Cheese and Beef Taquitos
Published 4/18/2022
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These cheese and beef taquitos come together with just 4 ingredients in less than 30 minutes. Make them in the air fryer or pan fry on the stovetop. Enjoy!
Our Favorite Cheese and Beef Taquitos
Is there anything better than a quick and easy appetizer? You are going to love these cheese and beef taquitos.
These taquitos are made with ground beef, shredded cheese and taco seasoning, rolled up and air fried or pan fried to crispy taquito perfection.
why you’ll love ’em
4 ingredients: That’s right! These cheese and beef taquitos come together in just 4 simple ingredients.
Two ways to make: Make these taquitos in the air fryer or pan fry them on the stovetop. Either way, they’re delicious!
Ready in under 20 minutes: Whether you choose to air fry these taquitos or pan fry them, you’ll be enjoying this delicious recipe in no time at all 😀
Ingredients – What You Need
You only need a few simple ingredients to make these amazing cheese and beef taquitos! It’s time to round up:
- Ground beef: can’t have beef taquitos without the ground beef!
- Taco seasoning: we LOVE Fit Foodie Finds homemade taco seasoning. Make a large batch to keep on hand!
- Corn tortillas: we’re opting for a more traditional taquito with corn tortillas, but feel free to use small corn tortillas if you prefer.
- Shredded cheese: we’re choosing to use shredded Monterrey Jack cheese, but you can also use a Mexican blend, cheddar cheese, or pepper Jack.
- Canola or vegetable oil: you’ll only need this if you choose to pan fry your taquitos!
Optional Garnishes
- Pico de gallo
- Guacamole
- Shredded lettuce
- Sour cream
How to Make Cheese & Beef Taquitos
Cook ground beef
Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add the ground beef to the skillet and break the beef up into small pieces. Sprinkle the ground beef with the taco seasoning. Allow the ground beef to cook for 5-7 minutes or until fully cooked.
Line a large plate with a paper towel and add the ground beef to the plate. Set the beef aside.
Prepare Tortillas
Next, place the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave them for 10-15 seconds. This will help so the tortilla doesn’t break while rolling.
Assemble Cheese & Beef Taquitos
To assemble the taquitos, add 1 tablespoon of ground beef and 1-2 tablespoons of the cheese in the center of a tortilla and tightly roll it up.
Air fry or Pan fry
To Air Fry
Spray the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray and place the taquitos seam side down in the basket. Then, spray the taquitos with the cooking spray.
Air fry at 400ºF for 6-8 minutes, or until golden brown.
To Pan Fry
To pan fry the taquitos, heat a large skillet over medium/high heat and add canola oil. Place the taquitos seam side down and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, flip and fry the other side for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove the taquitos from the skillet, placing them on a paper towel to drain the oil.
Garnish & Serve
Garnish with your favorite toppings, and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Top Tips
To Air Fry or Pan Fry: Air frying was definitely the easiest way to cook these cheese and beef taquitos. It also made for less clean up, but both methods work 😀
Make Vegetarian Taquitos: If you want to make these vegetarian taquitos, we recommend using refried beans. If you would like to use whole beans, give them a little mash so they won’t come rolling out during cooking.
Make Cheese Taquitos: If you would like to make thee taquitos with just cheese, instead of shredding the cheese, cut cheese into thick strips. Roughly half the size of a cheese stick, which will help the cheese from melting out during cooking.
Storage
These cheese and beef taquitos are best enjoyed immediately, but if you do have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat: air fry at 400ºF for 2 minutes.
Cheese and Beef Taquitos
Ingredients
- ¼ lb. ground beef
- 2 teaspoons taco seasoning
- 3 6 inch corn tortillas
- 3 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- ½ cup of canola or vegetable oil, for pan frying
Optional Garnish
- Pico de gallo
- Guacamole
- Shredded lettuce
- Sour cream
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium/high heat. Add the ground beef to the skillet and break the beef up into small pieces. Sprinkle the ground beef with the taco seasoning. Allow the ground beef to cook for 5-7 minutes or until fully cooked.
- Line a large plate with a paper towel and add the ground beef to the plate. Set the beef aside.
- Next, place the tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave them for 10-15 seconds. This will help so the tortilla doesn’t break while rolling.
- To assemble the taquitos, add 1 tablespoon of ground beef and 1-2 tablespoons of the cheese in the center of a tortilla and tightly roll it up.
Air Fryer
- Spray the basket of the air fryer with cooking spray and place the taquitos seam side down in the basket. Then, spray the taquitos with the cooking spray.
- Air fry at 400ºF for 6-8 minutes or until golden brown.
- Garnish and serve immediately.
Skillet
- To pan fry the taquitos, heat a large skillet over medium/high heat and add canola oil.
- Place the taquitos seam side down and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, flip and fry the other side for an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Or until golden brown.
- Remove the taquitos from the skillet, placing them on a paper towel to drain the oil. Garnish and serve immediately.
Tips & Notes
- Air fried was definitely the easiest way to cook these, and it also made for less clean up.
- If you want to make this a vegetarian taquito we recommend refried beans. If you would like to use whole beans, give them a little mash so they won’t come rolling out during cooking.
- If you would like to make this with just cheese, instead of shredding the cheese, cut cheese into thick strips. Roughly half the size of a cheese stick.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #cheeseknees, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
