Salsa Chicken Baked Flautas

Baked Flautas are made with flour tortillas, baked until crispy in the oven, and filled with a 4 ingredient salsa chicken mixture! This is a quick & easy dinner recipe that can be on the table in less than 30 minutes. Serve with dipping sauces like salsa, guacamole, and nacho cheese sauce for a dinner that the entire family will love. 

If you’re looking for chicken flautas that are even easier to make, try my Quick & Easy Chicken Flautas. The recipe uses canned chicken and no one will ever know the secret!

Baked Flautas Recipe

Anytime I can roll up a cheesy chicken mixture inside flour tortillas, it’s always a dinnertime win! These baked flautas are the best hand held food. Flour tortillas stuffed with an easy salsa chicken mixture, and rolled tight, and then baked until crispy inside the oven. 

No deep dry needed with this recipe. You can still get that super crispy exterior even when baking them in the oven. The trick is to spray the tops with cooking spray. Read below to learn how to make baked flautas and learn all my tips for success when making this recipe. 

Ingredients Needed

Here are the simple ingredients you need for this recipe. Quick and easy to make with only 4 ingredients!

• Cooked Chicken : You can use a rotisserie chicken, canned chicken, or use leftover chicken from the fridge or freezer. You can also put some chicken breasts + chicken broth inside the slow cooker and cook on LOW heat for about 6-7 hours. The chicken will be fall apart tender and shreddable. The chicken can be chopped into chunks or shredded. 
• Salsa : Use any salsa you love the taste of. I recommend, for the best taste, using a freshly prepared salsa that you can find in the refrigerated area of the produce section. You could even use a mango salsa or black beans salsa if wanted. Lots of different options to switch it up each time if wanted. 
• Shredded Cheese : Any shredded cheese works here! Pick your favorite and use it. 
• Small Flour Tortillas : For this recipe you want the small, soft taco size, flour tortillas. They are about 6-inch tortillas. Warm them up in the microwave just for a bit so that they will roll up easier. I just leave the tortillas inside the plastic bag, open the top up, and microwave for about 20 seconds. 

How To Make Baked Flautas with Salsa Chicken

Learn how to make this quick recipe with the simple steps below. Be sure and read below to the bottom of the post where there is a printable recipe card, a pin it button to save it to Pinterest, and all the detailed instructions and ingredient list.

• Preparation : Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed cookie sheet (18″ x 13″) with parchment paper or tin foil. You can also spray it very lightly with cooking spray if wanted. I recommend using parchment paper when making this recipe. 
• Salsa Chicken : In a mixing bowl, mix together the cooked chicken, salsa, and shredded cheese. If you want to add anything (like dried seasonings, beans, etc) now is the time to do that. 
• Flour Tortillas : Microwave the flour tortillas for about 20 seconds or until warmed. This makes it much easier to roll them up tightly. 
• Flautas : Place a few tablespoons of salsa chicken mixture onto the tortilla. Roll it up tightly and place it seam-side down on the prepared cookie sheet. Repeat with remaining salsa chicken and flour tortillas. 
• Bake : Spray the tops with cooking spray and cook for 15 minutes, or until crispy and browned to your preference. 

Tips For Success

Here are a few of my tips so that you can have success making this recipe for your own family. 

• Chicken : Make it really easy and use a rotisserie chicken that has been shredded or chopped. This is also a great recipe to use up any leftover chicken that you have in your fridge or freezer. The chicken needs to be cooked, but it can be shredded or chunked. It doesn’t matter. You can even substitute with canned chicken!
• Use a Good Salsa : The salsa is the main flavor of these flautas so make sure you use one that you love the taste of! I recommend using a freshly made salsa, like the kind you can find in the refrigerated area of the produce section. These salsas are usually not as watery as the jarred stuff, and they taste better. 
• Warm The Tortillas : Make sure you take the extra couple of minutes and warm the flour tortillas before rolling the salsa chicken mixture inside of them. They will roll easier, and they won’t crack or break while rolling up when they’re softer and warmer. 
• Adaptable Recipe : This recipe is super adaptable to what you want. Use a hot salsa for some spice, use shredded Pepper jack for more spice, or even add some chili powder or red cayenne pepper into the salsa chicken mixture. Add a can of drained & rinsed beans to the chicken. Or try adding a can of refried beans for creamier Flautas. Add some seasonings such as cumin, garlic powder, and cumin for more flavor. 
• Shredded Cheese : Use any variety of cheese that you want. I prefer shredding my own cheese from a block because it melts much smoother, and I think it tastes better. But you can easily pre-shredded cheese for a quick recipe. I prefer using cheddar cheese or a mix of cheddar cheese + Monterey Jack cheese. 

