The answer to the popular weeknight question What’s for dinner? Taquitos! These vegan and gluten-free taquitos are incredibly crispy, flavorful, perfectly dippable, and portable. They also happen to be ideal for making in large batches to freeze for later, and they’re easy to reheat when you need a quick snack. The best part? Just 10 ingredients required! Let us show you how it’s done!
What are Taquitos?
Taquito in Spanish means “small taco,” and it’s fitting because taquitos are tortillas rolled up with a small amount of filling inside. Then they’re typically fried and topped with guacamole and other goodies.
Two restaurants in Southern California get the credit for developing taquitos in the early 1900s. But the dish was likely inspired by Mexican flautas, which are similar but usually made with larger flour tortillas instead of corn.
While taquitos are usually filled with shredded meat, the following is our baked, plant-based version.
How to Make Vegan Taquitos
These taquitos begin with a spicy, flavorful filling made with the most versatile faux meat option out there: young (green) jackfruit! It has a shreddable texture and neutral flavor, making it perfect for “crab” cakes, tortilla soup, BBQ sandwiches, and beyond!
We took inspiration from our spicy jackfruit tacos, keeping the waves of flavor coming from onion, garlic, smoky spices, and umami-packed coconut aminos, but simplified it!
We sauté the filling until it’s caramelized and infused with the spices, then roll it up in corn tortillas.
Then, instead of frying the taquitos, we bake them for a golden brown, crispy exterior without the health detriments of deep frying.
After baking, you can enjoy them warm or keep them in the freezer for quick snacks and those days when cooking is just not going to happen. Because you deserve a break, Rhonda!
We hope you LOVE these vegan taquitos! They’re:
Crunchy
Flavorful
Satisfying
Savory
Snackable
& Freezer-friendly!
They’re incredibly delicious topped with our Easy 1-Pot Refried Beans, Go-To Guacamole, Vegan Sour Cream, and Roasted Salsa Verde. And they also pair well with our Easy Vegan Chorizo, Chickpea Chopped Kale Salad with Adobo Dressing, Spicy Pickled Cauliflower (Escabeche), or Green Cauliflower Rice (20 minutes!).
More Delicious Jackfruit Recipes
- Smoky Shredded Marinated Jackfruit
- Spicy Jackfruit Tacos (1-Pot Meal!)
- BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches with Avocado Slaw
- 1-Pot Vegan Tortilla Soup
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!
Crispy Baked Jackfruit Taquitos (Vegan, GF)
Ingredients
- 2 (20-ounce) cans jackfruit in water or brine (NOT in syrup // we like Trader Joe’s brand)
- 2 Tbsp avocado or coconut oil (if avoiding oil, sub water)
- 1/2 large white or yellow onion (thinly sliced)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced (optional)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp ground smoked paprika
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 Tbsp chili powder
- 2-3 Tbsp coconut sugar (or maple syrup or organic brown sugar)
- 1-2 small chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (from a can* // roughly chopped)
- 3 tsp adobo sauce (use more or less to achieve preferred spice level)
- 3-4 Tbsp coconut aminos
- 2/3 cup water (plus more as needed)
- 2 Tbsp lime juice (optional as some tanginess comes from the jackfruit brine)
- 16 corn tortillas
- Avocado oil (for greasing pan and brushing taquitos)
FOR SERVING optional
Instructions
- Thoroughly rinse and drain jackfruit. Then begin sorting. The pieces come in chunks or triangle shapes. Cut off the center “core” portion of the jackfruit that’s tougher in texture and separate it from the rest of the fruit. Then chop into smaller pieces. For the remaining portion of the jackfruit that appears more stringy, use your hands or a fork to pull into small shredded pieces. You’re basically trying to get the jackfruit into small, shredded/chopped pieces. Rinse the jackfruit once more in a fine mesh strainer, drain, and thoroughly dry.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add oil of choice, onion, and garlic (optional). Sauté for 4-5 minutes or until onions are golden brown and softened.
- Add jackfruit, salt, paprika, cumin, chili powder, coconut sugar, chipotle peppers and their adobo sauce, coconut aminos, water, and lime juice (optional). Stir to coat and reduce heat to low-medium. Cover and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Taste and adjust flavors as needed, adding more paprika or cumin for smokiness, chili powder for heat, chipotle pepper or adobo sauce for spice, coconut sugar or maple syrup for sweetness, coconut aminos for saltiness / depth of flavor, or lime for acidity.
- Turn up heat to medium-high and cook for 3-5 minutes more to get a little extra color/texture. Then remove from heat.
- Preheat the oven to 425 F (218 C) and brush a baking sheet with avocado oil. Set aside.
- Next, working in batches (~8 tortillas at a time), warm your tortillas by wrapping them in a damp kitchen towel or paper towel and microwaving for ~30-60 seconds. This ensures they are nice and pliable to prevent them from splitting open or unfolding.
- Fill the tortillas one at a time, using ~2 heaping tablespoons of the jackfruit mixture. They hold their shape best if you place the filling closer to one side and in a narrow pile (see photo). Roll gently but tightly into taquitos and place them seam side down on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat until all the filling is used. It should make ~16 taquitos.
