# Taquito
A **taquito** (Spanish for "little taco") is a Mexican dish of a small tortilla, usually corn, rolled tightly around a filling such as beef, chicken, or cheese and then shallow-fried or deep-fried until crisp.[1](https://www.etymonline.com/word/taquito) • [2](https://www.finedininglovers.com/explore/articles/flauta-vs-taquito-what-difference) It is also called a rolled taco, taco dorado, or flauta, and is commonly served with toppings such as [guacamole](https://www.edgepedia.org/guacamole), sour cream, salsa, and crumbled cheese.[3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Name | Spanish diminutive of taco, "little taco"; the English word is attested from 1929 for a fried tortilla with filling, usually meat or beans[1](https://www.etymonline.com/word/taquito) |
| Earliest record | The word appears in the 1917 Preliminary Glossary of New Mexico Spanish, noted as a "Mexicanism" used in New Mexico[3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito) |
| First definition | A 1929 book of stories of Mexican people in the United States defined the rolled-tortilla dish and noted it as a popular offering of railroad station vendors[3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito) |
| Flauta distinction | A flauta ("flute") is the longer rolled version; the rolled taco has been called a flauta in English sources since 1983[1](https://www.etymonline.com/word/taquito) |
| Tortilla | Corn tortillas are generally used for taquitos; flautas are often made with flour tortillas, though usage varies by region and kitchen[2](https://www.finedininglovers.com/explore/articles/flauta-vs-taquito-what-difference) |
| Frying temperature | Oil below 350°F produces soggy, oil-saturated taquitos instead of crisp ones[4](https://www.guthealthychefs.com/recipes/beef-taquitos/) |
| Commercial form | In the United States, flautas became one of the best-selling frozen Mexican products, sold under brands such as Delimex and José Olé[5](https://recetasmexas.com/en-ca/guia/flautas) |
## Definition and names
The dish belongs to Mexico's broad family of fried tacos, a group that also includes tacos dorados and rolled tacos. Names, tortilla types, and fillings change from one region to another, and the boundary between a taquito, a taco dorado, a rolled taco, and a flauta is not fixed.[6](https://www.peppersofkeywest.com/taquitos-explained-mexicos-crispy-rolled-tacos-everyone-loves/) The most common distinction cooks defend is length: a flauta is a long, flute-shaped roll, often made with a large or elongated tortilla, while a taquito is a shorter snack-length roll using a single smaller tortilla.[3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito) • [5](https://recetasmexas.com/en-ca/guia/flautas) A second common distinction is the tortilla itself: taquitos are generally made with corn, flautas with flour, but some restaurants reverse this, and many Mexican kitchens use the names interchangeably.[2](https://www.finedininglovers.com/explore/articles/flauta-vs-taquito-what-difference)
Regional usage varies further. In [New Mexico](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-mexico), taquito can refer not to the rolled dish but to a smaller version of the folded taco.[7](https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Taquitos) In some border cities, a sign reading "taquitos" means small soft tacos rather than the fried roll.[3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito)
## History
The word is older than the commercial product. It appears in the 1917 Preliminary Glossary of New Mexico Spanish as a "Mexicanism" of the region, and the modern definition of the taquito as a rolled-tortilla dish was given in 1929 in a book of stories of Mexican people in the United States aimed at a youth audience, which described it as a particularly popular offering of railroad station vendors.[3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito) The Online Etymology Dictionary dates the English noun to 1929, formed from taco plus the Spanish diminutive suffix -ito, and notes that only from about 1990 was the taquito considered distinct from a taco because of its rolled shape; in earlier times a taco could also be rolled and a taquito could be folded.[1](https://www.etymonline.com/word/taquito)
**Popularization in the United States.** Southern California restaurants are credited with popularizing the rolled snack in the 1930s and 1940s: [Cielito Lindo](https://www.edgepedia.org/cielito-lindo) opened on [Olvera Street](https://www.edgepedia.org/olvera-street) in Los Angeles in 1934, and El Indio in San Diego sold portable rolls to aircraft workers during World War II. These businesses were popularizers rather than inventors of frying a filled tortilla.[3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito) The dish eventually reached the freezer aisle: flautas turned into one of the top-selling frozen Mexican items in the United States, sold by brands like Delimex and José Olé, and as a result some diners link the taquito to a packaged snack while they picture the flauta as a restaurant dish.[5](https://recetasmexas.com/en-ca/guia/flautas) • [3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito)
The taquito's parent dish, the taco, has its own documented American history. Jeffrey M. Pilcher, professor of history at the [University of Minnesota](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-minnesota) and a historian of Mexican food, examined patent records, cookbooks, and archival sources and found that all aspects of the Mexican American taco, including the pre-fried taco shell, were invented within the ethnic community; the original United States patents for making taco shells were awarded in the 1940s to Mexican restaurateurs, not to Glen Bell, the founder of [Taco Bell](https://www.edgepedia.org/taco-bell), whose authorized biography claims the invention.[8](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/where-did-the-taco-come-from-81228162/) • [9](https://online.ucpress.edu/gastronomica/article-abstract/8/1/26/47125/Was-the-Taco-Invented-in-Southern-California?redirectedFrom=fulltext)
