What I love about taquitos is that when you're craving Mexican food [1], they've got all your bases covered. The crunch of a taco [2] shell and the cheesy filling of a burrito are all wrapped in a warm tortilla. Plus, the fun of finger food! Frozen taquitos make for a supereasy and quick meal. They reheat perfectly in the microwave, so they're great for the batch-cookers out there, and the texture is incredibly forgiving. But I've found that I get the best texture — that is, the crunchiest, most golden-brown shell with the most perfectly cooked interior — when I cook mine in the air fryer.
I consulted several different cooking blogs to find the best way to cook frozen taquitos in your air fryer, and here's what I found. Dinner will be ready in 10!
Preheat the Air Fryer
First, grab your taquitos (any frozen brand will do), and preheat your air fryer to 400 degrees for about five minutes.
Add the Frozen Taquitos to the Basket
Place taquitos in the basket of your air fryer. It's best to cook them in a single layer so that they get crispy, but if you're pressed for time and don't mind a softer taquito, you can stack them on top of each other. (I have a Ninja two-basket air fryer [4], which I love for its capacity to cook big batches of food.)
Spray the Basket and Cook
Spray the basket of your air fryer, and cook the taquitos for four minutes.
Shake the Basket
After four minutes, pause the cooking process to shake the basket. You can also turn the taquitos by hand, but I find their shape is quite conducive to a good shake! Then, return the taquitos to the air fryer for four more minutes.
Remove the Taquitos from the Basket
After eight minutes, your taquitos should be hot, and you might see some cheese or filling start to poke out. When this happens, you know they're done! If you like yours extra crispy, you can leave them in for another minute or two. Remove them from the air fryer.
Top With Your Favourite Taquito Fixins
Once your taquitos are done, it's time to get fancy with all your favourite toppings. Salsa, guac, hot sauce, sour cream! I went for basic shredded cheese on mine. If you want to get the cheese extra-melty, you can sprinkle it while the taquitos are still in the air fryer. Just know that you might have to spend a little extra time cleaning up [5]!
Enjoy!
