Easy Baked Chicken Chimichangas
These Easy Baked Chicken Chimichangas are quick, tasty, filling, and lighter than traditional chimichangas because they're not deep-fried. They're also a great way to use up leftover chicken!
Servings: 8 chimichangas
Estimated Calories: 255
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast, or thigh meat (or a combo, whatever you like)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt, to taste
- 1 cup salsa, your favorite, store-bought or homemade
- 1 cup shredded Mexican-blend cheese
- 2 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced, about 2 tablespoons total
- 8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- 2 tablespoons melted butter
- toppings of your choice, such as additional cheese, salsa, and green onions, sour cream, cilantro, guacamole, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F.
- Line a large light-colored baking sheet with parchment paper. Note: I recommend using a light-colored pan to help ensure that the bottoms of the chimichangas don't get too dark.
- In a large bowl, stir together the chicken, cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, salt, salsa, cheese, and green onions until well-combined.
- Take one flour tortilla and place it on a clean work surface. Place ⅛ of the chicken mixture in the center of the tortilla. Fold in the left and right sides of the tortilla toward the center, then roll up the tortilla from the bottom. Place seam-side down on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and chicken mixture. Note: Make sure your tortillas are soft so they don't crack when rolling. Most store-bought tortillas are nice and soft right out of the package, but if you need to soften them up, place them in the microwave for a few seconds covered with a damp paper towel or quickly heat them in a dry skillet just until they are pliable.
- Brush the tops and sides of the chimichangas with the melted butter.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown and crisp.Note: Bake in the middle or upper portion of the oven to help ensure that the bottoms of the chimichangas don't get too dark and that the tops get nicely golden brown.
- Serve immediately garnished with your favorite toppings.
Recipe Notes
- If you don't have pre-cooked/leftover chicken to use for this recipe, cook up one pound of boneless skinless chicken breasts (or thighs) using your favorite method and shred. This should give you about 2 cups of chicken. Alternately, you could use the meat from a store-bought cooked rotisserie chicken (super easy!).
- If your salsa has a lot of liquid, drain it first before mixing with the chicken so your chimichangas aren't too wet (which could make the tortillas soggy).
- This recipe can serve 4 to 8 people depending on appetites and starters and/or sides you are serving. They are small but very filling, and one per person could easily be enough, especially with sides. Bigger appetites might want two!
- You can also cook these in an air fryer! In batches (be sure to leave space between them), after brushing with butter, air fry at 375°F for 8 to 10 minutes or until warmed through, golden brown, and crisp.
- Estimated calories are for one chimichanga made with chicken breast and do not include any added toppings.
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