August 5, 2020
Vegan Chipotle Chick’n Taquitos with Avocado Crema
Let’s taco ’bout taquitos! I mean, who doesn’t love crispy tortillas filled with melty, savory deliciousness?! These Vegan Chipotle Chick’n Taquitos with Avocado Crema are my new favorite – they’re extra cheesy with just a hint of spice, and topped with the most delicious avocado cream.
These are perfect for freezing, so make a double (or heck, triple!) batch for an easy weeknight dinner, late night munchies, or a quick appetizer!
hands down, these are the best vegan taquitos
I’m kinda-sorta obsessed with taquitos … a connoisseur of sorts, so believe me when I say these Vegan Chipotle Chick’n Taquitos with Avocado Crema are the frickin’ BEST. They’re:
- Cheesy
- Juicy
- Smokey
- Crispy
- Perfectly spiced
- Basically perfect
Grab a drink and let’s get to making the best vegan taquitos!
what is a taquito?
“Taquito” literally translates to small taco in Spanish – but you can also call these rolled tacos, flautas, or tacos dorados. Typically, taquitos are filled with some kind of meat and cheese, rolled, and then fried. The concept is simple and makes for the most delicious meal!
I used to think that taquitos were made with only corn tortillas and flautas were made with only flour tortillas, but after some research, I learned the difference between a taquito vs. flauta is mainly its size and shape.
While my Vegan Chipotle Chick’n Taquitos with Avocado Crema are by no means “traditional”, I’m using the same concept and cooking methods for a delicious twist on a classic favorite.
How to make taquitos
My Vegan Chipotle Chick’n Taquitos with Avocado Crema come together in just a few simple steps – most of which is really just the rolling! Here’s how to make them:
- Prepare the vegan chick’n and cheeses. Cook and season your soy curls or chick’n. Pulse the cheese shreds with the chipotles – this step is CRUCIAL! The cheese and chipotles form a kind of cheese paste and hold together so well in the taquitos.
- Toss the chick’n with the cheese-chipotle blend, some vegan cream cheese (for extra gooey-gooey goodness) and red onions.
- Roll the taquitos!
- Fry the taquitos! After all your taquitos are rolled, it’s time to fry these babies. I like to fry only 3-4 taquitos at a time, seam side down, for about 3 minutes per side. Make sure your oil is hot enough, otherwise they’ll just be a soggy mess … and nobody wants that. Once they’re golden brown and crispy, transfer the cooked taquitos to a paper towel lined plate and repeat until they’re all fried!
- TIME TO EAT! My favorite step, for obvious reasons. I like to serve these Vegan Chipotle Chick’n Taquitos with Avocado Crema, crisp lettuce, fresh Pico de Gallo, pickled onions or jalapeños, and a squeeze of lime!
how to freeze taquitos
As I mentioned above, these Vegan Chipotle Chick’n Taquitos are perfect for freezing! To freeze them, just assemble them according to directions, but don’t cook them. When you’re ready, thaw them at room temperature for 5 to 10 minutes and then fry them according to the directions!
taquitos FTW!
I hope you love my Vegan Chipotle Chick’n Taquitos with Avocado Crema as much as I do! If you give this recipe a try, snap a photo or a video, upload it to Instagram, and tag me at @eat_figs_not_pigs and #EatFigsNotPigs! I love seeing all your recreations of my recipes and hearing what you think! Til next time, friends!
XOXO!
Vegan Chipotle Chick'n Taquitos with Avocado Crema
Ingredients
Avocado Crema
- 1 large avocado
- 1/3 cup fresh lime juice
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Taquitos
- 2 cups soy curls
- 2 TBS avocado oil
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon each : garlic powder onion powder, and chipotle chile powder
- 1 cup vegan cheese blend shreds
- 3 chipotles from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce
- 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/2 cup minced red onion
- 12 6-inch flour tortillas
- 1 cup neutral oil such as canola or vegetable oil
- For Serving:
- Chopped lettuce
- Pico de Gallo or salsa
- Pickled onions or jalapeños
- Lime wedges
Instructions
Avocado Crema
- Place all the ingredients in a blender with 1/4 cup water and process until completely smooth. It's a bit thick, so you may have to use a tamper to get everything going. Taste and adjust salt if necessary. To store the Avocado Crema, place it in an airtight container and refrigerate up to 2 days.
Taquitos
- Soak the soy curls in hot water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and squeeze out any excess water thoroughly with a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth.
- In large saute pan over medium-high heat, cook the soy curls in the avocado oil for 5 minutes. Season the soy curls with the cumin, salt, garlic & onion powder, and chipotle chile powder, and cook the soy curls another 10 minutes, until they are lightly browned and slightly crisp around the edges. Wipe the pan clean of any remnants and set aside. Transfer the soy curls to the large bowl.
- Place the vegan cheese blend and chipotles in a food processor and pulse for 1 to 2 minutes, until a pasty cheese-spread forms. Transfer the mixture into the bowl with the soy curls, cream cheese, and red onion. Mix well to combine.
- To assemble the taquitos, place about 2 tablespoons of the filling towards the bottom half of one tortilla, rolling tightly upwards. Secure each taquito with 1 to 2 toothpicks and place them seam side down on a baking sheet. Repeat until all the taquitos are rolled.
- Heat the same pan that you cooked the soy curls in over medium heat with the vegetable oil. Once the oil is hot, fry the taquitos in batches seam side down for 4 to 6 minutes, flipping the taquitos halfway through. Transfer the taquitos to a paper-towel lined plate and repeat until all the taquitos are fried.
- Serve the taquitos immediately with a generous drizzle of Avocado Crema, lettuce, Pico de Gallo, pickled onions, and a couple lime wedges.
- ENJOY!
How can I sub chipotle? I just can’t get it anywhere.. ????
Hi Martina!! You can add roasted jalapeño and some liquid smoke! Hope this helps!
Loved this recipe! It was really easy and delicious. I made half in my air fryer and half in the oil on a pan. Both ways turned out great. I also used corn tortillas to make it gluten free. I would have loved to have frozen some for later, but we ate them all!
I have made 3 recipes of yours over the last 3 days and all have been STELLAR! Recipes super easy to follow and lots of fun options. And the food tastes incredible!!! I can not wait to try more of your recipes. Keep them coming!!!
Hi
Soy curls, should I be able to find this in any health food store? Along with the Chick’n?
Thank-you.
Hey Wendy! I usually order soy curls on Amazon! Similarly, you can find soya chunks at many grocery stores, as well as vegan Chick’n strips 🙂 hope this helps!
So good! And surprisingly quick/easy! I didn’t have soy curls so I substituted with Gardein chik’n and it worked out great. I will definitely be adding this recipe to the rotation and I am going to put that avocado crema on everything. Obsessed!