a fresh salsa verde made with tomatillos and cilantro.
How to Store Chicken Flautas
If you have more flautas than you can eat, store them in an airtight container between layers of paper towels. They’re best if reheated in the oven or the air fryer.
How long do chicken flautas last?
A chicken flauta stored as directed will be good for up to four days. However, they’re best eaten as soon as possible after cooking.
Can you freeze chicken flautas?
Yes. After frying and cooling the flautas, place them in a freezer bag, then seal and freeze them for up to three months. Bake in a 375° oven to reheat.
Can you make chicken flautas in advance?
Fried foods are best hot from the fryer, but you can prep flautas a day in advance. Simply make your filling, roll up your flautas as directed, cover tightly and refrigerate for up to one day. Remove them from the fridge 30 minutes before frying them, and then proceed with the recipe.
Chicken Flautas Tips
Can you use corn tortillas for chicken flautas?
You can make chicken flautas with corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas. The resulting rolls would then be called taquitos, a cute name that means “small tacos.” However, corn tortillas are generally smaller than flour tortillas, so you’ll need to adjust the amount of filling you use per roll.
How else can you cook chicken flautas?
Want flautas without using all that oil? Try cooking them in an air fryer instead. Preheat the air fryer to 350°, lightly oil the flautas and arrange them in a single layer on the cooking surface. Cook until golden brown, for 11 to 13 minutes. (In our experience, air-fryer cooking times can vary dramatically, so check your flautas early and often.)
No air fryer? Bake the oiled flautas on a greased sheet pan in a preheated 425° oven for 20 to 25 minutes. If you’d like them more crispy and brown, broil them for an additional two to three minutes, watching carefully to ensure they don’t burn.
What do you serve with chicken flautas?
Serve flautas with your favorite Mexican or Tex-Mex side dishes, such as cilantro-lime rice, corn and black bean salad, Mexican street corn salad or fiesta coleslaw. For dessert, try some creamy caramel flan.
Chicken Flautas
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
2 min
Yield
8 servings
Ingredients
- 4 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chiles
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 16 flour tortillas (6 inches)
- Oil for deep-fat frying
- Optional toppings: Guacamole, shredded lettuce, sour cream and pico de gallo
Directions
- In a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients. Spoon a scant 1/2 cup chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and secure with toothpicks. In a cast-iron or electric skillet, heat oil to 375°. Fry flautas, in batches, for 1 minute on each side or until golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels. Remove toothpicks. Serve with toppings as desired.
Nutrition Facts
2 flautas: 540 calories, 31g fat (7g saturated fat), 76mg cholesterol, 996mg sodium, 34g carbohydrate (3g sugars, 2g fiber), 30g protein.
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Flautas are similar to taquitos, but flautas are usually made with flour tortillas that are slightly larger than the corn tortillas typically used for making taquitos. Serve these chicken flautas with your favorite toppings and sides, such as refried beans and rice. —Taste Recipes Test Kitchen, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
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