These highly addicting (you can’t eat just one!) Taquitos in Air Fryer are so easy to make. Best of all, you can make a large batch to store in the freezer and just heat them up for those busy nights. 10 minutes is all it takes to make this homemade vegetarian dish.
Essentially you can stuff these taquitos in an air fryer with any type of filling you want. From shredded chicken, leftover rotisserie chicken, beef, or just cheese and beans like I did with this recipe.
This is one of those easy air fryer recipes you can whip for the whole family. If you are on the Weight Watchers diet, they fit into the diet plan.
Place them in the fryer for 10 minutes, and have a great appetizer, snack, or dinner.
🌯 Why This Recipe Works
- Simple & basic ingredients – We love recipes that have basic ingredients that allow us to think less and get food on the table fast for busy families. This one hits the ball out of the park!
- Affordable to Make – Recipes that can be made quick, easy and with minimal dollars is always going to be key for us. We want to provide recipes that don’t break the bank yet still offer maximum flavor.
- Vegetarian – Vegetarian dishes don’t mean you are necessarily following a vegetarian diet. It can mean a simple Meatless Monday or a couple of meals a week where you choose to leave out meat all together for health or financial reasons.
- Versatile – It’s time to go crazy with this one. Fill these taquitos with virtually anything, including a little bit of leftover chicken or steak. Shred it up and make a few because the rest of the ingredients are things we generally have in the house or don’t mind buying as we will eat them (tortillas and cheese!)
- Quick cook time – With 10 minutes of prep time, and 10 minutes of cooking, this is a super-fast recipe for an easy dinner!
- Freezer Friendly – One of my favorite options is to make food ahead of time and freeze them and this one is fantastic as a freezer meal prep option. Instructions are below. Make sure to snag the Freezer Tips and Storage Times Chart to track how long to keep food in safely in the freezer.
- Kid-approved – Kids love tortillas, beans and cheese so let them have it. This is an extremely healthy option (don’t tell them that!) that they will devour time and time again. Huge bonus is older kids can make these themselves.
Equipment
Air Fryer | We love using our Ninja 4 qt basket and our Instant Vortex 7 in 1 oven for this recipe. The Instant Vortex cooks a lot faster and has a larger capacity so it is fantastic for parties and when we have extra people we are trying to feed.
Tongs | Whether you use the fancy, smancy air fryer accessories or the tongs you have in the utensil drawer, grab something so you don’t burn your fingers.
🌯 Ingredients
It’s almost impossible to eat just one of these air fryer chicken taquitos. Let’s talk about the main ingredients to get you started.
Tortillas – We always use flour tortillas because they roll up so well. Corn, gluten-free, or any other tortilla variety will work too.
Pinto Beans – The main ingredient is the pinto beans. We use canned because they are so convenient, and it saves having to rehydrate them.
Prepare your own pinto beans and use them if you prefer. We make Homemade Slow Cooker Refried Beans that are so easy that you may want to make a batch and freeze them ahead of time just for these taquitos.
Seasonings – We use a variety of seasonings, including taco sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and a special ingredient…brown sugar.
The sweetness from the brown sugar isn’t overwhelming, but it adds enough depth to the flavor that it’s a must.
🍽️ Instructions
These are finger-licking good and will leave a lasting impression on you. They are pretty filling and are super simple to make.
I can’t wait for you to taste them. Take a peek at these easy steps so you can try them:
Step One: Add the pinto beans to a saucepan, sprinkle in the onions, taco sauce, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, pepper, and brown sugar together. Mix well and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Let the bean mixture simmer for five minutes. Sprinkle fresh cilantro or a substitute for a fresh hispanic flavor. Substitute taco seasoning for a quick and easy replacement for the taco sauce, chili powder mix.
Step Two: Remove the beans from the stovetop and let them cool for ten minutes. Use a masher to make the bean mixture smooth.
Step Three: Place the corn tortillas in the microwave and warm them up for ten seconds. Add a layer of beans, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and roll the taquitos up tightly.
Step Four: Place the taquitos in the freezer for two hours so they can set up. Then air fry them in the air fryer basket at 350°F degrees seam side down for ten minutes.
Once they are golden brown, they are ready to serve. Dip them in salsa, guacamole or taco sauce. We love to serve these with a batch of Air Fryer Copycat Taco Bell Quesadillas, Air Fryer Enchiladas and Cilantro Lime Rice. Enjoy!
How Long to Cook Taquitos in Air Fryer
At 350°F degrees, these homemade chicken taquitos cook in just 10 minutes.
At 380°F degrees, air fryer frozen taquitos take 8-10 minutes for the larger ones and 5-8 minutes for the smaller ones.
These are always estimates as all machines are calibrated differently and the wattages are different.