## Preparation
The dish is simple but has a few points where home cooks most often fail.[4](https://www.guthealthychefs.com/recipes/beef-taquitos/)
1. **Warm the tortillas.** Cold corn tortillas crack immediately when rolled. The masa must be warm and pliable, either steamed in a damp towel or charred briefly over a gas flame, about 10 to 15 seconds per side.[4](https://www.guthealthychefs.com/recipes/beef-taquitos/)
2. **Fill sparingly.** About two tablespoons of filling per tortilla is the practical ceiling; an overfilled taquito cannot roll tightly, the seam gaps, and the filling escapes into the oil.[4](https://www.guthealthychefs.com/recipes/beef-taquitos/)
3. **Fry seam-side down in hot oil.** Placing the roll seam-side down for the first 60 seconds lets oil pressure hold it closed, and oil at or above 350°F flash-vaporizes surface moisture so the shell crisps rather than soaks.[4](https://www.guthealthychefs.com/recipes/beef-taquitos/)
Fillings need enough seasoning and moisture to stay interesting inside the fried tortilla; chicken, beef, potato, and cheese are typical.[6](https://www.peppersofkeywest.com/taquitos-explained-mexicos-crispy-rolled-tacos-everyone-loves/) A patent for rolled-shell manufacturing apparatus notes a related industrial problem: stuffings such as meat wick significant amounts of frying oil into the roll and hold it even against draining, which commercial systems attempt to reduce.[10](https://patents.google.com/patent/US7849787B2/en)
## Taquito and flauta compared
Because the two names describe the same fried-roll family, comparison tables differ from source to source. One widely repeated scheme gives the taquito a small, thin corn tortilla about 6 inches long with a shattering crunch, and the flauta a longer, thicker flour tortilla of roughly 8 to 10 inches with a slightly chewier bite.[11](https://eathealthy365.com/the-main-differences-between-a-taquito-and-flauta/) Another gives flautas a standard length of 20 centimeters, up to 40 centimeters, made from a burrito-sized tortilla, with taquitos shorter and sometimes made from mini tortillas for appetizers.[2](https://www.finedininglovers.com/explore/articles/flauta-vs-taquito-what-difference) Serving conventions follow the same logic: flautas are typically plated as a main dish with toppings, while taquitos are served as finger food or appetizers with a dipping sauce.[12](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/5342/flautas-vs-taquitos.html) The reliable guide for a diner is the printed menu and the kitchen's own usage, since the names overlap by region.[3](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito)
## References
1. [Taquito – Etymology, Origin & Meaning, Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/word/taquito)
2. [Flauta vs. Taquito: What is the Difference?, Fine Dining Lovers](https://www.finedininglovers.com/explore/articles/flauta-vs-taquito-what-difference)
3. [Flauta or Taquito? Settling Mexico's Rolled Taco Debate, El Patron Restaurante Mexicano](https://www.elpatronorlando.com/flauta-vs-taquito)
4. [Crispy Beef Taquitos (The Roll-and-Fry Method That Actually Holds), AlmostChefs](https://www.guthealthychefs.com/recipes/beef-taquitos/)
5. [Flautas: what they are and how to make them, Recetas Mexas](https://recetasmexas.com/en-ca/guia/flautas)
6. [Taquitos Explained: Mexico's Crispy Rolled Tacos Everyone Loves, Peppers of Key West](https://www.peppersofkeywest.com/taquitos-explained-mexicos-crispy-rolled-tacos-everyone-loves/)
7. [Taquitos: Cooking Wiki, Cookipedia](https://www.cookipedia.co.uk/recipes_wiki/Taquitos)
8. [Where Did the Taco Come From?, Smithsonian Magazine](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/where-did-the-taco-come-from-81228162/)
9. [Jeffrey M. Pilcher, "Was the Taco Invented in Southern California?", Gastronomica 8(1): 26–38 (2008)](https://online.ucpress.edu/gastronomica/article-abstract/8/1/26/47125/Was-the-Taco-Invented-in-Southern-California?redirectedFrom=fulltext)
10. [US7849787B2 – Rolled shell and stuffer apparatus, Google Patents](https://patents.google.com/patent/US7849787B2/en)
11. [The Main Differences Between a Taquito and Flauta, Eat Healthy 365](https://eathealthy365.com/the-main-differences-between-a-taquito-and-flauta/)
12. [Flautas vs Taquitos: What's the Difference?, WebstaurantStore](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/5342/flautas-vs-taquitos.html)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Food, customs, and everyday culture › Food, cooking and hospitality › Dishes, foods, and foodstuffs › Snacks, finger foods, and street-food dishes*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license