Good news: traditional Mexican flautas are easier to recreate at home than you think. This Flautas de Pollo (Chicken Flautas) Recipe delivers crunchy golden tortillas, melty cheese, and juicy chicken -- we're talking rolled tacos fried to absolute perfection. No lost filling. No burnt flautas.
As a Native Texan, I've grown up loving and adoring Mexican-food culture. At The Anthony Kitchen, we take pride in not only replicating but simplifying authentic Mexican recipes for home cooks to easily make and enjoy. Add our Tex-Mex recipes to your recipe line-up!
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
Although the ingredients are simple, executing a perfectly cooked flauta can be dicey. Unraveling tortillas in the midst of cooking can prove to be a challenge for home cooks. After all, we most definitely want that filling to stay put. Luckily, we have some hacks for keeping those tortillas from cracking during the rolling process and making sure your filling doesn't budge.
Oil temperature and getting it just right for a crispy (not burnt) exterior can also be a bit tricky when recreating flautas de pollo at home. The tips below will help you gauge your oil temp so that your chicken flautas' end result is absolute perfection.
You'll find this Mexican chicken flautas recipe isn't overcomplicated with a long ingredient list. It's simple and easy to execute. Even a novice cook can make these successfully the first go-'round! If you love easy and fast delicious recipes check out our 30-minute meal recipes!
Ingredients
Chicken | This flautas de pollo recipe calls for shredded chicken. You can use homemade baked chicken breasts and shred them yourself, or you can buy rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and shred it.
Cheese | Monterey Jack is our go-to cheese for this recipe. It adds flavor and a creamy texture to the filling. Shredded mozzarella, cheddar, or even Colby Jack are also great cheeses to use.
Tortillas | Flautas are made with flour tortillas. We like to get ours from the grocery store bakery for quality and freshness. If you don't have a good option for fresh tortillas, choose a good-quality tortilla. Corn tortillas can be difficult to work with in a recipe like this. If you need to use corn tortillas due to dietary restrictions, see the FAQs below.
Oil | Use a flavorless, high-smoke-point oil like canola, avocado, or vegetable oil.
Toppings & Sides | Top off your chicken flautas with pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded lettuce, Mexican crema, fresh cilantro, and more.
How to Make Flautas de Pollo
Heat the Oil | Bring the oil to temperature in a large skillet over medium-high heat. To know if your oil is hot enough, use an instant-read (or better yet, an infrared) thermometer. You want the oil to be between 350°-375°F.
Mix It Up | Next, mix the shredded chicken and cheese in a large bowl and set aside until ready to use. For a little extra flavor, feel free to add a squeeze of fresh lime juice to the filling.
Warm the Tortillas | Wrap a stack of 3-5 flour tortillas at a time in damp paper towels and place them on a microwavable-safe plate. Microwave them in 30-second intervals, just until the tortillas are soft and pliable.
Fill the Tortillas & Roll | Add about 2 tablespoons of filling to each tortilla and roll tightly. Once you have 3 to 4 assembled, add them to the oil 1 at a time.
Fry | Be sure to add the flautas de pollo to the oil seam-side down. To keep the tortillas from unraveling and the filling in place. Then, use a pair of tongs to hold the flauta in place for about 15 seconds. If needed, a toothpick works fine here to hold it together. Fry for about 30-45 seconds on each side, just until the flauta is golden brown in color.
Cool | When the tortilla is golden brown in color, using the tongs, place it on a cooling rack over a paper-towel-lined baking sheet. We don't recommend transferring directly to the baking sheet because the bottoms of the flautas won't get air flow and can become soggy.
Serve | Load up your chicken flautas with delicious toppings and enjoy!
Chicken Flauta Variations
Flautas don't have to just be for chicken. Use this recipe as a starting point, and sub in different cheeses, types of chicken or other proteins, or even veggies! This is a great baseline recipe for using up meaty Mexican leftovers.
Chicken | Juicy, shredded tinga de pollo, zero-effort crockpot chicken fajitas, or shredded chicken tacos in a delicious Mexican red sauce make incredible choices for poultry-based flauta fillings.
Beef | For your beef filling options, flank steak from tacos al carbon with its cilantro-lime marinade works great for a flautas filling. Simple homemade ground taco meat and the spruced-up charred beef from carne asada would take any flauta recipe to the next level!
Pork | Full-flavored, bite-sized carnitas or the filling from our pulled pork quesadillas are a way to go as a pork filling sub for chicken flautas.
Vegetarian | Fajita veggies and charro beans make for a Tex-Mex flauta masterpiece! (Be sure to drain the bean juice!)
How to Store Chicken Flautas
Make-Ahead | The chicken can be prepared up to 2 days in advance. You can shred the cheese up to 4 days in advance.
Refrigerate | Allow the flautas to cool, then transfer to a storage-safe container, where it can be refrigerated for up to 3-4 days.
Freeze | Allow to cool completely, then transfer to an airtight, freezer-safe container with little headspace. You can also use a freezer-safe Ziplock bag. Freeze for 2-3 months. To reheat from frozen, cook in the air fryer at 400°F for 10 minutes or in the oven at 400°F for 15-20 minutes.
