Crispy air fryer taquitos are a delicious snack or party appetizer that can be filled with shredded chicken, beef, or pork. Requiring little oil makes them a lot healthier than the deep fried alternative. Have them to the table in less than 30 minutes, guaranteed to be a Whole Lotta Yum!
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Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos
The best taquitos are crispy, crunchy, and golden brown filled with a creamy but meaty filling. So delicious, it's hard to stop at one.
I am also a fan of making mini taquitos in the air fryer. Use street taco size flour or corn tortillas. Fill each one with a smaller portion of the shredded chicken mixture. The kids especially love the mini versions.
If you're looking for some more fun sized snacks you can make in your air fryer, try my bacon wrapped green beans, old bay shrimp, or these tasty boneless chicken wings.
Why You'll Love This!
- Make it a meal- Serve with rice, salad, or refried beans to make this a full meal experience.
- Super yummy- Filled with spices, salsa, and Monterrey jack cheese.
- Quick and easy! Once made and frozen taquitos can be quickly warmed in the air fryer for a delicious snack.
🥘 Taquitos Air Fryer Recipe Ingredients
Grab leftover shredded chicken, spices, cheese, and warm corn tortillas for easy air fryer taquitos.
- Cooked and shredded chicken - Save time with shredded rotisserie chicken or any leftover chicken you may have. Cooked shredded chicken makes for tender tasty taquitos, it would also be easy to use pork carnitas, barbacoa beef or ground beef.
- Cream cheese - Cream cheese helps to bring this all together into a creamy filling. Room-temperature cream cheese is ideal.
- Monterey jack cheese - Monterey jack cheese adds a great flavor to these taquitos, however, you can use your favorite shredded cheese. Cheddar, Colby Jack, and pepper jack are all just as delicious.
- Salsa - Any jar of your favorite salsa
- Spices - Chili powder, ground cumin, and garlic powder all add great flavor to taquitos. In a pinch, you could use a taco seasoning packet.
- Cilantro - Cilantro is a great bright addition to the topping.
- Salt & Cracked black pepper - Even simple spices like salt and pepper add flavor and balance.
- Corn tortillas - Both corn tortillas and flour tortillas are great options. If you've chosen to use flour tortillas, keep an eye on them as they'll crisp up faster than corn.
- Olive oil - Olive oil cooking spray can also be used to lightly oil the taquitos before air frying.
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
Variations
- Condiments: Serve with spicy or mild salsa, pico de gallo, cotija, queso fresco, sour cream, fresh avocado, or guacamole.
- Different Meat: Any precooked shredded meat like beef, pork, chicken, or turkey will all mix well.
- Add beans: Extend your filling by adding black beans or pinto beans to your chicken filling.
Equipment
An Air Fryer- We have a Cosori XL basket style air fryer, an Omni Plus oven style air fryer, and a Ninja Foodi pressure cooker air fryer combo. The Cosori was used in this recipe.
🔪 How to Cook Homemade Taquitos In The Air Fryer
Prepare a creamy chicken mixture, heat tortillas, fill, then place your rolled tacos in an air fryer, then air fry until crispy.
Prep Ingredients
In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cream cheese, shredded cheese, salsa, and spices. Mix well to ensure thorough blending, and make sure there are no large chunks of cream cheese.
Roll Taquitos
Warm the tortillas to make them pliable. You can use a comal, skillet, or microwave. Be cautious not to overheat them; 20-30 seconds per side is sufficient.
Take each tortilla and spread 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture down the center.
Fold one side of the tortilla toward the center, then tightly roll it to form a taquito.
Air Fry
Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F.
Brush each taquito with olive oil and place them in a single layer, seam-side down, in the preheated air fryer basket.
Air fry the taquitos for 6 minutes, then flip them over and cook for an additional 3-6 minutes until golden brown.
Once cooked, serve the taquitos warm with your preferred condiments.
💡 Recipe Tips
- You can prepare the filling up to three days in advance. Store the filling in the refrigerator until you're ready to make the taquitos.
- You'll want to make sure the tortillas are warmed before filling to prevent cracking.
- Every air fryer is different so the cooking times may vary. If your air fryer is on the hotter side, flip them after 4 minutes.
- Overfilling your taquitos can cause them to burst in the air fryer and cause a mess.
🥡 Storing and Reheating
- Storing: Store remaining taquitos in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezing: Taquitos can be frozen for up to 3 months. Place your assembled taquitos on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer until hardened for a couple of hours. Once frozen, place them in a freezer-safe airtight container or resealable bag.
- Reheating: For crunchy taquitos, it's best to reheat them in the air fryer. Reheating in the microwave will make them soft. Cook frozen taquitos in the air fryer, just add a few minutes to the cooking time.
❓ FAQ's
Serve fresh chicken taquitos with our Hot Green Chili Dip, creamy avocado ranch, warm refried beans. For a meal place taquitos on a plate then top with warm beans, salsa, shredded lettuce and a cream sauce like ranch or sour cream.
Keeping tortillas warm is essential in keeping them from cracking. Cover corn tortillas in a damp paper towel and place on a microwave safe plate. Heat for 1 minute, flip then microwave for another minute. Once warmed, place them in a tortilla warmer or keep them wrapped and covered.
😋 More Easy Dinner Recipes
Find more recipes here that can be of more help with our chicken taquito recipe. Prepare boiled chicken and shred in 20 seconds in a stand mixer!
- Frozen Taquitos in Air Fryer
- Barbacoa Beef (Crock-Pot)
- Boiled Chicken Tenders
- 20 Second Shredded Chicken (Shred Chicken With Kitchenaid)
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Air Fryer Taquitos
Crispy air fryer taquitos are a delicious snack or party appetizer that can be filled with shredded chicken, beef, or pork. Requiring little oil makes them a lot healthier than the deep fried alternative. Have them to the table in less than 30 minutes, guaranteed to be a Whole Lotta Yum!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Cooked chicken, shredded
- 4 ounces Cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 cup Monterey jack cheese, shredded
- ¼ cup of your favorite Salsa
- 2 tablespoons Cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Chili powder
- ½ teaspoon Ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon Garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Cracked black pepper
- 12 (5-6 inch) Corn tortillas
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the chicken, cream cheese, shredded cheese, salsa, and spices. Mix well to ensure thorough blending, and make sure there are no large chunks of cream cheese.
- Warm the tortillas to make them pliable. You can use a comal, skillet, or microwave. Be cautious not to overheat them; 20-30 seconds per side is sufficient.
- Take each tortilla and spread 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture down the center.
- Fold one side of the tortilla toward the center, then tightly roll it to form a taquito.
- Preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- Brush each taquito with olive oil and place them in a single layer, seam-side down, in the preheated air fryer basket.
- Cook the taquitos for 6 minutes, then flip them over and cook for an additional 3-6 minutes.
- Once cooked, serve the taquitos warm with your preferred condiments.
Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 2Amount Per Serving Calories 159Total Fat 12gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 39mgSodium 326mgCarbohydrates 5gFiber 1gSugar 1gProtein 9g
The nutrional information is just an estimate and was calculated by an automated calculator. If you're on a restricted health program please manually calculate this information using the brands of ingredients you have since brands can vary.
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