Crispy and oh-so-cheesy, this beef taquitos recipe is quick and easy 30-minute dinner made in the oven or air fryer! With a deliciously crunchy shell and a savory, seasoned beef filling, they’re perfect for dipping in guacamole, sour cream, or salsa.
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Table of Contents
- An Easy, Family-Friendly Dinner Idea
- What Is the Difference Between Tacos and Taquitos?
- The List of Ingredients
- Let’s Make Taquitos!
- Is It Better to Fry or Bake Taquitos?
- Tips for Success
- Simple Serving Suggestions
- How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Can I Freeze Cheesy Beef Taquitos?
- Get the Recipe
- More Family-Friendly Mexican Dinner Recipes
An Easy, Family-Friendly Dinner Idea
Taquitos are one of the ultimate kid-friendly, crowd-pleasing dinner options, especially when you bake them instead of fry them. These crispy little rolled tacos are easy to eat, and taste fantastic on their own or with your favorite dipping sauce, from plain sour cream to melting queso sauce to rich, healthy guacamole. If you’re a fan of crunchy tacos, you’ve got to try these!
The filling for these beef taquitos is super simple to make, using store-bought taco seasoning (although you can easily substitute homemade if you prefer), cream cheese, sour cream, and salsa. Serve them up for a quick weeknight meal, or use them for an easy appetizer.
What Is the Difference Between Tacos and Taquitos?
The two dishes are very similar, but taquitos are usually rolled around a minimal filling and then fried or baked, while tacos are often folded (not rolled) with layers of ingredients, and are not cooked after filling.
The List of Ingredients
Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients you’ll need to make your own taquitos. Keep in mind that this recipe is easy and flexible. You can make substitutions easily to use what you have!
For the Taquitos
- Ground Beef: I like to use lean ground beef, but ground chuck or other ground beef is fine, too.
- Taco Seasoning: Use a packet of store-bought seasoning, or make your own if you prefer.
- Cream Cheese and Sour Cream: These make the filling moist, creamy, and irresistible!
- Salsa: Your favorite prepared salsa adds plenty of flavor and texture.
- Pepper Jack Cheese: My family likes a hint of spice with pepper jack cheese, but you can substitute cheddar, Colby, Colby jack, or just about any other melting cheese that you like.
- Tortillas: You can use corn or flour tortillas.
Optional Toppings
- Salsa (try my favorite easy Tomatillo Avocado Salsa)
- Pico de Gallo
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole
- Queso
- Cilantro
Let’s Make Taquitos!
To make the taquitos, you’ll want to create the filling, and then roll it up in tortillas. A quick blast in the oven makes them crispy, melty, and perfect.
- Make the Filling. First things first: preheat the oven to 375°F so that it’s ready to go when you are done rolling the taquitos. Then, make the filling. Brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces as you go. Drain as needed, and then stir in the taco seasoning, sour cream, cream cheese, and salsa. Finally, stir in the cheese.
- Roll the Taquitos. Soften the tortillas if needed by microwaving them for a few seconds. If your tortillas are too stiff to work with, heat them in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften. Spoon two generous tablespoons of filling down one side of the first tortilla, and then wrap it up into a thin roll. Place the rolled tortilla seam-side down on a baking sheet. Continue until all the filling and tortillas have been used.
- Bake. Slide the baking sheet into the oven, and bake the taquitos until they are crispy. This should take about 15 minutes.
- Enjoy! Serve your taquitos immediately, with any desired toppings.
Is It Better to Fry or Bake Taquitos?
That’s really up to you! I like baking these taquitos because it cuts down on both the mess of frying, and the calorie count. However, fried taquitos are definitely crispy and festive, so if you’d rather fry these, go for it! You can also make great taquitos in the air fryer.
Tips for Success
To make sure that your taquitos turn out perfectly, take a second to look over these helpful tips and tricks. They will give you the inside advice you need for crispy, cheesy taquitos, every time.
- Fill Taquitos Generously: While a taquito should be fairly thin, it’s important not to underfill them or they will be dry and boring. Make sure to add enough filling that the taquitos have a good balance – you want to taste the filling, not just the tortilla.
- Ground Meat Substitution: Substitute any protein you like: ground chicken, turkey, or even pork. If you’d like to make a vegetarian version, you can use chopped, steamed veggies like cauliflower or broccoli, or substitute some scrambled eggs. Yum!
- Tortillas: You’ll need to make sure you’re using the correct size tortilla in order to make good taquitos. Corn or flour tortillas are fine, but avoid large tortillas. They should be medium-sized, the same as you would use for regular tacos.
Simple Serving Suggestions
To serve, all you really need is a dipping sauce: Queso, Guacamole, Pico De Gallo, Salsa, or Tomatillo Avocado Salsa. However, adding a hearty side dish or two really rounds out the menu and adds variety. These side dishes go beautifully with cheesy beef taquitos, and they are all easy to make:
- Texas Caviar: Also known as Cowboy Caviar, this easy recipe is chock-full of fresh veggies, black beans, fresh herbs, and more. It’s part dip, part salad, and all amazing! Try Texas Caviar and see why it’s a big-time Tex-Mex favorite.
