Trader Joe's $4.99 Chicken Flautas drew 206 upvotes and a portion-size argument

Trader Joe's newest frozen entrée is a box of Chicken Flautas: four flour-tortilla rolls filled with dark meat chicken, diced green chile and Monterey Jack cheese, $4.99 for 11.52 ounces. They reached the freezer case in late September and are still arriving store by store, so availability varies. A shopper posted the box to r/traderjoes on the evening of September 24, and by October 7 that thread stood at 206 upvotes, a 96% positive rate and 41 comments. 12

It is new to the chain this season, and the two things that put it in front of shoppers this week — Food & Wine listing it among the month's new finds on October 2, and a reader photo of the box on a freezer shelf published on October 7 — both landed inside the past seven days. 34

A flauta and a taquito are cousins, and the difference between them is the tortilla. Taquitos are rolled in corn tortillas and run small; flautas use a larger flour tortilla, which is why Trader Joe's calls these "a more substantial, chewy bite." 2 The chain already sells chicken taquitos, and the two boxes sit in the same part of the frozen case. 4

Inside the flour tortilla is a filling of dark meat chicken, diced green chile peppers and Monterey Jack cheese, seasoned with tomato paste, garlic, cumin, chili powder and lime juice. Trader Joe's supplier lightly fries the rolls and flash-freezes them, so the box arrives fully cooked. The flautas contain milk and wheat. 2

Trader Joe's gives one method: air fry at 375°F for 10 to 12 minutes, then dress them up. Its suggested toppings are crema, salsa, guacamole, shredded lettuce and a squeeze of lime, and the chain's own copy says three or four make an easy weeknight dinner while one or two work as a snack. 2

Shoppers who have cooked them add their own versions. "eating these right now. Chefs kiss, so good," one wrote, and another reported topping a batch with "the white queso, a lime crema and pico." 1

The reviewer at DailyWaffle air-fried two for 10 minutes at 375°F and dipped them in Greek yogurt in place of sour cream. She found they carried enough flavor that "salsa might be overkill," and that the tortilla came out golden at the edge, though it "didn't deliver a real cheese pull." Her verdict: "I regret to inform you, they're tasty." She gave them 4 out of 5 and said she would buy them again for a party, but would reach for a corn-tortilla taquito for herself. 5

One serving is two flautas, or 163 grams: 470 calories, 27 grams of fat (10 of them saturated), 720 milligrams of sodium and 24 grams of protein. The whole box — all four flautas — runs to 950 calories and 1,440 milligrams of sodium. At $4.99 a box, each flauta costs about $1.25. 2

The fat figure is what made DailyWaffle hesitate in the aisle before buying. Two flautas carry 27 grams of fat, which Trader Joe's counts as 35% of the daily value, and 720 milligrams of sodium, or 31%. 25

The r/traderjoes thread spends as much time on the portion as on the taste. "Two meals for $4.99 does not seem bad??" one commenter offered, and the top reply rejected it: "Dawg 4 flautas is not two meals." 1 The label does call each two-flauta serving half the box, so a full box is two servings of 470 calories apiece.

Price drew second thoughts from at least one shopper: "Almost bought these but the price got me. Might go back if they are a decent size." 1

The one repeated knock is that they need a sauce. A commenter who liked the tortilla and the ratio of cheese to meat wrote that "without hot sauce or anything it is kinda bland." 1

Buy a box if you want a $4.99 dinner that goes from the freezer into an air fryer, if you have crema, salsa or hot sauce on hand to finish it, or if you are feeding more than one person — the whole box carries 49 grams of protein for $4.99.

Skip it if 720 milligrams of sodium or 27 grams of fat in a two-flauta serving is more than you want in one meal, if you are avoiding milk or wheat, or if you already know you prefer the smaller corn-tortilla taquito. Trader Joe's sells those in the same case.

Look for the orange carton with the pink papel-picado border in the frozen Mexican section, near the taquitos and the mini tacos. Trader Joe's lists it under product code 084589 on its product page.