Chipotle Chicken Flautas

My kids are super active, and this easy chicken flautas recipe gets us through busy, hungry weeknights. I usually make a big batch and freeze some, that way the kids can pop them in the air fryer and have a protein-packed meal, no matter what’s on our schedule that day. 

Flauta means ‘flute’ in Spanish and this classic Mexican dish does indeed look a bit like a flute! A little bigger than taquitos, one or two flautas is our family’s favorite busy-day dinner. Just add guacamole, and you’re set! 

Ingredients & Substitution Ideas

• Shredded chicken: I’ve included a recipe for shredded chicken in the flautas recipe below, but a great short cut is to use the meat off a store-bought rotisserie chicken! 
• Spices: Cumin, chili powder, garlic powder.
• Canned chipotle: These smoky peppers in adobo sauce add a little heat and ton of chipotle flavor. 
• 1 lime 
• Sour cream 
• Jack cheese: Either pepper Jack or regular are my pick, depending on how spicy you want your flautas to be, because Jack cheese melts so well. You could also try cheddar or mozzarella. 
• Flour tortillas: The same size you’d use for making burritos. 

How To Make Chicken Flautas, Step By Step

1. Prep the chicken. Shred the meat off a store-bought chicken, or follow my directions for making delicious and quick shredded chicken. 
2. Make the flautas filling by mixing the shredded chicken, salt, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, chipotle, adobo, lime juice, sour cream, and cheese. 
3. Assemble the flautas: Take care not to overfill the flautas. Use about ⅓ cup of the chicken filling per flauta. 
4. Roll the tortillas tightly and place them seam-side down.  
5. Cook the flautas! In the air fryer, oven or deep fried in a large skillet — you pick!  

How To Bake Flautas

While frying is the classic way to make flautas, deep-frying isn’t something most of us want to do every night. This recipe works well baked in the oven! To replicate the crispness of the fried flautas, lay the filled flautas on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and spray or brush them with oil. Then, bake them in a 450°F oven for about 10 minutes. 

How To Freeze Flautas

See even more details in the recipe card below. 

I love to make quadruple batches of this recipe and freeze chicken flautas for the whole season, because they keep for up to 4 months. You have two options: 

• Cook the flautas and then freeze them:  Bake, fry or air fry the flautas. Then, let them cool and arrange them on a baking sheet. Pop the baking sheet in the freezer overnight and let them freeze through. Then, move the frozen flautas to an airtight container, label and freeze for up to 4 months. 
• Freeze the flautas before cooking: After you fill and roll the flautas, freeze them on a baking sheet and then move them to an airtight container. Freeze for up to 4 months.

Tips & Variations

• Make a vegetarian flautas by adding two 2 cups each of beans and cooked potatoes in place of the chicken, just make sure to thoroughly drain the beans. 
• If you deep-fry the flautas, keep them crisp by letting them cool on a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. Don’t cool them on a paper towel or the bottoms will get soggy and soft. 
• Make them mild: For milder flautas, use canned green chiles instead of the chipotles in adobo and use Jack cheese instead of pepper Jack. 

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