Reheat | We like to use the air fryer to quickly bring back the crunch. Reheat in the air fryer at 400°F for 6-8 minutes or in oven at 400°F for 10-12 minutes. Warm in the microwave for 1 minute, check, then 30-second intervals beyond that. If you're flautas de pollo have been frozen, you'll likely need to add an additional 2-3 minutes to the cooking time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Flautas de Pollo (Chicken Flautas) is a Tex-Mex dish of tightly rolled and fried tortillas filled with meat and, often, cheese. Chicken is the most popular flauta variety in the United States.
Flautas originated in Mexico and translates to "flutes" in English. This comes as no surprise, really—they are cylindrical, skinny, and narrow, just like flutes.
It can be difficult to determine exactly what it is that differentiates a flauta from a taquito. They're both tacos that have been tightly rolled and fried. However, taquitos are typically smaller in size.
Taquitos are made with small corn tortillas (tortillas de maíz), whereas flautas are often made with flour tortillas (you can use corn, but they don't hold up as well).
The two also differ in origin. Flautas are straight out of Mexico, but taquitos are not. Ralph Pesqueira, Sr. claims to have been the first to serve taquitos in the 1940s out of his San Diego restaurant, Indio.
Rolling corn tortillas without prepping them first can be a kitchen nightmare. They're notorious for cracking under the gentlest of pressure. However, there is a simple solution.
To roll your corn tortillas, follow these steps:
1. Have your sauce and filling ready to go.
2. Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels.
3. Microwave for 45 seconds.
4. Add filling, tuck, and roll.
The best and easiest way to determine when your oil is ready for frying is with a digital thermometer or infrared thermometer. The oil temperature needs to read 350°F-375°F.
Flautas de Pollo (Chicken Flautas)
Ingredients
- 1-½ cup avocado, canola, or vegetable oil
- 2-½ to 3 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
- 1-½ cup Monterrey Jack cheese
- 12 flour tortillas
Instructions
- Add the oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat and wait for it to reach 350°-375°. In the meantime, assemble the flautas.
- Mix the shredded chicken and cheese in a large bowl and set aside until ready to use.
- Wrap a stack of 3-5 flour tortillas at a time in a damp paper towel and place them on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave in 30-second-to-1-minute intervals, just until the tortillas are soft and pliable.
- Add about 2 tablespoons of filling to each tortilla and roll tightly. Once you have 3-4 flautas assembled, begin adding them to the oil one at a time.
- Gently add the flautas to the hot oil seam-side down, and using a pair of tongs, hold it in place for about 15 seconds. Fry for 30-45 seconds on each side, or until the flauta is golden in color. Set aside on a plate lined with paper towels, and repeat with remaining flautas.
- Serve with desired toppings and enjoy!
Nutrition
Sources: The Spruce Eats | Is it a Flauta or Taquito?, Dallas Observer | On the Range: Flautas & Taquitos
Demeter says
These make such a great party appetizer too. So east to make.
Tanya Schroeder says
These look so good and so easy!
Tristin Rieken says
Great blog post - simple and informative and easily answers all my questions in an easy to read layout - plus BEAUTIFUL photos 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Patty says
I love how easy to make and with few ingredients these flautas are, so flavorful and delicious, they're always a hit in the family!
SHANIKA says
This recipe looks so delicious! An easy meal on any day!
Genevieve says
These sound amazing and super easy!
Anita says
It's hard to believe something this delicious only needs 4 ingredients to prepare! We'll be making these often. 🙂
Emily Liao says
This recipe looks delicious and perfect for serving up a party! Can't wait to make this.
Vicky says
Absolutely can NOT wait to try these! What a yummy recipe for taco Tuesday!
kim says
Oh yum! These were SO good! Even my picky kids gobbled them up. I'll definitely be making them again!
Gloria says
OMG this look so delicious. Fun to make and fun to eat. I know my family would love these any night of the week.
Amy says
These look delicious, and also super fun to make and eat! I love the super simple recipe and easy-to-find ingredients!
Pam Greer says
No need to go out for Mexican food anymore when we can make these delicious flautas at home! They are even better than our local restaurant!
Anna says
I love these delicious chicken flautas! So simple, easy and so genius! Perfect for lunch or dinner, and I just know that my whole family is going to love them!
Paula Montenegro says
OMG, I could eat a dozen of these flautas in one sitting! Great idea to have frozen too. And thanks for the explanation about the different dishes.
Tammy says
These look absolutely delicious! Oh my gosh I'd love this for lunch right now 😀 Also enjoyed the little background info and learning the difference between flautas and taquitos! Pinning for later 😀
Ben Myhre says
So... so... tasty. I love these little buggers. So much flavor in a small package and probably one of my favorite Mexican dishes. Thanks for sharing.
Leslie says
You had me at foolproof and Mexican! haha! These look amazing!!
Jacqui DeBono says
I made my own tortillas last week and they were surprisingly good for a first attempt! I have been looking for an excuse to make them again, these are perfect for a weekend treat!
Veronika says
Such a simple recipe but looks absolutely delicious! I actually have have all the ingredients now, so I can make it for dinner tonight!
stephanie says
I love Flautas, this recipe was delicious!!!! I can't wait to make them again.
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
These flautas look great! My kids would love these so might make them - struggling for dinner ideas they actually enjoy whilst they're stuck at home!
Sophie says
I always wanted to do homemade falutas, thanks for your detailed recipe. Time to go to the kitchen.
Denay DeGuzman says
Flautas are a family favorite! Quick and easy to prepare, they're also the ideal Cinco de Mayo party appetizers. Thanks for sharing your yummy recipe.