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At one of my favourite local Mexican haunts they list Flautas and Taquitos as separate meals. One day, they were out of flautas and the waiter suggested I get taquitos as they are "the same".

They definitely tasted similar, but why are they listed as separate entities if they are the same?

Can anyone shed some light on this?

The flauta I'm refering to is a deep fried corn tortilla filled with chicken approximately the same size as a spring roll.

GISHuman
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7 Answers7

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If I remember correctly, flautas are made with a softer flour tortilla while taquitos are made with a harder corn tortilla. Both are filled with similar fillings and then wrapped and deep fried.

However, you can oftentimes find taquitos made from flour tortillas and flautas made from corn tortillas...so what's the deal? There is another differentiation: size. Flautas are often longer than taquitos, as taquitos are made from taco sized tortillas, while flautas are made from burrito sized tortillas.

Another little tidbit if you go to a fancier Mexican place: flautas are often narrower on one side to create a funnel shape. But this is not common in your standard places.

TL;DR; They're oftentimes the same thing

jsanc623
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In the US, generallly:

  • Flautas : flour tortilla
  • Taquitos : corn tortilla

In Mexico:

  • Flautas : corn tortilla
  • Chimichangas : flour tortilla

The term taquitos isn't used in Mexico, unless we're talking about a randomly small taco.

MACHETE
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    Chimichangas are deep fried burritos though - nothing at all like taquitos. – jsanc623 Jul 10 '14 at 15:32
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    That's the thing. In the US, the definitions of burrito and chimichanga are more constrained, at least in the average consumer's mind. In Mexico, what the US calls taquito qualifies as chimichanga. – MACHETE Jul 11 '14 at 21:15
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A taquito is made with a flour tortilla. Usually filled with chicken, cheese, or shredded beef. They arer practically the same size as a flauta. It is not a chimichanga (deep fried burrito). Mostly served as fast snack food in gas stations. Tasty USA

A flauta is a beef, bean, or chicken-filled and rolled corn tortilla. Both can be deep fried or pan fried with small amt of oil. Top with shredded lettuce or cabbage serve with mexican crema or sour cream, salsa and guacamole MEXICO and MEXICO. Delicious. Can be a snack or meal. Kids love

Catija
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Melissa Madrigal
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    Can you explain what "Tasty USA" and "MEXICO and MEXICO" mean? They seem out of context. – Catija May 13 '16 at 22:35
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    @Catija — To me, the "Tasty USA" is saying that it's an Americanized Mexican dish, while "MEXICO and MEXICO" is stating with great emphasis that it's authentic Mexican cuisine. It's a very cute wording! I hope it doesn't get edited away. – ElmerCat May 14 '16 at 03:11
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In my area of California the flautas can be either corn or flour but more restaurants use corn and a flour flauta is often called a " Gringo Flauta". Taquitos are always corn. Another difference is that the taquitos are always smaller around, not as filled and the ends are left opened whereas the flautas are bigger around, with more meat and sometimes the ends are tucked closed, like a skinny burrito. They are both fried then usually garnished with some combination of sour cream, guacamole, salsa or chopped tomatoes and cheese, and sometimes sitting on a bed of shredded lettuce. They are both very similar but regardless of what you call them, they're delicious!

Vickiefromca
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To me... Taquitos are corn Flautas are flour.

But really depends on the cook. Basically the same. I much prefer the corn.

Judi
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  • Welcome to Seasoned Advice! This is pretty much what others already said; you'll find your answers better received if you offer something new :) – Cascabel Jan 25 '15 at 05:24
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Tacocito are made with hamburger meat. Flautas are made with shredded meat could be chicken, beef, pork or even turkey. Both are roll & fried.

T. Murillo
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  • What's a "tacocito"? The question is asking about "taquitos" which do not fit the description you're giving. – Catija Jul 28 '17 at 14:54
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Flauta = large sized and fried tortilla filled with any ingredient(usually cheese, chicken, meat, etc...) The tortilla is made of corn Taco = Normal sized tortilla warmed on a comal filled with any ingredient (usually pastor meat, chicken, cheese, etc...) The tortilla is made of corn

The tortilla made of flour is used for burritos which are like flautas but bigger and with this difference on the tortilla, also the burritos are filled with 2 ir more ingredients making them wider than flautas (attached picture)

Hope this information helps you, at least this is the way we make them in Méxicoenter image description here

Sebastian Vega
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  • This is a nice description, but it's not really contributing anything new in the definition of the flauta, and it's defining a taco instead of a "taquito," which is a filled, rolled and fried tortilla similar to a flauta (hence the question), so it's not really answering the question either. If there's a closer Mexican equivalent to a "taquito," this could be edited into an interesting answer! – Allison C Aug 29 '18 at 13:06