If you follow me on Instagram, and watch my stories you might remember that last week I mentioned I was going to attempt to make homemade taquitos in my air fryer. I posted a poll where I asked my followers whether I should make chicken or vegetarian taquitos and got mixed results so I decided to do both. Though I didn’t get very creative with the ingredients, the taquitos turned out crunchy on the outside and full of gooey deliciousness on the inside.
Ingredients:
-Guerros Corn tortillas (I am not a fan of Trader Joe’s corn tortillas and suggest buying this alternative at literally any other store)
-Trader Joe’s Organic Refried Pinto Beans Salsa Style
-Fancy Shredded Mexican cheese blend
-Olive oil
-1 chicken breast if your making your taquitos non-vegetarian
-Salsa for chicken
Instructions:
If you plan to add chicken to your taquitos, then your first step is making the chicken. You can make it either by using a crockpot or express pot. All you need to do is add a chicken breast to your crockpot/express pot, season it with a touch of salt and pepper, and then generously top chicken with salsa. I used up the rest of the salsa I had leftover from another recipe which measured out to about 1/4 a cup, but you can use as much or as little as you like. The more salsa you add, the more flavorful your chicken will be.
For the Taquitos -
First, add a splash of olive oil to a large skillet, turn heat to medium low and add tortillas, flipping so that each side of each tortilla is coated in oil. Cook for a 1-2 minutes until your tortillas begin to soften. This step is super important because it's what allows you to shape your tortillas into taquitos. Initially, I tried making them by simply rolling the ingredients up in the tortilla without oil but the tortillas split apart.
Once your tortillas are softened, lay each tortilla flat on a cutting board or plate. On one side of each tortilla add a thin layer (about 1-2 inches wide) of beans, cheese, and chicken (if you're using it). It’s important you only do this on one side of the tortilla and don’t spread stuff too far across the tortilla's surface or you won’t be able to roll it. After you’ve added your filling, tightly roll each taquito. If you have toothpicks I definitely suggest using them to help the taquitos hold their shape. If you don’t, simply wedge the taquitos in as pictured.
Set your air fryer to 400 degrees, cook for 5 minutes, check on taquitos, flip them and cook for another 2 minutes.
I served mine with guac and it was the perfect pairing. I’ve linked my guacamole recipe here if you’re interested in trying it with your taquitos. While I know these aren’t the healthiest meal or snack they are guaranteed to make you happy!
