I am inspired by all sorts of recipes--gluten-free, vegan, vegetarian, and meaty. Basically, if the pictures are beautiful and the ingredients are interesting, I can appreciate it, even if it doesn't fit into my diet. I love to peruse Pinterest every day and let inspiration strike and that is exactly what happened with these flautas. If you read Beard + Bonnet, you've probably noticed that we are Mexican food junkies, so it didn't come as a surprise to me that the Chicken Flautas with Spicy Avocado Sauce from Heather Christo stood out to me as I was browsing Pinterest, practically calling my name!
As I was brainstorming ways to make this dish meatless I knew that I definitely wanted to make this a simple 30 minute meal so that everyone could enjoy flautas, even on a hectic weeknight. For the filling, I replaced the shredded chicken with store-bought spicy vegetarian refried black beans and my top secret, knock-your-socks-off, incredibly easy taco topping that I serve at every taco dinner we have here at home. Well, I guess after this post it won't be top secret anymore. (It's okay, you guys are my friends and friends share things like top secret taco toppings.)
The spicy avocado dipping sauce for these black bean flautas sounded pretty amazing as it was originally written, so except for two minor tweaks to use ingredients that I already had on hand, I left it as it was. Why mess with perfection, right? This sauce is pretty much a super smooth, spicy, guacamole and in case you were wondering it is totally okay to dip your chips in it too! Go ahead, get all up in there, don't be shy!
So I made a batch of black bean flautas and styled them all pretty for you, but I also thought I should be perfectly honest and show you exactly how we devoured them! These bad boys never hit a plate, my kids literally lined up in the kitchen and they dunked and ate them as fast as I could cook them up. There was lots of giggling and play fighting about who got the next flauta from the pan. When their bellies were full, they were nice enough to leave a few for me to enjoy. I had 6 black bean flautas left so I ate 3 immediately and saved 3 to reheat later. I wasn't sure how well they would reheat, but I thought it would be good information to share with all of you here, so I wrapped them on a plate with plastic wrap, and stuck them in the fridge. When the need for a flauta hit me, I simply popped them in a dry skillet over medium-high heat. It only took a minute or two to reheat and they were just as crispy as the first time around. Yay flautas!
This post was originally published on March 12, 2014.
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup chopped red onion
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- Juice of 1 large lime
- 1 16-ounce can spicy vegetarian refried black beans
- 16 white corn tortillas, warmed (see note)
- Grapeseed, vegetable, or canola oil for pan frying
- Avocado Dipping Sauce, see recipe below
- Chopped lettuce, cilantro, Cotija cheese, hot sauce, and lime wedges for serving
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the red onion, chopped cilantro, and lime juice. Set aside to marinate, stirring occasionally.
- In a large heavy skillet, heat ¼-inch of oil over medium heat. Working with one tortilla at a time, spread 1 heaping tablespoon of refried black beans and ½ tablespoon of the onion, cilantro, and lime mixture evenly along one side of the tortilla. Gently roll the tortilla tightly beginning on the side with the filling. Use a toothpick to secure the flauta so it doesn't unroll while cooking. (Corn tortillas have a tendency to dry out quickly and split, so I rolled 4 flautas then placed them in the hot pan and rolled 4 more while the others were cooking until they were all finished.)
- Place the prepared flautas seam side down in the hot oil and cook, rotating with tongs, until they are golden brown and crispy on all sides, approximately 4-5 minutes per batch. Continue to cook the rest of the flautas in batches, adding more oil as needed. Remove the toothpicks after you have fried them and serve with Avocado Dipping Sauce, lettuce, cilantro, cheese, hot sauce, and lime wedges.
Notes
Nutrition (estimated per serving)
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 ripe avocados, halved and pits removed, scooped from their shells
- ¼ cup chopped red onion
- Juice of 1 lime
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 jalapeno, chopped (for a less spicy version remove the seeds and ribs)
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 tablespoons water
- Kosher salt to taste
Instructions
- Combine the avocado, red onion, lime juice, cilantro, jalapeno, garlic, and water in a blender or food processor, then puree until smooth and creamy. Season to taste with kosher salt. Chill until ready to use.
Ali B. says
These look amazing. What brand of corn tortilla did you use? I live is the sw and ask the corn tortillas seem very thick compared to the ones in your pictures. Thanks!
Dawn says
I was wondering if you could use brown rice spring roll wrappers instead of corn tortillas?
Millie | Add A Little says
Looks like great party food!
Anna says
omg can I have this for dinner tonight?!! ahah looks amaziiing yumm
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Sam @ PancakeWarriors says
oh wow these sound fabulous. I love looking around pinterest for ideas too! So many beautful dishes there!! Love how easy these are - perfection!
Kathryn Grace says
I love your recipes! I think this is the second or third that I've shared as a Recipe of the Day on my Facebook page, Cooking with Whole Grains & Real, Whole Foods. We're keeping our grandkids overnight this weekend, and I know they'll love these flautas. We'll have them for lunch tomorrow. Thank you.
Diana Garcia says
The recipe looks delicious! One thing to note, the cheese is called cotiza not cojita 😉
Diana Garcia says
Cheese is Cotija. Sorry my phone corrected me
Diana says
Did you mean "Cotija" cheese or is there actually a "cojita" cheese? 😉
Kiersten Frase says
It was a typo; it's been corrected.
Jenny says
This recipe is amazing! I baked them instead, but they still came out awesome! Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Jessica says
I would like to bake these, just not sure how. Any suggestions on temperature or tips on baking them?
Sarah says
Looks great, I make chicken ones and freeze them. Has anyone tried freezing these ones? I'm going to give it a go and see how the filling holds up.
Lisa says
just made these and they are delicious!!! I added some sweet corn to the onion, cilantro and lime mixture & it rocked!!! Thanks for the recipe! It is a keeper in our house. *I may have eaten the first 4 before I shared with the family 🙂
Talia says
What brand tortillas do you use? I just made these with white corn tortillas from Trader Joe's and they ripped and tore the entire way through 🙁
Shawna says
I've made this recipe three times and it has turned out to be an enormous mess each time! I'd really appreciate a video or detailed photos to show exactly how you made and fried these.
Heather says
It was a mess for us too, but worth it! Using flour tortillas is less of a haste and true to the "flautas" title. I don't use toothpicks either by its hard to cook evenly that way.
Melissa says
Just fyi...a flauta is made with flour tortillas. If you are using corn tortilla
Alicia says
I just made these and they are so delicious! I baked them and used flour tortillas. Will definitely be making these again. Thank you!
Sarah says
technically these are taquitos, no? Floutas are made with flour tortillas....
Colleen says
I LOVE these! They're simple to make and so, so tasty. Flauta Friday is totally a thing at my house now.
Marquisha says
This was a great recipe! My family loved it. A little note : before filling the tortilla, heat the tortilla. The first time I made it, I used cold tortillas and it was a disaster lol.
Manju says
The recipe for the avocado sauce does not come up - did it get deleted?
Alissa says
Sorry about that! We're working on getting the recipe back. It should be up shortly.
Annalycia says
Hi im not seeing the avocado dipping sauce recipe anywhere?
Alissa says
Sorry about that! We're working on it and expect to have the recipe back up very soon!
Darlene Root says
These were delicious. I put some of the cheese in the flautas. Loved the dipping guac!
Katie Trant says
We love the dipping guac too, Darlene!
Bonnie says
Definitely going to make these. And yeah, flautas are made w/ flour tortillas, while taquitos (like these) are made with corn. Here in the south these two are used interchangeably, so I get why some people would get mixed up.
Karissa says
It’s so simple but delicious. We eat this regularly and add shredded chicken.