Baked Chicken Flautas

Oven Baked Chicken Flautas

In Texas there is no shortage of great Tex-Mex restaurants with lots of different versions of taquitos and flautas. Taquitos are usually made with smaller, corn tortillas and flautas are made with larger, flour tortillas.

When baking, I find flour tortillas are easiest to use. They roll very easily and don’t break unless they’re a little stale. You’ll love these baked chicken flautas because:

• Family-friendly – These are great for a family dinner or game day meal.
• Versatile – Easily an appetizer or a dinner when paired with sides!
• Lighter – Since these are baked and not deep fried, they’ll leave you feeling satisfied without weighed down!
• Easy to batch – Because you can roll a lot of these on one baking sheet, you can cook more at once than with frying.

Ingredients

• Shredded chicken tinga – I highly recommend using my chicken tinga recipe to make the filling for these, but any shredded chicken will work. If using plain shredded chicken like from a rotisserie chicken, I recommend adding a little salsa to it or a few spices for more flavor.
• Cream cheese – Use one without carrageenan like Organic Valley or Philadelphia (block style).
• Cumin – Dried ground cumin is used to add extra flavor.
• Tortillas – I recommend using fresh flour tortillas that are typically found refrigerated (or if you’re in Texas get the fresh ones at HEB/Central Market). TortillaLand, Margaritas, MiRancho are just a few brands.
• Oil spray – Olive oil or avocado oil will work for this. I prefer the spray for ease, but you could also brush it on.

How to Make Baked Flautas

Step 1: Make the chicken tinga filling

If using my chicken tinga taco filling, make this in the instant pot or crockpot the day before or earlier in the day. Or purchase a rotisserie chicken and shred it, then mix with a tablespoon or two of your favorite salsa. Mix that with the cumin and cream cheese till fully combined. (Picture 1,2)

Step 2: Roll the flautas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay the flour tortillas on a flat surface and spoon the chicken filling on one side. Carefully roll it up with your fingers as tight as possible. Secure with toothpicks if needed, but I find they stay together pretty well just placing seam side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Spray them or brush them with oil on all sides. (Picture 3)

Step 3: Bake

Bake for 20 minutes at 400F until golden brown and crispy. You may need to flip them halfway through to brown on both sides, but it’s not terrible if you forget. (Picture 4)

Recipe Edits

• Veggies – Sometimes I’ll add in extra veggies I have on hand like corn, green onion, mushrooms, squash, etc. You could even make these vegetarian this way.
• Cream cheese – I’ve seen some people who do dairy free who recommend mixing the chicken with refried beans instead of cheese!
• Tortillas – Any tortillas you like should work for this recipe. You can substitute corn for a gluten free version of baked chicken taquitos.
• Vegetarian – For a vegetarian version, I highly recommend using black beans. I have a precise recipe in The Dizzy Cook cookbook.
• Steak – This simple instant pot shredded steak would also be great.

What to Serve with Baked Chicken Flautas

Whether you’re serving these baked flautas as a meal or appetizer, here are a few side suggestions.

• Sour Cream or Substitute – Sour cream makes a great dip and Daisy is my favorite. If you’re following a migraine elimination diet, I highly recommend using whipped cottage cheese as a great substitute.
• Queso – Try both my queso recipes – mozzarella queso and white queso from The Dizzy Cook cookbook.
• Salsa Verde – You can find regular and salsa verde in my Dizzy Cook Cookbook. There’s also a great recipe for Mexican Black Beans in there that would be awesome with these chicken taquitos.
• Mexican Brown Rice
• Slaw