If you want a delicious dinner that everyone will love, these Potato and Beef Taquitos are for you. The best part? This is a recipe that you can freeze and enjoy later. This is the perfect quick dish for weeknights or as finger food for the holidays.
You might have seen those boxes of frozen taquitos in the supermarket, but I can tell you that these Potato and Beef Taquitos are way better! You might know them as taquitos, but they’re also called flautas.
My recipe is a little different because I like to add mashed potatoes to these taquitos. The potatoes make them very filling, plus the potatoes absorb all the juice from the beef, and it is just perfect.
So if you’re like me and love everything taco, from the hard shells to the soft tacos or the delicious taco bowl, this is just another taco variation you’ll love.
This is one of those recipes that you make and freeze for later, just like my easy baked meatballs.
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Recipe Ingredients
- Potatoes- I used regular russet potatoes, but you can use your favorite kind. You can also use instant mashed potatoes, and it still tastes amazing.
- Vegetables- I use just green pepper and onion, but you can always add your favorite. A good addition can be carrots and mushrooms.
- Water- I always like to add water when making ground beef so it can break apart more easily and be saucy.
- Oil- I like to use a little bit of oil to sauté the vegetables.
- Sofrito & tomato paste- The tomato paste and sofrito are a must. The sofrito is a combination of vegetables that add a lot of flavor.
- Beef- I used beef, but you can also use shredded chicken if you like.
- Seasonings- I used crushed oregano, sazon for color, and the adobo seasoning. The adobo is great because it has a combination of seasonings like salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic, and onion powder. So no need to buy taco seasoning!
How to Make Potato and Beef Taquitos
- Photo 1: First, peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes. Add the potatoes and salt to a medium-sized pot over high heat. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. Chop the pepper and onion into small cubes.
- Photo 2: Drain the potatoes and mash them. Cover and save for later.
- Photo 3: In a large pan, add the oil and sauté the vegetables for 2 minutes. Add the sofrito and tomato paste, and cook for 2 more minutes. Add the meat, water, and seasonings. Cook for 10 minutes while you break the meat apart.
- Photo 4: Strain the meat so you can remove any excess fat in the meat. Let the meat cool. Once it is cold to the touch, add the cheese and mix. Mix the flour and ¼ cup of water to make a paste to seal the taquitos.
- Photo 5: Take a tortilla and add about a tablespoon of potato and spread it from side to side. Just leave some space on the ends. Then add ¼ cup of the meat and also spread it, but from end to end.
- Photo 6: Add some of the flour paste on one of the borders of the tortilla and remove any excess.
- Photo 7: Close the taquito and make sure to push in any meat filling that comes out on the sides. Close the flauta and remove any excess flour paste.
- Photo 8: Fry for 2 minutes per side over medium-high heat in a shallow pan with about a cup of oil.
Recipe Tips
- Rolling the tortillas. If you have problems getting anything in a tortilla rolled very tightly, all you have to do is push back the filling when rolling. Also, make sure to tuck the border of the tortilla under the filling.
- Sealing the taquitos. If you wonder what the best way to seal a taquito is, you have 2 options. You can roll the taquito and just hold it close with toothpicks and remove after frying. Or you can make a flour “glue” to seal them.
- Freeze the taquitos. First, let them cool and freeze in an airtight container.
- Baking taquitos. You can bake taquitos at 400F for 6 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
I like using sharp cheddar cheese, but I also like monterrey jack. But in reality, you can use whatever cheese you prefer.
I always say that the best tortilla to make taquitos or flautas is the one you already have at home. But it really is just a preference. You can use corn or flour tortillas.
Yes! You can make taquitos in an air fryer. Preheat the air fryer to 400F and make sure to spray the taquitos with oil before putting them in. Cook for 3 minutes, flip, and finish cooking for 3 more minutes or until golden brown.
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Potato and Beef Taquitos
Ingredients
- ½ pound potatoes
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ½ green bell pepper
- ¼ onion
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons sofrito
- 1 pound ground beef
- ¾ cup water (½ cup is for the meat)
- 1 ½ teaspoon sazon
- 1 ¼ teaspoon adobo
- ½ teaspoon crushed oregano
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 12 taco size tortillas
- 1 cup oil for frying
Instructions
- Rinse and peel the potatoes. Cut the potatoes into small cubes. In a medium pan, add water and salt (you want the water to have taste but not be super salty). Add the potatoes, cover with a lid, and cook on high heat for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender.
- While the potato cooks, chop the pepper and onion. Cut them into small cubes. In a big pan over medium-high heat, add the oil and the onion and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Stir in the sofrito and the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add ½ cup of water, sazon, adobo, oregano, and the meat. Break up the meat while it cooks for 10 minutes. Drain the excess fat and let it cool.
- While the meat cools, drain the potatoes and mash until you have no lumps. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for later.
- Once the meat cools, mix all the cheese with the meat.
- Add ¼ cup of water to the flour and mix to make a paste.
Taquito Assembly
- Add 1 tablespoon of the mashed potato to one side of the tortilla. Spread it, making a thin line from side to side while leaving a ½ inch space from the border.
- Add ¼ cup of the meat mixture right next to the potato. Spread the meat making a thin line from border to border (see image example on the blog post).
- Spread a thin layer of the flour paste on the border of the tortilla on the opposite side of where the potato is. Roll the tortilla and clean any excess flour mix. Lay each taquito flat on the side that it closes while you finish the rest.
- In a large pan, add 1 cup of oil over medium-high heat. Add the taquitos and fry for 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Buen provecho!
Recipe Notes
- Potato- I used fresh potatoes to make the mashed potatoes. But you can cut your prep time and use instant mashed potatoes. Just make sure you season the potatoes.
- Cheese sauce- You can make a cream cheese sauce and mix it in your meat to get a cheesy filling.
- Flour paste- If you don’t want to use the flour paste to close the taquitos, you can use toothpicks. But you must remember to remove them once you fry them.
- Storing- You can store these before or after cooking. Just make sure to cool them off before storing in an airtight container.
- Baking taquitos- Bake on 400°F for 3 minutes on each side or until golden brown.
- Air frying taquitos- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F and spray the taquitos with oil before cooking for 3 minutes per side.
Nutrition
*The nutrition information is automatically calculated, so this is only an approximation.
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