Baked Vegetarian Flautas
on Sep 02, 2025
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These crispy baked vegetarian flautas are filled with refried beans, cheese, and a hit of lime, then rolled in flour tortillas and baked until golden. Easy to make ahead, freezer-friendly, and perfect with guacamole, salsa, or sour cream.
If you’re looking for a quick, crowd-pleasing vegetarian dinner (or appetizer or snack), you need these baked flautas in your life. Think of them as crispy, oven-baked rolled tacos, filled with creamy refried beans, melty cheese, scallions, and a little lime for brightness. Because they’re baked and not fried, they come out satisfyingly crunchy without the extra oil, which means you can feel just fine eating a few more than you planned. Serve them piled high with salsa, guacamole, sour cream, or all three (live a little), and watch them disappear fast.
I like to use flour tortillas to make flautas, which is the more traditional choice vs. corn tortillas. But you can use corn if you prefer; just make sure to warm the tortillas so they don’t crack when you fill and roll them up.
You can serve them as appetizers, snacks, or as a main course, maybe piled on some shredded lettuce on individual plates.
What's In This Post?
Kitchen Smarts
For lots of flauta-making tips, including how to heat tortillas, as well as how to fill and roll flautas, see Baked Chicken Flautas.
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Ingredients
- Refried beans – Try making the refried beans from scratch if you have some extra time – it’s really easy! Otherwise, absolutely pick up a packaged container or can. Check the salt level of the brand you choose – some of them can be very salty.
- Scallions or green onions – Use both the white and green parts.
- Chili powder – Use your favorite chili blend.
- Lime juice
- Shredded cheese – I like Monterey Jack or Mexican blend pre-shredded cheese. You can also use queso fresco if you like.
- Flour tortillas – The 6-inch size is perfect for flautas.
To Serve
- Salsa or pico de gallo
- Guacamole or diced avocado
- Sour cream
- Shredded lettuce (optional)
How to Make Baked Vegetarian Flautas
- Make the refried bean filling: In a medium bowl, combine the refried beans with the scallions, chili powder, and lime juice until well blended.
- Add beans and cheese to the tortillas: Spread 2 tablespoons of the refried beans over each tortilla, spreading them evenly almost to the edges of the tortilla. Sprinkle a generous 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese over the refried beans, leaving a little bit of the beans exposed at the top.
- Roll the flautas: Tightly roll the tortilla from the bottom up, sealing the flauta with the bottom bean-covered edge of the tortilla.
- Bake: Place the flautas on the prepared baking sheet seam side down. Brush the top of the flautas with the olive oil. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until browned, hot, and crispy.
- Serve with the salsa, avocado or guacamole, sour cream, and shredded lettuce if desired.
Flautas Questions, Asked and Answered
Flautas are usually made with flour tortillas, while taquitos are traditionally made with corn tortillas. Both are filled, rolled, and baked or fried until crispy.
Flautas can be assembled in advance and frozen either before or after baking. Bake them straight from frozen, adding a few extra minutes to the cooking time.
Definitely. Brushing the rolled tortillas with a light coating of oil before baking ensures they come out golden brown and crunchy, without deep frying.
This recipe uses refried beans and cheese, but you can also add sautéed vegetables like peppers, zucchini, or mushrooms for extra flavor, texture, and nutrition. For non-vegetarians, try the Baked Chicken Flautas.
What Goes With Flautas
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Baked Vegetarian Flautas
Ingredients
- 2 cups refried beans (homemade or packaged)
- 4 scallions or green onions (trimmed and chopped; white and green parts)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican blend cheese
- 12 (6-inch) flour tortillas
To Serve:
- Salsa (or pico de gallo)
- Guacamole (or diced avocado)
- Sour cream
- Shredded lettuce (optional)
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine the refried beans with the scallions, chili powder, and lime juice until well blended.
- Distribute the tortillas on a clean countertop – I like to fill and assemble the flautas all at the same time for efficiency, but you can do them in batches. Spread 2 tablespoons of the refried beans over each tortilla, spreading it evenly almost to the edges of the tortilla. Sprinkle a generous 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese over the refried beans, leaving a little bit of the beans exposed at the bottom. Tightly roll the tortilla from the top down, sealing the flauta with the bottom bean-covered edge of the tortilla. Place them on the prepared baking sheet seam side down.
- Brush the top of the flautas with the olive oil. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until browned, hot, and crispy. Serve with the salsa, avocado or guacamole, sour cream, and shredded lettuce if desired.
Notes
Make Ahead and Storage
Flautas can be frozen either before or after baking. To prevent sticking, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet or plate and freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Then transfer to a freezer-safe container or a zipper-top bag.- Unbaked flautas: Brush with olive oil just before baking. Bake straight from frozen, adding 7 to 10 minutes to the usual cooking time.
- Baked flautas: Cool completely before freezing. Reheat from frozen on a baking sheet in a 350 F oven for about 12 minutes, until hot throughout.
