Corn tortillas are tightly rolled around a flavorful filling of seasoned ground beef, melty cheese, and vibrant veggies like green bell peppers and onions.
Corn husktorn into long strips, or kitchen string cut into 7” long sections
Instructions
For the ground beef mixture:
Heat olive oil in a large frying pan/skillet over medium heat, and sauté onions together with the green peppers, stirring until the onions sweated and turned slightly brown and the green peppers softened.
Add ground beef, stirring and breaking apart into smaller pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula. Sauté until the meat is nearly cooked through. Add garlic powder and paprika and continue to sauté until the ground beef is fully cooked and slightly crispy.
Take the pan/skillet off the heat, season with salt and pepper to taste.
Assembling the beef taquitos:
Transfer the ground beef mixture into a bowl and allow the mixture to cool for about 10 minutes.
Whisk 2 eggs in a small bowl. Once the ground beef mixture is cool add eggs and mix well.
On a clean work surface or a plate, lay down one corn husk strip (or kitchen string) sideways (in horizontal position). Place a soft corn tortilla on top of the strip
Put 1 tablespoon of shredded cheese on the tortilla, forming a line from top to bottom (vertically). Add 1 ½ tablespoon of ground beef mixture on top of the cheese
Roll the tortilla. Start by taking the right side and bring it over to the left, covering the cheese and meat mixture. Tuck the edge under the filling mixture, then slowly and as tight as possible, roll the tortilla. Tie the corn husk strip/kitchen string securely around the middle of the roll. Push any filling that might have come out of the ends back into roll and cut off excess length of the strip/string.
Repeat the process for the remainder of the tortillas and filling.
Air frying the beef taquitos:
Spray the base and sides of your air-fryer basket with avocado oil spray.
Place as many taquitos in the basket as you can without crowding them and spray the top with avocado oil spray.
Set air fryer to 375 °F (191 °C) and timer to 6 minutes. Check the taquitos and once the top surface is brown and crispy, flip them over so the bottom side can get crispy as well. Fry for another 3 minutes. Once top and bottom side are golden brown and crispy, take the taquitos out of the fryer. Add 2 minutes of additional time if the taquitos are not yet crispy.
Repeat the process for the remainder of the taquitos.
Serve immediately (see notes in the post for suggested toppings).
Notes
Corn husks can be purchased on Amazon or Latin food stores. Alternatively, you can use kitchen string (cut into 7” length for each taquito), or toothpicks to close each end of the taquito. If using corn husks, soak them in water for 5 minutes and dry well prior to using. This will make them are easier to work with and will not snap easily. Tear the corn husk into strips (by hand or with scissors), about ¼” wide per strip.Cooking time depends on your air fryer. If in doubt, use less cooking time and keep checking the taquitos and adding more cooking time until they are crispy, flipping them over so that the other side can get crispy as well.