Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 40 minutes
Ready In: 1 hour and 5 minutes
Servinges: 8
Chicken Chimichangas are A Quick and Delicious Tex-Mex Meal
I can’t begin to tell you how much I love Chimichangas in general, and I REAALY love these chicken chimichangas. They’re delicious, crispy and have almost infinite variability depending on your meat and/or vegetables of choice, along with spices and cheeses. The first time I made these for my wife she asked for them again the following night and it’s become a household ritual to do these at least once a month!
Pro tip: Swap the ingredients out for fruit, chocolate, peanut butter, honey, etc. and you just made yourself a delicious breakfast or dessert!!
Ingredients:
- 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breasts
- 1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chilies
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup diced onion
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 cups water
- Oil for frying
- 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
- 8+ ounces of shredded cheese (your choice)
Possible Substitutions:
- Swap chicken breasts for ground chicken or turkey to speed up some of the prep
- While a fresh mix is best, if you want to set this up quick and easy use fajita or taco seasoning to replace the individual seasonings.
Directions:
- Placing the chicken breasts into a large saucepan pour in the water, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a simmer over high heat and then reduce heat to medium-low simmering for another 15 minutes. Once that 15 minutes is up, stir in 4 ounces of green chilies, garlic and onion; continue simmering until the liquid has reduced to 1 cup. Remove the chicken, shredding with forks and then return to the onion mixture.
- Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan on your induction cooktop to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Placing a tortilla onto your work surface spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken filling halfway between the bottom edge and the center of the tortilla. Flatten the filling into rectangle shape with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle about 1 ounce of cheese over the filling. Fold the bottom of the tortilla snugly over the filling, fold in the left and right edges. Roll the chimichanga up to the top edge, forming a tight cylinder; secure the ends with wooden toothpicks. Repeat with the remaining ingredients.
- Cook the chimichangas, 2 at a time, in the hot oil until they are crisp and golden brown on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate, and remove toothpicks.
Top these chicken chimichangas with more cheese, sour cream, queso, guacamole or anything else you can think of!
