Chimichangas at restaurants don’t usually appeal to me, but this one had me coming back for more. When pressed for time, it is simple to cook the meat in advance and then enjoy a quick lunch.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 5 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 large skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
- 3 cups water
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 (7 ounce) can chopped green chilies, divided
- ½ cup diced onion
- 3 large cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup water
- 1 cube chicken bouillon
- ½ cup sour cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- oil for frying
- 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas
- 8 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Instructions
- Place the chicken breasts into a large saucepan. Pour in the water, and season with chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 15 minutes.
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- After 15 minutes, stir in 4 ounces of green chiles, onion, and garlic; continue simmering until the liquid has reduced to 1 cup. Reserve remaining 3 ounces of chopped green chilies.
- Remove the chicken, shred with two forks, and return to the onion mixture.
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- Meanwhile, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour, and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the water and bouillon cube until the water has thickened and the bouillon cube has dissolved, about 4 minutes. Whisk in reserved 3 ounces of green chilies and the sour cream; season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm.
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- Heat oil in a deep-fryer or large saucepan to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Place a tortilla onto your work surface, then 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 the Monterey Jack cheese over the filling.
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- Fold the bottom of the tortilla snugly over the filling, then 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.
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- 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.
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- Top with sour cream sauce to serve.
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Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 506 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 33 g |
| Cholesterol | 72 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 12 g |
| Sodium | 1043 mg |
| Sugars | 2 g |
| Fat | 30 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
My family loved these! The seasoning was perfect. I will definitely make them again.
This turned out really well; it’s probably my favorite recipe from this site so far. I cooked mine in the air fryer instead of deep frying, but they still came out beautiful. The level of spiciness is just right, and the cream sauce was delightful. The recipe does take a while, but you can make the chicken ahead of time. I also think you could make it with canned chicken.
My grandkids LOVE these. My grandson told me to make sure I doubled the recipe!! I make as directed. I make vegetarian ones with veg. beans and cheese for my vegitarian granddaughter. They’re always a hit.
These are delicious!! I have made these and the sauce so many times. They’re a family favorite. Sometimes I add a can of black beans (rinse & drain) to have more filling. 🙂
Made these once, now I’ve made them a hundred times! I think this is the best recipe I’ve used! The sauce is delicious!
My family inhaled these Chimichangas. They were as good as any I’ve had in what passes for Mexican Restaurants here in Phoenix. I did make a couple of changes. I used fresh jalapeños instead of canned, and I used boneless/skinless chicken thighs instead of breasts. (It’s what I had defrosted) We also found that the 375 F was too hot. The first 2 chimichangas were scorched on the outside and not cooked on the inside. We didn’t check the temperature of the second batch, but after the reaction of my son (27 and a Marine). He had eaten the first two before leaving the kitchen. It’s going to be hard to top this for my dinner tonight. And we couldn’t have the sour cream sauce, cause I grabbed cottage cheese instead or sour cream. Oops. I made some pico de gallo, instead.
Both my husband and my enjoyed the dish. If I make it again, I may make some of the components earlier. It was a little labor intensive for me.
excelent
These are so good. I am not much of a cook, but these are very easy to make. Only change I made was cooking the chicken breasts on med-high for a few minutes on each side before adding the water. I seasoned them first and added a bit of oil to the pan and browned the outside before adding the other ingredients. and water. It is really hard to mess up and you can add more or less of the seasonings to suit your taste and it will still come out good
This recipe was so easy. We used thighs instead of breast. We used the air fryer to make them crisp. 400° for 3-4 minutes on each side. Added salsa to the sour cream sauce. It was perfect – better than the restaurant.
Lots of ingredients and steps are totally worth the result. Very tasty and satisfying. I like that one can cook the filling and sauce well-beforehand, and fry quickly (and later, if necessary). A preheated oven or warming drawer would enable the chef to cover a larger group. Thank you for sharing this glorious recipe!
followed recipe with the above mods – doubled spices, baked in oven 10 min at 400, and I added green hot sauce to the sour cream sauce.
I followed this recipe step by step just topped with guacamole and lettuce with refried beans on the side! Delicious!!!!!
We loved this recipe, I have had Chimichangas but never thought to make them, but they are really pretty easy with these easy to follow steps. I made my chicken mixture the day before and just refrigerated it and did the sauce and final assembly the next day. I too adjusted the chicken seasoning just because we like a stronger flavoring. I also fried them, we hardly ever eat fried foods so it was a safe “go” for us, when you get the temperature just right (375) the oil really doesn’t penetrate the tortilla and the chicken mixture was just like steamed. I also used one of my enameled steel pots for the even heat it provides. This was a delicious recipe and we will have it again, just not too often!
I read every review and saw this recipe was loved by all. I doubled the dry ingredients as so many suggested…Great suggestion. I used ground chicken because that’s what I had.. We added black beans to the meat recipe (because I wasn’t sure if I had enough meat for all the tortillas.) And to help with cooking down the liquid, I scooped some of it into the sour cream sauce….Oh wow!! Listen friends, this recipe is outstanding!! Our taste buds were on overdrive. I can’t wait to make this again…and again!
I also baked the Chimichangas instead of frying. I thought they were delicious and we are having them again tonight.
I’ve done this recipe before. My daughter and her friends lived loved it. It’s really good. Tree Removal Thornton
I agree! Enchiladas involve corn tortillas that wrap around meat and are served with lots of sauce. Chimichangas are deep fried burritos, although they’re often served in a way that’s more reminiscent of enchiladas than burritos. Concrete Contractors Colorado Springs Co
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.
Very very good! Everyone loved it.
This is very yummy.