Get ready for a flavour fiesta with these crispy homemade beef taquitos in the air fryer. They are a blend of crunchy goodness and savory satisfaction! Super easy to make! Gluten-free.
These beef taquitos are great for a quick dinner or to share as an appetizer at a dinner party. They are extremely crunchy and delicious.
For more Mexican-inspired food, check out these pulled pork tacos, this pulled pork rice bowl, or this Mexican chili con carne.
Jump to:
- Why you will love these Beef Taquitos in the Air Fryer
- Ingredients
- Variations and substitutions
- How to make Beef Taquitos In The Air Fryer
- What to serve with these Homemade Air Fryer Taquitos
- Equipment
- Storage
- Top tips!
- FAQ
- More air fryer recipes
- Love this recipe? Let's stay connected!
- Crispy Homemade Beef Taquitos Recipe In The Air Fryer
- See what other people think about this recipe!
Why you will love these Beef Taquitos in the Air Fryer
They are perfect for a quick dinner or crunchy taco Tuesday.
Easy to prepare.
Air frying the taquitos is a much healthier alternative to deep frying.
Super crispy and delicious!
Ingredients
You should be able to find all the ingredients at your local grocery stores:
- Garlic cloves diced
- Brown onion diced
- Red bell pepper diced
- Lean ground beef
- Mexican spice mix or taco seasoning (I tend to prefer spice mix as it doesn't contain sugar or additives)
- Tomato paste
- Beef broth (or water)
- Corn tortillas or GF flour tortillas
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations and substitutions
- Get creative with the spices: add extra coriander powder, garlic powder, or onion powder for extra flavour
- Make them more spicy: adding chili powder or chopped red or green chiles
- Fill up the taquitos with cheese: if you can tolerate dairy, cheese is a great option to add to these taquitos
- Make pulled pork beef taquitos, I love making them with my BBQ pulled pork, so juicy!!
- Use chili con carne as beef filling.
How to make Beef Taquitos In The Air Fryer
The cooking process to make these air fryer beef taquitos is super easy following some simple steps.
Start by preparing the ground beef mixture
Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large skillet or pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and pinch of salt, and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion becomes transparent.
Add the red pepper and combine. Cook for another 5 minutes or so, until soft.
Increase to medium-high heat, and add the lean ground beef to the pan with a pinch of salt. Stir to combine for a few minutes until it browns. Add the Mexican spice mix and cook for a couple of minutes more.
Add the beef broth and tomato paste, combine, and cook for 3-5 minutes until beef is well cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed.
Important! Discard any remaining liquid from the ground beef mixture before rolling the taquitos.
Roll the homemade taquitos
Add a bit of the meat mixture to the center of each tortilla (close to the border - see photo), and roll the taquito. Secure with a toothpick if required to avoid the tortilla unfolding. Repeat the process until you make the number of taquitos desired.
Note! You might need to use a warm tortilla for rolling the taquitos - this will depend on how flexible the tortillas you use are.
Brush the taquitos with extra virgin olive oil on both sides using a brush or cooking spray.
Cook the crispy taquitos
Add the taquitos to the air fryer basket. Don't overlap the taquitos, to ensure they come out perfectly crispy. Cook at 200C/390F for 10-12 minutes until they are golden brown.
Serve immediately with your sides and toppings of choice (suggestions below).
What to serve with these Homemade Air Fryer Taquitos
These are my favorite toppings and sauces to serve with beef taquitos.
- Serve on a bed of crispy lettuce: Iceberg-style lettuce is best
- Pico de gallo: finely diced purple onion, tomato, coriander, and lime juice. You can add the pico de gallo to the tops of the taquitos.
- Mango salsa for a fresh and tropical touch.
- Guacamole or smashed avo with lime juice
- DF sour cream, coconut yogurt sauce, or Greek yogurt (if dairy is not a problem)
- Jalapenos
- Mexican tomato and pepper salsa
Equipment
- Sharp knife & chopping board
- Large skillet or pan
- Toothpicks
- Brush or oil spray bottle
- Air fryer
Storage
This recipe makes 12-15 beef taquitos. Store the leftover beef mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Top tips!
