What do you call these?

In most of the restaurants that we frequent here in southeast Texas, they’re called “flautas” and might be made with either corn or flour tortillas. On the freezer aisle, they’re called “taquitos” and I’ve only seen them made with corn tortillas. The internet seems to loves “taquito.”

Whatever you call them, they’re absolutely one of those convenience foods that are infinitely better when homemade.

We usually make flautas (taquitos) with leftover pulled pork, some chopped onion, and a little cheese – nothing else – and then dunk them into some Chuy’s-inspired Creamy Jalapeno Ranch or barbecue sauce (we have clearly-drawn battle lines in this house). This time, we put the ranch in the flautas.

You’ve probably seen the base for this recipe somewhere. It’s quite popular, having been made by some of my favorite bloggers. Our version uses a homemade Chipotle Ranch Dressing instead of salsa. The chipotle ranch is killer as a dipper for sweet potato fries and it’s even better here.

I doubled the recipe (big batch shown below) to make sure that we have plenty of good football eats on hand for the weekends, and ended up with nearly quadruple the taquitos (flautas) because I used the smallest tortillas I could find (~5 inches). And instead of individually wrapping each flauta (taquito) destined for the freezer (no way), I just bagged them up in 2 large freezer bags after freezing solid on baking sheets. Nothing stuck together and I didn’t waste a ton of plastic wrap.

I also did an even split between corn and flour. Corn tortillas get crispier in the oven but I prefer the taste and texture of flour tortillas much more (another southeast Texas thing). And they’re a lot easier to work with, though I have to confess – I only had 1 corn tortilla tear on me this time. My failure rate is usually much, much higher. Like near slamming cabinet doors and expletive levels.

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Baked Chipotle Ranch Chicken Taquitos (Flautas)

Creamy baked chicken taquitos dressed up with a homemade chipotle ranch dressing. It's the perfect snack for gameday.

Ingredients

• 6 oz reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 2/3 cup Chipotle Ranch Dressing (or a store-bought equivalent)
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• Large handful of cilantro, chopped
• 4 chicken breasts, shredded
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used half cheddar, half monterrey jack)
• 2 dozen 6-inch corn or flour tortillas (or ~4 dozen 5-inch tortillas)
• Guacamole, for serving (optional)
• Sour cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions

If you despise shredding chicken like I do, check out this tip to do it in seconds!

1. Preheat oven to 425 and line 2 baking sheets with parchment or Silpat (if not preparing for the freezer).
2. Mix together the cream cheese, ranch dressing, chili powder, cumin, onion, garlic, and cilantro until uniform (a mixer makes this easier but can be done by hand).
3. Fold in the chicken and shredded cheese until well coated.
4. Spoon ~3 Tbsp of filling into a line across the lower 1/3 each tortilla.
5. If using corn tortillas, work with 3 at a time, microwaving for 15-20 seconds on a plastic wrapped plate before filling and rolling.
6. Roll each tortilla up tightly and place seam-side down on the pan.
7. To freeze, stop here. Place the pan(s) into the freezer and freeze solid, ~2 hours, and then transfer to a large ziptop bag.
8. Bake 15-20 minutes (~25 if frozen), until crispy (and lightly browned, if using flour tortillas).
9. Serve with additional chipotle ranch, guacamole, and sour cream if desired.

Notes

Yields: 2-4 dozen, depending on tortilla size

Adapted from Our Best Bites via Pink Parsley

Estimated time: 45 minutes