Easy, crispy, and perfectly seasoned, these air fryer chicken taquitos are great for a weeknight dinner. The air fryer gets them nice and crispy with very little oil, and they reheat amazingly well.
Chicken in the air fryer comes out so good- we love cooking air fryer chicken breast or air fryer chicken thighs, but another favorite chicken option is this recipe for air fryer chicken taquitos.
With perfectly seasoned chicken breast, shredded cheese, and crispy tortillas, this is a total crowd pleaser of a recipe! Serve it with a side salad tossed in cilantro lime vinaigrette for a delicious, light dinner.
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Reasons you'll ♡ this recipe
- simple spices and shredded cheese add a ton of flavor for little effort to the filling
- the tortillas get perfectly crispy in just a few minutes, and require very little oil
- you can prep them ahead and reheat- they get crispy again in the air fryer in just a few minutes!
Recipe video
Watch the video below to see exactly how I prepped my air fryer chicken taquitos. It’s so easy! You can find more of my recipe videos on my YouTube channel.
Ingredient notes
- chicken- we used chicken breast for this recipe, but you could swap it for boneless skinless chicken thighs, or even use rotisserie chicken. You'll need roughly 2 cups of shredded chicken for the filling
- cheese- we used monterey jack, but you could swap it for mozzarella cheese, jalapeno cheddar, or your favorite cheese.
- chili powder- refers to a mild, paprika-based spice blend; not pure powdered chilies.
- tortillas- we've used flour tortillas for this recipe, but corn should also work. You could use small tortillas and roll them smaller if you'd like!
Step by step directions
1. Prepare chicken breast- In a medium-sized bowl, toss chicken in olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and salt on both sides.
2. Cook chicken breast- Heat air fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes before adding chicken. Cook for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Ensure chicken has reached 165°F when checked with an instant read thermometer in the thickest portion.
Remove chicken from air fryer, set aside and allow it to cool slightly.
3. Prepare filling- Shred the chicken with two forks, and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the cheese until well combined.
TIP- you can also shred the chicken (in seconds!) by using an electric hand mixer!
4. Roll- Place roughly ½ cup of the chicken/cheese mixture in the middle of a medium-sized flour tortilla. Roll it up tightly, and place seam side down on a plate. Repeat.
5. Cook- Heat air fryer to 400°F for at least 5 minutes. Carefully add the taquitos to the basket, placing them seam side down. Spray tops of tortillas with spray oil and cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden and crispy.
6. Serve- Top with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, sour cream or salsa, and enjoy!
FAQ
Hell yes! They come out so good, and always so crispy. Follow the directions on the package, but check on them around halfway through what the oven directions suggest. Cook times vary depending on the brand and size.
Sure, you can swap the chicken filling for the black beans and sweet potato combo in these black bean baked taquitos.
For this recipe, you'll cook them for 3-4 minutes. If you roll them smaller, you may require less time.
Top them with
- yogurt
- salsa
- guacamole
- cilantro
- jalapenos
- lettuce
- tomatoes
Meal prep & storage
These taquitos work great for meal prep! Here are two ways you could meal prep these:
- prepare the filling ahead- make the puree and combine with the beans + cheese, but don't roll. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days, before rolling taquitos and baking up.
- bake ahead- alternatively you can follow this recipe all the way through and reheat. Taquitos may be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days or the freezer for up to 2 months.
Storage & reheating
- Fridge- Store leftovers in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer- Taquitos may be frozen for up to 2 months. Store in a freezer bag (suck the air out with a straw), or loosely wrapped in parchment paper in a larger meal prep container or storage bag.
- Reheat- pre-heat air fryer to 350°F for 5 minutes, add the taquitos and cook for 2-3 minutes, until warmed through and crisped back up.
More air fryer faves
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Crispy Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos
Ingredients
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts roughly 2 large chicken breasts; see note 2
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder see note 3
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella see note 4
- 10 medium tortillas see note 5
Instructions
- Prepare chicken breast- In a medium-sized bowl, toss chicken in olive oil to coat. Sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder and salt on both sides.
- Cook chicken breast- Heat air fryer to 400°F for 5 minutes before adding chicken. Cook for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. Ensure chicken has reached 165°F when checked with an instant read thermometer in the thickest portion.Remove chicken from air fryer, set aside and allow it to cool slightly.
- Prepare filling- Shred the chicken with two forks, and allow to cool slightly. Stir in the cheese until well combined.
- Roll- Place roughly ½ cup of the chicken/cheese mixture in the middle of a medium-sized flour tortilla. Roll it up tightly, and place seam side down on a plate. Repeat.
- Cook- Heat air fryer to 400°F for at least 5 minutes. Carefully add the taquitos to the basket, placing them seam side down. Spray tops of tortillas with spray oil and cook for 3-4 minutes, until golden and crispy
- Serve- Top with fresh tomatoes, lettuce, avocado, sour cream or salsa, and enjoy!
Tips:
Video
Nutrition Information
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Denise Bustard is the creator of Sweet Peas and Saffron, a meal prep-focussed food blog. With a PhD in biochemistry, Denise takes a scientific approach to perfecting her recipes. You can find Denise's work featured on Huffington Post, MSN, Self and more.
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