Discard any remaining liquid from the ground beef mixture before rolling the taquitos, otherwise they will end up soggy.
You might need to use a warm tortilla for rolling the taquitos - this will depend on how flexible the tortillas you use are.
FAQ
These beef taquitos need a cooking time of 10-12 minutes at 200C/390F in the air fryer to come out perfectly crispy!
If your taquitos are not crispy is most likely because you haven't cooked them long enough.
If the beef mixture has a lot of liquid it could also wet the tortillas and make them soggy. Overlapping the taquitos too much could also cause the taquitos not to be crispy. Make a single layer of taquitos with space in between to ensure you get a crispy tortilla.
Absolutely! You can cook frozen taquitos in the air fryer. You will need to increase the cooking time by approximately 5 minutes.
If the filling mixture of the taquitos has a lot of liquid it will wet the tortillas too much and make them soggy. Make sure to discard any remaining liquid of the beef mixture before rolling the taquitos.
Taquitos pair great with pico de gallo, guacamole, jalapeños, crispy lettuce, yogurt sauce, and lime juice.
More air fryer recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
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Crispy Homemade Beef Taquitos Recipe In The Air Fryer
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 12-15 taquitos 1x
- Category: Appetizer, main
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Get ready for a flavour fiesta with these crispy homemade beef taquitos in the air fryer. They are a blend of crunchy goodness and savory satisfaction! Super easy to make! Gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 2 garlic cloves diced
- 1 cup brown onion diced
- 1 cup red bell pepper diced
- ½ kg lean ground beef
- 2 tbsp Mexican spice mix or taco seasoning (see notes)
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ cup of beef broth (or water)
- Sea salt
- 12 corn tortillas or GF flour tortillas
Instructions
Start by preparing the ground beef mixture
-
Add a drizzle of olive oil to a large skillet or pan on medium heat. Add the chopped onion, garlic, and pinch of salt, and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion becomes transparent.
-
Add the red pepper and combine. Cook for another 5 minutes or so, until soft.
-
Increase to medium-high heat, and add the lean ground beef to the pan with a pinch of salt. Stir to combine for a few minutes until it browns. Add the Mexican spice mix and cook for a couple of minutes more.
-
Add the beef broth and tomato paste, combine, and cook for 3-5 minutes until beef is well cooked and all the liquid has been absorbed. Important! Discard any remaining liquid from the ground beef mixture before rolling the taquitos.
Roll the homemade taquitos
- Add a bit of the meat mixture to the center of each tortilla (close to the border), and roll the taquito. Secure with a toothpick if required to avoid the tortilla unfolding. Repeat the process until you make the number of taquitos desired.
- Brush the taquitos with extra virgin olive oil on both sides using a brush or cooking spray.
Cook the crispy taquitos
- Add the taquitos to the air fryer basket. Don't overlap the taquitos, to ensure they come out perfectly crispy. Cook at 200C/390F for 10-12 minutes until they are golden brown.
- Serve immediately with your sides and toppings of choice (see notes below).
Notes
I tend to prefer Mexican spice mix as it doesn't contain sugar or additives.
You might need to use a warm tortilla for rolling the taquitos - this will depend on how soft the tortillas you use are.
Toppings & salsa serving suggestions: Serve on a bed of crispy lettuce (iceberg lettuce), pico de gallo, guacamole or smashed avo with lime juice, DF sour cream or Greek yogurt (if dairy is not a problem) or coconut yogurt sauce, jalapenos, Mexican tomato and pepper salsa.
If your taquitos are not crispy is most likely because you haven't cooked them long enough.
If the beef mixture has a lot of liquid it could also wet the tortillas and make them soggy. Overlapping the taquitos too much could also cause the taquitos not to be crispy. Make a single layer of taquitos with space in between to ensure you get a crispy tortilla.
This recipe makes 12-15 beef taquitos. Store the leftover beef mixture in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4-5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Karen says
SO CRUNCHY!! I made these for my family and they all loved it! I added cheese to the filling it was so good. Will make them again.