🍲 Meal Prep
These are amazing for meal prepping and are one of our examples at Meal Prep 101. We make several batches and freeze them for later. I have the best luck when I flash freeze them.
Place them on a baking sheet and put them in the freezer for at least two hours. Remove them from the baking sheet and put them in a freezer-safe container. A gallon-sized freezer bag or a plastic airtight container works great.
Don’t forget to label the container, so you know what’s in it and how long it’s good. These will last in the freezer for 5-6 months, so you can see why they are so great for meal prepping. Print off some free Freezer Labels here to help you keep track and the Freezer Storage Chart.
It doesn’t matter if you cook them before freezing or cook them once they are frozen. Either way, they will turn out great. Just heat them in the air fryer, oven, or microwave.
💡 Expert Tips
The best tips I can offer here is to clean the air fryer often. Food splatters and can create a mess inside if you aren’t careful. We love to use the silicone liners or parchment paper for quick, easy clean up but there are still grooves and areas that need attention.
- Unplug it for cleaning. You should never clean the air fryer while it’s plugged in.
- Allow it to cool completely. If the air fryer is hot, you risk getting burned or creating a hot steam.
- Use a washcloth to wipe everything down. Dip the washcloth in hot water with soap. Then carefully clean the inside, outside, and basket. Use a microfiber cloth to avoid damaging the air fryer. Don’t forget about cleaning the glass.
- Wash the trays. My air fryer has removable trays that are dishwasher safe.
- Clean after every use. It’s important to clean it after each use, so you don’t end up with a build-up of oil and other gunk.
🍴 Substitutions
Yum, these are amazing! There is no wrong way to make a one, so I wanted to share a few ideas for you:
- Chicken – Add some shredded chicken for some extra protein. This is so good and makes them even more filling.
- Beef – Either shred some leftover steak or sprinkle in some ground beef to the mix. It’s delicious!
- Pork – Instead of pork tacos, make pork taquitos.
- Pepper Jack – Give yourself a little bit of spice by adding some pepper jack cheese. I love the flavor.
- Mozzarella – Adjusting the cheese is one of my favorite ways to make it taste a little bit different.
- Black Beans – Substitute black beans for pinto beans. They add a lovely color and taste good too.
Snag our {freebie} 3-page Air Fryer Cooking Times Printables, Deep Fryer to Air Fryer Conversion Chart and Oven to Air Fryer Conversion Chart.
🌶️ Recipe FAQs
Traditional taquitos use a corn tortilla. I like using a flour tortilla, but feel free to reach for corn if you prefer the flavor. Either will work.
Eat your taquitos plain or pair with sour cream, salsa, guacamole or another type of dipping sauce.
To tightly roll them, add in your filling and start rolling at one end. You can use a toothpick to secure it, if you are worried about it unrolling.
These crisp up really well in the air fryer. If you want an extra crispy brush the outside of the flour tortillas lightly with butter or a spray of olive oil. It will help them to crisp and turn golden brown. Avocado oil works great here as well.
Keep the tortillas under a warm, damp paper towel until you are ready to assemble the taquitos.
What to Serve with Taquitos
We love to serve sour cream, guacamole, salsa, slices of avocado and even a bit black bean and corn salsa. Queso Fresca or cotija cheese (or any of the substitutes) sprinkled on top as they come out of the fryer.
When making this a whole spread, the best side dishes for taquitos are:
More Air Fryer Yumminess
What is your favorite thing to put in your Air Fryer? Comment below and let us know!
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Air Fryer Taquitos
Ingredients
- ½ cup Cheddar Jack Cheese shredded
- 6 Tortillas flour, soft
Taquito Bean Mixture
- 1 can Pinto Beans
- 1 Onion chopped
- 1 tbsp Taco Sauce
- 1 tsp Chili Powder
- 1 tsp Cumin ground
- Garlic Salt to tast
- 1 tsp Brown Sugar
Instructions
Prepare the Pinto Bean Mixture
- Add the full can of Pinto Beans, chopped onion, taco sacue, chili powder, cumin and brown sugar to a medium sauce pan and bring it to a boil.
- Let simmer for five minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning
- Remove from the stove and let cool
- Use a wooden spoon to mash the mixture together into a paste
Prepare the Taquitos
- Warm the flour tortillas in the microwave for 10-15 seconds
- Spread a light coating of the bean mixture lightly on the warmed tortilla
- Sprinkle the cheese on top
- Roll the tortilla tightly
- Place in the freezer for two hours in order for them to harden
Cook in the Air Fryer
- Heat the Air Fryer to 350 degrees.
- Add the rolled up taquitos, keeping plenty of space between them for good air flow
- Set the timer for 10 minutes
- Serve immediately. Add salsa, sour cream or cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
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