3-Ingredient Shredded Chicken Flautas

Three-ingredient Shredded Chicken Flautas made simply using flour tortillas, shredded chicken, and blend of Mexican cheeses. And with a simple dollop of homemade avocado cream sauce, these are a great way to bring everyone together.

Sometimes on a family game or movie night, you want to keep things easy breezy and this recipe is perfect for those occasions. In just 20 minutes or less, you can be ready to enjoy.

The golden brown flour tortillas wrapped around moist chicken — and let’s not forget the cheese — will satisfy even the pickiest eaters. I have a true love for Tex-Mex and Authentic Mexican dishes and this Tex-Mex recipe does not disappoint.

There’s just something about frying soft flour tortilla shells to a slightly golden crisp that brings this recipe home.

So what is the difference between flautas and taquitos?

Taquitos are also filled with chicken (or beef) and cheese, fried, and typically rolled in corn tortillas. Flautas, on the other hand, are made using flour tortillas. Filled in the same manner as taquitos, flautas are also much larger due to the size and thickness of flour tortillas. Flautas are also less crunchy than taquitos and result in a softer bite.

Again, this recipe is super simple to prepare. So simple that you could turn this into a fun family activity. I would suggest leaving the frying up the parents, but the kids may enjoy rolling up the chicken and cheese with the pleasure of knowing they are about to eat something they helped with.

My son is always ready to lend a hand. Maybe he’ll take after his dad?

How to make Chicken Flautas:

This recipe begins with shredded chicken and you can follow my previous recipe for my Instant Pot (paid link) Whole Roasted Chicken. Once the whole chicken is complete you will need to shred the meat and place it to the side.

Don’t have shredded chicken handy? No worries. You can always purchase a small roasted chicken from your local grocer that would be a perfectly feasible alternative.

Place your soft tortilla shells on a flat surface and add shredded chicken along the center and top with cheese. Roll each tortilla by tucking in the ingredients and roll as tight as you can without tearing the shell.

Make sure your frying pan is heated with at least a half-inch of cooking oil. When you’re building each flauta, you may use a toothpick to keep them in place before frying.

A quick note: Be cautious with the frying time. The tortillas can cook fast so it’s a good idea to keep a watchful eye on it while in the frying pan. No one likes a burnt flauta shell. 🙂

Pan fry each taquito on each side for 2 to 3 minutes or until browned. I typically place the flauta folded/flap side down in the pan to help seal the tortilla quickly.

What can I serve with flautas?

Flautas can be served with sour cream, shredded lettuce, pico de gallo, salsa, guacamole, or my tasty cilantro avocado cream sauce. So let’s dig into my sauce, shall we?

Before cooking your flautas, I would start with the sauce. That way it’s ready when the flautas are still nice and warm.

Simple to pull together, remove the outer shell and the seed from the avocado, place all of your ingredients into a bowl, and mix well.

This Tex-Mex recipe is a great snack, lunch, or dinner idea.

When you want to simplify what you place on your dinner table give these Chicken Flautas along with the Avocado Cilantro Cream Sauce a spot!

Here are a few more recipes that use shredded chicken that you might enjoy:

• Authentic Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Easy Chicken Enchiladas Verdes
• Chicken Enchilada Nachos
• Shredded Chicken Tostadas

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