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 always made the flautas with different combinations but of course the fried ones. This looks healthy & yummy gonna have to try to make them really soon.
This recipe looks delicious and would love to try it, but can I substitute something else for the beer?
Yup! Chicken broth would work, but in a pinch you could even just use water.
I’m wondering why you use chicken thighs instead of breast? Does it keep it from being dry because of the dark meat? I am going to make these this weekend! Thanks for the recipe!
Personal preference, really. I think thighs have more flavor than breast, plus they’re cheaper. They might be a little drier if you use breast (I don’t know, since I haven’t made them that way), but I’m sure they’d still be tasty!
Yes, the breast does get dry but I add chicken broth along with sauteed onions , tomatoes and a little of tomato sauce to add color and it gives it more flavor to prevent the dryness.
That sounds great! I was also considering adding a little green enchilada sauce to the chicken mix, which might give it a nice flavor and have the same effect.
Hi,
I just voted for your pasta recipe & would love to have the recipe as well. Was unable to view it on the link, only vote for it. Anxious to try your flauta recipe as well
Thanks so much for voting! 🙂 The recipe is located here: https://www.healthy-delicious.com/2012/01/fettucini-with-cauliflower-proscuitto-and-peas/
I hope you enjoy them both!
I have them cooking in the oven right now…I am so excited to try them!! 🙂 Smells good!
I made them. OMG so good..
These look simply mouth-watering! Yum! And I bet if you added a few black beans to the mix, the fiber content would go up a bit. It’d be an interesting twist on something that already looks nutritiously delightful.
Delicious! Found this on foodgawker and made it tonight – it was a hit with the whole family! I added a sprinkle of chopped fresh cilantro before I rolled them… so good! Thank you for this idea!
Delicious! So going to try these!
These look really quite good – I had never figured out how to make them at home before. Think they would work as well with corn tortillas?
I think they would, but I always have trouble with corn tortillas cracking as I roll them. If you try it with the corn ones, try warming the them a little bit to make them easier to work with.