If you are looking for a chicken dinner that will satisfy both kids and adults, these Chicken Flautas are your answer! Creamy and flavorful and served with a delicious dressing, everyone loves this dinner idea!
For more rolled taco recipes, try these Buffalo Chicken Taquitos or these Baked Chicken Bacon Ranch Taquitos.
I make a lot of new recipes. I’m trying different most days of the week.
But some recipes are so good that they deserve to be made regularly.
And these Chicken Flautas are one of those recipes.
A great weeknight meal, these Chicken Flautas are filled with flavor. And they are so easy to put together! One of my favorite things is that they are totally family friendly, and everyone can get excited when these are on the menu.
What is the difference between taquitos and flautas? The original recipe posted here was called a taquito, but I decided that these are probably more of a flauta. I think the definition depends on different regions, but I’m going with the definition that flautas are larger, and taquitos are smaller. (But I like to keep things confusing because I do have some recipes here on Taste and Tell listed as taquitos that really should be flautas…)
Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card at the end of the post for full amounts and instructions.
- Mayonnaise: Regular mayonnaise will give you a thicker dressing, but you can use low-fat if desired.
- Buttermilk: This is also for the dressing. You don’t want to substitute plain milk because it won’t be thick enough.
- Lime Juice: You’ll need lime juice in both the dressing and the flautas. You should be able to get enough juice from 1 lime.
- Ranch Dressing Mix: You can buy this in a packet, or in bulk. If using a packet, you’ll just need 1/2 of the package.
- Cilantro: This also goes both in the dressing and the flautas.
- Salsa Verde: You need to make sure you use a salsa verde that you really like, because the flavor will come through. You can use store bought or a homemade salsa verde.
- Garlic: This goes in the dressing. And even though you are processing the dressing in a blender, I like to mince the garlic first to make sure you don’t end up with any chunks.
- Hot Sauce: If you don’t want to add hot sauce, it’s not required, but I like to add a little bit of heat.
- Cream Cheese: The original recipe only used 3 ounces of cream cheese, but I have been upping that to 4 ounces. Not only because most packages come in 8 ounce packages and it’s easiest to halve it, but also because extra creaminess is not a bad thing!
- Spices: You’ll need a mixture of spices – I use chili powder, cumin, onion powder, and garlic powder. Feel free to mix things up and use any other spices you think would be good!
- Chicken: I use my chicken shortcut here – cooked, shredded chicken. It makes this recipe a breeze! If you don’t have any on hand, and don’t want to take the time to cook chicken, you can use a rotisserie chicken.
- Cheese: I use pepper jack cheese, but you could also use cheddar, Monterey Jack, or any other easy melting cheese.
- Green Onions: The green onions just add some additional flavor.
- Tortillas: You will need 6-inch tortillas for this recipe. You can use bigger or smaller, but you will get more or less than the recipe specifies.
- Salt: Just before going into the oven, these flautas get sprinkled with some coarse kosher salt. It does’t take a lot, but it really adds so much!
How to Make Chicken Flautas
STEP 1: I like to start by making the cilantro-lime ranch dipping sauce. It thickens up the longer it is in the refrigerator, plus it gives some time for the flavors to meld together. Place all of your sauce ingredients in a blender or a food processor.
STEP 2: Blend until the sauce is smooth. Transfer to a container, (I like to use a mason jar), and refrigerate until you are ready to serve the chicken flautas.
STEP 3: Start making the filling by placing the cream cheese in a medium bowl. You want it to be super soft, so microwave it for 20-30 seconds to really soften it up. Add in the salsa verde, lime juice, plus your spices. Mix this all together.
STEP 4: Add the chicken, cheese, cilantro, and green onion to the cream cheese mixture and stir until fully combined.
STEP 5: Add a few tablespoons of the chicken mixture down the center of each tortilla. Roll the tortillas, and place them seam side down on a baking sheet that has been lined with foil.
STEP 6: Spray the tops with nonstick cooking spray, and then sprinkle some coarse kosher salt on top. Bake until the flautas are golden brown and the filling is hot. Serve with the cilantro lime ranch.
Tips and Tricks
If you can make the cilantro-lime ranch a few hours ahead of time, the flavor will be the best.
Microwave your tortillas for a few seconds to soften them up. This makes them much easier to roll.
You can also make these with corn tortillas.
If you’d like, you can fry these instead of baking them. You will want to secure them with toothpicks so that the tortilla doesn’t come unrolled. Fry in 350ºF oil until golden brown.
Make Ahead, Storage, and Freezing
You can make the entire recipe ahead of time, or you can make the dressing and the filling, and then assemble the flautas just before baking.
If you are making the flautas ahead of time, I like to make the filling and roll the filling in the tortillas, and the place the on a baking sheet. Cover with foil and refrigerate for up to a day. Bake just before serving. If baking from cold, you’ll want to add a few minutes.
Store any leftover chicken flautas in the refrigerator. The flautas and the dressing both make great leftovers! You can reheat the flautas in the microwave, oven, or my favorite is the air fryer.
You can also freeze the flautas. Place the fully baked and cooled flautas on a baking sheet and freeze. Once frozen, Transfer to a freezer safe container.
More Easy Chicken Dinners
Easy Chicken Teriyaki Wraps
Chicken Chilaquiles
Honey Balsamic Drumsticks
Chicken Tamale Casserole
Chicken Tortilla Stack
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Chicken Flautas
Ingredients
Creamy Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing:
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 lime juiced (about 1 tablespoon juice)
- 1/2 (1 oz) package dry ranch dressing mix
- 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons salsa verde
- 1 clove garlic minced
- hot sauce to taste
Flautas:
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1/4 cup salsa verde
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
- 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
- 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
- 12 6- inch flour tortillas
- nonstick cooking spray
- kosher salt
Instructions
- In a food processor or blender, combine the mayonnaise, buttermilk, lime juice, ranch dressing mix, cilantro, salsa verde and garlic. Pulse to combine. Add hot sauce to taste. If possible, refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to meld and combine.1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/4 cup buttermilk, 1/2 lime, 1/2 (1 oz) package dry ranch dressing mix, 1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons salsa verde, 1 clove garlic, hot sauce
- Heat the oven to 425ºF. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place the cream cheese in a medium microwave-safe proof bowl. Microwave for 20 to 30 seconds, or until easy to stir. Add in the salsa verde, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, onion powder and garlic powder. Add the chicken, cheese, cilantro and green onions; stir to combine.3 oz cream cheese, 1/4 cup salsa verde, 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, 1 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon onion powder, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese, 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
- Wrap 4 tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 20-30 seconds, or until soft and pliable.12 6- inch flour tortillas
- Place 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture down the center of the tortilla, keeping it about 1/2-inch from the edges, then roll up. Place seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and filling.
- Spray the rolled tortillas lightly with cooking spray, then sprinkle with kosher salt. Place the pan in the oven and bake until the tortillas are crisp and the edges have browned, 15-20 minutes.nonstick cooking spray, kosher salt
- Let the flautas cool for 5-10 minutes, then serve with the Creamy Cilantro-Lime Ranch Dressing.
AJ Gonzalez says
Always terrific!
Stacey C. says
These were absolutely delicious! My 4 year old and husband both loved them. Husband asked if we could have it again tomorrow HaHa! I wondered about doubling the recipe and freezing half? Have you ever tried freezing the taquitos?
Deborah says
Yes! These freeze wonderfully!