• Recipe Index
    • Cooking Method
      • Air fryer
      • Grill
      • One Skillet
      • Pressure Cooker
      • Slow Cooker
      • Stove + Oven
    • Courses
      • Apps + Snacks
      • Beverages
      • Breakfast
      • Desserts
      • Dinner
      • Lunch
      • Salads
      • Sides
      • Soups, Stews + Chilis
    • Diet
      • Dairy Free
      • Kid Friendly
      • GF + DF
      • Gluten Free
      • Paleo + Whole 30
      • Vegan + Vegetarian
    • Ingredient
      • Beef
      • Cauliflower
      • Chocolate
      • Hidden Veggies
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Pork
      • Poultry
      • Seafood
      • Squash
    • Seasonal
      • Fall + Thanksgiving
      • Winter + Christmas
      • Spring + Easter
      • Summer + BBQ
  • Meal Plans
    • Weekly Dinner Plans
    • Full Meal Plans
  • Shop
    • Amazon Store
    • Ebooks
    • Gift Guides
  • Tips + Resources
    • At Home Workouts
    • 21 Day Fix | Ultimate Portion Fix Resources
    • Other Beachbody Programs
    • Cooking | Kitchen Tips
    • Meal Prep
    • Instant Pot 101
    • Our Autism Story
  • About Me
    • Contact
    • Work With Me
  • Privacy Policy | Disclosure
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • About Me
  • Work With Me
  • Legal
    • Privacy Policy | Disclosure
  • Contact
  • Shop

Confessions of a Fit Foodie

  • Recipe Index
    • Cooking Method
      • Air fryer
      • Grill
      • One Skillet
      • Pressure Cooker
      • Slow Cooker
      • Stove + Oven
    • Courses
      • Apps + Snacks
      • Beverages
      • Breakfast
      • Desserts
      • Dinner
      • Lunch
      • Salads
      • Sides
      • Soups, Stews, + Chilis
    • Diet
      • Dairy Free
      • Kid Friendly
      • Gluten Free
      • GF + DF
      • Paleo + Whole 30
      • Vegan + Vegetarian
    • Ingredient
      • Beef
      • Cauliflower
      • Chocolate
      • Hidden Veggies
      • Pasta
      • Pizza
      • Pork
      • Poultry
      • Seafood
      • Squash
    • Seasonal
      • Fall + Thanksgiving
      • Winter + Christmas
      • Spring + Easter
      • Summer + BBQ
  • Meal Plans
    • Weekly Dinner Plans
    • Full Meal Plans
  • Shop
    • Amazon Store
    • Ebooks
    • Gift Guides
  • Tips + Resources
    • 21 Day Fix | Ultimate Portion Fix Resources
    • Other Beachbody Programs
    • At Home Workouts
    • Cooking | Kitchen Tips
    • Meal Prep
    • Instant Pot 101
    • Our Autism Story
You are here: Home / All Recipes / Ingredient / Beef / Taquitos and Easy Cheese Sauce

April 30, 2020 By Nancylynn 5 Comments

Taquitos and Easy Cheese Sauce

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

This easy Taquitos recipe uses my favorite hidden veggie taco meat and my favorite homemade cheese sauce as a queso dipping sauce. These gluten-free taquitos, or rolled tacos, are a healthier option than traditional taquitos because they are baked or air fried. Freeze taquitos for an easy lunch, dinner, or snack! This post contains affiliate links for products I’m obsessed with. 

Woman's hand with white nail polish is holding a beef taquito and dipping it into a bowl of cheese sauce. In the background, out of focus, is a stack of taquitos topped with homemade salsa.

Confession:  I’ve become mildly obsessed with taquitos. 

You might have noticed this…this is my THIRD taquitos recipe this year, and I have another one in the works, coming out really soon. 

Here’s why Taquitos rock

  1. The corn tortilla gets extra crispy – like a hard taco
  2.  You can make a huge batch to freeze and make whenever you get a craving!

Maybe you have tried my Healthy Instant Pot Airfryer Chicken Taquitos (Slow Cooker | Oven Friendly | Gluten-free), or my Healthy Buffalo Chicken Taquitos [Instant Pot | Air Fryer].

These new Taquitos are basically my favorite tacos, just rolled up! 

