Ground beef flautas are flour tortillas rolled tight around a smoky, cheesy beef filling and shallow fried until they’re shatteringly crisp and dark golden outside, with melted cheese and tender beef inside. Dip them in a cool, creamy cilantro avocado sauce and you have a fun weeknight dinner or a game-day snack in 30 minutes.
How to make ground beef flautas: cook onion and garlic, brown a pound of ground beef with cumin, chiles in adobo and chili powder, stir in cheese, roll 1/2 cup into each of 8 flour tortillas, and fry them seam side down in about 1/2 inch of oil for 1 to 2 minutes per side.
Why You’ll Love It
- 30 minutes from start to crispy.
- Crunchy outside, cheesy inside, with a gentle smoky heat from the chiles in adobo.
- Shallow frying: only about 1/2 inch of oil, no deep fryer.
- A fresh dipping sauce of avocado, sour cream, cilantro and lime that blends in a minute.
Ingredient Notes
Ground beef. One pound makes enough filling for 8 flautas.
Chiles in adobo. Two teaspoons, diced, from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce. Together with the cumin and chili powder, they season the whole filling.
Cheese. Seven to 8 ounces of shredded Chihuahua cheese. Cheddar or mozzarella work too.
Tortillas. Eight flour tortillas, the 8-inch taco size. Flour tortillas are the easiest to roll, and they fry up crisp without cracking.
Frying oil. Vegetable oil, enough to fill your pan about 1/2 inch deep.
For the sauce. Two avocados, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup cilantro leaves and the juice of 2 to 3 limes, blended smooth.
Ingredients
For the flautas
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chiles in adobo, diced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- A splash of water
- 7 to 8 ounces shredded Chihuahua cheese (cheddar or mozzarella work too)
- 8 flour tortillas, 8-inch, taco size
- Vegetable oil, for frying, about 1/2 inch in the pan
- Kosher salt, to taste
- Black pepper, freshly cracked, to taste
For the creamy cilantro sauce
- 2 avocados, pitted and diced
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- Juice of 2 to 3 limes
- A splash of water
How to Make Ground Beef Flautas
1. Cook the onion. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the garlic. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so, stirring often.
3. Brown the beef. Add the ground beef and brown it, crumbling it with a spatula, until it is cooked through and reaches 160°F on a food thermometer.
4. Season the filling. Add the cumin, chiles in adobo, chili powder and a splash of water. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Add the cheese. Add the cheese and stir to combine.
6. Heat the oil. While the filling cooks, heat a large pot over medium heat with about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in it. The oil is ready when a drop of water sprinkled into it sizzles.
7. Fill and roll. Spread 1/2 cup of the meat mixture in a line down the middle of the bottom half of each tortilla. Roll the tortilla away from you and tightly around the filling. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas and filling.
8. Fry. Fry the flautas seam side down in batches of 2 or 3, depending on how wide the pot is. Fry them on each side for 1 to 2 minutes, until the outside is dark golden brown and crispy. If they cook too quickly, turn the heat down a bit.
9. Make the sauce. Combine the avocados, sour cream, cilantro, lime juice and a splash of water in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
10. Serve. Serve the flautas with the creamy cilantro sauce, fresh cilantro and crumbled queso fresco.
How to Keep Flautas Rolled and Crisp
The most common flauta problem is the one where you lower a neatly rolled tortilla into the pan and it springs open, spilling filling into the oil. Four habits prevent it.
| Do this | Not this |
|---|---|
| About 1/2 inch of oil, halfway up the flauta | A deep pot of oil that bounces them around |
| 1/2 cup of filling per 8-inch tortilla | Overstuffed tortillas that won’t roll tight |
| Seam side down first | Seam side up |
| 2 or 3 at a time | A crowded pan |
Use shallow oil. About 1/2 inch is enough for the flautas to rest on the bottom of the pan, with the oil coming about halfway up their sides. In deeper oil they float and bounce, and that’s when they unroll.
Don’t overfill. Half a cup of filling is the sweet spot for an 8-inch flour tortilla. More than that won’t roll tightly, won’t cook evenly in shallow oil, and can burst.
