Baked Creamy Chicken Flautas

I know, I am like the one millioneth blogger to post about this recipe. What does that tell you about the recipe?  :)

In my quest to find more Mexican recipes, I noticed that I needed a little vocab refresher. What the heck is the difference between all of these different kinds of Mexican foods?! What makes a fajita different from a taquito different from an enchilada, and so forth? Sadly, I wasn't really sure. So I looked to my dear friend, Google - I'm sure you've met - to help me out a bit.

I've learned that:

-An enchilada is a casserole-filled tortilla, covered in a sauce and baked. Sauce is key.

-A fajita is a chicken or steak tortilla with peppers and onions. Peppers and onions are the key ingredient to a fajita.

-A taquito is a small, filled deep fried corn tortilla that is crispy. The crispiness and smallness are key to what a taquito is.

-A flauta is pretty much the same as a taquito except using flour tortillas.

(source Wikipedia)

And since I didn't use corn tortillas, these are actually flautas.

So there is your Mexican food terminology lesson for today (and mine!). Now, today I wanna share this flauta recipe with you, but it is not actually deep-fried. This is the baked version, without losing the crisp!

Unfortunately, I stuffed my flautas too much and they overflowed a little. Next time I will not stuff them so much, and I will also use smaller tortillas. I want them to look more mini next time. Mine seem pretty jumbo! And while parts of the baked tortillas were crisp, I bet it would have had even more crunch had I used smaller tortillas. 

We didn't have any cilantro at the time - I know, that's a must in Mexican food! - but we worked around it... we just upped the green onion amount. I would recommend using the cilantro though, since it is a Mexican food staple. We also didn't have grated pepper jack cheese, so we just used 2 pepper jack slices and tore them into little bits to disperse throughout the flautas. Gotta work with what you've got! But do use grated pepper jack if you have it!

And of course you can play with the filling mixture and add to it or take away from it, whatever you like! I think next time I may try to modify the filling a bit to make it more of my own. The sauce is really the star of the show. Without it, these flautas just wouldn't be the same. Ok, maybe dipped in some salsa or guac, but they don't really stand alone. They need a dipping companion.

Baked Creamy Chicken Flautas

slightly adapted from Our Best Bites

• 1/3 cup chive and onion cream cheese
• 1/4 cup La Costena medium green salsa
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup grated pepper jack cheese
• small flour tortillas
• cooking spray
• sea salt

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and then spray it with cooking spray. 

Heat the cream cheese in the microwave for 20 seconds, just until soft enough to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder. Stir to mix. Add in cilantro and green onions. Then add the chicken and cheese and combine. 

Heat tortillas in the microwave in between damp paper towels for about 20 seconds, so tortillas will be easier to roll. Spread the chicken mixture onto the lower third of the tortilla, roll tight, and place seams side down on the pan. Spray the tops with cooking spray (to help the browning process) and add a pinch of sea salt.

Bake for 20 minutes. Serve with Creamy Lime Cilantro Ranch Dressing.

Printable Recipe

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Not gonna lie though - I'm still not very sure how a chimichanga differs from a flauta or taquito. Is it just a larger version? Got me. Oh well, I think I've learned enough for one day!  :)

Peace, and bacon grease!