Flautas

Crispy and crunchy flavorful flautas are a delicious dinner for everyone! They’re filled with beef and fried to perfection.

This flauta recipe is filled with beef (we like to use leftover Pot Roast for the filling), but we also have a Chicken Flautas recipe we love just as much!

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A Crunchy Roll to Love!

Flautas (which translates to “flutes”) is a Mexican dish made from tortillas filled with meat or poultry, cheese, and other fillings. It is then fried for a crispy finish!

My mom and grandma have made these my entire life, and they’ve always been a favorite. Honestly, I could eat 5 of these flautas for dinner if I’m not careful. 😉

Why we love them:

• For any meal. Flautas are perfect to serve as an appetizer, lunch, or dinner dish!
• Alternative fillings. They can be filled with any fillings you prefer but this recipe calls for shredded beef.
• Crunchy and addictive. This recipe hits it out of the park. The crunch from the fried tortilla and the creamy melted cheese mixed in with the beef makes it one of our FAVORITE Mexican dinner ideas.

Ingredients

• vegetable or canola oil for frying
• shredded beef – or use Shredded Chicken or Shredded Pork.
• shredded Mexican blend cheese – or another favorite like pepper jack cheese, cheddar cheese, or Monterey jack cheese
• salsa – store-bought or homemade
• diced chiles – adds a lot of flavor. For added flavor include diced onions or jalapenos.
• garlic salt with parsley flakes, salt, and black pepper to taste – or add red pepper flakes, paprika, garlic powder, chili powder, or cumin for added spice.
• tortillas – make using Flour or corn tortillas (we used corn). Sometimes corn tortillas can crack when rolling. Warm them in a pan, on a griddle, or heat them for about 20 seconds in the microwave. If it cracks the tortilla is too cold or it is stale.

How to Make Flautas

1. PREP. Preheat the oven to the warm setting or about 200°F. Fill a large saucepan with about ¾ inch oil. Heat over medium heat to 375°F.
2. FILL. In a medium bowl, combine the filling ingredients.
3. ROLL. Working with 4 tortillas at a time, spread a heaping spoonful of chicken filling along the middle of each tortilla. Roll the tortillas tightly around the filling and secure each one with a toothpick.
4. FRY. 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.
5. SERVE. Transfer flautas to a foil-lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while assembling and cooking the remaining tortillas. Serve warm with toppings.

Storing Info

• Make ahead of time. Flautas are best served warm. Keep them covered with foil until ready to serve and eat.
• STORE. Wrap leftovers in foil and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days. Heat them in the microwave, over the stove for a few minutes, or in the oven on low heat.

Serve these with flautas:

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5 from 63 votes

Flautas

By: Lil’ Luna

These crispy beef flautas have been enjoyed for generations – they're fried to perfection and ready to eat in under 30 minutes!

Servings: 15 flautas

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 15 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• rotary cheese grater
• tongs

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ vegetable or canola oil, for frying
• ▢ 3 cups shredded beef, or shredded cooked chicken
• ▢ 1 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
• ▢ ½ cup salsa, store-bought or homemade
• ▢ 1 (4-ounce) can diced chiles
• ▢ garlic salt with parsley flakes, to taste
• ▢ pepper, to taste
• ▢ 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas, (or flour tortillas)
• ▢ salt, to taste

Toppings

• ▢ shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes, green salsa, guacamole, Cilantro Ranch dressing

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to the warm setting or about 200°F.
• Fill a large saucepan with about ¾ inch oil. Heat over medium heat to 375°F.
• In a medium bowl, combine shredded beef, cheese, salsa, diced chiles, garlic salt, and pepper.
• Working with 4 tortillas at a time, spread a heaping spoonful of filling along the middle of each tortilla. Roll the tortillas tightly around the filling and secure each one 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.
• Transfer to a foil-lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven while assembling and cooking the remaining tortillas. Serve warm with toppings.

Video

Notes

Airfryer. Preheat the air fryer to 400° F. Lightly spray the flautas with cooking spray. Working in batches cook for about 8-10 minutes, until golden brown and crispy, flipping them halfway through the cooking time.

Prep ahead. Prepare the shredded beef filling up to 48 hours in advance store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to fill and fry.

Store leftover in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days or freeze for 1-2 months.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1flauta, Calories: 116kcal, Carbohydrates: 1g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 40mg, Sodium: 141mg, Potassium: 187mg, Fiber: 0.2g, Sugar: 0.4g, Vitamin A: 97IU, Vitamin C: 0.2mg, Calcium: 60mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.