Tortillas filled with meat and cheese and fried to perfection! Crispy, flavorful flautas are a delicious dinner for everyone!
Flautas are a rolled taco (aka taquito), and a recipe we love to make for dinner or as an appetizer. For Mexican fiestas, we also love to serve them with quesadillas and mini chimis.
What is a flauta?
A flauta is a tortilla that is filled with meat or poultry, cheese, and other fillings. Then it’s fried in a little bit of oil over the stove! It’s perfect to serve as an appetizer, lunch, or dinner dish! It can be filled with any fillings you prefer but this recipe calls for shredded beef.
It’s SO good. This recipe hits it out of the park with anyone who tries it. The crunch from the fried tortilla and the creamy melted cheese mixed in with the beef is just SO YUMMY! I could eat 10 of these flautas if I’m not careful. These don’t last long around my family.
Feel free to switch up the ingredients and add shredded chicken or pulled pork instead of beef, or use flour tortillas instead of corn tortillas. You could even use different cheeses or toppings—the possibilities are endless!
How to Make Flautas
FILLING. You’ll need about 2 cups of shredded beef and 1 cup of shredded cheese for this recipe. This is the perfect time to use up the leftover pot roast (or shredded chicken) you made the other day! Have about 12 corn tortillas on hand too.
Start by heating up the oil in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the shredded beef, cheese, salt & pepper to a bowl and mix everything together.
TORTILLAS. Before preparing the flautas, heat up the tortillas in the microwave, covered with a damp paper towel, for about 20 seconds. This will prevent them from cracking or tearing when you roll them up.
FRY. Add the meat mixture to heated tortillas and roll. Use tongs to hold each flauta and place in oil, seam side down and hold there for a few seconds. Fry the flautas until golden on all sides and repeat until meat is gone. Place each flauta on a paper-towel lined plate.
Cover with foil to keep them warm until ready to serve.
Tips, Tricks + Storing
Can you make them ahead? Flautas are definitely best served warm. I suggest making these right before you’re ready to serve them. Keep them covered with foil until ready to serve and eat.
Storing: Store your leftover flautas wrapped in foil and in an airtight container. Keep them in the fridge for a few days. You can heat them up in the microwave or over the stove for a few minutes. You could even heat them up in the oven on low heat.
our favorite flautas toppings:
Here are some of our favorites:
- guacamole
- salsa
- pico de gallo
- Cafe Rio’s Ranch Dressing
- sour cream
- cilantro dressing
- salsa verde
- chopped tomatoes
Wondering what to serve with flautas?
Here are some of our favorite sides to go with them:
Beef Flautas Recipe
Tortillas filled with meat and cheese and fried to perfection! Crispy, flavorful flautas are a delicious dinner for everyone!
Ingredients
- vegetable oil for frying
- 3 cups shredded beef
- 1/2 c salsa
- 1 small can diced chilies
- 1 cup Mexican cheese shredded
- garlic salt
- pepper
- 12 flour tortillas 5-6 inch rounds
- 2 c shredded iceberg lettuce for serving
Instructions
Pour oil into a large pan/pot. Cover the bottom with 2 inches of oil. Heat oil in a until it reaches 375°F. Use a deep fry thermometer to test.
In a medium bowl combine the shredded beef, salsa, diced chilies, cheese, garlic salt and pepper.
Working with 4 tortillas at a time, spread a heaping spoonful along the middle of each tortilla. Roll tortilla tightly around the filling and secure with a toothpick.
Using tongs, hold each flauta in hot oil until firm, then release to continue cooking. Cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes, then remove to a paper towel-lined plate and immediately season with salt
Keep flautas warm in the oven on a baking tray while assembling and cooking the fautas. Serve with avocado cream sauce or salsa.
Recipe Notes
I like to start with leftover pot roast, but if you don't have any on hand, it will take additional time to cook beef and shred it.
I love your Mexican recipes. this looks delicious.
I absolutely love flautas, and these did not disappoint!
LOVE your recipes! looks so delicious!
I LOVE HOW SIMPLE AND EASY THIS IS TO MAKE! THIS WILL SURELY BE A FAMILY FAVORITE!
I love these!! I prefer them over regular tacos. I keep shredded roast on hand, so that I could make them often. I like to pair it with your Spanish rice!
These are amazing and so easy for dinner. Love the recipe!
Lol i had no idea a flouta and a taquito were the same thing! I really like that you used shredded beef as Opposed to shredded chicken which is what i normally use.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing!
Glad to share! Hope you like them, as much as we do!
I made these for my boys and their FRIENDS the other night and it was a HIT!! They were GONE within seconds. YUMMY
One of my favorite foods. I always Try To have roast beef on hand just so I can make these. Easy and quick you will not be disAppointed!
This recipe looks really amazing thanks for sharing.
You are so welcome! They are my favorite! Hope you try them!
They look so good! You may add shredded letuce, green salsa, red salsa (always two kind of salsa) queso and crema, and when You do justice to your flautas, still have a kinda salad deliciously flavored. my abuelita serves flautas always like that, i thought you guys might want to try it. Anyways, great recipe!
Thank you for saying that!! Yes, you can definitely add that other stuff. That would be YUM!