Baked Chicken Chimichangas
Baked Chicken Chimichangas are a healthier twist on the old Mexican classic chimichanga recipe with less calories. You won’t even miss this chimichanga being fried because they get nice and crispy in this oven-fried version! These chicken chimichangas can easily be made at home for dinner so keep this chicken recipe in your keeper file.
CHICKEN CHIMICHANGAS RECIPE
(originally posted 2013)
Coming back from Hawaii was hard to do. Sunset dinners on the beach, live music, and Chocolate Souffle for dessert.
So this Monday has been exceptionally jarring. Early mornings are not something I easily snap back into.
I’m originally from Mesa, Arizona where phenomenal Mexican restaurants are on every corner. The love for Mexican food is in my blood.
Moving to Florida with the prominent Latin culture I thought I would have the same luxury but good Mexican is surprisingly hard to find.
The closest decent Mexican joint is about a half hour away so I end up making it at home most of the time.
WHAT IS A CHIMICHANGA?
Chimichanga is a Mexican entree that traditionally is a tortilla filled with meat or beans. Chimichangas are basically a deep-fried burrito.
So when we call these Oven Baked Chimichangas I guess we should really be calling them Oven Baked Burritos because that’s all it is.
I like to use leftover chicken or rotisserie chicken when I’m short on time. It’s such an easy recipe.
I love chimichangas but they’re usually dripping with hot oil. Every time I would go to a restaurant as a child I would order a chimichanga.
These oven fried chicken chimichangas recipe were just the taste I was craving and had plenty of crisp that you look for in a chimichanga.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A CHIMICHANGA AND AN ENCHILADA?
What’s the difference between a chicken chimichanga and an enchilada? Enchiladas are smothered in sauce then baked whereas chimichangas are usually served dry. However, the best chimichanga is fully dressed so make sure you have some fresh guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream to top yours.
BAKED VS. FRIED CHIMICHANGAS
Baking chimichangas is not only so much heart healthier but it saves calories!! Sure, when you fry tortillas they get that crunchy flaky texture, but if you brush these chicken chimichangas with butter and bake at a high heat they will get nice and crispy with half of the calories.
HOW TO MAKE BAKED CHICKEN CHIMICHANGAS
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Preheat oven to 400°F.
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Mix chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese and onions. Place about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla.
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Fold opposite sides over filling. Roll up from bottom and place seam-side down on a baking sheet.
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Brush with melted butter. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
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Garnish with desired toppings and serve with salsa on the side.
CHICKEN RECIPES
OTHER MEXICAN RECIPES:
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Homemade Tortillas
- Pico de Gallo
- Traditional Carnitas
- Easy Beef Burrito Skillet
- Mexican Stuffed Shells
- Mini Chicken Chimichangas
- Classic Chicken Fajitas
- One-Pan Mexican Chicken and Rice
- One-Pan Chicken Fajita Rice
- Mexican Chicken
Baked Chicken Chimichangas
These Baked Chicken Chimichangas are a healthier twist on the old classic chimichanga.
Ingredients
- 2 cups cooked chicken chopped or shredded
- 1 cup of your favorite salsa
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves crushed
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 green onions chopped (about 1/4 cup)
- 6 (8-inch) flour tortillas
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- diced tomato, sour cream, guacamole, salsa, and shredded cheddar cheese for topping
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 400°F.
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Mix chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese and onions. Place about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla.
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Fold opposite sides over filling. Roll up from bottom and place chimichangas seam-side down on a baking sheet.
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Brush with melted butter. Bake at 400°F for 25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
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Garnish with your favorite toppings and serve with salsa on the side.
Recipe Notes
adapted from Food
These Baked Chicken Chimichangas are healthy!
Hi, I was wondering if you could use beef instead of chicken, Hubby is not fond of chicken in his Mexican unless it’s fajitas 🙂
Sorry for posting I didn’t read the comments before I posted. 🙂 I’ll let you know how they come out.
Beef would be great!
Finally someone who knows good Mexican food, not “gringo” style that so many people serve. I too grew up in Arizona,( Phoenix), so yes I understand the love for Mexican food is in my blood too. My Uncle’s would make it for us, that is how my mother learned & then I too from them. Although as a young girl I was not interested in cooking. Then when I got married I realized, I had to cook & eat the food! I quickly learned & had many phone calls home asking for help. My husband enjoys my cooking & is glad I learned.
I am glad I found your site. Thank you for such great ideas.
Welcome! I will actually eat the Gringo style too!
I wanted to add ground beef instead of chicken. Would you do 2 cups of ground beef also or a little more? Also, would this require any taco seasoning or do the spices season it up?
