When dining at your favorite Mexican restaurant and you have a friend order tacos and another friend order taquitos, this conversation inevitability comes up: What is the difference between a taco and a taquito? As many well know, a taquito in the Spanish language means a small taco. Many restaurants won’t even offer taquitos and will have rolled tacos instead. Even though there are a lot of similarities between tacos and taquitos there is also a lot of differences. Eddie’s Mexican Restaurant would like to share some of the differences between tacos and taquitos.

Flauta or Taquito?

There is a little bit of history to the origin of the word taquito. It is said that a Mexican restaurant in San Diego California invented the word “taquito.” Traditionally, taquitos were known as “flauta” which means flute. As a taquito is a rolled taco, it resembled a flute. The reasoning behind the restaurant renaming the flauta to taquito is a bit hazy. The new name took off and most Mexican restaurants have since used the adapted word taquito or little taco. It is important to remember the original name for the taquito, the “flauta,” as because that the major difference between a taco and a taquito is the shape.

Cooking of the Tortilla

As just mentioned, one of the key differences between a taco and a taquito is the shape. And as the shape of the two dishes are very different so is the cooking method. A taquito has meat and occasionally other ingredients inside the tortilla which is rolled and then cooked. In most cases taquitos are deep fried which makes them super crispy. However, some restaurants will also bake them as well. The traditional taco is a cooked or uncooked tortilla that is folded. Tacos are both soft and hard. When it comes to the soft taco, the tortilla isn’t cooked at all. A hard taco has been cooked either by frying or baking.

Taquito & Taco Filling Ingredients

A taquito is a rolled tortilla filled with either shredded beef or chicken. You may find taquitos with other types of meat but most commonly it is beef and chicken. After the rolled tortilla and meat has been cooked, it is often topped with lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, and if requested, with pico de gallo on the side. A taco will have more variations of meat ranging from shredded or ground beef to chicken, shrimp, and fish. Tacos are often topped with cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. However, taco toppings can vary and many will also include sour cream, guacamole, and or pico de gallo.

Authentic Mexican Cuisine in Las Vegas, Nevada (Just Minutes from Summerlin, North LV, Paradise, Lone Mountain & Henderson, NV

With a taco you may get more variety in the ingredients and the tortilla can be served soft or uncooked as well as hard or cooked. A taquito is a rolled tortilla with meat inside that has been cooked, and mostly deep fried. The taquitos have their toppings placed directly over the surface, where taco toppings are inside the folded tortilla. Even though there are many similarities between the two dishes, they also greatly vary in taste and experience. When you have a craving for tacos or taquitos, come on down to Eddie’s Mexican Restaurant or order to go today!