Name: Baked Chicken Chimichangas Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 1 pound diced boneless, skinless chicken (breast or tenders work); 6, 8 inch soft flour tortillas; 1/2 cup Mexican blend cheese; 16 ounce can, fat-free refried beans; 4.5 ounce can chopped green chiles, drained; 1/2 yellow onion, chopped; 1-2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tablespoon cumin; 1 teaspoon chili powder; 1/2 teaspoon paprika; salt and pepper to taste; olive oil and cooking spray for cooking; Guacamole, sour cream, and salsa for serving (optional); 3-4 tablespoons sour cream; 1-2 tablespoon water

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Baked chicken chimichangas have long been my go-to weeknight Tex Mex entree. Honestly, I can’t say I’ve ever actually made it on the weekend. No idea why because they’re so irresistible. I’ve been making this recipe for a good six years and I can’t tell you why I haven’t shared it sooner.

What are Chimichangas?

Traditionally, chimichangas are a small, deep-fried burrito filled with chicken or beef, spices, and veggies. This recipe is actually inspired by a simpler, healthier variation that I found on Cooking Light. I must say, I’m not your typical Cooking Light frequenter but I love this recipe because these chimichangas are so flavorful and easily come together in about 25 minutes.

My chicken chimichangas are made with diced chicken, refried beans, diced green chiles, lots of spices, and a melted blend of Mexican cheeses. Topped with a drizzle of sour cream and guacamole, they’re a Mexican-inspired dinner the whole family will say YES to.

How to Make Baked Chimichangas

Essentially I combine fully cooked chicken and all remaining ingredients/spices and mix to form a meat-based filling. From here we can line the filling on a burrito sized tortilla and tightly roll into a sealed burrito. Bake for a short amount of time at high heat for a nice sear and slightly crisped exterior.

It helps to spray the exterior of the chimichangas with cooking spray to help give them more crunch, mimicking our fried counterpart.

Shredded Versus Diced Chicken

The recipe calls for two cups of diced chicken, however shredded rotisserie chicken speeds the process up and adds a really nice texture. I would still suggest two cups of shredded chicken. The final result will be a more tender and creamier chimichanga.

The most important part regardless is small diced chicken, larger chunks of chicken will fall out and be too large to blend with the remaining ingredients.

Sour Cream Drizzle

One of the best things that ever happened to this recipe was the addition of drizzled sour cream. For a fancy flare, I like to water down some sour cream and mix in a small Ziploc bag. Snip the corner and you can professionally drizzle each chimichanga to perfection. It’s the little things in life, folks.

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