- Spray or brush the taquitos generously with avocado oil (or another neutral oil) and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until crispy and uniformly golden brown. Watch carefully near the end to avoid burning. The undersides get more browned than the tops.
- Serve warm on their own or with refried beans, guacamole, vegan sour cream, and/or salsa verde. Leftovers will keep stored in the freezer up to 1 month.
- TO FREEZE: Let cool completely, then transfer to a freezer-safe container. Reheat by covering with a lid or paper towel and microwaving for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through to the center.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with the lesser amount of coconut aminos, with an additional 1 tablespoon avocado oil for brushing taquitos, and without optional ingredients.
Annette Nolan says
how do you reheat them in the oven?
Hi Annette, we’ve only reheated them in the microwave, but we think you could bake at 375 F for 10-12 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Caley T says
Another awesome recipe! Made these on a whim for a Super Bowl gathering. So delicious and loved the textures especially the crunch! They were a hit and they go great with a salsa verde ;) PS thanks for your ‘weekly meal inspo’ emails- they’ve helped shake up our recipes each week.
Thanks so much for the lovely review, Caley! We’re so glad you’re enjoying the emails as well!
Nic says
Can you recommend an adobo sauce – so many variations pop up and I have no idea what is right
Hi Nic, we just use the leftover adobo sauce from the can of chipotle peppers in adobo!
Brittany says
This recipe was so good! The rinsing, breaking up the jackfruit and then rinsing again made such a difference in the taste! I used flour tortillas and made these in the air fryer and they still turned out crunchy and delicious!
Amazing! Thanks so much for the lovely review and for sharing your modifications, Brittany!
Robo says
So I made mine and substituted jack fruit with Yukon gold potatoes and it came out excellent! The microwaving of the tortillas was key! Next time I want to take out the maple syrup since it gave it a slight sweetness I could do without but so amazing so thank you!
Yum! Thanks for the great review, Robo!
Jen says
I tried the smashed black bean taquitos from the cookbook but I do t know how you rolled these. Ok heated the tortillas but they crumbled the second I tried to roll them. Had to basically make mini quesadillas. What am I doing wrong??
Hi Jen, Did you heat them up? That should do the trick! Also, some brands are a lot more prone to cracking than others.
Brianna Duarte says
Do you have some recommendations for corn tortillas? I bought the ones at Trader Joe’s and they also split.
Hi Brianna, we don’t have a recommendation for a widely available brand, but locally made or homemade are best!
Gabrielle says
I really wanted to love this but I was so mad making it. I followed everything even looked at photos and those corn tortillas have ruined my afternoon. I went through 2 packs. I finally gave up and just ate the jackfruit which is awesome and baked the tortillas as some broken chips lol.
Oh no! We’re so sorry that happened, Gabrielle! Were the tortillas cracking? Did you make sure to heat them? Another idea is to try using a brand that’s more soft, fresh, and pliable. Hope that helps if you give it another try!
Kiki says
Question: I want to make these but do not use microwaves, how can I prep tortillas from not cracking?
Hi Kiki, you could try wraping them in tin foil and place them in a warm oven for 10 minutes. Hope this helps!
Beverly Blount says
Jackfruit taquitos were great, making them again…next week! My husband loved them too….have 4 more left….gone by tonight !!!
Thank you for this recipe!!
Beverly
Woohoo! We’re so glad you both enjoyed them, Beverly! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
Cindy says
As much as I wanted to love this recipe. It didn’t work out. I followed the recipe exactly but the corn tortillas were unraveling as soon as I started rolling them up.
Sorry to hear that, Stephanie! One idea is that they needed a little more filling? Did you make sure to place them seam side down?
sabrina says
Very easy and delicious!
Yay! Thanks so much, Sabrina!
Rielle Nakehk'O says
I really loved this! I accidentally bought the jackfruit in syrup. Let it soak in water and shredded it and resoaked it. Didn’t use the coconut amino acids used tamari instead and a bit more than what was called for. And I just halfed it to try it. And I would make this again in a heartbeat! Amazing! And I’d make more next time too! Cooked for a lot longer than what called probably because I had a big shredding.
Yay! Thanks for the great review and for sharing your modifications, Rielle! So glad you enjoyed!
Jozi says
My family is new to vegan (three weeks in) and made these tonight, followed recipe to a T (used maple instead of the coconut sugar). My daughter(12) and husband were skeptical until I fixed their plate. Topped them with basic guacamole and they LOVED them! So easy and delicious.
Woohoo! We’re so glad they were a hit with the whole family! Thank you for sharing, Jozi! xo
Ashley says
I only had 1 can of jackfruit so I subbed the other with a can of black beans. They turned out delicious and so flavorful! Make sure not to skip the microwave step as they will crack otherwise. Served with guacamole and salsa. Will be making these again!
Ooo, what a great idea to add beans! Thanks so much for the lovely review, Ashley!
J Brown says
My family of 4 all really loved these! I made them as written, except for cutting back on the smoked paprika by half. Very flavorful and satisfying. I overstuffed the tortillas, so only got 13 (vs 16). Served with sour cream, salsa, and avocado. Yum!
