Description
These Air Fryer Taquitos are crispy on the outside, cheesy and flavorful on the inside, featuring tender shredded chicken, green chilies, and pepper jack cheese rolled in flour tortillas. Ready in just 23 minutes, they make a perfect appetizer, snack, or main course with a delightful Mexican flair.
Ingredients
Scale
Filling Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup yellow onion, minced
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (rotisserie chicken recommended)
- 4 ounce can diced green chilies
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded
Wraps
- 12 six-inch flour tortillas (fajita size)
- Nonstick cooking spray, for air frying
Instructions
- Cook onion: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the minced yellow onion and cook for 4 minutes until softened and fragrant.
- Add chicken and seasonings: Stir in the cooked shredded chicken, diced green chilies, fresh cilantro, and taco seasoning. Cook together for 2-3 minutes, allowing flavors to meld.
- Mix in cheese: Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the shredded pepper jack cheese until evenly combined.
- Warm tortillas: Stack the tortillas and wrap them in damp paper towels. Microwave for 60 seconds to make them pliable for rolling.
- Assemble taquitos: Place 3-4 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla and roll tightly to enclose the filling. Repeat until all 12 taquitos are formed.
- Preheat air fryer: Set your air fryer to 400°F and allow it to preheat fully.
- Arrange taquitos: Place the taquitos seam-side down in the air fryer basket with enough space between them for air circulation (cook in batches if necessary).
- Cook first side: Spray the taquitos lightly with nonstick cooking spray and cook at 400°F for 4-5 minutes until golden and crisp.
- Flip and finish cooking: Use tongs to flip the taquitos, spray them again with cooking spray, and cook for another 4-5 minutes until evenly crispy.
- Serve: Remove the taquitos from the air fryer and serve hot with salsa, sour cream, chipotle sauce, or guacamole for dipping.
Notes
- Ensure taquitos are rolled very tightly to prevent them from unrolling during air frying.
- If taquitos are not crisp enough, cook an additional 1-2 minutes per side and do not skip spraying with cooking spray for best browning.
- To bake instead of air fry, preheat oven to 425°F (use convection if available), place taquitos on a foil-lined baking sheet, spray with cooking spray, and bake 6-7 minutes per side until golden.
- For gluten free taquitos, substitute flour tortillas with corn or certified gluten free tortillas.
- To make them spicy, use hot green chilies, add 2-3 teaspoons hot sauce to filling, or cook minced jalapeno or serrano peppers with the onions.
- This recipe can easily be doubled to make 24 taquitos.
- Uncooked prepared taquitos can be refrigerated up to 3 days or frozen up to 3 months. Reheat cooked leftovers in the air fryer at 400°F for 2-3 minutes per side.
- Frozen taquitos require 5-6 minutes per side in the air fryer due to added cooking time.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 taquito
- Calories: 160 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 8 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 10 g
- Cholesterol: 30 mg
