These Oven-Baked Pulled Pork Flautas with Avocado Crema are made with tender barbecue pulled pork, wrapped in flour tortillas, and baked until crisp. Served with a fresh, creamy, lime-and avocado sauce, it’s an easy weeknight dinner the whole family will devour!
A Bold and Flavorful, Mexican-Fusion Dinner Recipe
Too often I come home, feeling rushed after soccer or cheer practice, and the last thing everyone wants to wait for is two hours of meal prep to get a home-cooked dinner on the table. Everyone wants to eat something savory, filling, and flavorful – fast!
But making the foods we love can take time, because let’s be real – most family-friendly foods do not equal microwaved tofu with zoodles.
That’s where these hearty, barbecue pork flautas come in! All you need is a batch of your favorite pulled pork. Roll it up in flour tortillas, and bake to a delicate crunch. It’s like tacos meets convenience, meets barbecue, meets ease. Gotta love it when those four things come together. You can use store-bought pulled pork, such as Tony Roma’s, or make your own (check out this easy recipe for Instant Pot Barbecue Pulled Pork).
I live for food like this. Oh, and don’t forget the avocado crema – it’s the best creamy dip you will ever have!
What Are Flautas?
You may be wondering what a flauta actually is – well, it’s very similar to a taquito, but with a flour tortilla instead of a corn tortilla. The filling is minimal, and wrapped up tightly to make a long, thin tube. The word “flauta” actually means “flute,” because of the shape. Flautas are often filled with shredded chicken, beef, or pork, and sometimes cheese and other ingredients. They’re typically served with guacamole and/or sour cream.
These flautas are not strictly traditional, because I’m using barbecue for my filling, and also because they are baked. Frying flautas can be a bit time-consuming (and a bit messy), but baking is great for getting a nice crisp to the tortillas with no hassle.
The Ingredients You’ll Need
So just what goes into these pork flautas? Let’s take a stroll through the tasty ingredients list. But fair warning: each item is guaranteed to make you hungry!
For the Flautas
- Oil: Olive oil is my favorite, but you can use any good saute oil that you prefer.
- Onion: Thinly slice one large yellow onion.
- Garlic: Mince up the garlic cloves, or press them in a garlic press.
- Pulled Pork: Again, store-bought is fine (I like Tony Roma’s Kansas City Sweet Hickory) or you can make your own (this easy recipe for pulled pork is great for making ahead).
- Cumin: A little cumin adds a Tex-Mex flair to the pulled pork.
- Torillas: You can use regular tortillas, or go with low carb, whole wheat flour tortillas (I use Trader Joe’s).
For the Avocado Crema
- Avocado: Slice the avocado in half, and remove the pit and the skin.
- Yogurt: You want plain yogurt here. I used nonfat, but you can also use full fat or reduced fat.
- Lime Juice: Squeeze the juice from one small lime, with a citrus juicer or a fork. Remove any seeds from the juice.
- Cilantro: Fresh cilantro is great in this crema, but if you don’t like cilantro, feel free to leave it out, or substitute parsley or chives.
- Salt and Pepper
For Serving
- Lettuce and Tomato: Shredded romaine lettuce and diced tomatoes make a fresh and attractive serving option.
How to Make Pork Flautas with Avocado Crema
To make this dish, you’ll need to heat the shredded pork with the seasonings, onion, and garlic, and then stuff that mixture into the flautas. From there, it only takes a few minutes to bake the flautas and make the crema.
- Prep Your Baking Dish, Oven, and Skillet. To begin, make sure your oven is preheating to 400°F. Lightly grease a large (13×9) baking dish, and set it aside for now. Finally, start heating the olive oil in a large, nonstick skillet, over medium heat.
- Cook the Aromatics, Pork, and Cumin. Add the onions to the hot oil in the skillet, and cook them for four minutes or so, or until softened. If they begin to scorch, turn the heat down to medium-low. Next, stir in the garlic and cook for just a few seconds to release the fragrance. Then add the shredded pork to the skillet, along with the cumin, and stir well. Cook for 8 minutes or so, to heat through.
- Make the Flautas. Warm the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds, until they are more pliable and easy to roll. Place a small amount of the pork mixture in each tortilla and roll tightly. Place the flautas in your greased baking dish, seam-side-down.
