These crispy chicken flautas are loaded with a creamy, cheesy filling of roasted chicken, sautéed poblano, fresh corn, and pepper jack cheese, then fried to golden, crispy perfection.
Our addictive Chicken Flautas is what you get when you fill a tortilla with cheesy shredded chicken and poblano peppers, roll it up, and fry it until the tortilla is crispy and golden brown and we’re here for it! We seriously can’t get enough of this easy and flavorful Mexican favorite. It’s decadent and simple all in one and a fun way to switch up our favorite taquitos recipe or chipotle chicken nachos.
We love using leftover rotisserie chicken for this flauta recipe, making it super simple to whip together on a busy weeknight. The filling is loaded with pepper jack cheese and poblano peppers for just a touch of heat, pairing perfectly with scoops of fresh pico de gallo and cool and creamy guacamole.
What Are Flautas?
Flautas are a traditional Mexican dish, literally meaning “flutes”, which is exactly what they look like! They’re made by filling flour tortillas with shredded meat and often a mixture of cheese, beans, and vegetables, rolling them up tightly (like a little flute), then frying them until golden brown and crispy.
Differences Between Flautas and Taquitos
Flautas and taquitos look very similar, but there are some key differences between the two. Depending on what region you’re in or where you order one, they may use the names interchangeably, or call both just one or the other, but traditionally, there is one major difference between the two: the tortilla.
Flautas are often made with larger flour tortillas, while taquitos are made with smaller corn tortillas. After frying, a flauta made from a flour tortilla will have a much more delicate crunch and crispness than taquitos, with their chewier corn tortillas.
But, because the method changes by region, you may order a flauta and find that it’s made from a large corn tortilla, the size you’d expect, but with a denser texture.
How to Make the BEST Crispy Flautas
Flautas Ingredients
Sauce Ingredients
Flautas Process
- Preheat oil over medium heat to 350˚F. Place chicken into a mixing bowl and set aside.
- Pour oil into a medium sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Saute onion, poblano and corn for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Pour onion mixture over chicken and toss together.
- Add remaining filling ingredients to chicken and onion mixture and stir together until mixed together. Season with salt and pepper.
- Place a heaping ⅓ cup of the filling into one of the tortillas and spread into a log.
- Tightly roll tortilla and secure with a toothpick or two and transfer to a baking sheet.
- Repeat until all of the tortillas and filling have been used.
- Fry flautas, a few at a time, until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a cooling rack lined baking sheet. Repeat until all flautas have been fried.
Sauce Process
- Place all sauce ingredients into a small bowl.
- Whisk together until completely combined.
Alternate Cooking Instructions
If you’d rather skip the mess of deep frying and use a healthier cooking method for your flautas, we have you covered.
Air Fryer
Making flautas in the air fryer is the second-best way, in our opinion. The tortilla will crisp up almost as well as deep frying, but with less oil and less mess.
To air fry your flautas:
- Preheat the air fryer to 400˚F and brush or spray the assembled flautas with oil on all sides.
- Place the flautas seam side down in the air fryer, being careful that none are touching. (Take the toothpicks out as you place them with the seam down, as that should be enough to hold them together.) You will most likely need to air fry them in batches.
- Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway through, until the tortilla is crispy and golden brown on all sides.
Oven Baked
If you’re making a big batch of flautas all at once, baking them in the oven is the easiest method. They’re less crispy than deep-frying or air-frying, but still delicious!
To make flautas in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 425˚F and line a large sheetpan with parchment paper.
- Spray or brush the flautas with oil on all sides, then place them seam side down (without the toothpick) on the sheet pan, careful to leave an inch of space between them.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, flipping halfway through. For extra crispiness, place them under the broiler for 1-2 minutes in the final minutes of cooking. Just be careful to watch them closely, as they can go from golden to burned quickly!