Baked Flautas FAQ’s

• What Pan Should I Use?
  • It’s best to use a cookie sheet to make this recipe. It’s also called a half-sheet pan and measures 18″ x 13″. Make sure you are using a cookie sheet that has taller rimmed sides on it, so none of the flautas roll off. 
  • For extra crispy flautas, try putting a cooling rack inside the cookie sheet, and then place the flautas on top of the cooling rack. This will make them extra crispy because the bottom side won’t be touching the bottom of the pan meaning more air flow around the flour tortilla. 
  • You can also use a 9×13 baking dish but the bottoms will tend to be softer from the moisture from the salsa. The tops will still crisp up, while the bottoms of the faults will be softer. This is great for kids if they don’t want them super crispy all over. 
• Can I Make Baked Flautas In An Air Fryer?
  • Yes you can. Place the rolled salsa chicken flautas in a single layer inside the air fryer basket. Set the temperature to 375 degrees F and cook for 7-9 minute or until golden brown and crispy to your liking. 
• Can I Make This Flautas Recipe Ahead of Time?
  • I would not recommend baking these and then saving them for later. If you want to make them ahead of time there are a couple options. 
  • Prepare and mix the salsa chicken ingredients (chicken + salsa + cheese) and place it in the fridge, covered, until it’s time to make dinner. 
  • You can also go ahead and roll the flautas with the salsa chicken inside, and then refrigerate them until ready, but the flour tortillas could get softer as they sit in the fridge with the juice from the salsa. 
  • If you want to save time and make it ahead of time, I would recommend mixing up the salsa chicken and storing it in the fridge. When it’s time for dinner, all you have to do is roll up the flautas and bake them. 
• How Do I Get Baked Flautas Really Crispy?
  • Spraying the tops of the flour tortillas is what will get that really crispy exterior when baking any flautas recipe! Make sure you don’t skip spraying the cooking spray. 
  • For extra crispy flautas, try placing them on top of a cooling rack that is inside a cookie sheet (18″ x 13″). That way, air flow will go all around the flour tortillas, which means the entire thing will get crispy. 
• Variation & Substitution Ideas
  • Make It Spicy! : Use hot salsa, add a can of diced green chilies, use pepper jack cheese, add some chili powder and/or cayenne red pepper. 
  • Beans : To make the flautas creamier and heartier, try adding a can of refried beans into the salsa chicken mixture. You could also add some canned beans that have been rinsed and drained well. 
  • Shredded Cheese : Use any shredded cheese you want in this recipe! When I make them, I like to use a combination of cheddar cheese + Monterey Jack cheese. I also prefer to shred my own cheese from a cheese block, but you can use the pre shredded cheese for a quick meal if wanted. 
  • Protein : This recipe calls for cooked chicken, but you can easily substitute with cooked ground beef or cooked ground turkey. Or if you have leftover taco meat, try using that inside these instead.
• Serving Suggestions For Salsa Chicken Baked Flautas
  • Make this Easy Mexican Rice for a side dish. You could also try my Cilantro Lime Rice as well. 
  • Serve these baked flautas with dipping sauces like sour cream, Guacamole, Jalapeño Ranch Dip, nacho cheese sauce (canned or homemade), salsa, and you can even try dipping them into my Creamy Cilantro Lime Salsa Verde Dressing, or try my recipe for Copycat Cafe Rio Dressing. 
  • For other side dishes you can try my Fiesta Avocado Salad or this Southwestern Corn, or this Black Bean and Corn Salad. 

More Mexican Inspired Recipes Your Family Will Love

• Baked Double Decker Tacos
• Honey Lime Chicken Taquitos
• Cheesy Chicken Taquitos
• Taco Salad Casserole
• Crockpot Shredded Chicken Tacos
• Ground Turkey Tacos
• Green Chili & Corn Chicken Enchiladas
• 7 Can Chicken Taco Soup