Description
These Air Fryer Taquitos are crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside, packed with flavorful rotisserie chicken and spices. They come together quickly and make a perfect appetizer, snack, or main dish with authentic Mexican flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup yellow onion, minced
- 2 cups cooked, shredded chicken (from a rotisserie chicken)
- 4 ounce can diced green chilies
- 1 tablespoon fresh chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded
Assembly
- 12 six-inch flour tortillas (fajita size)
- Nonstick cooking spray
Instructions
- Cook Onion: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the minced onion and cook for 4 minutes until softened.
- Add Filling Ingredients: Stir in the shredded chicken, diced green chilies, chopped cilantro, and taco seasoning. Cook everything together for 2-3 minutes to heat through and blend flavors.
- Mix in Cheese: Remove the skillet from heat and fold in the shredded pepper jack cheese until well combined.
- Prepare Tortillas: Stack the tortillas and wrap them in damp paper towels. Microwave on high for 60 seconds to make them pliable and easier to roll.
- Roll Taquitos: Place 3 to 4 tablespoons of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Roll tightly to seal and form each taquito. Repeat for all tortillas.
- Preheat Air Fryer: Set your air fryer to 400°F and allow it to preheat fully before cooking.
- Arrange Taquitos: Place taquitos seam-side down in the air fryer basket with space between them for air circulation. You may need to cook in batches—6 taquitos fit in a 5.8 quart air fryer at once.
- Cook First Side: Spray taquitos lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Air fry at 400°F for 4-5 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
- Flip and Cook Other Side: Use tongs to flip the taquitos seam-side up. Spray again with cooking spray and air fry for another 4-5 minutes until crisp.
- Serve: Once cooked, serve taquitos hot with salsa, sour cream, chipotle sauce, or guacamole for dipping.
Notes
- Ensure taquitos are rolled tightly to prevent them from unrolling during air frying.
- If taquitos aren't crispy enough, add 1-2 more minutes per side while cooking.
- Spraying with cooking spray before air frying is essential for getting a crispy and browned exterior.
- If you don't have an air fryer, bake in a 425°F oven with convection if available: spray taquitos, bake 6-7 minutes, flip, spray again, and bake another 6-7 minutes until golden.
- To make gluten-free taquitos, substitute flour tortillas with corn or gluten-free tortillas.
- For spicier taquitos, use hot green chilies and add 2-3 teaspoons of hot sauce or cook diced jalapeño or serrano peppers with the onions.
- You can use this method to make beef, cheese, soyrizo, or bean and cheese taquitos by adjusting the filling accordingly.
- Uncooked prepared taquitos store in the fridge up to 3 days and freeze up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
- Reheat leftover cooked taquitos in the air fryer at 400°F for 2-3 minutes per side.
- When cooking frozen taquitos in the air fryer, add 2 minutes to each side’s cooking time (5-6 minutes per side).
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 taquito
- Calories: 180 kcal
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 350 mg
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 40 mg
