The ultra-crispy baked chicken flautas have fewer calories AND are easier to make than traditional versions. This recipe is a crowd favorite and has been pinned over a million times!
You guys, these baked taquitos are so good. SO. GOOD.
They’re really well seasoned (not spicy at all, but definitely not bland either). And baking them at a high temperature leaves them nice and crispy without any greasiness.
I even managed to sneak some vegetables into them.
You should make them ASAP.
I was worried that the flautas wouldn’t be filling enough on their own, so I served them with some refried beans. They ended up not really needing the beans, but it was a nice touch to round out the meal.
Taquitos? Flautas? What are these things called?
Taquitos and Flautas are deep fried tortillas wrapped around savory fillings.
Traditionally, taquitos are made with corn tortillas, while flautas are made with flour tortillas.
Since I used flour tortillas in this recipes, these are technically baked chicken flautas. However, the two works are often used interchangably and most people simply refer to both versions as taquitos.
Whatever you call them, they’re delicious!
The secrets to making healthier taquitos
I use a few tricks to keeping these delicious flautas on the lighter side.
- Bake instead of fry. Baking these taquitos uses less oil than frying, cutting both calories and fat. You can be them in a regular oven, like I did when I started making them, or in an air fryer.
- Cut the tortillas in half. Cutting the tortillas in half before you roll the filling up helps cut way back on calories and carbs! You’ll never miss that other half. Be sure to watch the video to see my rolling technique.
- Poach the chicken. You can make these flautas with chicken breasts or thighs. Whichever you use, poaching them will keep them extra juicy, for that perfect soft and creamy flauta filling.
What to serve with chicken flautas:
I love serving these chicken taquitos with Mexican rice or refried beans. They’re also great served on the side of a steamy bowl of tortilla soup.
More baked taquito ideas:
If you love baked taquitos, be sure to also try my:
- Baked Chicken and Hummus Flautas
- Baked Buffalo Chicken Taquitos
- Baked Vegetable Taquitos
- Baked Breakfast Taquitos
You’ll also love my collection of healthy Mexican food recipes.
Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas
Ingredients
- 1 pound boneless skinless Chicken Thighs (about 4)
- 16 ounces Beer or chicken broth
- 2 cups Water
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1 teaspoon ground Cumin
- 1 teaspoon Chili Powder
- 1 Jalapeno Pepper minced
- 3 cups Baby Spinach chopped
- 5 burrito-size Flour Tortillas 9 inches
- 6 ounces Quesadilla cheese or other soft cheese like Monterey jack shredded
- 1 teaspoon Olive Oil or cooking spray
- Salsa for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Put the chicken thighs in a deep sided saute pan and cover with the beer and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the liquid and shred it. Mix together the chicken and seasonings.
- Pour out all but 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Add the jalapeno and spinach and cook over low heat until for 2-3 minutes, or until the spinach is wilted.
- Cut the tortillas in half. Spoon 1/10th of the chicken (about 1 tablespoon) along the long edge of a tortilla. Repeat with the spinach and cheese. Roll the tortilla up, starting with the straight edge. Place seam-side down on an oiled baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Brush the flautas with olive oil or spray with cooking spray. Bake for 10 minutes, then turn them over and bake for until 10 minutes, or until crispy. Serve with salsa.
I have to admit. I found your blog because of your vitamix giveaway but so happy I came across it. I now have you bookmarked and will be spending most of my day tomorrow looking over your recipes and sharing. The photos taken are great and I love your descriptions and easy to understand directions! Thank you.
This says calories is 181. Is that for one flauta or a serving of them. Also what is a serving size? Is it one flauta?
That’s the information for one flauta (they’re pretty big. Two is more than enough for me as a meal if I have a side dish to go with them)
I have made these 3x now. The whole family loves them. I used whole wheat tortillas last night and just as good, just a little less taste from the filling because the WW tortilla is a stronger taste. LOVE them. Takes a bit of time to prepare, next time I will try to make the fillings in the morning and then the evening won’t take so long. Served with Light Pinto Refried Beans and salsa to dip them in
Oh man those look fantastic! Maybe Saturday night! Thanks for sending.
This recipe is great! I love getting the flautas at Chevy’s but these are better and way healtier without all the extra grease! I adapted the recipe a little and just featured it on my blog, http://bigcitydreamsbyabby.blogspot.com/ I’d love it it you checked it out!
These look so good and I want to make them for supper this week. The only question I had was about the serving size. We are a family of five. (I have 3 sons : ) ) The recipe says it serves 10. Is that as a meal serving or as a supper serving? Should I double the recipe?
hahaha…..i meant is that as a meal serving or an appetizer sized serving….. ; P
It makes 10 in total. I personally eat 2 as a serving, but my husband likes more. With 3 sons I would recommend doubling it.
These were absolutely perfectly delicious!! Wouldn’t change a thing!
is one really a serving??
I made these tonight!! Yummy!! I couldn’t get the roll right, though, so I turned them into quesadillas. It was less cooking time in the oven, but still oh so good! I slapped some salsa, sour cream and avacado slices on them, and MMMMmmmmm!
These were so easy and really really good!! My picky sister in law loved them!!