- Bake. Lightly spritz the tops of the rolled up tortillas with baking spray, to help them get crisp in the oven. You could also brush a tiny amount of your favorite cooking oil over them. Bake the flautas for 13 – 15 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and crisp.
- Make the Crema. While the flautas bake, prepare the avocado crema. Just place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Pour the crema into a small bowl, and set it aside.
- Plate the Flautas. Once the flautas are done, spread a layer of shredded romaine lettuce on a large platter. Arrange the flautas over the lettuce, and top with chopped tomatoes. Serve with the avocado crema.
My Favorite Tips and Variations
What else should you know about making these quick pork flautas? Here are my top tips for making these, along with some tasty variation ideas that are sure to please. Happy cooking!
- How to Fill: You might be tempted to add extra ingredients to these flautas, and that’s a great idea – just limit the amount of ingredients that are watery. Flautas need to be crisp, so you should not include raw veggies, salsa, or other watery items.
- Tortilla Options: Flautas can be made with large tortillas – think burrito size – in restaurants. But if you’d rather make smaller flautas for easy serving and eating, that’s totally up to you!
- Taquitos: Easily turn this from flautas to taquitos by using your favorite corn tortillas. Warm them in the microwave, covered in a damp paper towel, to soften them up before rolling.
- Pulled Chicken: If you’d like to use chicken in this recipe, that’s fine, too! Rotisserie chicken warmed up with your favorite bottled barbecue sauce is great in this recipe, or you can use whatever shredded chicken you like.
- Vegetarian: Try a scrumptious vegetarian flauta, by mixing refried beans, pico de gallo, and a little shredded cheese for a hearty filling.
What Can I Serve with Flautas?
Crisp, meaty flautas are great with cool, refreshing side dishes like fruit salad or garden salad. Guacamole is also a great option, and you can’t go wrong with rice! Here are a few yummy recipes that go beautifully with this easy dinner:
- Salad: My Very Berry Avocado Salad combines the best of juicy fruit and healthy greens, all in one super salad.
- Guacamole: Fresh guacamole is such a treat – especially when it is this tropical Fresh Mango Guacamole! The combination of fresh mango and barbecue pork is finger-lickin’ good!
- Rice: Loaded with corn, beans, bell peppers, and tomatoes, easy Fiesta Rice is a colorful and healthy side dish that’s perfect for any menu.
Storing and Reheating the Leftovers
- To refrigerate your leftover flautas, just place them in an airtight container or food storage bag and pop them in the fridge. They will keep for up to 3 days.
- To reheat, bake the flautas again at 350°F until heated through, or heat them in a skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally.
Can I Freeze Homemade Flautas?
Sure! To freeze your flautas, let them cool, and then place them into large freezer bags. Press out as much air as possible before sealing and freezing for up to one month. Reheat in the oven, directly from frozen.
Oven Baked Pulled Pork Flautas with Avocado Crema
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion , thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 package Tony Roma’s Tender & Juicy Pulled Pork- Kansas City Sweet Hickory
- 1 to 2 teaspoons (or to taste) ground cumin
- 8 low carb , whole wheat flour tortillas (I use Trader Joe’s)
- 1 avocado , pitted, skin removed
- 1/4 cup plain nonfat yogurt
- juice of 1 small lime
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
- salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
- Romaine lettuce , shredded
- 2 tomatoes , diced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Lightly grease a 13×9 baking dish and set aside.
- In a large nonstick skillet, heat the olive oil.
- Add onions and cook for 4 minutes, or until softened.
- Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds, or until fragrant.
- Add shredded pork and season with cumin; continue to cook for 8 minutes, or until heated through.
- Remove from heat.
- Warm the tortillas in the microwave for about 30 seconds so that they’re easier to roll.
- Add pork mixture to each tortilla and roll it up tightly.
- Transfer prepared tortillas to the previously prepared baking dish, seam-side down.
- Lightly spray the tops of the rolled up tortillas with baking spray.
- Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until tops are lightly browned.
- In the meantime, prepare the Avocado Crema.
- Place all of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.
- Transfer the crema to a small bowl and set aside.
- Layer the shredded romaine lettuce on a large platter.
- Arrange the prepared flautas over the lettuce.
- Top flautas with chopped tomatoes and serve with a side of the prepared Avocado Crema.
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