Flauta Filling Swaps and Variations
While flautas are traditionally filled with shredded meat, the options are truly endless. Once you’ve got the technique down, you can really fill them with a variety of ingredients and flavor combinations. Here are some of our favorites:
- Swap the chicken for shredded beef, carne asada, brisket, or pulled pork.
- Make vegetarian flautas by skipping the meat and using refried beans, seasoned black beans, or pinto beans. Add roasted sweet potato or russet potatoes to make the filling a bit heartier.
- Swap the pepperjack cheese for cheddar, colby, or mozzarella for a milder, but still creamy and cheesy filling.
- Increase the heat by swapping the poblano pepper for a slightly spicier Anaheim pepper or an even hotter jalapeno.
- With your toppings, you can get even more creative in how you serve these flautas. Serve with any variety of freshly chopped romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, pico, tomatillo salsa, guacamole, queso, queso fresca, avocado slices, lime, mango salsa, or roasted tomato salsa.
Tips for the Best, Most Crispy Flautas
For perfectly golden flautas every time, don’t forget these details:
- If your tortillas aren’t pliable enough to roll tightly without cracking, wrap them in a damp paper towel and warm them in the microwave for just 15 seconds or so. This will warm them up just enough to roll easily without breaking.
- Avoid overfilling the tortillas. We get it. The filling is so good, you want to pack as much as you can into each tortilla. But stick to the 1/3 cup of filling, or you’ll risk the flautas bursting open while frying.
- We’re not going loosey goosey with the roll, here. You want to roll each tortilla TIGHT so that the filling stays put, and you avoid soft air pockets inside the flautas.
- Make sure you check the temperature of your oil before frying. 350°F is hot enough to prevent the tortillas from absorbing too much oil and low enough so the outside doesn’t burn before the inside warms through.
- Avoid overcrowding the pan. Adding too many at once will drop the temperature of the oil too much, leading to soggy flautas (not what we want). Frying just a few at a time will keep the oil hot and prevent them from sticking together.
- Use a wire rack to cool the flautas so that the tortillas stay crispy. Placing them on a plate or a paper towel after you take them out of the fryer will cause the bottoms to become soggy before you get a chance to enjoy them.
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Flautas
These crispy chicken flautas are loaded with a creamy, cheesy filling of roasted chicken, sautéed poblano, fresh corn, and pepper jack cheese, then fried to golden, crispy perfection.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings:
INGREDIENTS
INSTRUCTIONS
Flautas
-
Preheat oil over medium heat to 350˚F. Place chicken into a mixing bowl and set aside.
-
Pour olive oil into a medium sauté pan and place over medium-high heat. Add onion, poblano and corn and sauté for about 6 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (if using canned or frozen corn, add after sautéing onion and poblano for 5 minutes)
-
Pour onion mixture over chicken and toss together.
-
Add remaining filling ingredients to chicken and onion mixture and stir together until mixed together. Season with salt and pepper.
-
Place a heaping 1/4 cup of the filling into one of the tortillas, off to the side a bit, and form mixture into an even log.
-
Tightly roll tortilla and secure with a toothpick or two and transfer to a baking sheet.
-
Repeat until all of the tortillas and filling have been used.
-
Fry flautas, a few at a time, until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and transfer to a cooling rack lined baking sheet. Repeat until all flautas have been fried. Serve with dipping sauce.
NOTES
*Each Serving is 2 Flautas (+ 1.7 tablespoons of sauce)*
Calories: 537kcal Carbohydrates: 36g Protein: 20g Fat: 35g Saturated Fat: 10g Polyunsaturated Fat: 12g Monounsaturated Fat: 10g Trans Fat: 0.1g Cholesterol: 56mg Sodium: 1256mg Potassium: 313mg Fiber: 3g Sugar: 5g Vitamin A: 391IU Vitamin C: 13mg Calcium: 241mg Iron: 3mg
CUISINE: Mexican
COURSE: Appetizer, Snack
