Easy Homemade Air Fryer Ground Beef Taquitos come together quickly and make the perfect quick dinner or snack. These homemade taquitos are made with seasoned ground beef and cheese inside a crispy corn tortilla. So good!
Crispy taquitos remind me of my childhood. I grew up in a small beach town in southern California and we had small locally owned taco stands that sold tacos, burritos, taquitos, chips & sauce and the like. They were literally about as big as a small bedroom.
I can’t really remember what all they had, I just remember that taquitos was one of the cheapest things on the menu. We would use our babysitting money to buy them.
They were served in a little red and white checkered paper tray, sort of like this (not an affiliate link, just wanted to show you what they look like). Their taquitos were filled with either beef or refried beans and served with a little cheese and sauce on top.
The main difference between theirs and ours is the cooking process.
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Ingredients
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Ingredient Notes
Beef – we use lean ground beef so we don’t have to drain it.
Tortillas – we prefer yellow corn tortillas.
Cheese – I like cheddar, you can use virtually any cheese you like.
Taco Seasoning – we just use the low sodium type in the packet to keep these easy. You can make homemade taco seasoning, McCormick has an easy recipe.
Canola Oil – we put a little oil in a small skillet and warm our tortillas up that way so they roll up easily. See below for alternative methods.
How to Make Homemade Beef Taquitos
- Put a little bit of oil in a small skillet over medium to medium-high heat and warm tortillas for 20-30 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels.
- Brown ground beef in a medium skillet over medium heat, about 8-10 minutes. Add taco seasoning and ⅓ cup water and cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens and is no longer watery.
- Put 2 tablespoons of beef filling and 1 tablespoon of cheese in the center of each tortilla. Roll up a tightly as possible.
- Place seam-side down in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook at 380° for 10 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Notes:
- Not all air fryers cook the same and you may like your taquitos either crispier than, or not as crispy, as ours so find the cooking time that works best in your air fryer to achieve the best results based on what you like.
- If you have trouble making the taquitos stay together it is okay to hold them closed with a toothpick. I think warming the tortillas in a small amount of oil helps them stay together.
- Cook in batches of around 10 and keep the finished taquitos warm in a 200° oven while you make the rest.
Alternative Method
A warm tortilla rolls up better than a cold one and that is why we warm them up first. You can use olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, avocado oil or corn oil if you like.
This can be done in a dry skillet if you don’t want to warm them in cooking oil. You can also try a little cooking spray.
Another method to warm the tortilla is to wrap a few in a damp paper towel and then microwave for 15-30 seconds until they are warm enough to roll easily.
We only have a few brands of corn tortillas to choose from at the two grocery stores in our neighborhood and we find they roll up better if you use a little oil. If your tortillas roll up easier then you may be able to do it without oil.
Substitutions
Change up what meat you use in these homemade air fryer taquitos. Rotisserie chicken or leftover shredded beef would make the perfect filling, just heat up the meat in a little water and add some taco seasoning to the meat.
Topping Ideas for Taquitos
- Sour Cream
- Salsa
- Pico de Gallo
- Guacamole
- Queso
- Lettuce
- Chopped Onions
- Fresh Cilantro
Did I leave your favorite topping off the list? Let me know in the comments.
What we love about these air fryer beef taquitos
Cooking Method – we aren’t fans of deep frying and air frying is our new favorite way to cook.
Quick and Easy – perfect for a quick meal everyone loves.
Versatile – great for a meal but they also make the perfect party food or quick snack on game day.
Some of our favorite air fryer recipes
Easy Homemade Air Fryer Ground Beef Taquitos
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 packet taco seasoning
- ⅓ cup water
- 20 corn tortillas
- 1 ¼ cups shredded cheese
- Canola oil
Instructions
- Put a little bit of oil in a small skillet over medium to medium-high heat and warm tortillas for 20-30 seconds per side. Drain on paper towels.Canola oil, 20 corn tortillas
- Brown ground beef in a medium skillet over medium heat, about 8-10 minutes. Drain if not using very lean ground beef. Add taco seasoning and ⅓ cup water and cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce thickens and is no longer watery.1 lb lean ground beef, 1 packet taco seasoning, ⅓ cup water
- Put 2 tablespoons of beef filling and 1 tablespoon of cheese in the center of each tortilla. Roll up a tightly as possible.1 ¼ cups shredded cheese
- Place seam-side down in a single layer in the air fryer basket and cook at 380° for 10 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
- Serve with your favorite toppings.
To get them to stay together make a paste out of water n flour and it holds
Mine stayed together just fine as you can see in the photos. Not sure how a paste of flour and water would taste.
Thank you for the easy recipe! I too grew up in SoCal and the snack shacks at the beach always had taquitos and avocado sauce. They always bring back fond memories!
Thank you, I do miss SoCal and hope to make it back there someday!