We’re so glad your whole family enjoys them! Thank you for the lovely review! xo
VICKY says
These are so good! I made them without the chipotle peppers so they were kid friendly, we had the chipotle sauce on the side and ate them with your refried beans. It was a hit everyone loved this dish! It made it to our birthday meals list!
Woohoo! Love that, Vicky. Thank you for sharing! xo
Anne says
Such a brilliant recipe ! I had been wanting to try jackfruit and this was a great way to try it – the jackfruit works super well with the spices ! I did add some black beans as well but stuck to the rest of the ingredient list and they worked out perfectly !
So glad you gave it a try and enjoyed it, Anne! Thank you for sharing! xo
Amanda says
This recipe is the bomb . . . And I do not say things like, “the bomb”. The recipe is fairly easy. There is so much flavor! We do not have a microwave so I had to try to balance warming the tortillas in the oven and then heating the oven for baking. My rolling skills can use some work but all the cracks and unrolling that happened did not take away from the yumminess. Awesome recipe!
We’re so glad to hear you enjoy this recipe, Amanda! Thank you for the lovely review! They are definitely trickier to roll without breaking if you don’t have a microwave. We wonder if when warming the tortillas they might benefit from a pan of water under them in the oven to add moisture and prevent cracking?
Heather Paar says
These turned out great. The corn tortillas do have to be really warm and soft to roll without splitting. I used two tablespoons of coconut sugar and I think by themselves they were a little sweet. But dipped in beans, salsa, and vegan sour cream they were perfect. I always mix vegan sour cream with lime juice and cumin to make a lime-crema. The tart lime was the perfect complement. I will make these again for sure. They would be great party food and great for a non-vegan crowd too.
We’re so glad you enjoyed them, Heather! Thank you so much for the helpful and lovely review! xo
Tina says
I want to make these and freeze some. Do you think that would work?
Definitely! These freeze great!
Jillian says
These are amazing and easy to make!! Can’t wait to make them again.
xoxo! SO glad you enjoyed them, Jillian!
Michele says
Been wanting to try jackfruit—bought a prepared pouch version before I saw your recipes (has as anyone tried those?) appreciate the warning about TJ’s syrup vs water canned! Another question : any suggestion, experience good or bad with particular gf veganitortillas or cassava, cauliflower , etc subs? Prefer to make, but not for just 1–many store bought are very thi and tasteless
Hi Michele, we’ve tried a BBQ jackfruit pouch and it was pretty tasty, but we do prefer homemade! For the tortillas, corn work best in this recipe for a crispy texture.
Pat says
Wow, amazingly easy recipe. The most difficult part for me was rolling them up and trying to prevent the corn tortilla from tearing. Eventually I got it right. Thank you so much for providing such wonderful recipes that are both easy to make and nutritious! I received several compliments from the folks I shared with. Yummy 😋
We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Pat! Thank you for your lovely review and sharing your experience! xo
Min says
I made this today using homemade tortillas and it was really delicious. Using jackfruit is such a brilliant idea. It’s my family favourite now, thanks so much for sharing this lovely recipe Dana. I’ll definitely be making it again.
Wonderful! We’re so glad you and your family enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing! xo
Danielle says
These look delicious! Do you think they will still get crispy enough if I don’t use oil?
Hi Danielle, you can leave the oil out of the jackfruit mixture without issue, but we would still recommend spraying the taquitos before they go in the oven, if possible! Otherwise, we don’t think they will be crispy.
Danielle says
Thank you!
Bonnie says
I just made these mostly oil-free, and they were delicious! I used a very light coat of olive oil spray over the top and used the air fryer instead of the oven to ensure they were really crispy. I don’t think the oil spray really made a difference other than adding a little browning. I think you could omit it. I can’t speak for oven baking, though.
Danielle says
Great, thanks so much for letting me know, Bonnie!
Antoinette says
My first foray into canned jackfruit and it was a huge hit! Came together super easy and was delish too! I didn’t have chipotle in adobe – so I subbed chipotle powder and green chilies.
Yay! So glad to hear it, Antoinette. Thank you for sharing!
Laura says
I don’t use a microwave for health reasons. Is it possible to provide non-microwave instructions , please? (This request would apply to all recipes where micro aves are mentioned) thank you for your consideration of this request.
Hi Laura, if using fresh homemade tortillas, you can heat them in a cast iron skillet over high heat. We used a microwave here because we found the tortillas were too prone to cracking otherwise.
Thomasina says
Hello! I was wonder if the 47 calories per Taquito includes the corn tortilla as well, or just the filling? Ps. Thank you for always including nutritional info!
Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Thomasina! 47 calories is without the corn tortillas and 99 calories is with them. We’ll get the nutrition info updated to include the tortillas.
Christine says
These look delicious! Do you think using Siete Almond flour tortillas would work? Just curious if you have experimented with the almond flour tortillas.
Thanks!
Hi Christine, we haven’t experimented with them for taquitos, but do know they work well for enchiladas. They probably won’t get quite as crispy here, but let us know if you try it!