- Charro Beans: Who could resist homemade Charro Beans, swimming in a rich broth and loaded with smoked sausage? This recipe makes a fantastic side for just about any Mexican dinner, and it’s so easy to make in the Instant Pot.
- Rice: Any kind of rice is great, but Cilantro Lime Rice or Mexican Rice is hard to beat! Or if you are feeling crazy, Arroz Con Gandules (Puerto Rican rice with pigeon peas) is a flavorful seasoned rice that is studded with hearty pigeon peas.
How to Store and Reheat Leftovers
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, in an airtight container or food storage bag.
- Reheat in the oven at 350°F to re-crisp the taquitos.
Can I Freeze Cheesy Beef Taquitos?
Sure! Just cool the taquitos down, and then pack them into a freezer bag, pressing out as much air as you can before sealing. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator, and re-crisp in the oven.
Cheesy Beef Taquitos
Ingredients
For the Taquitos
Optional Toppings
- Salsa
- Tomatillo Avocado Salsa
- Homemade Pico de Gallo
- Sour Cream
- Guacamole
- Queso
- Cilantro
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. (Or preheat air fryer to 350°F.)
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the ground meat, breaking it apart with a spatula, until it is no longer pink. Drain any excess grease (if desired). Add the taco seasoning, and stir to combine.
- Add the cream cheese, sour cream, and salsa, stirring until melted and hot. Stir in the cheese and remove from the stove.
- If your tortillas are too stiff to work with, heat them in the microwave for 10 seconds to soften.
- Place two heaping tablespoons of filling on one side of a tortilla, and then wrap it into a tight roll. Place the rolled tortilla seam-side down on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the filling and tortillas have been used.
- OVEN: Bake until the tortillas are crispy, about 15 minutes.
- AIR FRYER: Place taquitos in air fryer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until tortillas are crispy.
- Serve immediately with desired toppings!
Notes
Nutrition
Categories:
More Family-Friendly Mexican Dinner Recipes
Here are a few of my very favorite Mexican themed dinners that my whole family loves:
- Mexican Chicken Casserole
- Best Cheese Enchiladas
- Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas
- Homemade Chicken Empanadas
- Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas
- Homemade Tamales
- Cheesy Beef Empanadas
- Beef Picadillo
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Made the is exactly how you have it and now my boyfriend wants it AT LEAST once a week
I love Mexican food, and these are fantastic! My husband and I love them.
Turned out absolutely amazing, used habanero heat shredded cheese instead, so delicious will definitely e making them again!! They got me tickets to see Luke Bryan my old man loved them so much!! Thank you!!
Dang! When I made them all I got were dishes haha! Glad y’all enjoyed them Melinda! 😉
We love these! They are my husband’s weekly request.
These were so good!!! My boys loved them and even asked for more! These will definitely be a staple in our house!
These were super yummy!!!! Even my picky kiddo loved them.
My family loves these “taquitos” (we call them flautas). I make them 2-3 times a month! They have become part of our regular dinner rotation! So much flavor! Great and easy recipe!
These are the BEST beef flautas! We have made them with both flour and corn tortillas and love them both ways. The cheesy spiced beef filling is SO delicious!
Oh these taquitos. They have captured my teenagers hearts. So easy to make. I’ve made these exact ones or chicken with verde salsa every Tuesday since I found this recipe. Here’s my notes: I always have the ingredients on hand except salsa. Today I put a can of diced tomatoes, cumin, oregano, garlic powder and chili powder in a dish and used my immersion blender to mix it up. It was way better (and cheaper!) than store bought salsa and I always have diced tomatoes. These are the best tasting ones so far. Thank you!
Good to know and so glad you all enjoy them! 🙂
Amazing recipe made it for my husband and he loves it I used homemade Taco seasoning at first it came out a little sausy but I will say (that was my own fault) DO NOT add water to the taco seasoning even if you always Have for foods Because the salsa Will create more than enough juice
Did I read the ingredients correctly? Need 11 oz of taco mix?
It is just 1 oz of taco seasoning!
Hi May! YES! No water! Glad it still worked out anyways! 🙂
I’m just as happy it worked out I had to add a little bit of cornstarch (half a spoonful) And Then still used some of the left over sauce as a topping and drizzles it over the top of them
Yep, But just Incase someone does I would recommend add Half a spoonful of Cornstarch, or use the extra sauce as a topping and drizzle it ontop of the taquitos (my husband is Puerto Rican And his mother always used the left over sauce as a topping) and it tastes wonderful
Sounds delicious!!
Do you still add the water as instructed on the taco seasoning packet? Thanks!
Nope! Instead of water, we add salsa for more flavor in this recipe!
Do you recommend corn or flour tortillas?
It’s really personal preference, both work, it’s up to which style you prefer!
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