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.
Newbie here, do I apologize if the answer to my question is obvious. If I’m using a rotisserie chicken I just bought from the store, do I skip the step where you cook the chicken in the water and beer?
Hi Megan…yes, I would skip that step since your chicken is already cooked. :O) Enjoy!
Found this recipe through pinterest and made it tonight–so delicious! Two thumbs up.
Awesome. I used wine instead of beer because that is what I had. It was delicious. Might use smaller tortillas next time because these were very big.
What would you substitute if you don’t want to use the beer?
Chicken broth
This is such a versatile recipe. I made it with chicken, black beans, corn and cheese. It was like a southwest flauta. I served it with light sour cream and salsa. It was awesome. I appreciate everyones ideas and suggestions.
This is a great recipe.
WOW. This is my new favorite meal. It’s restaurant good! I did a couple things differently. 1. I put the raw chicken breasts in the crock pot with a tub of salsa on low for 3.5 hours. Then I shredded the chicken and used the leftover salsa in the crockpot to saute the veggies. 2. I used chard instead of spinach, just because that’s what I had. Came out DELICIOUS! Thank you so much.
These look amazing! So glad you went the flour tortilla route — it annoyed me that The Kitchn called what were actually taquitos (made with corn tortillas) flautas. I would love to try these baked versions immediately.
in N. Mexico flautas are made with corn tortillas not flour
In Texas & Mexico at least in my family flautas are made with corn tortillas
It appears that the names are largely interchangeable, but depend a lot of regional variations. I’m in the northeast, where flautas are flour tortillas and taquitos are corn tortillas. Either way, they taste good! http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/mexicancookingfaqs/f/flautaortaquito.htm
I am in Texas and the same holds true here…
Recipe look great but what kind of beer do you suggest using?
Loved the receipe and the fact that its baked sounds even more intereting.One question though. I am a vegetarian. So, Intead of chicken if I use Tofu, should I boil it the same way as the chicken does? I mean in bear?
I’d skip that step if I was using tofu. You could also substitute vegetarian refried beans for the chicken.
You could also use portobello mushrooms!
Just finished making these and they’re all gone. Two recipes in a row that have been a big hit.