Beef Taquitos (Air Fryer, Oven or Pan Fry)

These homemade Beef Taquitos are stuffed with beef and cheese and are so much better than store bought. These taquitos can be baked, air fried or pan-fried and can be made ahead and frozen for easy meals. Serve as appetizers or the main course with salsa, sour cream and guacamole for dipping!

Why You’ll Love These Homemade Beef Taquitos

Homemade taquitos filled with ground beef, cheese and refried beans then air fried or oven baked until super crispy. I mean, what could be better? We love serving these beef taquitos with our Homemade Guacamole and this fresh, Homemade Pico de Gallo!

• Customizable: You can customize the filling for these taquitos in many different ways. Use ground turkey, ground pork or even shredded chicken or beef. Add different cheeses, jalapenos or green chilis and/or switch up the seasonings to your liking.
• Your Choice Of Cooking Method: Whether you choose to air fry, oven bake of pan fry these taquitos, we’ve got all the instructions here for you.
• Make Ahead And Freezer Friendly: You can make these taquitos ahead of time and freeze them for parties or easy dinners. Thaw and reheat in the oven or air fryer.
• Party Worthy: There’s nothing that steals the show at a party or holiday like these addicting taquitos. Everyone loves them!

BEST Ingredients You’ll Need To Make These Taquitos & Why

• 12 small (6 or 8 inch) whole wheat or flour tortillas: We like the flavor that whole wheat tortilla gives to these taquitos but you can definitely use flour or corn as well.
• 2 teaspoons olive oil or canola oil
• 3/4 pound ground beef: You can use a pretty lean beef for this recipe since we’re adding cheese and refried beans for a creamy consistency.
• 1/2 cup diced onion: Sweet, yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic: Fresh garlic is best!
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt: Kosher salt is a coarser grind that iodized or table salt, we prefer this for cooking.
• 1 cup refried beans: Fat-free or full fat both work.
• 4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles: Spicy or mild.
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese: Monterey Jack, pepper jack or Mexican blend will also work.

How To Make Taquitos

Once the beef filling is ready, these taquitos only take minutes to make in the air fryer or oven. If you’re feeling up for some extra crispy goodness, give them a light pan-fry in a skillet.

MAKE THE GROUND BEEF FILLING: Make the ground beef filling by adding the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Brown the beef and then drain off any drippings from the pan. Add the onion, garlic and salt and cook for 5 minutes until the onion has softened. Stir the refried beans, chiles and cheese into the beef, turn off the heat and let the filling cool slightly.

ASSEMBLE: Place a tortilla on a cutting board and add about 3 heaping tablespoons of the beef filling in a line across the tortilla. The filling should sit slightly on the bottom half of the tortilla. Roll the tortilla over the filling, tucking the filling in tight as you roll. Place on the board seam side down and repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Air Fryer Instructions:

1. Preheat your air fryer (if needed) to 400 degrees. Spray the racks or basket of the air fryer with cooking spray. Add the taquitos in a single layer seam side down and then spray the tops with an olive oil or canola oil cooking spray.
2. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the tortillas are golden brown and crispy. Repeat with the remaining taquitos if needed.

Oven Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray. Place the taquitos in a single layer on the baking sheet seam side down and then spray the tops with an olive oil or canola oil spray.
3. Bake for 12-13 minutes until the tortillas are golden brown and crispy.

Pan Fry:

1. Add a shallow layer of canola or vegetable oil to a skillet over medium heat. Place the taquitos in the skillet seam side down in a single layer.
2. Cook for 3-4 minutes on both sides until brown and crispy.

All of the above cooking methods will result in super crispy taquitos and let’s face it – they’re all a lot better for you than deep frying! Using whole wheat tortillas and not frying these homemade taquitos means that we can enjoy them much more often!

Variations On Beef Taquitos

• Use ground turkey instead of ground beef, or leave out the meat and add more beans and vegetables to the filling for a vegetarian option.
• Swap out flour tortillas instead of whole wheat. Corn tortillas will work too but they are more difficult to roll without breaking so you need to warm them first.
• Add different cheeses like Monterey Jack or Pepper Jack in the filling.
• Add pickled jalapeños, sriracha or hot sauce to make these taquitos spicy!

Pay around with the filling to make these homemade taquitos the way you like them! This recipe is our favorite flavor combination, but you should adapt the recipe to your liking.

Reheating And Freezing Taquitos

Reheating these taquitos in the microwave will get the job done, but the tortilla won’t be crispy. The oven or air fryer works best for getting the tortilla crispy again. You can also pan fry these taquitos again in a small amount of oil.

Freeze these taquitos in a resealable freezer bag in a dingle layer. Once the taquitos are frozen you can add more to the bag. This allows the taquitos to freeze separately so that you can pull as many or as little out as you need.

Reheat the taquitos right from frozen in the air fryer or the oven. If you’re going to reheat these in a skillet, allow then to thaw in the refrigerator first.

Looking For More Tex-Mex Recipes?

• Honey Mustard Pulled Pork Taquitos
• Chicken Chimichangas
• Homemade Ground Beef Tacos
• Pan Fried Beef Tacos
• Chicken Enchilada Quesadillas
• Taco Egg Rolls
• Loaded Taco Pie

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