Got leftover chicken? Turn it into the BEST Chicken Flautas! Tender and juicy seasoned chicken, wrapped up in a tortilla and deep fried. Come to mama. Top them with green avocado sauce, dunk it in some sour cream, sprinkle it with Pico de Gallo and cotija cheese, and you’ve got the most amazing Mexican feast. Originally posted May 3, 2013.
So I just got back from Girl’s Camp, which is a week in the forest with 200 girls, zero dudes, no phone service, and lots of camp songs and Jesus. It’s THE LITERAL BEST. I went to camp every year as a teen growing up, and now it’s my daughter Charlotte’s turn. I’ve returned as a leader and realized it’s even better as an adult, and not only because I get to horrify her with my uncool-adult-ways.
It’s an actual trip not having phone service though. When was the last time you went 6 days with no way to look anything up, no videos, no news, not even a check in from the hus?
“The hus” = your friends, btw. (you were thinking husband, right?) WRONG
I learned ALL KINDS of new slang this year at camp. Sometimes it seems like these darn kids are speaking a foreign language, I swear. I sound more and more ancient every day, even to myself (golly gee.) But when you try to use the new slang, kids look at you like you’re a slug that’s grown a third eyeball.
My dear friend Markie and I were in charge of assigning chores to the cabins at camp. Because no one likes scrubbing toilets, we gave out prizes for a job well done every night at campfire. We wore silly butterfly outfits and did dumb dances and performed little skits or whatever we could come up with to make the girls laugh.
One night we did a slang quiz. We pulled a bunch of adults from the audience and asked them to define slang terms, like Skibidi toilet Ohio riz, six seveeeen, mewing, glazing, tuff, gyatt, low taper fade, mean mugging, aura farming, etc. (see?? foreign language!!)
The girls thought it was hilarious to see their leaders stumped, of course.
But THEN. We pulled a few girls from the audience and asked them about slang from OUR generation: What is a request line? What does “Psych!” mean? What does ROTFL stand for? G2G? and my personal favorite: name what movie this quote is from: “Three-horns never play with long necks.” (Anyone? Anyone??)
The movie quote stumped them, I was so proud. The problem is that they already know most of our slang terms because us OLD PEOPLE still say them all the time!!
Okay, on to the recipe!! Today we are talking Chicken FLautas! PLEASE tell me you have tried these.
“I made these Chicken Flautas for Eric’s birthday last week. And again yesterday. Because sometimes one batch of deep fried deliciousness isn’t enough for one week. Eric lived in Mexico for 2 years when he served his mission there, so he got to eat food like this every day. He was so happy I made this, I thought he was going to cry into his Pico de Gallo.” -Original post from 2013. (What happened to the days when we could eat deep-fried-dinner twice in one week with no consequences??)
What is a Flauta?
A flauta is a tortilla wrapped tightly around a filling (in this case chicken), then fried and topped with magical things like Pico de Gallo and avocado-salsa verde sauce. Yes please.
Flautas are just like taquitos, the kind you used slide onto a pan straight from that box in the freezer, bake up, and eat 10 at a time of back in high school. (Was that just me?? Long live frozen Costco food.)
Flauta means “flute” in Spanish, and don’t these look just like little flutes? I like that name because it makes me think these small, crispy little treasures are light and airy just like flute music…rather than deep fried in 100% fatty oil. I always try to channel the “light, sweet flute music” as I down my eighth flauta in a row, it really helps my efforts to defy reality.
Flautas vs taquitos
There is a lot of talk about flautas vs taquitos, and whether or not they are the same thing. For a long time, I thought flautas were made with flour tortillas and taquitos with corn. Well, after a LOT of digging from my dear sister Laura, who helps research recipes for the blog (she read through dozens of online Mexican discussion boards and read lots of recipes in Spanish because she’s fluent like that), we’ve come to the real answer: it actually depends on where you are!