Close up photo of a plate stacked with beef taquitos.topped with homemade salsa. In the background, out of focus, are ramekins filled with salsa and cheese sauce.  

What is a Taquito?

A Taquito is a small tortilla that is rolled around a filling, usually a meat, beans and or cheese, and then often deep-fried.  There are lots of frozen, ready made options in grocery stores, too.  And while they are convenient, they aren’t always made with the healthiest ingredients. 

My taquitos, however, are so easy to make and are so delicious, too!

High angle photo of an instant pot filled with cooked beef, cauliflower rice, and tomato sauce, making the filling for beef taquitos.

Are Taquitos Gluten Free?

This taquitos recipe is gluten-free!  Yay!   But most taquitos you find at restaurants are not safe to eat if you are avoiding gluten.  First, taquitos are sometimes made with flour tortillas that aren’t gluten free.  And, even if they are made with corn tortillas at restaurants, they are usually fried with other non-gluten free foods and can be a cross contamination risk. 

But it’s really easy to make your own gluten-free tacos at home! 

High angle photo of an instant pot and wooden spoon stirring beef taquito filling.

Are these Gluten free Taquitos healthy?

Yep! First, the filling of these taquitos is made with lean ground beef (you can sub ground turkey or chicken) and they also include hidden veggies – cauliflower rice!  I make this Hidden Cauliflower Taco Meat all the time and my super veggie picky son eats it without having a clue every single week!  It’s seasoned with a little tomato sauce and some Salt Free Taco Seasoning and it tastes like the yummiest tacos ever!

Second, unlike traditional taquitos, these are baked or air fried!  I honestly love both methods, which are detailed more in depth below, but here is my short pro/con list. 

Three beef taquitos in an air fryer basket, ready to be cooked

Airfryer Taquitos

Pros: 

  • Extra crispy and faster to cook
  • No need to turn on an oven or heat up your house
  • Great for reheating

Cons:

  • You have to batch cook them

Beef taquitos lined up on a parchment lined baking sheet

Baked Taquitos in the Oven

Pros: 

  • No need to batch cook – you can make as many as you can fit on your sheet pan 
  • Still pretty darn crispy

Cons: 

  • Cook time is longer 
  • You have to heat up your house 

A corn tortilla filled with cauliflower beef taquito filling on a white counter top

Should I use flour or corn tortillas for Taquitos?

I use gluten-free corn tortillas because, well, we are gluten free…AND you can have TWO corn tortillas for one yellow on the 21 Day Fix. And the kind I buy (Mission Extra Thin Corn Tortillas) you can actually have three!  However, if you want to sub flour tortillas, you totally can.

Pro Tips for Rolling

Corn tortillas can be a pain to work with if you are not used to them…but this is literally the hardest part about this recipe!  As long as you get them hot, they will roll!   

Option one:  warm them in a microwave

Wrap 4 corn tortillas in a wet paper towel and microwave for 60 seconds. They should be soft and pliable. **Note – if your tortillas are crumbing, wrap again and heat them longer and try wetting your paper towel more, too.

Option two:  warm them in an oven (my preferred way)

Another way to heat these tortillas is spray them with olive oil spray and heat them on a baking sheet in a 400 degree oven for a few minutes they are soft and pliable.  This is perfect, especially if you are baking these in the oven anyway!

Another tip:  try to roll your tortillas while they are warm!  As they cool, they will crumble again!

Too much work?  Use flour tortillas instead! 

High angle photo of the inner liner of an instant pot with a whisk and finished homemade cheese sauce for beef taquitos.    

What to serve with Healthy Taquitos

You definitely need to make my Easy Homemade Cheese Sauce to dip your Taquitos in!  The recipe is included below!  

You can also serve these with:

  • homemade guacamole 
  • homemade pico de gallo
  • brown rice
  • cauliflower rice 

Because there is a protein and veggie in each Taquito, I feel like this is a complete meal!

Overhead photo of a plate stacked with beef taquitos topped with homemade salsa. Ramekins filled with salsa and homemade cheese sauce are next to the plate.

Can I freeze Taquitos?

