Air Fryer Beef Taquitos
Crispy on the outside with a rich filling made from ground beef, homemade taco seasoning and cream cheese, this easy meal is delicious, satisfying and perfect for busy nights.
The air fryer makes sure these are still crispy and crunchy without adding tons of fat and calories from cooking oil. You can also pan sear these in a little olive oil if you don’t have an air fryer.
My favorite toppings for these homemade taquitos are cottage cheese avocado crema, chopped onions and olives. Add what you love! Serve these with Spanish rice, ground chicken tacos and refried beans for a full spread.
Why you’ll love this recipe
- 180 calories per taquito.
- No deep frying.
Ingredients and Substitutes:
These are the main ingredients and substitutions for these crunchy air fryer beef taquitos. Scroll down to the recipe card for full ingredients list and instructions.
- Ground Beef: I used 96% lean ground beef. Turn these into chicken taquitos by using shredded.
- Cream Cheese: while I do not recommend skipping this added creaminess you can omit the cream cheese or substitute with a dairy free option like this almond milk style from Kite Hill.
- Tortillas: this recipe is using Mission Carb Balance Tortillas. You can make this recipe double in size by using snack size tortillas or street taco tortillas.
- Taco Seasoning: you can use your favorite taco seasoning or use the ingredients listed for my homemade seasoning.
Variations
- Top with sour cream, avocado crema, pico de gallo or greek yogurt.
- Top with green chiles, cilantro and red onion.
- Add hot sauce for some heat.
- Make these cheesy by adding pepper jack or cheddar cheese to your ground beef mixture prior to air frying.
Dietary Modifications
- For gluten-free, use your favorite gluten-free tortillas.
- For dairy-free, use your favorite dairy-free cream cheese alternative.
How to make air fryer homemade beef taquitos
Step 1: prep ground beef
Add raw ground beef to a large skillet over medium heat and cook until cooked through. Break up with a spatula while cooking into small pieces. Drain excess fat.
Step 2: make taco seasoning
Mix all the taco seasonings in a small bowl and combine with 5 Tbsp. of water. Mix together to create a slurry paste. Do not skip the water. Add to the ground beef and mix together well to evenly coat.
Step 3: add cream cheese
Add the cream cheese to the meat and break up with a spatula. Cook until the cream cheese has melted into the meat mixture.
Step 4: preheat air fryer and roll taquitos.
Pre-heat your air fryer. Lay out each tortilla and top with evenly divided amounts of the meat mixture.
Lay your mixture on the tortillas and roll leaving the ends open. Place taquitos seam-side up in the air fryer basket. If taquitos roll open, use a damp paper towel to seal the edges. Spray taquitos with cooking spray or avocado oil spray.
Step 5: air fry taquitos
You will likely need to work in batches if you cannot fit all 8 in your air fryer. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of your air fryer.
Air fry at 350 degrees F for 4 minutes. Flip and air fry at 350 for another 4 minutes. Remove when crispy and golden brown.
Expert Tip!
If taquitos don’t stay sealed, use a wet paper towel to set the edges before adding to the air fryer basket.
Recipe FAQs
Pair these air fryer beef taquitos with a traditional side dishes like beans and rice or my Easy Spanish Rice.
For crunchy taquitos, I recommend enjoying these right out of the air fryer. They reheat in the microwave well, they just won’t be as crispy. I honestly love them a little softer. Store in the fridge and reheat in the air fryer or microwave the next day.
To make these extra crispy without an air fryer, pan sear in hot oil to get a good crispy layer.
Check out some of our other easy meals!
If you make this recipe, please leave a rating and/or comment! Tag me on Instagram @ohsnapmacros, I love hearing from you!
Air Fryer Beef Taquitos
📱 MyFitnessPal & MacrosFirst App Users
You can find this recipe and many others on MyFitnessPal and MacrosFirst by searching: Ohsnapmacros – Air Fryer Beef Taquitos
Equipment
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 1 lbs. ground beef (96/4)
- 4 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese
- 8 Mission Carb Balance Soft Taco Flour Tortillas
Taco Seasoning
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tsp. paprika
- 1 Tbsp. chili powder
- 1.5 Tbsp. ground cumin
- 5 Tbsp. water
Instructions
- Prep the ground beef. Add raw ground beef to a pan over medium and cook until cooked through. Break up with a spatula while cooking into small pieces.
- Mix all the taco seasonings in a small bowl and combine with 5 Tbsp. of water. Mix together to create a slurry paste. Do not skip the water. Add to the ground beef and mix together well to evenly coat.
- Add the cream cheese to the meat and break up with a spatula. Cook until the cream cheese has melted into the meat mixture.
- Pre heat your air fryer and start rolling your air fryer beef taquitos.
- Roll the taquitos, lay out each tortillas and top with evenly divided amounts of the meat mixture. If you want perfect measurements you will need to weigh your total meat mixture and divide by 8 to add evenly into the taquitos. Lay your mixture on the tortillas and roll leaving the ends open. Place in the basket of the pre heated air fryer and spray with cooking spray. I like to use Chosen Foods Avocado Spray, linked here.
- Air fry taquitos, you will likely need to work in batches if you cannot fit all 8 in your air fryer. Air fry at 350 for 4 minutes. Flip and air fry at 350 for another 4 minutes. Remove and enjoy these delicious air fryer beef taquitos!!
Notes
- Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary with substitutions.
- Use any preferred ground meat.
- Arrange taquitos in a single layer in the air fryer to ensure an even cook. You may have to work in batches.
Could these be made ahead of time, like the day before and then air fry the day of?
Thank you!
Hi! These aren’t great to prep beforehand because the tortilla will get soggy. You can try to make the filling ahead of time and then roll them when you’re ready to air fry.
I made these this past weekend for a football party we hosted at our house. Everyone LOVED them. I used smaller tortillas to make more of the Taquitos with 2lbs of ground beef. Definitely will be making these for a staple in our household 🙂
All the recipes on this site are so good, I was bound to run into a 4 star at some point!
This was quick and easy to make. I added some veggies and herbs, some sauce, and salsa.
These are so so good!! I did not have flour tortillas so I used corn tortillas. Had to heat them up very well in microwave to keep from breaking up when rolling. For a sauce, I mixed in some Tabasco type hot sauce in Fage 0% Yogurt. Very good!!
These are a huge hit in our house! We have used smaller tortillas as well to serve as an appetizer at parties too. Something about this seasoning plus the cream cheese adds so much flavor. Super easy to make and great macros!
Quick, easy and delicious!!
Super good and easy to make, I doubled the recipe for leftovers but might also freeze some to a later date.
So good and super easy, I doubled the recipe for leftovers or maybe freeze for a later date. Highly recommend!
Super quick and delicious recipe! I always have the ingredients on hand so I can whipe them up in no time!
Quick and easy and GOOD!!
Yay!! Thank you!
The whole family enjoyed these! From 3 to…parent age 😉
Will definitely be added to our rotation!