How to make Taquitos at home? (Crispy, Tangy and Litly Spicy)

• Food: Taquitos
• Writer: Nicolas Wilson
• Content-Type: Food Blog

Baked Green Chile Taquitos are my new favorite appetizer! Crisp on the outside, gooey on the inside, tangy, lightly spicy, and a lot of fun!

Who’d have expected that coming to Chicago would turn me into a taquito connoisseur? A new pub came up down the block from our place shortly after Jack and I moved in.

We went there for cocktails at first, but we kept coming back for the taquitos! This bar, it turns out, has a creative chef who creates a rotating menu of homemade taquitos.

Their tortillas are made from scratch and stuffed with fresh, seasonal ingredients from the area.

Jack and I were total taquitos believers after just a few visits, and I knew I had to attempt creating my own!

Baked Green Chile Taquitos are the result! Unlike the taquitos down the street, these are baked rather than fried, and I use store-bought tortillas, so they’re quick and easy to make. Regardless, they’re quite wonderful.

Baking the taquitos makes them lighter than frying them, and they come out perfectly crispy and golden brown when they come out of the oven. The refried beans, melty cheese, and sliced green chile jackfruit filling give birth to a creamy, robust filling. This is a terrific recipe to serve as an appetizer at a party, but we’ve also had them for dinner with cilantro lime rice.

Ingredients for Homemade Taquitos

To create these DELICIOUS homemade taquitos, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Tortillas – I experimented with every type and size of tortilla I could find when preparing these taquitos. The finest results were achieved with these little, supple tortillas fashioned from a flour and maize mixture. They rolled up beautifully in the oven, turned out deliciously brown and crunchy, and didn’t break or unroll. If you must use gluten-free corn tortillas, pick the most pliable variety available and reheat them in the oven or microwave before rolling them up.
• When you can have strong, spicy jackfruit instead of rotisserie chicken, who needs rotisserie chicken? To give these taquitos a little extra spice, I add cumin, coriander, and cayenne pepper. Look for jackfruit in the canned area of your grocery store if you’ve never worked with it before. Trader Joe’s is where I get mine.
• Refried beans — A generous smear of refried beans provide a soft contrast to the crispy taquito shell, as well as aiding in the taquitos’ closure.
• Green chiles with scallions — The acidic, spicy flavor of the green chiles are balanced by the freshness of the scallions.
• Jack cheese — It acts as a binder and offers that gooey cheesy texture that everyone loves. Yum!
  Of course, topping them with cilantro, guacamole, pico de gallo, sour cream, or this “cheese” sauce is a must. I wouldn’t say no to dipping tomatillo salsa either!

How to Make Them?

This taquitos recipe is both delicious and simple to prepare. This is how I go about it:

Shred the jackfruit first. Open the jackfruit can, drain it, and break the fruit apart, discarding any firm core bits. Pull the soft, flaky jackfruit apart until it resembles shredded chicken.

After that, bake it! Before I roll up the jackfruit into the taquitos, I roast it in the oven to infuse it with flavor. Toss it with the drained green chiles and seasonings on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees until the jackfruit is softly golden brown.

The taquitos should then be stuffed and rolled. Place a thin line of refried beans down the left edge of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla tightly over the ingredients, adding a touch of jackfruit, scallions, and cheese.

Place each tortilla seam side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet once you’ve finished rolling it.

Lastly, bake! Coat the taquitos in cooking spray and place them on a baking sheet in the oven. Bake until the taquitos are golden brown and crunchy around the edges, about 15 minutes.

Last but not least, top them with the toppings of your choice and dig in!

Tips for the Best Taquitos

• Before rolling up the tortillas, make sure they’re warm. Warm your tortillas in the oven for 3-5 minutes or in the microwave for 30 seconds, covered in a damp paper towel, before stuffing and rolling the taquitos. This extra step is simple and prevents the tortillas from cracking or unrolling in the oven.
• Spread the filling on one side of the tortillas rather than in the middle! You’ll be able to snugly wrap and roll the tortilla edge over the filling this way. The more tightly you roll the taquitos, the more probable they will keep their shape and be crunchier!
• Keep some aside for later. Taquitos can be eaten immediately once or frozen for up to a month! To thaw frozen taquitos, bake them in a 400°F oven for about 25 minutes, or until crisp and warmed through.

Homemade Taquitos

This recipe for quick taquitos is a great appetizer or dinner! To make it extra special, top it with guacamole, salsa, and sour cream or yogurt.

Ingredients

Jackfruit

• 1 (20-ounce) can of Jackfruit, cored and shredded
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (4-ounce) can dice green chiles, drained

Taquitos

• 12 to 14 flour or flour+corn tortillas*, (see note)
• ¾ cup refried beans
• ½ cup jack cheese
• ¼ cup chopped scallions
• Extra-virgin olive oil cooking spray
• Toppings, Guacamole, Pico de Gallo, cilantro, serranos

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Toss the shredded jackfruit with olive oil, garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, and a few grinds of pepper on a baking sheet. Toss in the green chilies once more. On the baking sheet, spread in a thin layer. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until the jackfruit has turned a light golden brown color. Remove the pan from the heat.
3. Warm the tortillas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until they’re flexible, 3 to 5 minutes. Place a refried bean strip near the tortilla’s left edge. Sprinkle part of the jackfruit mixture, cheese, and scallions over top. Don’t overstuff your bag. Tuck and roll the tortillas into thin taquitos, then gently place them on the baking sheet. If necessary, toothpicks can be used to keep them in place.
4. Cook for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy around the edges, sprayed liberally with olive oil cooking spray.
5. Toppings can be added as desired.