Yes!  You can freeze taquitos  for a quick meal or snack!  Just be sure to lay them flat on a baking pan first and until frozen and then place in a freezer bag.  The cheese sauce can also be frozen – check out this Freezable Cheese Sauce recipe for more info!

How to reheat them:

To reheat, either microwave for about 2-4 minutes (time varies based on how many are being re-heated), air fry at or bake at 450 degrees F for around 10 minutes, checking regularly to make sure they do not burn.

Two food photo collage with text overlay on white background- Easy Taquitos & Cheese Sauce | 21 Day Fix | WW | Gluten Free; Top photo- Taquitos stacked and topped with homemade pico; Bottom Photo- Woman's hand holding a taquito dipped in homemade cheese sauce.

Other Healthy Taquito Filling ideas: 

Chicken Carnitas

Pork Carnitas 

Pulled Pork Tenderloin | The Foodie and The Fix

Two food photo collage with text overlay on white background- Air Fryer Taquitos | Instant Pot | Air Fryer | 21 Day Fix; Top photo- rolled taquitos in an air fryer basket; Bottom photo- Taquitos stacked and topped with homemade pico.

Print
clock clock icon cutlery cutlery icon flag flag icon folder folder icon instagram instagram icon pinterest pinterest icon facebook facebook icon print print icon squares squares icon heart heart icon heart solid heart solid icon

Taquitos and Easy Cheese Sauce [21 Day Fix | WW | GF]

★★★★★ 5 from 1 reviews
  • Author: Nancylynn
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 12 taquitos 1x
  • Category: Taquitos
  • Method: Stovetop| Oven | IP| Air Fryer
  • Cuisine: Mexican
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

This easy Taquitos recipe uses my favorite hidden veggie taco meat and my favorite homemade cheese sauce as a queso dipping sauce. These gluten-free taquitos, or rolled tacos, are a healthier option than traditional taquitos because they are baked or air fried. Freeze taquitos for an easy lunch, dinner, or snack!


Ingredients

Scale

For the Taquitos

  • 1lb of ground meat of your choice (we using love lean ground beef)
  • 3 cups of cauliflower rice (can be frozen)
  • 1 cup of low sodium tomato sauce
  • 1–2 T of salt free taco seasoning 
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1–2 T of water (if needed)
  • 12 corn tortillas

For the Cheese Sauce

  • 2.5 T of gluten free flour blend 
  • 2.5 T vegan butter, butter, or ghee
  • 1.5–2 cups of unsweetened original almond milk
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • jalapeno 
  • chili powder

Instructions

Instant Pot Taco Meat: 

  1. In your Instant Pot, Brown meat until almost cooked through, then stir in cauliflower rice, sauce, and taco seasonings.
  2. Add 1/4 cup of water and lock lid, setting for 1 minute manual pressure. After cook time, quick release. If taco meat needs thickening, then cook on sauté for a few minutes until the water evaporates. 

Stovetop Taco Meat:

  1. Brown meat until just about cooked through, then add in cauliflower rice. Saute for a few minutes until cauliflower is tender.
  2. Stir in tomato sauce and taco seasonings and simmer for 5 minutes, adding in water if mixture is too thick.

Taquitos:

  1. Heat tortillas in a 400 degree oven for a few minutes.  Spray them with olive oil spray and heat on a baking sheet until soft and pliable.  Alternately, you can wrap 2-4 at a time in wet paper towels and warm in the microwave for 60 seconds. 
  2. Working one by one, place 2-3 tablespoons of taco mixture on the top edge of the tortilla. Gently roll tortilla into a taquito shape, using a toothpick to hold them together. TIP:  do this while your tortillas are still very warm!  As the tortillas cool, they will break apart again!
  3. Spray basket of your airfryer or mealthy crisp lid so shells don’t stick or cover with parchment.  
  4. Spray shells with olive oil spray and sprinkle with salt.  Air fry in batches of 2-4 at a time on 390 (400 for Mealthy Crisp Lid) for a few minutes or until your taquito is crisp.
  5. Repeat steps with remaining corn tortillas.
  6. To make the Taquitos in the oven, just follow the instructions above, but instead of Air Frying, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and bake your Taquitos for 12-14 minutes at 400 degrees.

