These cheesy baked vegan taquitos are easy to make, loaded with flavor and great for snacks, appetizers, or main courses!
Taquitos are fun and delicious! And these easy cheesy baked vegan taquitos have everything you could want in them!
In case you aren’t aware, taquitos are a Mexican dish that is a small rolled-up corn tortilla that has a filling of either beef, chicken, or cheese (or a combo of them). They are then usually deep fried for a crunchy exterior that is absolutely perfection. Sometimes they may also be called rolled tacos.
Another similar dish are flautas, but traditionally they are made with flour tortillas and large burrito size shells making them even longer in size.
If you are looking for a super quick and simple vegan dinner idea, then you are going to absolutely love these! But they also make for great snacks or appetizers as well.
You only need about 20 minutes to make these from start to finish and the only thing you’ll be left wondering is why it took us so long to get this recipe into your hands.
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Cheesy Baked Vegan Taquitos INGREDIENTS:
Below are notes about the ingredients before we get into the full recipe located lower in this post on how to make these easy vegan taquitos:
- meatless crumbles – We are using processed vegan meat crumbles for this recipe, In the photos, we are using Gardein crumbles. Morningstar would be another similar one.
- spices – we’re using a blend of spices that make this meatless mixture super flavorful, while being easy and not using a lot of obscure ingredients
- corn tortillas – taquitos are always made with corn tortillas. Even if you aren’t a fan of corn tortillas with tacos, these taste amazing!
- vegan cheese – You want a vegan shredded cheese that will meltable. You can use our shredded vegan cheese list to help
- oil spray – this is used to help the taquitos crisp up even more. We use oil spray because it’s easier and less mess when making so many taquitos at a time
SUBSTITUTIONS AND VARIATIONS:
- meatless crumbles – If you don’t do processed meat alternatives, you could swap with our walnut taco meat, alternative you could make these with black beans, cauliflower, mushrooms, refried beans and more!
- spices – while we highly recommend using individual spices, you could swap with a taco seasoning packet. You would need 1-2 tablespoon of premade seasoning.
- corn tortillas – you can swap out the corn tortillas for flour ones but skip the step about microwaving first.
- vegan cheese – you could use vegan Mexican cheese shreds or even mozzarella. Alternatively, try one of our vegan cheese sauces for this though it won’t help it stick together as well it will still be delicious. Try either our vegan nacho cheese (no nuts) or our vegan cashew queso
- oil spray – you can also rub oil on the tortillas if you don’t have a can spray. Or if you don’t do oil you can omit. It just helps get even more crispy.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Use a meatless crumble (or alternative above) and a vegan shredded cheese that is safe for your allergens. You can look through our shredded vegan cheese guide to find one suitable for your needs. Also double check your spices.
They are best served immediately, but you could also make them ahead in two ways. Make just the mixture and place in an air tight container in the fridge until ready to use. Use this within 5 days.
The other option would be to make them entirely, then let cool and store in an air tight container in the fridge. To crisp them back up either put them into a skillet (no extra oil needed, just watch carefully so they don’t burn) or an air fryer for a few minutes until warmed.
To crisp them back up either put them back into a skillet (no extra oil needed, just watch carefully so they don’t burn) or an air fryer. Alternatively, you could just warm back up in the microwave but they won’t be as crispy.
Absolutely! This recipe makes about 16-20 taquitos; so if you need more than that, we recommend that you double or triple the recipe. Just add the same amount of ingredients and follow the same process.
This would be more of a flautas recipes instead, but yes, you can! You do not need to microwave flour tortillas to make them pliable so skip that step.
Omit the oil in the beginning and saute the onions in vegetable stock instead. You will also want to choose an alternative to the meatless crumbles since most contain oil (see above for suggestions).
What toppings or sides go well with these Cheesy Baked Vegan Taquitos?
We highly recommend that you put these on top on serve on the side of your tacos and don’t try to stuff the tacos with more ingredients.
- vegan nacho cheese (no nuts) or
- vegan cashew queso
- Chipotle copycat guacamole or diced avocado
- green onions
- red or white diced onions
- diced tomatoes
- cilantro
- fresh lime juice
- vegan sour cream
- shredded vegan cheese
- black beans
- jalapenos (fresh or pickled)
- salsa
A great side for this would be our Arroz con Gandules or cilantro lime rice or copycat Chipotle recipe for roasted corn salsa.
What other vegan taco ideas could I make?
If you love tacos as much as us, you’ll want even more inspo and we’ve got it! Here’s 5 more vegan taco recipes:
- Vegan Cauliflower Tinga Tacos
- Grilled Vegan Jackfruit Tacos
- Tofu Taco Crumbles
- Vegan Cheesy Gordita Crunch (Taco Bell Copycat)
- Vegan Lentil Tacos with Spinach and Feta
Pin these Easy Cheesy Crispy Vegan Black Bean Tacos for later!
Cheesy Baked Vegan Taquitos
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoon oil
- ½ sweet onion, diced
- 16 oz vegan meatless crumbles (see post for substitution ideas)
- 2 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ½-1 cup vegetable stock, optional
- ¼ teaspoon cornstarch, optional (or arrowroot powder)
- 18-24 corn tortillas
- olive or canola oil spray, optional
- 1 cup vegan shredded cheese, room temperature (use more as desired)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
- Over medium heat, add the oil to a large skillet. Add in the onions and saute until soft and translucent, about 3-5 minutes, stirring often so they don't burn.
- Add in meatless crumbles and stir together. Then add all the spices (chili powder down to salt and pepper). Stir together again. Add tomato sauce and stir, then cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. *You should have a fairly juicy meatless mixture similar to a juicy taco meat mixture; however depending on the brand of meatless crumbles some need a little more moisture. Add vegetable stock a little at a time to have a juicy mixture. Alternatively, if your mixture is too liquidly, add some cornstarch (1 tablespoon at a time) to soak up the liquid as need.
- Add 5 corn tortillas to a microwave safe plate. Drape a wet paper towel over it and microwave for 30-60 seconds to make the tortillas pliable.
- Lay out your tortillas. Spray each side lightly with oil and add 2-3 tablespoon of mixture down the middle, then sprinkle cheese. Roll up and place seam side down.
- Repeat last two steps until you have no mixture remaining.
- Bake In oven for 5-7 minutes, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes or until cheese has mostly melted and tortillas are golden brown and crispy. *Can also do the same process in an air fryer. Same temp for 3-4 minutes each side.
Julia
Which meatless crumbles brand do you use most often?
Larisha Bernard
Morningstar or Gardein most often
Elizabeth Gibson
Seriously the best recipe to make for your non vegan friends!!! It was such a hit we made it for Christmas and New year’s .
LarishaBernard
So happy it’s been a hit for you!
Tammy
Where have these been all my life? To my surprise, they crisped up beautifully with no oil and they were a hit with hubby and 17 year old son. I did my own thing with the filling (a can of fat free refried beans, 1/2C cooked lentils, about 1 Cup leftover cheez” sauce & your seasonings). Hubby said it tasted like Taco Bell bean burrito filling, which was his way of giving a compliment! 😂 So didn’t follow your recipe at all but the inspiration was there and shows you can pretty much use leftovers and have a delicious dinner. Mashed or diced potatoes and the addition of any other veggies would be nice too. I whipped up a Buffalo Sauce as well as Hemp Ranch Dressing for dipping. Thank you!
Larisha Bernard
hahaha love this comment! Glad you enjoyed them