These air fryer taquitos are so easy to make and taste fantastic! They even freeze well and reheat nicely in the air fryer for a great make ahead option!
These air fryer turkey taquitos are so easy and delicious! They get super crispy when you cook them in an air fryer, and they don’t even take that long, just 6-8 minutes.
We love these air fryer taquitos. They make a great appetizer or snack, or a light meal with a salad or something on the side. And they can be frozen for up to 3 months if you prefer to make them ahead of time and have an easy freezer meal on hand.
If you’ve never made homemade taquitos before, you need to try this recipe! My family loved these!
How do you make air fryer taquitos from scratch?
Making these air fryer turkey taquitos from scratch is really easy. Make some taco meat – this turkey taco meat is a version of this Instant Pot taco meat recipe – and then roll it up in some small tortillas with some cheese.
Spray the rolled up taquitos with cooking spray and cook them in the air fryer for 6-8 minutes until they’re nice and crispy. They are super easy to make and taste great!
How do you keep taquitos from falling apart?
Tortillas need to be really warm before you try to roll them up into taquitos. If you find that they’re cracking and falling apart when you try to roll them up, that means that the tortillas aren’t warm enough.
I wrap a stack of tortillas in damp paper towel and then heat them in the microwave to warm them up. In my microwave it takes about 45-60 seconds on high power to get them warm enough that they’ll roll without cracking.
Microwaves do vary in power though, so the timing may be different for you. Try heating for 45 seconds and roll one, and if it cracks, heat them for a little longer until you find the right time for your microwave.
Can you freeze taquitos?
Yes, you can freeze taquitos! The best way to freeze them is after baking them. Simply let them cool completely, and then freeze them in an airtight container, or a ziplock bag, for up to 3 months.
To reheat frozen taquitos in the air fryer, cook them from frozen at 400F for 4-5 minutes, or until they are heated through and crispy. The exact time will depend a bit on your air fryer, so keep an eye on them the first time you do this and adjust the time as needed.
How to make Air Fryer Taquitos:
- The tortillas need to be warm when making taquitos, or they will fall apart as you roll them.
- We like these taquitos with ground turkey, but you can substitute another ground meat like beef or chicken if you like. If using ground beef, make sure to drain the grease after browning it, before continuing on with the recipe.
- Any cheese that melts well is fine in this recipe. Monterey Jack or mozzarella would be good substitutes for the cheddar cheese, or a combination of all three.
- These are tasty when made with flour tortillas as well. That technically makes them flautas, not taquitos, but either way they’re delicious!
- These taquitos can also be baked in the oven if you don’t have an air fryer. Find the recipe for Baked Taquitos here.
- Air fryers do vary as far as cook times go. I have an Instant Pot Vortex Air Fryer, and these taquitos take about 8 minutes at 400F to cook, but if you have a different brand, that time may vary. I would suggest checking them at 6 minutes, and if they’re not hot and crispy yet keep checking every 2 minutes until they are.
Here are some more great Mexican recipes for you:
- 20 Minute Ground Beef Tacos
- Taco Pizza Rolls
- Blackened Fish Taco Bowls with Corn Salsa
- Fish Tacos with Avocado Cream
- Sweet Potato Taco Cups
Air Fryer Taquitos
These air fryer taquitos are so easy to make and taste fantastic! Plus you can freeze them and they reheat well in the air fryer too!
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454 g) ground turkey
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 3/4 cup tomato sauce
- 2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 24 small (6”) corn tortillas
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the turkey.
- Stir in the garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, and tomato sauce.
- Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat and then lower the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Wrap the tortillas in damp paper towel and heat them in the microwave on full power for 45-60 seconds.
- Spoon the meat mixture onto a warm tortilla, about 2 tablespoons per tortilla.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese on top of the meat, and then roll up the tortilla around the filling. If your tortilla cracks, heat the remaining tortillas a little more before continuing to fill them.
- Place the taquito seam side down so it doesn’t unroll, and repeat with the remaining tortillas.
- Spray the basket of your air fryer with cooking spray. Preheat the air fryer to 400 degrees F.
- When your air fryer is hot, place the taquitos in the basket in a single layer, seam side down, and spray the tops with cooking spray. Depending on the size of your air fryer you will need to do several batches to cook them all. I could fit about 8 in my air fryer at a time.
- Cook the taquitos in the air fryer for 6-8 minutes, flipping them once, or until they are crispy and the cheese is melted.
- Serve with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole.
- Air fryer taquitos can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Reheat them from frozen in the air fryer at 400F for 4-5 minutes, or until they’re heated through and crispy.
Notes
Make sure to heat the tortillas enough. If they’re cracking when you roll them up, they aren’t warm enough.
This recipe uses about 1/2 can of tomato sauce for the taco meat. If you don’t want leftover tomato sauce, double the recipe. If you don’t want to make double the taquitos, you can use the extra taco meat for tacos or nachos, or freeze it for later.
Air Fryers vary as far as how long they take to cook. Mine takes about 8 minutes to cook these taquitos but yours may be different. I recommend checking them at 6 minutes and then continuing to check every 2 minutes until they are crispy for the first batch, so you know how long your air fryer takes.
Source: Adapted from my Baked Taquitos.
Recommended Products
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I may receive a small commission from qualifying purchases.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1 taquitoAmount Per Serving: Calories: 213Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 403mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 0gProtein: 8g
Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.