Cheese Sauce: 

  1. In your instant pot or in your skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Sprinkle in the flour and whisk together.
  2. Slowly whisk in 1 1/2 cups of almond milk, and continue to whisk until the mixture comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Once thickened, remove sauce from heat and stir in cheddar cheese until fully melted, adding salt to taste. If you need to thin it out, add in some additional milk in 1/4 cup increments.
  3. Add chopped jalapeños and chili powder to the cheese sauce to taste. 
  4. Dip taquitos in cheese sauce and enjoy!

Equipment

Parchment

Buy Now →

Sheet Pan

Buy Now →

Ninja Foodi

Buy Now →

Instant Pot

Buy Now →

Notes

For 2 Corn tortillas + 1/3 cup of cheese sauce (2.5 T): 1/2 red, 1/2 green, 1 yellow, 1 blue, 1 tsp (if you use Mission Extra Thin Tortillas, you can have three and get closer to a full red, too!)

For 2 Flour tortillas + 1/3 cup of cheese sauce (2.5 T):  1 red, 1/2 green, 2 yellow, 1 blue, 1 tsp

WW Green, Blue, & Purple: 3 points per taquito (using beef) and 3 points for 1/6 cup of cheese sauce (calculated using 95% ground beef, butter, and reduced fat cheese)


Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 2 taquitos

Keywords: taquitos, taquitos with beef, healthy taquitos, air fryer taquitos, gluten-free taquitos, taquitos recipe

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @confessionsofafitfoodie on Instagram and hashtag it #confessionsofafitfoodie

Related Recipes

Instant Pot Loaded Cauliflower Mash
Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa
21 Day Fix Stuffed Pepper Soup | Confessions of a Fit Foodie
Sausage and Pepper Soup

Filed Under: All Recipes, Apps + Snacks, Beef, Cauliflower, Cooking Method, Courses, Diet, Dinner, Gluten Free, Hidden Veggies, Ingredient, Kid Friendly, Pressure Cooker, Stove + Oven

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Tracy says

    May 1, 2020 at 4:20 pm

    Could these be frozen and then reheated in the oven or air fryer?

    Reply
  2. Jennifer says

    May 8, 2020 at 5:46 pm

    Do you know the 21 Day Fix conversions if you don’t use the cheese sauce and just eat the taquitos?

    Reply
    • Nancylynn says

      June 11, 2020 at 1:13 am

      1/2 red, 1/2 green, 1 yellow for just the taquitos

      Reply
  3. Christie says

    May 17, 2020 at 5:24 pm

    Everyone loved these! I did have a bit of a learning curve with getting the meat in the shell before it cooled down and started cracking, but once I figured that out, we were good to go! Thank you so much for the recipe! Oh, and the cheese sauce is a huge hit in my house! I made extra and froze it in cubes for later like you suggested!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Sue says

    January 27, 2021 at 12:38 am

    Very good! I ended up with 24 instead of 12 and put 2-3 tbsp in each tortilla. What do you think I could add in the filling to give it just a bit more zing? Definitely making again!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

Primary Sidebar

About Nancylynn

Trending Recipes

Updated 21 Day Fix Food List - Free Printable
Healthy Alfredo Sauce
Asian Chicken Meatballs
21 Day Fix Meal Plan Vol. 1 {All Meals | All Brackets | Free Printables}
21 Day Fix Meal Plan Vol. 6 {All Meals | All Brackets | Free Printables}
Meal Plan & Grocery List {Week of 4/19/21} | 21 Day Fix Meal Plan | WW Meal Plan

Subscribe to My Newsletter

and get FREE recipes delivered to your Inbox!

    We won't send you spam. Unsubscribe at any time.

    More Deliciousness

    Footer

    Top Posts & Pages

    Updated 21 Day Fix Food List - Free Printable
    Healthy Alfredo Sauce
    Asian Chicken Meatballs
    21 Day Fix Meal Plan Vol. 1 {All Meals | All Brackets | Free Printables}
    21 Day Fix Meal Plan Vol. 6 {All Meals | All Brackets | Free Printables}
    Meal Plan & Grocery List {Week of 4/19/21} | 21 Day Fix Meal Plan | WW Meal Plan

    Copyright © 2021 · Brunch Pro Theme On Genesis Framework · Design by Stephanie Jones