These crispy air fryer chicken taquitos are made with a delicious 2 ingredient salsa chicken filling, cream cheese, and some added spices. Perfect as an appetizer or dinner, they're crunchy without being deep fried.
You can also bake these chicken taquitos in the oven if you don't have an air fryer, like my baked chicken flautas. Instructions for both ways are included!
Topped with queso fresco and fresh veggies, these air fryer chicken taquitos are best served with mozzarella queso, Mexican brown rice, or a side of cabbage slaw.
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Chicken Taquitos in the Air Fryer
These are homemade, air fried chicken taquitos! They're great for meal prepping and work extremely well as a game day appetizer or a full meal. Both kids and adults love them because they're so delicious.
If you're also looking for another quick recipe, don't sleep on the 2 ingredient chicken. You could always mixed pre-cooked chicken with salsa for something fast, but I love this recipe for busy nights. You'll love these air fryer chicken taquitos because:
- Family friendly - Both kids and adults will love them.
- Air Fried - This healthy alternative is air fried instead of deep fried.
- Special diet friendly - These can easily fit lots of different diets including gluten free (most corn tortillas are gluten free), dairy free, and low sodium. See below for edits.
Air Fryer Options
If you own a convection oven I find that can be substituted, but sometimes the cook time will be slightly longer.
- Ninja - A popular air fryer, this comes in a dual or 4 quart, which cooks in two separate baskets at the same time. The XL version comes with a 5.5 quart basket, which would be best for a large family. The basic one starts at $99.
- Philips - Philips air fryers also come in a range of sizes and are better for a big family. They have the best reviews as far as reliability, but are also more expensive. A 4 quart air fryer costs about $150.
- Cosori - What I personally used to test this recipe. It's generally on sale around $85. They also have a great non-toxic air fryer.
Need to bake these in the oven? You can reference my baked flauta recipe which cooks at 400F for roughly 20 minutes. Depending on the tortilla size, these may take a little shorter to cook, around 15 minutes.
Ingredients
- Boneless chicken breasts or thighs - If you want to make this from scratch you'll need raw boneless chicken. I recommend air chilled chicken.
- Salsa - I love salsa verde here, and you can use your favorite store-bought brand or homemade. I like to use Tacodeli found at Whole Foods Texas.
- Cream cheese - Use a block style cream cheese without carrageenan like Philadelphia or many store brands like Publix greenwise.
- Spices - Garlic powder, smoked paprika, and cumin all add lots of flavor!
- Corn tortillas - Your favorite brand can be used, or you can use flour tortillas. I typically buy mine freshly made from Central Market.
- Avocado oil spray - You can also just brush avocado oil on the tortillas but the spray makes it easy!
Toppings can include queso fresco, jalapenos, tomatoes, sliced radish, and cilantro. Serve with imitation sour cream or ranch for dipping.
How to Make
Step 1: Prepare the salsa chicken
Place the salsa and chicken in a slow cooker and cook on high for about 2-3 hours or on low for 4-8 hours. Chicken is done when it shreds easily with a fork. To shortcut this step, simply mix pulled chicken or rotisserie chicken with some salsa. Mix this with the cream cheese, spices, and
Step 2: Roll the taquitos
Place the salsa chicken mixture into one end of the tortilla, being careful to not fill it too full. Roll carefully as tight as you can, and secure with toothpicks. Brush or spray with oil on all sides.
Corn tortillas have a tendency to break, especially if they're older. You can make them more pliable by heating them a little bit before using. Cover them with wet towel or wet paper towel and microwave them in 15 second increments till just warm.
Step 3: Air fry taquitos
Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line up the taquitos in the air fryer. Fry for about 5-7 minutes on the first side and 2-3 minutes on the next side until they are crispy on the outside. Keep an eye on them the first time, because every air fryer cooks a little bit differently.
Allow the air fryer taquitos to cool for 5-10 minutes, and they will crisp up more as they cool.
