Easy Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos Recipe

These air fryer chicken taquitos are crispy, healthy, and taste amazing too! Ready in 25 minutes, they're the perfect lunch, dinner, or snack and can be frozen too!

Spicy chicken and cheese wrapped in a crunchy tortilla and served with creamy guacamole and sour cream is the perfect meal for the entire family! You can serve this easy air fryer recipe with so many great sides and toppings too!

These air fryer chicken taquitos are ready in under 30 minutes and are a great way to use leftover chicken. Serve with a simple dipping sauce or go wild with the toppings, the choice is yours!

I love this recipe because:

• you can freeze and reheat taquitos so easily, making lunch or snacks ready in minutes!
• these are a healthier take on the classic freezer taquitos, full of homemade goodness and flavor.
• you can serve these taquitos with so many things, making them a versatile meal for any day of the week!

If you want another deliciously spicy recipe that's ready in under 30 minutes, you must try my Spicy Vegetarian Shakshuka Recipe - a great spicy way to start your day!

Jump to:

• 🥬 Ingredients
• 📖 Instructions
• 🌮 What to serve with taquitos?
• ⏰ How long do you air fry chicken taquitos?
• 🍶 Substitutions
• 🥘 Variations
• ⏲ Equipment
• 🥣 Storage
• ❄️ Can I freeze these homemade chicken taquitos?
• ❗️ Top tip
• Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos Recipe
• 🍳 Related Recipes

🥬 Ingredients

You'll need a handful of ingredients to make this tasty lunch, snack, or dinner. You might even have some of them on hand already! I love making recipes that use pantry staples like this, then I can make them whenever I like.

You can also easily substitute a couple of these ingredients to suit what you have on hand.

To make these air fryer chicken taquitos, you'll need:

• Cooked chicken
• Shredded cheese
• Taco seasoning
• Sour cream
• Snack tortillas (corn or flour)
• Olive oil
• Desired toppings

See the recipe card for precise quantities and instructions.

📖 Instructions

You'll only need 10 minutes to prep this recipe. For the rest of the 15 - 20 minutes, the taquitos are cooking in the air fryer. It's a perfect hands-off lunch or dinner that's quick to make too!

Step 1: In a medium bowl, mix the shredded chicken, cheese, and taco seasoning until the cheese and chicken are coated with the seasoning.

Step 2: Add the sour cream and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Add more taco seasoning for extra spice or more sour cream to soothe the spiciness.

Step 3: Add 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken and cheese filling to the lower third of a snack tortilla. Roll up the tortilla tightly, pushing in any filling that may fall out.

Step 4: Brush some olive oil on the seam of the tortilla and close the taquito. Place the filled taquito seam side down in the air fryer and repeat until the tortillas and filling are finished.

Hint: Use your fingers or the back of a spoon to shape the filling on the tortilla just before rolling them up. Shape the filling into a long sausage shape, stretching to the edges of the tortilla, and then roll tightly.

The taquitos will be a lot more uniform and hold their shape better by doing this.

Step 5: Once you have enough taquitos in your air fryer without crowding the basket (make the taquitos in two batches if needed), brush the taquitos with olive oil. Then air fry at 380 °F (180 °C) for 8 minutes and then flip the taquitos. Cook for another 8 - 10 minutes until the edges of the taquitos are crisp.

Step 6: Serve the taquitos with fresh guacamole, sour cream, fresh chopped cilantro and fresh pico de Gallo salsa if desired.

🌮 What to serve with taquitos?

I love serving my taquitos with a wide variety of toppings like:

• guacamole
• fresh Pico de Gallo salsa
• sour cream
• hot salsa

For a simple dipping sauce, mix together ½ cup of sour cream and ½ cup hot salsa and serve with the taquitos.

As part of a larger meal, serve taquitos with:

• Spanish rice
• Refried beans
• Grilled corn
• Simple green salad

⏰ How long do you air fry chicken taquitos?

Air fry your chicken taquitos at 380 °F (180 °C) for 8 minutes and then flip the taquitos. Cook for another 8 - 10 minutes until the edges of the taquitos are crisp.

Air frying cooking times vary and depend on several factors such as your location, altitude, and air fryer make and model, among others.

🍶 Substitutions

Here are some suggestions for substitutions based on what you have in your pantry: 

• Gluten-free - use a gluten-free tortilla to make this recipe and it instantly becomes gluten-free friendly!
• Vegetarian/Vegan - you can easily make this recipe vegetarian or vegan with some simple protein substitutions. Substitute the chicken for an equal amount of cooked mushrooms, fried vegetables, cooked vegan chicken strips, or beans!
• Low-carb - use a low-carb or Keto tortilla and this recipe becomes low-carb and Keto-friendly! It's high in protein and, depending on the toppings you use, very low-carb too!
• What cheeses can I use? - you can use any cheddar cheese for this recipe. Gouda cheese also works well as well as Swiss cheese, Monterey Jack, or Mexican Cotija cheese.

🥘 Variations

Chicken and cheese are versatile ingredients that can be seasoned and flavored in many different ways! If you want to make this recipe your own or spice it up after making it a few times, here are some variation ideas!

• Want more cheese? - add an extra ½ cup of shredded cheese to the filling mixture for a cheesier taquito filling. You can also add a bit more sour cream if needed!
• Beef filling - you can substitute the chicken in this recipe for an equal amount of cooked ground beef or chopped leftover beef like steak.
• Kid-friendly - keep the taco seasoning on the lighter if you're making this for kids, gently introduce them to the spice and you can always add more spice if they like it!

This recipe is really versatile and forgiving so make it a few times, switching it up every time and give some variations a try!

⏲ Equipment

This recipe has been developed and tested using a Cosori Max XL Large Cooker. It has a capacity of 5.8 quarts. 

I love making quick lunch and dinner recipes in the air fryer - it uses so little oil and all the food comes out crispy and delicious every time! Cleaning up is a breeze, and I can stick it in the dishwasher!

If your air fryer is out of commission or to make this recipe in the oven, follow these steps: 

• Heat the oven to 400 °F (200 °C) and grease a large baking dish or baking sheet.
• Place the taquitos on the greased dish, seam side down, and bake for a total of 20 - 25 minutes. Flip them halfway through.

🥣 Storage

Store any leftover taquitos in an airtight container in the refrigerator after they have cooled to room temperature. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

To reheat, heat in your oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for 10 minutes until warmed through, and serve with desired toppings.

❄️ Can I freeze these homemade chicken taquitos?

You can also freeze these air fryer chicken taquitos! To freeze them, allow the taquitos to cool to room temperature and then place them in an airtight container or a resealable plastic bag. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months.

To reheat the chicken taquitos after freezing them, allow them to thaw to room temperature. Then reheat them in the oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for 10 minutes until warmed through, and serve with desired toppings.

❗️ Top tip

Brush oil over the edges of the taquitos just before air frying them. With no oil on the edges, they can brown a little too much or burn.

Brush with some olive or canola oil before air frying and brush again if needed while flipping the taquitos halfway to prevent this. The taquitos will also be more crunchy this way!

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🍳 Related Recipes

• Air Fryer Chicken Thighs and Potatoes
• Easy Instant Pot Mac and Cheese
• Spicy Vegetarian Shakshuka Recipe