Roll from the bottom. Spread the filling in a line across the bottom half of the tortilla and roll it away from you, snug around the filling.
Seam side down, then turn. Lay each one in the oil seam side down, then turn it after 1 to 2 minutes. If they still want to open, push a toothpick through each one to hold it closed, and pull the toothpicks out before serving.
Tips for Success
Why are my tortillas cracking when I roll them?
They’re too cold. Stack the tortillas, wrap them in a damp towel and microwave for 30 to 45 seconds so they’re warm and pliable before you roll.
Why are my flautas soggy?
The filling was too wet or the pan was crowded. Let any extra liquid cook off before the cheese goes in, keep the oil hot and even, and fry only 2 or 3 at a time.
Why are they browning too fast?
The oil is too hot. Turn the heat down a bit so they turn dark golden in 1 to 2 minutes per side, not seconds.
Variations
- Baked: brush the rolled flautas with olive oil and bake at 425°F for 10 minutes, flip, and bake 5 minutes more until golden brown. Use about 3 tablespoons of filling for each fajita-size tortilla.
- Air fryer: preheat to 400°F, spray the flautas lightly with oil and cook about 8 to 10 minutes, flipping halfway.
- Leftover meat: shredded leftover beef, chicken or pork works as the filling in place of ground beef.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and eat them within 3 to 4 days, or freeze them for 3 to 4 months. Thaw frozen flautas in the fridge, in cold water or in the microwave. Reheat them covered until they reach 165°F.
What to Serve With It
Turn flauta night into a full spread with a pot of quick and easy taco soup and a plate of loaded steak quesadillas. If you love Tex-Mex dinners, rotate in cream cheese chicken enchiladas, taco casserole, walking taco casserole and Mexican tortilla casserole.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are flautas the same thing as taquitos?
Close, but not quite. Both are tortillas rolled around a meat filling and fried until crisp. Flautas are usually made with larger flour tortillas and are longer; taquitos are smaller and most often made with corn tortillas.
What meat is best for flautas?
This recipe uses ground beef mixed with cheese. Shredded beef, chicken or pork works too.
What toppings go on flautas?
Queso fresco, diced red onion and fresh cilantro, or shredded lettuce, tomatoes, guacamole, salsa, pico de gallo, sour cream and a squeeze of lime.
Final Notes
Have all 8 flautas rolled and waiting by the stove before the first one goes into the oil, so you can fry the batches back to back. Tell me in the comments which dipping sauce you served with yours.
Ground Beef Flautas
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion small, diced
- 4 to 5 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons chiles in adobo diced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- water a splash
- 7 to 8 ounces shredded Chihuahua cheese cheddar or mozzarella work too
- 8 flour tortillas 8-inch, taco size
- vegetable oil for frying, about 1/2 inch in the pan
- kosher salt to taste
- black pepper freshly cracked, to taste
- 2 avocados pitted and diced, for the sauce
- 1/4 cup sour cream for the sauce
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves for the sauce
- juice of 2 to 3 limes for the sauce
- water a splash, for the sauce
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook, stirring often, for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cook for another minute or so, stirring often.
- Add the ground beef and brown it, crumbling it with a spatula, until it is cooked through and reaches 160°F on a food thermometer.
- Add the cumin, chiles in adobo, chili powder and a splash of water. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Add the cheese and stir to combine.
- While the filling cooks, heat a large pot over medium heat with about 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in it. The oil is ready when a drop of water sprinkled into it sizzles.
- Spread 1/2 cup of the meat mixture in a line down the middle of the bottom half of each tortilla. Roll the tortilla away from you and tightly around the filling. Repeat with the rest of the tortillas and filling.
- Fry the flautas seam side down in batches of 2 or 3, depending on how wide the pot is. Fry them on each side for 1 to 2 minutes, until the outside is dark golden brown and crispy. If they cook too quickly, turn the heat down a bit.
- Combine the avocados, sour cream, cilantro, lime juice and a splash of water in a food processor and process until smooth and creamy.
- Serve the flautas with the creamy cilantro sauce, fresh cilantro and crumbled queso fresco.
Notes
Nutrition
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