Oven Instructions
Taquitos will bake a little more slowly in a traditional oven or even a larger convection oven. My oven baked chicken flautas take about 20 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit, but are a little bit larger. For these, I'd begin by baking 10 minutes, then flip and bake an extra 5-10, if needed.
Recipe Tip
The most common mistake I see with making homemade taquitos is trying to put too much stuffing into one tortilla. About 2-3 tablespoons will roll up really well! If you overfill them, they won't hold together quite as well. But honestly they'll still be delicious either way so just do what your heart tells you and you don't have to listen to all my tips.
Substitutions
- Gluten free - Corn tortillas should be naturally gluten free, but you could also use whatever tortillas you like best.
- Dairy free - Simply omit the cheese, or use refried beans for some moisture.
- Vegetarian - Replace the shredded chicken with refried beans or assorted chopped vegetables like zucchini, corn, and/or black beans.
Serving Suggestions
Some great toppings and sides for these air fried taquitos would be:
- Queso
- Sour cream (see notes) or whipped cottage cheese
- Shredded cabbage or slaw
- Spanish brown rice
- Tomatoes
- Cilantro
- Queso fresco cheese
- Salsa verde or regular salsa
How to Store
Refrigerator - Taquitos will store well for up to 2-3 days in the fridge. To reheat, just pop them back in the air fryer for a few minutes till they crisp up again.
Freezer - These also freeze incredibly well! My recommendation is to undercook them a bit if you plan to freeze. The taquitos can be air fried directly from frozen for roughly the same times. Just keep checking them every 3 minutes to make sure they don't get too brown.
Air Fryer Recipes
For more crispy Tex Mex recipes like these air fryer chicken taquitos, check out my Chicken Flautas, Baked Chicken Tacos, or Beef Nachos. And for other easy air fryer recipes, check out the below!
If you make this, tag me #thedizzycook or @thedizzycook on Facebook and Instagram. And if you love the recipe, please leave a review below! Follow along on my Pinterest for more great recipes.
Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos
Equipment
- 1 Air Fryer
- 1 Slow Cooker
Ingredients
Salsa Chicken
- 1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 12 oz salsa verde
Taquitos
- 1½ pounds cooked, shredded salsa chicken
- 4 oz cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 12-15 corn tortillas
- Avocado oil spray or oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
- cilantro, shredded slaw, and salsa or sour cream for dipping*
Instructions
- In a slow cooker, place the chicken breasts and 10oz salsa verde together, season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and pepper. Place on low heat for about 6 hours or high heat for about 2-3 hours, or until chicken shreds easily with a fork.Remove the chicken from the slow cooker and shred completely (no need to add in all the extra juices).
- Add about ¼ cup or 2 ounces of the salsa verde with 4oz of cream cheese, garlic powder and cumin, stir till combined. Taste and adjust any seasonings. Preheat air fryer to 400 degrees F. Heat corn tortillas between 2 damp paper towels by microwaving for 20 seconds until pliable.
- Working a single tortilla at a time, place about 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the tortilla. Roll as tight as you can and seal with toothpicks. Place seam side down and brush with oil or spray. Work in batches of 3-4 as quickly as you can or the tortillas may break apart. It helps if they're fresh!
- Air fry for about 5-7 minutes on the first side, then flip and air fry another 2-3 minutes, or until brown and crispy. Remove toothpicks and serve with garnishes.
Notes
- If you don't have the time to make the shredded salsa chicken, just mix together a 2-3 shredded, cooked chicken breasts or a whole rotisserie chicken meat with the rest of the ingredients.
- These can also be baked at 400 degrees F for about 15-17 minutes, flipping halfway. Keep an eye on them and shorten or lengthen the cooking time till golden brown and crispy.
- Corn tortillas or flour tortillas can be used.
- For low sodium - consider using my homemade salsa from my cookbook The Dizzy Cook and omitting any added salt suggestions.
- Sour cream - If on a migraine elimination diet, use my whipped cottage cheese.
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