I would do 2 cups of seasoned ground beef with taco seasoning.
Celiac here. Can I use corn tortillas?
Absolutely. They’re just hard to roll.
Steam your corn tortillas in the microwave before you roll them and they don’t crack or break
Can you use the canned chicken?
Yes!
These are delicious! Great recipe!
Thanks Rhonda.
Wow. This is a great recipe. Definite keeper.
Thank you!
What tortillas can we use that’s keto friendly?
Mission has low-carb ones that we use.
Can these be frozen after baking? These would be perfect for school lunch
Yes! They reheat well
These were so easy to make, and they were so yummy served with a side of Spanish rice. We topped ours with light sour cream and guacamole. I mixed up the filling earlier in the day, then stored it in the refrigerator until I was ready, giving me a head start on dinner. At dinner time I just had to assemble them and pop them in the oven. LOVE IT! I cut down on some calories using reduced-fat Mexican blend cheese, and skipping the butter, using butter flavored cooking spray instead.
This is a great recipe! I had been craving chimichangas and found this! I updated it for an ever lower calorie option that I thought you’d enjoy as well.
I replaced the wrap with a Ole high fiber wrap thats 50 cal per a wrap. (that reduced it 93 calories per serving), replaced the cheese with fat free (reduced it 43 calories per serv) and replaced the butter with country crock spread (that reduced it 16 c.).
That is a total of 153 calories less. So the calories per a serving is only 197 !!
Even better if you’re in an active weight loss!!
Thank you for your recipe!
Thanks for the tips!
Absolutely delicious! Adding this to my library !
Thank you!
I plan on trying these tomorrow evening. Could I make them early in the morning?
YEs!
I’ve made these with chicken, pork, and beef. I use low carb tortillas and even with guacamole and Pico de gallo it’s a fabulous low carb meal.
I made these tonight and the only substitution was sauteed yellow onion for the green. It was a hit!
Awesome!
Tried this last night. Really good. I didn’t have 8 inch flour tortillas so I used what I had and made it about 9.
Added a cheese sauce that I made: 1 can rotel, 1/4 cup velveeta, 2 tablespoons milk (about) and 2-3 tablespoons shredded cheddar. I melted it on the stove.
That sauce sounds good
Sounds delicious!
My 10 year old and I made these last night, they came out excellent! They are a lot easier to make then I thought and had lots of flavor. My family has requested to put this in the weekly dinner rotation .
Awesome! These are one of my favorites.
These were so good! I added 1/2 tsp of onion powder and garlic salt. I debated adding some cream cheese to the filling too, but didn’t have any on hand. I may try that next time to see what it adds. Definitely saving this recipe though.
Awesome! So glad you like it!
I’ve been making these for several years now and now and guests love them! Perfect recipe! Thank you 🙂
You’re welcome!
For the chicken part of the recipe. It says canned roasted tomatoes but under instructions it says sundried tomatoes. Which is correct, canned roasted or sundried (not talking about the noodle part, I know that’s sundried)?
Regards
Ross Alisha
These were AMAZING!!! My family & I are pescatarian so I use veggie crumbles as a substitute but they were still great. I’m actually in the kitchen now making them again
These sound good and easy. I am wondering…Where is all the sodium coming from in this recipe?
From the store bought salsa which is loaded with salt and from the cheese also loaded with salt. To cut salt intake, make homemade salsa. Yes, it is time consuming but so much healthier.
My husband, son, and I loved the chimichangas! Thank you for the great recipe! I will be making them often!
Aww thank you Renae!
This really is a 5 star recipe. Good!
Thank you so much!
I am from Mesa also and I add roasted red peppers instead of salsa to my chicken, the cumin, onions, oregano and no cheese. I use the same for tacos.
You can use corn tortillas for tacos and enchiladas — just warm the tortillas in the oven with a damp cloth over the top. Also the tortillas can be warmed with a light spray of avocado or canola oil.
Put the cheese, guacamole and sour cream with salsa or pico de gallo on top. YUM!
Sounds delicious! Mesa has great Mexican food.
Is the nutritional information listed for 1 or 2 chimichungas?
These were so good! I kinda did my own thing flavoring the chicken, but they cooked up perfectly following the recipe.
These were so good! I wish I didn’t halve the recipe. So much regret. Thanks for sharing.
You are welcome!
could these be made ahead of time and frozen then baked later
Yes, totally.
Once frozen what would you recommend to bake them? Can you bake frozen?
You can bake from frozen!
This is so delicious! Excellent recipe and so filling! Thank you!
Thank you!
Thank you for the baked chicken chimichangas – tired of plain chicken.. Thank you, thank you.
You’re welcome!