Easy Baked Chicken Flautas
on Apr 03, 2025
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Crispy tortillas are stuffed with tender shredded chicken, refried beans, and cheese, then baked until hot and golden.
Flautas, sometimes called taquitos, are a Mexican dish in which a filling is rolled into a flour or corn tortilla and usually deep-fried, creating a satisfyingly crunchy exterior. However, you can achieve the same crispy exterior by baking them, saving yourself the hassle of stovetop frying.
For this baked chicken flautas recipe, a light brush of oil provides lots of flavor, and the hot oven allows them to brown up into crispy, crunchy deliciousness. Plus, they have a super short ingredient list, and they’re quick and fun to roll up.
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Flautas can be vegetarian or stuffed with meat (usually beef) or chicken. Here, I use shredded chicken and a little bit of refried beans, plus shredded cheese. You can definitely sub in different fillings or just keep them simple and vegetarian with refried beans and cheese. These make amazing appetizers, but they also can be a main course — that mostly depends on quantity and presentation.
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Ingredients
You will be pleasantly surprised at how few ingredients it takes to make flautas at home. The toppings are all optional, but they are very straightforward and available, and they make the dish. I’m all about the toppings, baby!
- Shredded chicken – You can use any kind of shredded chicken – white or dark meat, chicken cooked in a slow cooker, or an Instant Pot, or baked, or from a rotisserie chicken!
- Scallions/Green Onions – Use both the white and green parts.
- Chili powder – A chili blend allows you to add layers of flavor with a single ingredient – a great shortcut spice blend.
- Lime juice – Use fresh if at all possible.
- Refried beans – Pick a packaged brand that you like, or if you want to make your own refried beans (which is quite easy!), these will be extra amazing.
- Shredded cheese – Try Monterey Jack or a Mexican blend cheese.
- Flour tortillas – The 6-inch size is perfect for flautas. You can also try corn tortillas if you want that version, but soften them before you roll up the flautas (see below for tips). I also love these combo flour and corn tortillas from Tortilla Factory.
To Serve
- Salsa or pico de gallo
- Guacamole or diced avocado
- Sour cream
- Shredded lettuce
How to Make Easy Baked Chicken Flautas
- Make the filling: In a medium bowl, toss the shredded chicken with the scallions, chili powder, and lime juice until well combined.
- Fill the flautas: Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the refried beans on the bottom half of the tortilla, spreading it out evenly all the way to the bottom edge. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture over the bare top half of the tortilla, distributing it evenly. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese over the chicken.
- Roll the flautas: Tightly roll the tortilla from the top down, sealing the flauta with the bean-covered part of the tortilla. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, seam side down.
- Bake the flautas: Brush the top of the flautas with the olive oil. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until browned, hot, and crispy.
- Serve: Top the flautas with the salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and shredded lettuce, if desired.
Flauta Making Tips
- If you decide to use corn tortillas, you want to heat them before filling and rolling them, otherwise they might crack. Flour tortillas often don’t need to be heated before rolling, as they are more flexible, but if your tortillas are not as fresh or they are thick, you might want to consider warming them too. Here are three easy ways to warm tortillas, and the most accessible one is probably to simply heat the tortillas one at a time for about 20 to 30 seconds on each side in a hot skillet.
- Line your baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, as a bit of the filling will likely melt out of the ends of the rolled tortillas as they bake.
- Don’t overfill the tortillas, or they will not stay sealed as they bake, and too much of the filling might leak out.
- Roll the flautas as tightly as you can.
- Distribute the tortillas for filling on a clean countertop. I like to fill and assemble the flautas in an assembly line all at the same time for efficiency. If you don’t have enough counter space, you can fill the flautas in batches.
Taquitos vs. Flautas
These words are often used interchangeably, but there are some differences in the official definitions. The word flautas translates to flute, and that refers to the long cylindrical shape. You can — and should! — eat flautas with your fingers, which also harkens to the “flute” name.
Flautas are usually made with wheat tortillas, while taquitos are typically made with corn tortillas. Flautas might be larger than taquitos, but this obviously depends on the size of the tortilla.
There are tortillas that are a fantastic mixture of corn and wheat flour that have the best of both worlds: the pliability of flour tortillas with the deeper flavor of the corn version. Try this one or this one! And if you want to make sure your flautas are gluten-free, use corn tortillas.
Also, it’s worth noting the difference between flautas and chimichangas: a flauta is a rolled taco that is usually deep-fried (but here, baked!), while a chimichanga is essentially a deep-fried burrito.
Enchiladas are also a type of filled rolled tortilla, but these are baked instead of fried.
Storage Tips
Baked flautas can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat and re-crisp flautas in a 325 F oven on a baking sheet for about 8 minutes.
You can freeze the flautas filled and unbaked, packing them carefully in a freezer-proof container without any excess air. You can bake them directly from frozen; brush them with the oil, and add 7 to 10 minutes of baking time.
Or you can freeze them after they have been baked and cooled, packing them into a freezer-proof container or zipper-top bag and pressing out excess air. To reheat from frozen just heat them through in a 350 oven for about 12 minutes until warm throughout.
What to Serve with Baked Flautas
Serve flautas with guacamole or avocado, sour cream, and salsa. Shredded lettuce is also a good accompaniment. If you want to serve them as an entrée, you could layer four or five flautas on a bed of shredded lettuce, which is how they are often served at Mexican restaurants.
More Mexican Recipes
- Skirt Steak Street Tacos
- Steak and Cheese Quesadillas
- Ground Turkey Tacos
- Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna
- Grilled Mexican Street Corn
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Easy Baked Chicken Flautas
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded chicken (white or dark meat)
- 4 scallions (trimmed and chopped; white and green parts)
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 cup refried beans (homemade or packaged)
- 1 cup 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, toss the shredded chicken with the scallions, chili powder, and lime juice until well combined.
- 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. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the refried beans on the bottom of the tortilla and spread it out over the bottom half, smearing it all the way to the bottom edge. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture over the bare top half of the tortilla, distributing it evenly. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of shredded cheese over the chicken. Tightly roll the tortilla from the top down, sealing the flauta with the bean covered part 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, guacamole, and sour cream, and shredded lettuce if desired.
Notes
- Baked flautas can be stored in a container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat and re-crisp them in a 325 F oven on a baking sheet for about 8 minutes. You can also freeze flautas.
- You can freeze them filled and unbaked, packing them carefully in a freezer-proof container without any excess air. You can bake them directly from frozen; brush them with the oil, and add an additional 7 to 10 minutes of baking time.
- Or you can freeze them after they have been baked and cooled, packing them into a freezer-proof container or zipper-top bag and pressing out excess air. To reheat from frozen just heat them through in a 350 oven for about 12 minutes until warm throughout.
