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Home » Recipes » Chicken

20 Minute Chicken Taquitos in an Air Fryer

May 4, 2021 · Modified: Aug 12, 2024 by Sara Ayesh · This post may contain affiliate links · Leave a Comment

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Nothing hits the spot more than one of those gas station taquitos, am I right? Crispy taquitos hot off the roller, now make them at home! Creamy Chicken Taquitos in an air fryer is the best way to do it in 20 minutes! 

Air fried chicken taquito cut in half.

Got 20 minutes? Perfect! These shredded chicken taquitos won't take your whole day to make and the filling can actually be made ahead of time for weeknight dinners or parties.

Freshly made or frozen taquitos, making them in your air fryer couldn't be easier. It's a perfect reason to make my Frozen Chicken in an Air Fryer and shred it for the filling! 

Serve them up with a spicy margarita, Mexican Candy Shots, & some Chipotle Copycat Corn & Chile Salsa and enjoy a perfect taco night or happy hour! 

Jump to:
  • Why You'll Love Homemade Air Fried Taquitos
  • 🥂Make it A Rosy Moment
  • Important Ingredients
  • Substitutions & Variations
  • Step by Step Instructions
  • Top Tip
  • Make Frozen Taquitos in an Air Fryer
  • Recipe Tips and Tricks
  • Recipe FAQ
  • Related Recipes
  • 📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love Homemade Air Fried Taquitos

Small tortillas wrapped around some cheesy chicken filling and crisped to perfection? There's no better combo of flavors and textures. My family loves this recipe and here's some reasons you're going to love it too! 

Lighter than traditional taquitos, which are typically fried in hot oil. Air-fried taquitos use less cooking oil! 

A great big-batch recipe! I love a recipe that makes a large batch so I can prep it for a party or make it for my weeknight dinners and still have some leftover to freeze for a rainy day! To serve for a party or snack, I slice these in half so they really go a long way.

Quick and easy! I'm all about a 30 minute meal, these homemade air fryer chicken taquitos are seriously quick to make, and that may be the best part. 

Make the filling ahead of time. Make the chicken mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days before cooking. 

Simple ingredients. Most of these ingredients are readily available and there is a solid chance you have these on hand. 

Use up leftover chicken! They are an easy way to use up leftover shredded chicken or a great use for some rotisserie chicken. 

🥂Make it A Rosy Moment

My go-to menu for a taco night will always include these 20 minute taquitos! Whether its simply our mid-week dinner or we are hosting friends for a margarita night, here's what I'd serve with air fried taquitos to craft the perfect menu!

Weeknight Dinner - they both use shredded rotisserie chicken and they pair so nicely together! 

  • Creamy Air Fryer Chicken Taquitos
  • 30 Minute Enchilada Casserole 
  • Roasted Corn and Quinoa Salad 

Cinco De Mayo Appetizer Party- hosting a party? Here are some easy prep recipes to make alongside the taquitos for the best party spread. 

  • Mini Chicken Tacos  
  • Air Fried Chicken Taquitos 
  • Mexican Corn Dip with Cream Cheese
  • Mexican Candy Shots 

Taco Tuesday Happy Hour Cookout- call all of your girlfriends over and let's have some margaritas! Taquitos are the perfect crispy snack to go with them! 

  • Air Fried Chicken Taquitos 
  • Salted Spicy Margaritas 
  • Grilled Chicken Fajitas  

Important Ingredients

Here's what you'll need for simple weeknight taquitos in the air fryer:

Chicken Taquito Ingredients in glass bowls.
  • Fajita tortillas - flour tortillas or fresh corn tortillas will work!
  • Rotisserie chicken -or cooked chicken breast, any leftover chicken you may have will work.
  • Cheese - A blend of cream cheese and Mexican shredded cheese is what gives these taquitos their creamy filling.
  • Taco seasoning - there are lots of different brands, so check to see if yours has salt, if it doesn't be sure to add salt to the chicken mixture!

More Taquito Toppings:

  • Sliced green onions 
  • Extra cheddar cheese
  • Lime Crema Sauce (lime juice + sour cream!) 
  • Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce  
  • Fresh Garden Salsa  
  • Greek yogurt 

Substitutions & Variations

I love customizing these crispy air fryer chicken taquitos based on what's in my fridge and pantry that week. Need to swap some ingredients? No problem!

  • Traditional fried taquitos use fresh corn tortillas, I like to use flour because they are easier to roll up. But, you could definitely use corn! Just be sure to heat them up in the microwave and lay a damp paper towel over them to keep them pliable. 
  • Make your own taco seasoning using a teaspoon ground cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. 
  • Change up the filling! Use taco meat for some ground beef taquitos or shredded pork for a quick meal.  Better than the taco shops! 
  • Make a vegetarian taquito by swapping out the chicken for refried beans or black beans for a delicious bean filling! 

Step by Step Instructions

While cook time may vary based on different air fryers, typically these just take 8-10 minutes to get crispy air fryer taquitos! 

Chicken taquitos filling ingredients mixed together in a glass bowl.

Step 1: Mix together all filling ingredients in a bowl.

Taquito filling spread on a tortilla.

Step 2: Spread 2 tablespoons of filling on a tortilla.

Uncooked taquito rolled up.

Step 3: Tightly roll up the tortilla and repeat until all of the filling is gone.

4 taquitos in an air fryer basket with cooking oil sprayed on them.

