Flautas de Tinga de Pollo (Crispy Chicken Tinga Flautas)
Tightly rolled corn tortillas stuffed with smoky chipotle chicken, fried until shatteringly crisp.
Made with Chipotle in adobo sauce (homemade) and Corn tortillas from masa harina and Shredded chicken (pollo deshebrado). Make a batch of the base first, then this takes minutes. Skip to the method
- Time50 min
- LevelEasy
- Costabout £2.54 a head
Cost is worked out from Aldi and Tesco shelf prices in October 2026. Your shop and brands will differ.
Ingredients
Tick what you need to buy. It goes on your shopping list.
Method
- 1
Blend the tomatoes, garlic and your ready made chipotle adobo sauce (see the base recipe) until smooth.
- 2
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion for 6 minutes until soft. Pour in the blended sauce, add the oregano and salt and simmer for 8 minutes until thick.
14 min - 3
Stir in your ready made shredded chicken (see the base recipe) and cook for 5 minutes until the sauce clings to the strands. Cool for 10 minutes so it is easy to handle.
5 min - 4
Warm the corn tortillas (see the base recipe) in a dry pan or microwave until soft and bendy. Put 2 heaped tablespoons of filling along one edge of each and roll up tightly. Secure with a cocktail stick if needed.
- 5
Heat the frying oil in a wide pan to a medium heat. Fry the flautas seam side down, 4 at a time, for 3 to 4 minutes, turning, until golden and crisp. Drain on kitchen paper.
3 min 30 s - 6
Remove the cocktail sticks. Serve hot on a bed of lettuce with crumbled queso fresco and soured cream.
Tips
- Warm the tortillas properly until they bend without cracking, or they split when rolled. Cover them with a clean tea towel to keep them pliable.
- Keep the tinga fairly dry. A wet filling makes soggy flautas that split in the oil.
- The oil should sizzle gently when a flauta goes in. If it smokes, it is too hot, and the outside burns before the filling warms.
Storing and freezing
Keep leftover filling in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for 2 months. Fry the flautas fresh. Cooked flautas keep 1 day in the fridge and crisp up in a hot oven at {t200} for 10 minutes.
Questions
Can I bake flautas instead of frying?
Yes. Brush the rolled flautas with oil and bake at {t200} for 15 to 18 minutes, turning once, until crisp and golden. They are slightly less blistered but still good.
What is the difference between flautas and taquitos?
They are the same idea. Flautas are usually longer and rolled from corn tortillas, while taquitos are smaller. Mexico and the US use the names differently, so both are fine.
Can I use flour tortillas?
You can, and they fry well, but corn tortillas give the traditional taste and keep the dish gluten free.
More made with chipotle in adobo sauce (homemade)
Double check before you cook. Recipes can contain mistakes. Any diet labels come from the ingredients as written in this recipe and are a guide, not a guarantee. Always check every ingredient and the packet label for allergens and cross contamination, and ask your doctor or dietitian what is right for you, especially with coeliac disease, diabetes or a serious allergy. This is not medical advice.