Think of it kinda like “BBQ” here in the states: what that word means to you depends on where you live. In Texas, beef reigns, especially smoked Beef Brisket. In the Carolinas, it’s most often a whole roasted hog. In California it means eating outside with paper plates 😂 Just google “different types of BBQ” and you will get an education, trust!
Well, it’s a similar situation in Mexico. There are so many regional food differences! Coming back to flautas, you’ll find that in norteño (northern) states, flour tortillas are much more prevalent and are the most common (and maybe only) type of tortilla used for flautas.
Further south in Mexico City and the surrounding areas, a flauta is a long, thin rolled taco in a corn tortilla. I had also heard many times that long meant flauta, and short meant taquito, but I never understood what that meant until I saw these: they literally sell super long corn tortillas just for flautas. It was a total revelation seeing them!!
Truth is, both flour and corn tortillas make delicious flautas! Let’s be real, seasoned chicken, wrapped in a tortilla, then fried, I mean. What’s not to love here?
- Flour tortillas get puffy and lightly crispy when fried, and are more neutral flavor-wise.
- Corn tortillas get crispity-crunchy like tortilla chips and have that distinctive corn flavor.
I love the super crunchy crispy corny texture for flautas, so in this recipe we’re going with corn tortillas!
The BEST flautas de pollo
Flautas are really simple, in theory. It’s just chicken wrapped in a tortilla and fried. Nothing to it right? OH JUST WAIT. Things can go wrong and they will. Pay attention so you don’t screw it up:
- Lightly coat the tortillas with oil and then microwave or heat on a comal or cast iron skillet til just warm and pliable, so they don’t go cracking on you
- Go easy on the filling! Overstuffing the tortilla breaks the tortilla when you roll or fry, and that is just sad
- Use GLUE to seal your flautas shut. No, not Elmer’s. 😂 Make a simple paste of cornstarch and water (or flour and water) to seal your flautas before frying. No flautas (or fingers) were harmed by toothpicks in the making of these flautas!
- Shallow fry in neutral oil at 350-375 degrees
- Always fry seam-side down first to keep the filling in the tortilla
- Garnishes are EVERYTHING for this meal. Make or buy a great salsa, pico de gallo, and some Mexican crema to top your flautas. And don’t forget the cotija or queso fresco.
Chicken flautas recipe ingredients
Here’s a quick shopping list to help you gather your ingredients! Frying is a project, so I try to make my life SO much easier by buying rotisserie chicken for the filling. Or use leftover chicken! You can also buy the pico and the salsa verde to simplify your life. See the recipe card below for the full ingredients and instructions!
- onion
- garlic
- chicken, cooked and shredded (I use rotisserie)
- Corn tortillas
- neutral frying oil like canola or avocado
- Mexican Crema
- Pico de Gallo
- Salsa Verde
- Avocado
- shredded romaine or iceberg
How to make flautas
Okay here we go! First start with some onions in a pan. I know, I know, I said it was just chicken. But onions are just so gooood
Add in your already-cooked-chicken (I love a good Costco rotisserie..) and add in some spices: salt, pepper, onion, garlic.
At this point, make sure you start heating up your oil for frying, it takes about 15 minutes.
Set that aside and let’s start prepping our tortillas. Dip your fingers in a little bowl of oil like this:
And rub the oil all over the top and bottom of a tortilla. Stack it on a plate and continue until all of them are nice and oily. This will make them pliable so they don’t crack when you start rolling! Stack all the oiled tortillas on a plate and keep covered.
Next up, we’re going to make our “glue”. This step is a game changer!!! I can’t tell you how many flautas I have bitten into only to find I was chomping on a stray toothpick. This method is super easy and no annoying toothpicks!
Keep mixing the cornstarch and water until it’s just like Elmer’s glue. Then, line up a SMALL bit of shredded chicken on a warmed tortilla. I like to do this process on a big baking sheet.
Fold in the edges, then roll.
When you get to this last little flap of tortilla at the end, brush on your “glue.” Make sure you hold it for a few seconds.
