If you’re craving a Tex-Mex dish that’s bursting with flavor look no further than my Southwest Chicken Chimichangas made with rotisserie chicken, shredded cheese, veggies and black beans. This chicken chimichanga recipe is the perfect combination of moist, flavorful filling and a golden, crunchy exterior. Perfect for weeknight meals or weekend indulgence.
The filling consists of sauted onions, red bell pepper, jalapeno, garlic, fresh or frozen corn, avocado, black beans and rotisserie chicken. Everything is flavored with a ton of seasoning and bound together with chicken stock and salsa. The filling simmers together on the stove and then goes into flour tortillas along with a hearty amount of shredded Mexican cheese, gets rolled up and pan fried in a thin layer of neutral oil. If you’d rather go a healthier route than this chicken chimichanga recipe but want to maintain the same flavor profile, check out my cheesy chicken enchiladas recipe.
Tips for the Best Chicken Chimichangas
- Using a vegetable chopper to dice your veggies makes the job much easier and quicker.
- To easily cut kernels from the cob I place a small mixing bowl face down in a large one. Place the cob on top of the small upside-down bowl, hold the cob at the top with one hand and slice down to cut kernels off easily. The larger bowl catches the kernels.
- Either shred a rotisserie chicken or shred 3 chicken breasts.
- Don’t overfill your tortillas with filling and cheese. If you’re worried about this, get burrito size tortillas.
- Preheat the oil the chimichangas will pan fry in over medium heat. Do not start on high and turn it down. You want all sides to get golden brown but also enough time pass for the cheese inside to melt.
- You’ll most likely have leftover filling. Just save that in Tupperware in the fridge!
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Southwest Chicken Chimichangas
Ingredients
- 1 rotisserie chicken shredded
- 1 purple onion diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper diced
- 1 jalapeno diced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 4 ears of corn or 10 oz frozen corn kernels removed
- 1 c chicken stock
- 2 tsp chicken bouillon granules
- 2 tsp ancho chili powder
- 3 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 3 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 c salsa Garden Fresh sweet onion
- 1/3 c black beans strained
- 1 avocado diced
- flour tortillas
- shredded cheese
Instructions
- Dice onion, red bell pepper and jalapeno.
- To a pan over medium heat add olive oil and drippings from the rotisserie chicken bag and cook the onion, red bell pepper and jalapeno for 15 minutes.
- While those cook, cut the kernels off 4 ears of corn, mince garlic and shred a rotisserie chicken or 3 chicken breasts.
- Add the minced garlic. Stir and cook 2 minutes.
- Add corn kernels or frozen corn, stir and cook 5 minutes.
- Add salsa, stir then add rotisserie chicken. Stir. Add seasonings and stir.
- Add black beans, stir.
- Add chicken stock and bouillon granules, stir and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add diced avocado and gently stir.
- Add chicken filling and shredded cheese to warmed flour tortillas. Place filling and cheese on the side closest to you and not directly in the middle. Roll up and secure with a toothpick. The size of your tortillas will determine how much filling and cheese you can put in.
- Cook in a thin layer of preheated olive oil in a pan set over medium heat. Flip chimichangas every 20-30 seconds until all sides have a deep golden-brown color and are crisp on the outside.
- Set on paper towels to absorb any residual oil. Remove the toothpick(s) used to keep the tortilla closed.
- Cut in half if desired and serve with your favorite fixings.