Air Fried Chicken Flautas (with freezer instructions)

Chicken Flautas are filled with delicious cheese, cilantro & spices and packed with flavor. Make a batch and freeze the rest for later. I love using pre-cooked shredded chicken to make an easy 30-minute meal. Pop these in the oven for a quick lunch or dinner straight from the freezer.

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Flauta or Taquito?

This term is sometimes interchangeable, however, when I actually looked up what the difference was between a flauta and a taquito it made sense. A taquito is traditionally known to be smaller and made with a corn tortilla whereas a flauta is much larger and made with a flour tortilla. I found a fun article here you might like.

Can you cook frozen chicken in the Instant Pot?

Yes! Cooking frozen chicken in the Instant Pot is my go-to when I’ve forgotten to take something out to defrost or I am in a hurry to get dinner on the table. This works best when I am using thin-cut chicken breast so I can keep the cooking time under 10 minutes.

• Thawed chicken breast pressure cook/manual high pressure. If you’re using thin chicken breasts set for 6-8 minutes and for thick breasts 10-12 minutes with NPR.
• Frozen chicken breast pressure cook/manual high pressure for thin breasts (be sure to separate them)  8-10 minutes and for thick 12-15 minutes with NPR.
• For how to cook a whole fryer chicken in the Instant Pot read how I do that HERE

If you are unsure about how long to cook chicken please refer to the Instant Pot Cooking Time Chart

How to make Air Fried Chicken Flautas

For this recipe, you’ll need about 4 cups of shredded chicken. Generally, about 1.5 lbs. of chicken will yield about 4 cups of cooked shredded chicken. If you’re in a hurry you can substitute canned chicken like Costco’s Kirkland brand canned chicken breast. 

Once the chicken is cooked and shredded place it in a large mixing bowl. To the mixing bowl add green salsa, lime juice, softened cream cheese, Monterey jack cheese, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, granulated garlic, sea salt, and cilantro. Using a rubber spatula mix until all the ingredients are combined, this will be a thick mixture.

Layout burrito-sized tortillas, I used whole wheat tortillas. Spoon about ½ cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of the tortilla and spread out the mixture a bit. Roll up tightly, but make sure the filling isn’t squeezing out of the ends. Place the tortilla seam side down on a cookie sheet.

Finally, brush each flauta with a little bit of EVOO and sprinkle with sea salt.

Air Frying, Baking, or Freezing Instructions

Air Fry Instructions: Pre Heat Air Fry Range to 350° and bake on ReadyCook Air Fry Tray for 15 minutes or until edges are golden and crispy.

To Bake: Pre Heat oven to 350° and use a heavy-duty cookie sheet like this pretty pink one and bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden and crispy.

To Freeze: Bake for 10 minutes on a cookie sheet and remove from the oven. Only baking long enough for flauta to retain its shape. Once cooled place in a labeled freezer bag and place in the freezer. Use within 3-4 weeks.

To Cook From Frozen: Place frozen flautas on a cookie sheet and bake at 350° for 20-25 min (turning them halfway) or until the center reaches 140 degrees. 

Easy Air Fry Oven Recipes To Make Tonight

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Yield: 12

Air Fried Chicken Flautas

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

These Chicken Flautas are filled with delicious cheese, cilantro & spices and packed with flavor. Make a batch and freeze the rest for later. I love using pre-cooked shredded chicken to make an easy 30-minute meal.

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Ingredients

• 4 cups of cooked shredded chicken (about 1.5 lbs uncooked chicken)
• ½ Cup Green salsa
• 3 Tbs. Lime Juice
• 8 oz Block of softened cream cheese
• 2 Cups Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 tsp. Cumin
• 1 tsp. Chili powder
• 1 teaspoon Onion powder
• 1 tsp. Granulated garlic
• ½ teaspoon Sea salt
• ¼ Cup Diced cilantro
• 12 Whole wheat burrito size tortillas
• 2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea salt for sprinkling on top

Instructions

1. Pre Heat oven or air fry range to 350 degrees.
2. Place shredded chicken in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add green salsa, lime juice, softened cream cheese, & Monterey jack cheese.
4. Add cumin, chili powder, onion powder, granulated garlic, sea salt, and cilantro. Using a rubber spatula mix until all the ingredients are combined
5. Layout burrito-sized tortillas.
6. Spoon about ½ cup of the chicken mixture onto the center of the tortilla and spread out the mixture a bit.
7. Roll up tightly, but make sure filling isn’t squeezing out of the ends.
8. Place the tortilla seam side down on a cookie sheet.
9. Brush each flauta with a little bit of EVOO and sprinkle with sea salt.
10. Using air fry range with ReadyCook Air fry basket cook 15 minutes or until edges are golden and crispy.
11. For Conventional bake on a cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes or until edges are golden and crispy.

Notes

Substitute canned chicken for pre-cooked shredded chicken and omit the sea salt in the filling.

To Freeze bake for 10 minutes and pull out to cool. Once cooled store in a labeled freezer bag for 3-4 weeks

To Cook from frozen place frozen flautas on a cookie sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes (turning them halfway) or until the inside reaches about 140 degrees.

Recommended Products

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• 
  Frigidaire 30" Stainless Steel Freestanding Gas Range
• 
  Instant Pot Max Pressure Cooker 9 in 1, Best for Canning with 15PSI and Sterilizer, 6 Qt

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 280Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 266mgCarbohydrates: 70gFiber: 12gSugar: 1gProtein: 24g

Nutrition information is an estimate.

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