Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos Are Perfectly Crispy

Air fried taquitos are crispy and ready to be dunked in salsa, guacamole, or crema. Courtesy of TheKitchn.com

Taquitos remind me of a less messy version of crispy tacos. Traditionally, you make them by rolling tortillas around a savory filling and then frying them until crispy and ready to be dunked in salsa, guacamole, or crema. To be honest, I held off on making them at home because I didn’t want to bother with frying—but the air fryer changed everything. Using your air fryer for homemade taquitos requires less oil and less mess.

Reasons to Make Taquitos in the Air Fryer

An air fryer circulates hot air around food, making it a great choice for crisping up foods and mimicking regular frying to a certain degree. Just spraying the tortillas with a little cooking spray before air frying gives them enough oil to brown and crisp up. It’s much less messy and can actually be faster than frying if you have a toaster oven–style air fryer that can cook a larger amount of taquitos at once.

The Ingredients You’ll Need for Air Fryer Taquitos

• Tortillas: Corn tortillas are traditional, but you can also use flour. Get a small tortilla about 5 or 6 inches wide. Corn tortillas are often labeled “soft taco” size and flour are labeled “fajita size.”

• Cream cheese: Cream cheese binds the filling together and makes it easier to stuff into the tortillas.

• Chicken: Finely shred cooked chicken. If the pieces are too chunky, they’ll be harder to mix into the filling evenly.

• Diced green chiles: Canned mild green chiles add a little bit of tang and much-needed moisture to the filling.

• Shredded cheese: Get shredded Mexican-blend cheese, or use a combo of cheddar and Monterey Jack.

• Spices: Cumin and chili powder add some savory flavors.

• Chipotles in adobo sauce: Canned chipotles add some spice and smokiness, but you can skip this if you want a non-spicy taquito.

• Cooking spray: Spray one side of the tortillas with cooking spray so they crisp up and brown in the air fryer.

How Long Do I Cook Taquitos in the Air Fryer?

Taquitos will take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes in an air fryer set to 400 degrees F. One of the testers on this recipe found that flour and corn tortillas cooked at the same rate in her basket-style air fryer, but I found that corn tortillas took longer in mine.

How to Serve Air Fryer Taquitos

Serve taquitos on a bed of lettuce with some chopped tomatoes and a drizzle of crema or sour cream on top for a meal. Guacamole, avocado crema, and salsa are also great toppers, or use them as dips if you’re serving the taquitos as a snack or appetizer.

Air Fryer Taquitos

Serves 4 to 6; makes 14 to 16

For the Taquitos

• 6 ounces cream cheese
• 1 canned chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 1 teaspoon canned chipotle in adobo sauce
• 1 (4-ounce) can mild diced green chiles
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 12 ounces cooked boneless chicken (about 3 cups, from 1 rotisserie chicken)
• 4 ounces shredded Mexican blend cheese (about 1 cup)
• 14 to 16 (5- to 6-inch) corn or flour tortillas, divided

Serving Options

• Guacamole
• Sour cream or crema
• Avocado crema
• Shredded iceberg lettuce
• Diced tomatoes

Place 6 ounces cream cheese in a large microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high until softened but not melted, 15 to 20 seconds. (Alternatively, let sit at room temperature until softened.)