Allow us to introduce your new favorite Tex-Mex dinner recipe!
Craving Tex-Mex? Look no further than these Slow Cooker Jalapeño Chicken Flautas. These classic crowd-pleasers are so delicious and filled with drool-worthy flavors. As a bonus, they’re super easy to make using your Crock-Pot, too! You’ll make the mouthwatering chicken filling ahead of time in your slow-cooker before stuffing the shredded chicken into tortillas. Add in a little salsa and grated cheese and griddle the flautas until they’re crispy and perfect. You’ll be in love!
Jalapeño poppers are one of our favorite appetizers, so they served as the inspiration for this recipe. But, unlike poppers, our chicken jalapeño flautas are larger and more grandiose, certainly deserving of the main course spotlight. These flavorful flautas will become a guaranteed hit at the dinner table. They’re deliciously crispy, lip-smackingly good, and a clean-eating dish that won’t compromise your healthy eating goals!
A Tex Mex Favorite
These flautas pack in flavorful, fork-tender chicken and creamy, cheesy goodness you’ll go crazy for. We also add in a little jalapeño, which packs a spicy punch that’ll have your taste buds singing. All in all, one bite of these zesty Slow Cooker Jalapeño Chicken Flautas will have you hooked on the combination of flavors.
New To Flautas?
So what are flautas, exactly? Derived from the Spanish word for flute, flautas take get their name from their long, cylindrical shape. In typical recipes, flautas are rolled flour tortillas that are stuffed to the brim with chicken or beef and deep-fried in heavy amounts of oil.
The deep-frying process lends a crispy, uber-greasy consistency you find in conventional recipes. Unfortunately, this deep frying has its own set of consequences, with each flauta carrying a boatload of calories and fat. So, we decided to skip it!
We’ve Ditched the Grease
Our skinnied-up version cooks flautas with absolutely no oil. How is this possible? Well, heating flautas in a dry, non-stick saucepan on low to medium heat still delivers that deliciously crispy, crunchy consistency. Meanwhile, this cooking method shaves off a huge chunk of calories and fat! As an alternative to the stovetop, you can bake the chicken jalapeño flautas in the oven, another oil-free option that yields flavorful results.
Our Flautas Use Healthier Ingredients
In this recipe, we use lighter alternatives to skinny-up this classic dish. For example, instead of full-fat cheese, our version calls for low-fat cheese. Whole-grain tortillas also make a more nutritious substitute for their refined white flour counterparts. Finally, our recipe calls for the leanest cut of chicken: boneless, skinless chicken breasts. This packs in a wonderful source of protein while keeping fat and calories in check.
How To Make Jalapeño Chicken Flautas
With a little prep and a few simple steps, you’ll have these flautas hot and ready before you know it. First, mix the boneless skinless chicken breasts with ¾ cup of salsa, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and jalapeño in the slow cooker. Cook these ingredients on high for six hours before shredding the chicken using two forks. Fill your tortillas with this chicken mixture, along with remaining a little extra salsa and grated cheese.
Next, roll your tortillas and place these creations on a non-stick saucepan with no oil. Cook on all sides until edges are lightly golden. Time to enjoy!
Slow Cooker Jalapeno Chicken Flautas
Ingredients
- 13 ounces boneless and skinless chicken breasts
- 1 cup salsa mild, divided
- 1/4 cup cream cheese low-fat
- 1 jalapeno sliced
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 4 whole-grain tortillas
- 1/2 cup cheese low-fat, grated
Instructions
- In the slow cooker, mix the chicken with 3/4 cup of the salsa, cream cheese, salt, pepper, and jalapeno.
- Set on high for 6 hours.
- When the chicken is cooked, shred it using two forks.
- Fill tortillas with the shredded chicken, the remaining salsa, and the grated cheese.
- Roll the tortillas.
- Place the flautas in a large, dry, non-stick saucepan (no oil) and cook on all sides over low-medium heat.
Nutrition Information
Have you made this recipe?
Tag @skinnyms on Instagram or hashtag it #skinnyms
Hungry for more Tex-Mex? You’re in luck! Here are some of our favorite, majorly tasty Tex-Mex recipes that wont compromise your waistline!
- Tex-Mex Quinoa Bowl
- Slow Cooker Tex-Mex Chicken Soup
- Tex-Mex Layered Dip
- Tex-Mex Meaty Mac ‘n’ Cheese Casserole
Don’t miss out on the latest from Skinny Ms. Make sure you subscribe to our eNewsletter.
Check out our Facebook page and follow us on Pinterest for tasty recipes, clean eating tips, and healthy lifestyle resources.
Do you have a favorite Skinny Ms. recipe? We’d love to hear about it. Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published on October 14, 2015.
