Authentic Kitchen Flautas Costco Review
Crispy, flaky, and flavorful.
Yum. I was pleasantly surprised by these refrigerated, bake-and-serve flautas from Costco. They turned out super crispy and flavorful, with minimal effort. The filling is soft, finely ground white meat chicken. There’s some firm, tangy cheese mixed into the chicken, which becomes integrated into the other tastes. It’s not really enough cheese to be oozy or distinct from the rest of the filling. There are also pieces of green and red peppers in here, albeit sparse. Although there is some spiciness, it’s not very strong. More of a faint aftertaste.
Each flauta is about 6.5 inches long. The wrappers are surprisingly thick and flakey, with a satisfying crunch. Enjoyably, they are also soft and tender on the inside. In fact, the filling is remarkably moist for how crisp the exterior is. There’s a decent amount of the filling in each flauta (although there’s at least equal parts wrapper, too). The label says these are made with Oaxaca cheese from Cacique Mexican-Style Cheeses.
I was impressed by how easy and foolproof these are to cook. I baked mine in a toaster oven, and they came out tasting almost fried. The wrappers have a small amount of oiliness right out of the package, and somehow this bakes into the shell and creates the scrumptious fried taste.
The flautas are solid enough to be picked up and eaten by hand, although I opted to cut mine with a knife and eat with a fork. (I know this is incorrect, but I did it anyway. Deal with it.) I ate mine with hot sauce, but I wished I had some salsa on hand, or even some Cilantro Lime Crema sauce. I definitely think these flautas need sauce to reach their full potential.
Maybe we all need sauce to reach our full potential.
On the other hand, the flautas actually taste pretty good as leftovers the next day. I ate mine right out of the refrigerator, chilled. The flavors had “married” and the taste was actually pretty satisfying. Among other things, the flavors include cilantro, lime, cumin, jalapeno, and garlic.
Before baking, the flautas are soft and flexible. Although they’re “prepared,” they do require baking before consumption. The label says these are already fried in oil before packaging, although I wouldn’t have guessed that from how soft they are.
Ingredients in Authentic Kitchen Flautas from Costco
I wouldn’t exactly call this a simple list of ingredients, but it’s nice to see a fairly clean list with no artificial flavors or colors.
- Tortilla (Enriched Wheat Flour [Wheat Flour, Malted Barley, Ferrous Sulfate, Niacin, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid], Water, Corn Flour, Vegetable Oil [May contain Soybean and/or Palm Oils], Leavening [Sodium Bicarbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Aluminum Sulfate], Salt, Calcium Propionate, Mono-Diglycerides, Fumaric Acid, Potassium Sorbate, Enzymes, Sugar, Rice Flour, Guar Gum, Yeast, Dough Conditioner)
- Chicken Breast with Rib Meat
- Pepper Jack Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Red & Green Jalapeno Peppers, Salt, Enzymes)
- Water
- Oaxaca Cheese (Milk, Sea Salt, Enzymes, Natamycin [natural mold inhibitor])
- Vinegar
- Lime Juice
- Jalapeno Peppers
- Cilantro
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Garlic Powder
- Onion Powder
- Baking Soda
- Cumin
- Whole Egg
- Fried in Grapeseed Oil, Safflower Oil, Sunflower Oil, and/or Non-GMO Canola Oil
Cooking Instructions for Authentic Kitchen Flautas
I opted to use my countertop air fryer toaster oven to cook my flautas. I cooked them at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.
Well, actually, I tried them at a few different temperatures. 375 produced dark, very crunchy results. 350 produced lighter, crisp-yet-soft results. There’s a good bit of leeway for temperature, it seems. Twelve minutes seemed to be the magic number, either way.
I used parchment paper to line the toaster pan. I did not need to spray mine with any additional oil — the wrappers have a slightly oily feeling right out of the package. I also did not need to flip mine over and cook the other side — they were crispy all over after baking on just one side.
Nutrition Facts for Authentic Kitchen Chicken Flautas
There is 10 grams of protein per each flauta. I ate two per meal, which gave me 20 grams of protein. Not too shabby.
There’s a moderate amount of fat, with 7 grams per flauta. If you eat two like I did, it will be 14 grams per meal.
With 170 calories per flauta, two per meal is a 340 calorie meal.
Shelf-life for Authentic Kitchen Flautas from Costco
I must have gotten a sale/clearance price of some sort, because my package expired about five days after purchase. I had to eat these lickity-split. My greedy stomach did not mind.
The package is divided into two compartments, which you can separate — and freeze just one compartment for later. I also found that the flautas fit neatly in quart-size plastic storage bags. The actual package doesn’t have a resealable feature, so once you open it, the uncooked flautas have to be transferred to another container.
Price and Servings for Authentic Kitchen Flautas
The 44 ounce package cost $9.97 at my Costco, but this was probably some type of sale price. I have no way of knowing, because the original price wasn’t listed on the shelf label or on my receipt.
There are 16 flautas per package. At that price, each flauta costs 62 cents. I ate two per meal, so each meal cost $1.25.
Although the brand on the package is “Authentic Kitchen,” these are distributed by Real Good Foods.
More Reviews You Might Like (or Hate)
Check out these other reviews I’ve recently written:
- Costco Gyro Meal Kit Review
- Costco Chicken Street Tacos Meal Kit Review
- Cuisine Adventures Green Chile Chicken Firecrackers Review
- Costco Deli Enchilada Bake Review
- Del Real Chicken & Cheese Tamales Review
Author’s note: I wasn’t paid or compensated in any way for this review and I have no affiliation with Real Good Foods or Costco.
