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 made a cheats version of these last night. I used light mozzerella cheese, and just wilted the spinach in a tiny bit of water. I stripped the breasts off a roast chicken I bought at the supermarket and tossed it in a couple of the spices that I had. My son is super fussy and he ate 1 and a half of them and didn’t complain so thank you for the great idea. The only problem with my cheats version was that they were a bit dry, so next time I will stick to the recipe and try it that way. I’ve made so many things for him and gone to so much effort with recipes that he hasn’t eaten, so anything that requires little effort & is quick is perfect for me.
These are AMAZING!! My 2 and 5 year olds loved them. I had some leftover quinoa from lunch that I put in it and my quinoa-loathing husband was none the wiser.
I cannot wait to try this recipe; it looks delicious and easy to make…thank you for sharing 🙂
We don’t drink alcohol. What would you suggest for replacing the beer?
Chicken broth or stock also works really well.
These were absolutely delicious. I even forgot to put the spices on the chicken and instead just put them on top of the wrapped tortillas at the end, and they were still amazing. I can’t wait to eat leftovers tomorrow!
I made these flautas a few days ago and they were absolutely delicious!!
I had to come tell you how delicious your recipe was! I found it on Pinterest. My kids loved it (I’m lucky they actually like spinach). I subbed the beer for chicken broth and used chicken breast because that’s what I had on hand and it still turned out great! Thank you for sharing!
I’ll be making these tomorrow!
And voting= DONE!!
ps- you’re winning 🙂
Wow. This is my first visit to your blog and I’m hooked! These look amazing & I have all the fixings on hand so may try them out tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration!
I made these last night and they were delicious. Even my picky five year old loved them. I also added roma tomato and one sweet pepper to the spinach mix.