Step 4: In batches of 4-6, place in the air frying basket and spray or brush with cooking oil.

4 golden brown chicken taquitos in an air fryer.

Step 5: Air fry the taquitos at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes until golden brown.

Top Tip

Place the taquitos in the air fryer basket seam side down so the filling won't fall out as it cooks!

Make Frozen Taquitos in an Air Fryer

This recipe makes 18-20 homemade chicken taquitos, so why not freeze some?! It's easy to freeze them and it's just as easy to re-heat those frozen taquitos. Just take any remaining taquitos and freeze them. 

How to freeze leftover taquitos:

  1. Allow taquitos to cool completely for 10-12 minutes for best results.
  2. Add a single layer of parchment paper on a baking sheet and line up the taquitos.
  3. Place in the freezer for an hour.
  4. Remove and place taquitos in an airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months! 

Reheat Frozen Taquitos:

  1. Preheat the air fryer basket at 400 degrees for 5 minutes. 
  2. Straight from frozen, toss a 4-6 taquitos in your air fryer's basket and spray with cooking oil. 
  3. Air fry at 400 for 5 minutes and then enjoy a perfectly crispy taquito.

Even better than my guilty-pleasure gas station version!

Recipe Tips and Tricks

  • Don't Crowd The Basket. It's important to do it in batches so you don't overcrowd the air fryer basket. This ensures an even, crispy tortilla.
  • Do I need cooking oil? If you feel strongly against it, skip it. However it does help to achieve the best crisp on the edges!
  • Sauces For Taquitos...Salsa, pico de Gallo, guacamole, and sour cream make delicious sauces! However if you have extra Green Chile Enchilada sauce from my recipe, use that as the dipping sauce. 
  • Storage Tips: Place these in an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze until ready to reheat.
  • The trick to wrapping the perfect taquito is to warm up the tortilla first.

Recipe FAQ

How do you make sure taquitos don't open up?

Place these seam side down in the air fryer so your filling doesn't come out while cooking! 

Can you pan fry these instead of air frying?

Absolutely! To shallow fry (or fry them in a pan) simply heat up a few tablespoons of vegetable oil over high heat and cook 2-3 taquitos at a time. Rotating them every minute or so, that way each side gets golden brown! 

What to serve with air fried taquitos?

Taquitos are a great appetizer for dipping! Serve taquitos with dipping sauces like sour cream, salsa, guacamole, and more! They also make a perfect side to accompany something like my Baked Enchilada Casserole or Mexican Meatballs! 

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    The Best Easy Chicken Taco Recipe
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If you tried this Chicken Taquitos in an Air Fryer recipe , or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!

📖 Recipe

Air fried chicken taquito cut in half.

20 Minute Chicken Taquitos in an Air Fryer

A cheesy chicken taquito made right at home in the air fryer! A cheesy, salsa and chicken mixture rolled up tightly and air fried to perfection!
5 from 1 vote
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Prep Time: 5 minutes mins
8 minutes mins
Total Time: 13 minutes mins
Servings: 18 taquitos
Calories: 230kcal
Author: Sara Ayesh

Equipment

  • 1 air fryer

Ingredients

  • 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken or 2-3 chicken breasts
  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • ¼ cup salsa
  • ¼ cup sour cream
  • 2 tablespoon taco seasoning
  • 4 oz can diced green chiles
  • 1 cup shredded mexican cheese
  • 18-20 fajita tortillas
  • Olive oil
Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

  • In a mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and sour cream together with a hand mixer.
  • Add in the salsa, taco seaoning, green chiles, and shredded cheese and continue to beat with the hand mixer for 30 seconds until combined.
  • Stir in the shredded chicken and refrigerate until ready to make the taquitos.
  • When you are ready to make the taquitos, preheat the air fryer at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
  • Take the fajita tortilla and spread 2-3 tablespoons of filling on half of the tortilla. If you are using corn tortillas you may want to microwave them on a plate and then cover with a damp paper towel to keep them soft enough to roll without tearing.
  • Tightly roll the tortilla up and repeat for each tortilla until the filing is gone.
  • In batches, place 4-6 taquitos in the air fryer basket and spray evenly with olive oil. You can also use a brush to brush on olive oil.
  • Air fry at 400 degrees for 7-8 minutes until golden brown.
  • Repeat until all taquitos are cooked. Serve with sour cream and garnished with cilantro.

Notes

  • Don't Crowd The Basket. It's important to do it in batches so you don't overcrowd the air fryer basket. This ensures an even, crispy tortilla.
  • Do I need cooking oil? If you feel strongly against it, skip it. However it does help to achieve the best crisp on the edges!
  • Sauces For Taquitos...Salsa, pico de Gallo, guacamole, and sour cream make delicious sauces! However if you have extra Green Chile Enchilada sauce from my recipe, use that as the dipping sauce. 
  • Storage Tips: Place these in an airtight container and refrigerate or freeze until ready to reheat.
  • The trick to wrapping the perfect taquito is to warm up the tortilla first.

Nutrition

Calories: 230kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 46mg | Sodium: 461mg | Potassium: 80mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 281IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 104mg | Iron: 1mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @WhiteKitchenRedWine or tag #whitekitchenredwine!

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Sara Ayesh Head Shot.

Hey, I'm Sara!

Wichita-based food blogger, photographer, and mom of two, passionate about crafting recipes that bring people together. I find joy in hosting parties, making home-cooked meals with real, whole foods, and enjoying all of the rosy moments in between!

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