Line up all your completes flautas on a pan and cover them with a damp paper towel so they don’t dry out.
Then fry them, a few at a time so they have plenty of space! Make sure you wait in between batches to bring the temperature back up to where it should be. If your flautas fall apart reinforce the glue with toothpicks! The longer you wait in between glueing and frying, the more likely they are to fall apart.
Whatever you do, DON’T forget to make the sauce!! It’s super easy.
And voila!! Chow time!
How to serve Chicken Flautas
Let me just say, garnishes are everything when it comes to Chicken Flautas. There’s not a lot going on with the flauta itself, it’s chicken in a fried tortilla. While I wouldn’t turn my nose up at it, something magical happens when you add the proper garnishes.
There are some of my favorite toppings for chicken flautas. The top 5 are non-negotiable, at least in my opinion. (Yes!! ALL of them! Don’t short yourself!) Here are some of my must-haves:
- pico de gallo
- Mexican Crema
- a good red or green salsa (I’ve included a great avocado-salsa verde sauce in the recipe card!)
- some thinly shredded lettuce
- more queso fresco
- freshly squeezed lime juice
- chopped fresh cilantro
- jalapeño slices
- if you want a different sauce, My Favorite Guacamole is never a wrong choice. Some Homemade Chipotle Sauce would be amazing. And I’m not gonna lie, there is no doubt in my mind I’d go to town dipping these bad boys in some Legendary 7 Layer Bean Dip!!
Side dishes for this meal
If you’re making a whole meal of it, here are more of my favorite Mexican-inspired recipes that could round out the meal.
- Virgin Pina Coladas >> start your meal off with tropical flavors (tiny umbrella optional).
- Chile Rellenos Casserole >> is it a meal, a side dish, the best breakfast ever? YES.
- Mexican Street Corn Dip >> Another favorite of Eric’s that reminds him of his days in Mexico. And honestly I would eat this with a spoon as a side, or maybe even poured all over the top of my flautas.
- Mexican Cucumber Salad with Cilantro and Lime >> so refreshing and cool, and nice balance to the fried flautas
- Traditional Tejano Pinto Beans >> I can’t get enough of these
- Best Tres Leches Cake >> any meal is better when it ends with a slice of this stuff
How to store a flauta
Cooled flautas can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Note that they won’t be crispy if you warm them up in the microwave. You can reheat them by frying them a second time, warming them in the air fryer, or heating them in the oven for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees.
You can also freeze flautas! Costco does it!! 😂 This can happen either before or after frying, and the method is the same either way. Make sure you line up the flautas in a single layer on a baking sheet, then stick the pan in the freezer for 30 minutes. After they’re flash frozen, transfer the flautas to a freezer ziplock bag and stash in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to chow on flautas, you can follow the instructions in the recipe card to fry them (add a few minutes per side) or bake in a 425 degree oven for 15-25 minutes.
Eat these! Then go work out!!
Chicken Flauta FAQ
Flautas are like a thin, rolled up taco that’s deep fried. They can be made with flour or corn tortillas depending on the region in Mexico.
A flauta is a flute! Poke some holes in it and play?? 😂
The terms are used interchangeably in some places! Basically, they both refer to thin, rolled tacos. In Northern Mexico, they are most often made with flour tortillas, and in the South they are usually made with corn tortillas.
Would it surprise you that the answer is chicken? Seasonings and some aromatics like onion and garlic can sometimes be added, but truly, plain chicken is often the filling. I’m convinced that some Mexican Mama many years ago had just a bit of leftover chicken and had to make it stretch to feed everyone. Hence, tiny amounts of chicken rolled up and fried. BAM, dinner. I bet we would have been friends.
I love the avocado-salsa verde sauce in the recipe card. I also think any kind of red salsa or green salsa (like in these enchiladas) is amazing on top. You could also use some 10 minute Red Enchilada Sauce, My Favorite Guacamole, Homemade Chipotle Sauce, or even some Easy Cheese Sauce! Oh, and do NOT skip the Mexican Crema (sour cream)!!!
