Description
This Chicken Flautas recipe features crispy rolled corn tortillas filled with a savory shredded rotisserie chicken mixture, seasoned with fragrant spices and topped with a creamy avocado salsa verde sauce. Perfectly fried to golden perfection and served with traditional Mexican toppings like crema, queso fresco, pico de gallo, and lime wedges, these flautas make a delicious appetizer or main dish that’s sure to impress.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken Filling
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for sauteing onion
- 1 medium onion, diced very finely
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt (use 1/2 teaspoon if using table salt)
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 4 garlic cloves, minced very finely
- 1 pound rotisserie chicken, shredded (about 4 cups)
For Assembling and Frying Flautas
- 2 cups vegetable oil for frying (enough to go 1-inch high in pan)
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil for rubbing on tortillas
- 30 corn tortillas
- 1/4 cup corn starch
- 2 to 4 tablespoons water (enough to make a glue-like paste)
Avocado Sauce
- 12 ounces salsa verde (homemade or store bought)
- 2 small avocados or one large avocado
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste; use less if using table salt)
- 2 teaspoons roasted chicken Better Than Bouillon
- 1 lime, juiced
- 1/2 cup water plus additional 1/2 cup as needed to thin sauce
- 1 jalapeno (optional, for spiciness)
Topping Ideas
- Crema Mexicana (table cream or sour cream styles)
- Queso Fresco cheese crumbled (cotija or feta as substitutes)
- Pico de Gallo (fresh is recommended)
- Shredded lettuce (optional)
- Cilantro, chopped
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Make Pico de Gallo: Prepare fresh pico de gallo if desired and keep refrigerated until serving the flautas.
- Make Avocado Sauce: In a blender, combine salsa verde, avocados, kosher salt, roasted chicken Better Than Bouillon, lime juice, and 1/2 cup water. Blend until smooth, 30-60 seconds. Add jalapeno if a spicier sauce is desired, blending again after removing seeds and membranes if less heat is preferred. Gradually add water in 2-3 tablespoon increments until sauce reaches a thin, drizzling consistency (no more than 1 cup total water). Cover and set aside.
- Prepare Chicken Filling: Finely dice the onion and heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add onion, kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until translucent. Add minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in shredded rotisserie chicken and heat through. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
- Preheat Oil for Frying: Pour vegetable oil into a deep skillet or pan to a depth of at least 1 inch. Heat over medium-low heat to 375°F, which should take about 15 minutes.
- Oil Tortillas: Pour 2 tablespoons vegetable oil into a small bowl. Using fingers, rub oil evenly on both sides of each tortilla, ensuring a light sheen but not soaking. Place oiled tortillas on a plate and cover with damp paper towels to keep soft.
- Prepare Tortilla Glue: In a small bowl, stir 1/4 cup cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water until paste forms. Add additional water in teaspoon increments until paste has a glue-like consistency.
- Warm Tortillas: Cover stacked oiled tortillas with damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute. Test a tortilla for pliability, continuing to microwave in 20-second intervals as needed until soft but not falling apart.
- Roll Flautas: Place one warmed tortilla on a baking sheet. Spoon about 2 tablespoons chicken filling onto the quarter closest to you. Fold the edge over the filling and roll tightly away from you into a cylinder, leaving ~1/2 inch open at the end. Brush the edge with cornstarch paste to seal the flauta. Place seam side down on baking sheet and cover with a damp paper towel. Repeat rolling several more flautas before frying to ensure the glue holds.
- Keep Oven Warm: Set a cooling rack on a baking sheet and place in oven preheated to its lowest setting (~170°F) to keep cooked flautas warm and crisp.
- Fry Flautas: Using tongs, carefully add flautas seam side down to preheated oil. Fry 1-2 minutes until golden, then flip and fry another 1-2 minutes on the other side. Avoid over-browning the flautas. Remove and place on hot rack to keep warm.
- Serve: Plate several flautas and drizzle with crema and avocado sauce. Top with pico de gallo, shredded lettuce if desired, crumbled queso fresco or cotija, cilantro, and lime wedges.
- Store: Refrigerate leftover flautas covered for up to 3 days. Reheat in air fryer, oven, or toaster oven. To freeze, place uncooked or cooled cooked flautas in a single layer on a baking sheet, freeze 30 minutes, then transfer to a ziplock bag. Freeze up to 2-3 months. Fry frozen flautas directly from freezer, adding about 1 minute per side to frying time.
Notes
- Neutral Oil: Use any neutral oil with a high smoke point for frying such as canola, vegetable, avocado, or peanut oil.
- Use cornstarch paste to seal flautas instead of toothpicks for ease and better frying.
- Microwaving tortillas wrapped in damp towels helps make them pliable without cracking when rolled.
- Keeping finished flautas warm in a low oven helps maintain crispness.
- Adjust spice level in avocado sauce by adding or removing jalapeno seeds and membranes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 flauta
- Calories: 444 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 590 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 14 g
- Trans Fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 45 g
- Fiber: 7 g
- Protein: 19 g
- Cholesterol: 50 mg
