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These Air Fryer Flautas are the easy meal or quick snack you have been searching for! All the flavor and stuffed with delicious meat, now easier to make and healthier too!
Table of Contents
What is a Flauta?
Flautas are flavorful “flutes” of tortillas stuffed with meat. They are kind of like a taquito, but made with flour tortillas instead of corn. They are delicious topped or dipped in salsa, sour cream, and guac. Although I love our classic Chicken Flautas recipe, these air fryer flautas make the process a little easier! Without having to deep fry or bake anything, all you have to do is pop the rolled, stuffed tortillas in the air fryer and let them cook. The flautas get crisp and so flavorful, you won’t even miss the deep fryer!
Ingredients to Make Air Fryer Flautas
Chicken breasts – Slow cooked and shredded with all the seasonings.
Chicken broth – This goes in with the slow cooking chicken to add so much flavor.
Packet of Ranch dressing seasoning – An essential flavor! It adds a zesty, savory dimension to the chicken.
Kinder’s “the blend” seasoning – This or any garlic blend seasoning.
Cream cheese – This adds a great creaminess to the shredded chicken.
Dried chiles – A little spice for you!
Salt and pepper – Just to taste, add as much or as little as you would like.
Fajita sized flour tortillas – You don’t want huge tortillas because these need to fit in the air fryer. You can even use “street taco” sized tortillas for smaller, snack size flautas.
Cooking spray – Use cooking spray or cooking oil to spray or brush the tortillas before going into the air fryer.
How to Make Flautas in the Air Fryer
- Slow Cooker. Place chicken, chicken broth, ranch powder, and garlic seasoning in the slow cooker. Slow cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is completely cooked through and shreds easily.
- Shred. Remove chicken from the Crock Pot and shred. Return to the Crock Pot along with the diced green chiles. Stir shredded chicken with any broth that is still in the pot.
- Cook. Allow the chicken to cook on low for another 10 minutes to absorb juices, then drain off excess liquid.
- Add Cream Cheese. Add cream cheese and stir until it has melted completely in with the shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper.
- Make Flautas. Place about 3 tablespoons of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla and roll up tightly to form the flauta.
- Place in Air Fryer. Place each flauta seam-side-down in the air fryer and spray each one with cooking spray or brush with cooking oil. Don’t crowd the flautas.
- Cook. Air fry at 375℉ for 8 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside.
Tips for Making Flautas in an Air Fryer
Don’t overstuff – Don’t over fill your flauta, the tortilla won’t be able to close properly and it will spill out in the air fryer.
Use rotisserie chicken – Skip a step and shred a rotisserie chicken instead of slow cooking your own. Just mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
Try shredded cheese – Add shredded cheese like monterey Jack, pepper jack, or even cheddar for a stretchy, cheesy flauta.
Don’t overcrowd the air fryer basket – Don’t let the flautas touch while cooking. You want the hot air inside to be able to circulate and make everything as crispy as possible.
Air Fryer Flautas
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds chicken breasts (about 3 chicken breasts)
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 packet ranch dressing seasoning (about 2 tablespoons dry ranch mix)
- 2 teaspoons Kinder's "The Blend" seasoning (or any garlic blend seasoning)
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 4 ounces diced chiles
- salt and black pepper (to taste)
- 12-15 fajita-sized flour tortillas
- cooking spray or cooking oil (for air frying)
Instructions
- Place chicken breasts in a Crock Pot or slow cooker (see alternative chicken cooking methods above).
- Add chicken broth to the Crock Pot and then sprinkle the ranch dressing powder and garlic seasoning over the top of the chicken. Slow cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 5-6 hours or until chicken is completely cooked through and shreds easily.
- Remove chicken from the Crock Pot, shred, and return along with the diced green chiles. Stir shredded chicken with any broth that is still in the pot.
- Allow the chicken to cook on low for another 10 minutes to absorb juices, then drain off excess liquid.
- Add cream cheese and stir until cream cheese has melted completely in with the shredded chicken. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Place about 3 tablespoons of chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla and roll up tightly to form the flauta.
- Place each flauta seam-side-down in the air fryer and spray each one with cooking spray or brush with cooking oil. Don't crowd the flautas. Because of the size of my air fryer, I had to make these in 3 batches.
- Air fry at 375℉ for 8 minutes or until golden and crispy on the outside. Serve with sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole.
Nutrition Information
Tips for Cooking the Chicken:
You can also cook the chicken in the Instant Pot, reduce broth to 1 cup and cook on high pressure for 30 minutes. You can also boil the chicken in salted water or broth 20-25 minutes and shred then season. If they are larger chicken breasts they may need to cook longer or you can cut them in half before boiling.
How to Make Ahead and Store
To store leftovers for later, allow the flautas to completely cool before putting them in an airtight container. To reheat, put back in the air fryer at 375 for 2-3 minutes to get nice and crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Both flautas and taquitos are made by rolling a filling inside a tortilla, but typically, taquitos are made with corn tortillas, and flautas can be made with either corn or flour. Flautas are typically longer than taquitos, while taquitos are shorter. The inside of these two dishes tend to be similar.
Whether you are air frying this flauta recipe or if you are using pre-made flautas, like the flautas from Costco, you can air fry them at 375-degrees F for 8 minutes.
You can also bake these. To bake, prepare your flautas the same way you would for air frying, then bake at 400 degrees 12-16 minutes or until golden brown.
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I love your recipe. Tasty and quick and healthy