Other great Mexican recipes!
I count my lucky stars all the dang time that I grew up in California, the land of milk and honey and Mexican food. It’s soooo good and I love it all. Here are some more amazing recipes to try!
- Pozole Rojo Like Abuela’s >> this stuff is legit, and one of my favorite soups of all time (which is saying a lot)
- Best Chicken Tacos Recipe (Stovetop or Crockpot) >> we make these are at home all. the. time. and never get sick of it
- Traditional Tejano Carne Guisada (Braised Beef for Tacos) >> One of my top recipes of all time! More tex mex, but totally fits the bill and makes the most amazing burrito meat
- The Chicken Fajitas Recipe That Changed My Mind >> get that sizzling goodness at home!
- Easy Baked Mexican Meatballs >> you need to to try these to understand just how much flavor is packed into each little bite. They’re the best!
- Slow Cooker Pork Tacos with Mexican Coleslaw >> this recipe is about as simple as it gets, and turns out delicious every time
- Mexican Shrimp from Well Plated
- Tex Mex Stuffed Bell Peppers from Fox and Briar
I posted this recipe in 2013:
Here is my flautas picture from yesteryear! The old story is below the recipe card ⬇
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Chicken Flautas Recipe
Ingredients
For the chicken filling:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil*, for sauteing onion
- 1 medium onion, diced very finely
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, use 1/2 teaspoon if all you have is table salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 garlic cloves, minced very finely
- 1 pound rotisserie chicken, shredded, about 4 cups
To assemble and fry flautas:
- 2 cups vegetable oil*, for frying (enough to go 1-inch high in your pan)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil*, for rubbing on tortillas
- 30 corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 2 to 4 tablespoons water, enough to make a glue-like paste
For the Avocado Sauce
- 12 ounces salsa verde , homemade or store bought
- 2 small avocados, or one large
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste; use less if all you have is table salt
- 2 teaspoons roasted chicken better than bouillon
- 1 lime , juiced
- 1/2 cup water, plus an extra 1/2 cup, to desired thinness
- 1 jalapeno, optional, if you want it spicier
Topping ideas
- Crema Mexicana, table cream or sour cream styles will work
- Queso Fresco cheese, crumbled; cotija or feta are good subs
- Pico de Gallo, tap for recipe
- shredded lettuce, optional
- cilantro, chopped
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Start by making Pico de Gallo if you're making yours fresh (you should!) Keep chilled in the refrigerator until it's time to serve the flautas.
- Make the Avocado Sauce: In a blender, add 12 ounces salsa verde, 2 small avocados, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 teaspoons of roasted Chicken Better Than Bouillon Base, the juice from 1 lime, and 1/2 cup water.
- Blend for 30-60 seconds until it is completely pureed. If you want it spicy, add a whole jalapeno and blend again. (You can remove the seeds and membranes if you don't want it SUPER spicy.)
- Add water 2-3 tablespoons at a time until the sauce is a thin, drizzling consistency. (Don't add more than 1 cup total water to this recipe) Cover and set aside.
- Make the chicken filling: Chop the onion very finely, more than you normally chop it.
- Saute onion and spices. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When it starts to shimmer, swirl to coat the pan. Add the chopped onion, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, and 1/2 teaspoon onion powder. Sauté for about 5-8 minutes or until translucent.
- Add garlic. Smash and mince 4 cloves of garlic. Add the garlic to the onions and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Add the chicken. Add about 4 cups shredded rotisserie chicken to the onions and stir it all together. Heat on medium until the chicken is warm, then remove from heat. Cover and set aside.
- Preheat the oil: Add oil to a high sided skillet so that the oil goes at least 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Turn the burner to medium-low and let the oil preheat to 375 degrees F. It will take about 15 minutes to get to 375.
- Oil the corn tortillas: Pour 2 tablespoons oil into a small bowl. Set out 30 corn tortillas. Dip your fingers into the oil and rub it all over both sides of one tortilla. Don't soak it, but make sure both sides glisten with a sheen of oil. 2 tablespoons oil is about enough for 30 tortillas, maybe a little more.
