Easy Baked Taquitos

Learn how to make taquitos with this easy oven-baked recipe. Use beef, chicken, turkey, pork, or vegan ground meat substitute.

My family loves food with Mexican flavors. We're up for any excuse to whip up a batch of homemade guacamole to celebrate Taco Tuesday or Fajita Friday (I'm still trying to make that a thing!).

I was looking to change things up a few months ago and decided to give Taquito Tuesday a shot!

Taquitos seem like they'd be complicated to make at home, but they're really not! Once you get your filling made, you just set up a little assembly line, and off you go!

These baked taquitos have been a big hit at my dinner table, and with students in my virtual cooking classes for a while now. I'm happy to bring the recipe here, just in time for your Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

Jump To:

• 🧡 Why we love this taquito recipe
• 📝 Ingredients
• 🥑 Flavor spotlight: favorite Latin recipes
• 🥣 Substitutions and variations
• ✅ How to make this recipe
• 📌 Tips
• 💡 What to serve with baked taquitos
• 🔪 Equipment
• 🥡 Recommendations for storage & reheating
• 📖 Recipe

🧡 Why we love this taquito recipe

• It's super versatile! You can use your favorite ground meat or vegan ground meat substitute. My family loves them with ground turkey, beef, or Beyond Meat.
• They can be made in advance and baked when you're ready to serve. They even freeze well!
• Taquitos are great as a party appetizer or main course.
• Baked taquitos get nice and crispy without using much oil or frying.
• They're delicious served with one or more of your favorite Mexican toppings - pico de gallo, salsa, guacamole, lime crema, cilantro, pickled red onions, queso fresco, or cotija cheese.

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📝 Ingredients

Here's everything you need to make these baked taquitos (see recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full directions):

• Olive oil for the filling and for brushing onto the tortillas
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Ground protein of choice (turkey, beef, pork, or vegan ground meat substitute)
• Ground cumin
• Chili powder
• Kosher salt
• Smoked paprika
• Dried oregano
• Garlic powder
• Tomato paste
• Cold water
• Flour tortillas (I like using fajita size)
• Shredded cheese (Mexican blend, cheddar, Monterey Jack, or your favorite) - finely shredded works best here

🥣 Substitutions and variations

Feel free to use your favorite ground protein in this recipe. It works with chicken, beef, pork, Beyond Meat (or your favorite meatless ground substitute). You could also use some shredded rotisserie chicken or drain some canned beans and smash them up to cook with the spices for a filling.

Switch up the type (and amount!) of cheese that you use. Feel free to try out your favorites, and even add some more to the top of the taquitos before you pop 'em into the oven.

For a fun party appetizer vibe, use smaller flour tortillas. I've seen street taco tortillas that are smaller than the fajita-sized ones that I usually use and they'd be adorable here. Just make sure to use less filling so they aren't over-stuffed.

Have fun with toppings! You could serve these with your favorite salsa, pico de gallo, mango salsa, chimichurri, hot sauce, sour cream (or plain Greek yogurt or skyr), or a scattering of fresh herbs.

You could serve sauces like guacamole or chipotle aioli in bowls on the side and let people dip away.

✅ How to make this recipe

These baked taquitos are deceivingly easy to put together. Once you get the components together, it's a quick assembly line job to get them finished.

1. Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly oil or spray with cooking spray.
2. Sauté onions and garlic in a large, non-stick skillet. Scoot them to the side, then add your ground meat and cook, breaking up the meat as you go, until cooked through. Drain any excess fat, if necessary.
3. Stir in dried spices and tomato paste. Add water and let simmer for a few minutes, until thickened.
4. Brush flour tortillas with oil on both sides. Add taquito filling and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
5. Roll and place on the prepared baking sheet, seam-side down.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown and crispy.
7. Serve with pico de gallo, lime crema, hot sauce, and your favorite toppings.

See recipe card below for full instructions.

📌 Tips

There are a few things you can do to help your taquitos come together more easily.

• Measure your filing. I find that for the fajita-sized tortillas, using a ¼ cup measuring cup works out perfectly.
• Place your taquito filling off-centered on the tortilla. Then, start rolling from the side with the filling to seal.
• Roll the filling snugly and be sure to place them on your baking sheet seam-side down.
• Line your taquitos up snugly on the baking sheet. This will help them keep their shape and prevent them from unrolling while they're baking in the oven.
• I like to oil my tortillas in batches. I start with a big stack and spread a layer of oil on one side, then flip it and oil the other side. The oil from the first side helps start to oil the tortilla underneath it, and so on.

💡 What to serve with baked taquitos

I usually serve our taquitos with pico de gallo, lime crema, and hot sauce. Salsa and restaurant-style guacamole are other great additions.

The lime crema is super easy to put together! In a bowl, stir together:

• 1 ½ cups of sour cream (or Mexican crema, plain Greek yogurt, or Skyr)
• The juice and zest of 1 lime
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• Cold water (add 1 tablespoon at a time until it reaches a drizzling consistency)

Mexican-style rice and black beans or refried beans would be great side dish options, too.

🔪 Equipment

You'll be using both the stovetop and oven for this recipe. You don't need too much in terms of kitchen equipment, but a few things will come in handy:

• Large, rimmed baking sheet
• Aluminum foil
• Nonstick cooking spray - I like using avocado oil spray
• Large nonstick skillet
• Chef's knife
• Cutting board
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Small bowl
• Pastry brush (optional - you can use your fingers to spread the oil if needed)

🥡 Recommendations for storage & reheating

These taquitos hold up surprisingly well when assembled in advance. I've assembled them and put them in the fridge, covered, and baked them a day or 2 later with great success.

You can store the filling and tortillas separately, then assemble and bake later.

Leftover baked taquitos can be stored in an airtight container (or wrapped in aluminum foil) and heated up in the oven or an air fryer. They'll be nice and crispy and delicious!

If you pre-assemble your taquitos go ahead and lay them out on your baking sheet and cover it with foil, then refrigerate them. Take them out of the refrigerator when you start preheating your oven to take the chill off of them.

Brush or spray them with a little more oil before baking so they get

I also have some unbaked taquitos in the freezer that I'm going to test out reheating, because I think they'll cook up beautifully, too.

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