- Cover the tortillas. Set the oiled tortillas on the plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Continue with the remaining tortillas.
- Tortilla Glue: Instead of sealing with toothpicks (which you can totally do if you prefer!), we're going to "glue" our flautas shut. In a small bowl, add 1/4 cup cornstarch. Add 2 tablespoons of water and stir. It will be hard at first! Keep adding water in 1 teaspoon increments until you get an Elmer's glue consistency.
- Microwave the tortillas. Cover the stack of 30 oiled tortillas with a few damp paper towels, they need to be covered completely. Microwave for one minute. Pull them out and check one. You want them to be pliable enough that they don't crack when rolled. If they are still a bit stiff, keep heating in the microwave in 20 second increments until soft, but not so hot that they fall apart.
- Roll the flautas: On a baking sheet, place one warmed tortilla. (Keep the rest covered!) Place 2 tablespoons chicken on the quarter of the tortilla closest to you. Tuck the edge of the tortilla around the filling, then roll tightly away from you to make a neat cylinder, leaving about 1/2 inch of the tortilla open at the end.
- Brush with "glue:" Using a pastry brush or a spoon, carefully brush or spread some of the cornstarch paste onto the tortilla. Finish the roll, then place the flauta seam side down on a baking sheet. Cover immediately with a damp paper towel.
- Continue rolling about 5-10 more flautas, then take a break and start frying the ones you have rolled. (If you wait too long in between "gluing" and frying, the flautas will fall apart in the oil.) Get someone to help you as you move back and forth between rolling and frying! Holler at them kids!
- Prep a pan and heat the oven for finished flautas. Place a cooling rack on a baking sheet in the oven and set your oven to its lowest setting (mine is 170 degrees).
- Check the temperature: Use an instant read thermometer to check the temperature of your oil, it should be about 375 degrees. Adjust your burner to get the heat where you need it.
- Fry: Carefully add the flautas to the hot oil a few at a time, seam side down. Fry for 1-2 minutes until golden. Flip the flautas with tongs, and cook for another 1-2 minutes until golden on the other side. The flautas will continue to darken after you remove them from the oil. Do NOT let them get brown.
- Keep warm. Set the finished flautas on the cooling rack that is set over the baking sheet in the oven. The oven will keep the flautas warm and crisp until it's time to serve.
- Continue rolling, gluing, and frying until they are all done.
- Serve: On a plate, add several flautas. Drizzle the Mexican Crema and the avocado sauce as liberally as you like all of the top of them. Add pico de gallo, shredded lettuce if you're feeling healthy, and crumbled cotija cheese. These would be great served with some Mexican Rice and Tejano Beans on the side!
- Store: Keep cooled leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in an air fryer, the oven, or a toaster oven.
- Freeze uncooked OR fried flautas (make sure they're cooled) in a single layer on a baking sheet for 30 minutes. Transfer to a ziplock bag and keep in freezer for 2-3 months. Fry flautas as instructed, straight from frozen, adding about one minute per side.
Notes
Nutrition
My blog post story from 2013:
I posted a version of this recipe back in 2013, when my 14 year old daughter Charlotte was just a baby. Here’s what was going on back then:
Eric and I just realized that we’ve been giving Charlotte way too much fluoride. For like a year. We’re supposed to give her a drop…not a dropper full. Parents of the Year Award right here. (I swear there are no instructions on the bottle. The pharmacist just happened to mention it this time.) I wasn’t too worried about it until I looked up “fluoride overdose” and the first hit’s list of symptoms said, “Abdominal pain…abnormal taste…heart attacks…” No big deal, right? You can use this as evidence in court if Charlotte drops dead anytime soon.
(Update 2019: 6 years later and Charlotte is alive and well! Though at 8 years old she’s starting to develop a bit of an attitude. Do you think we can blame that on the flouride??)
