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Chimichangas (baked)

Make the best homemade chimichangas with this easy recipe! Use leftover chicken, pork, or beef for a crispy, golden chimichanga made in the oven or air fryer—perfect for meal prep, freezer meals, or family dinners.
Course dinner
Cuisine comfort food, Mexican

Equipment

  • 1 air fryer but an oven works too

Ingredients
  

  • 10-12 flour tortillas, ***size
  • 2 cups shredded chicken (or beef or pork) give or take
  • 1 16 oz can beans, your choice refried or whole
  • 1/2-1 cup rice leftover works great
  • 1/2-1 cup shredded cheese

Instructions
 

  • In a large skillet, add 1TBS of oil, or so and the shredded meat.
  • Once mostly heated through, add in the beans and rice.
  • Once filling is warmed through, stir in some cheese and stir well to combine.
  • Preheat oven to 450. If using air fryer, preheating depends on your appliance.
  • If using oven, place metal cookie/baking sheet into oven. You want it hot when you start baking the chimis.
  • Wrap tortillas in a damp paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
  • Scoop 2-3 TBS of filling onto a tortilla.
  • Sprinkle a little cheese on top.
  • Fold in both left and right sides of tortilla. Hold in place.
  • Flip top of tortilla to bottom while squeezing gently to consolidate the filling.
  • Flip over, seam side down.
  • Repeat until tortillas are all used up.
  • Refrigerate any leftover filling. *this makes a great addition to a rice bowl, or a quick burrito. No judgment if you eat it straight up!
  • Brush olive or avocado oil all over each burrito.

To airfry:

  • Air fry a few at a time (don't overcrowd) at 425-450 for a few minutes. If using a rack, no need to flip. Depends on your appliance. For mine, I don't preheat and I cook about 4 minutes on each side to get the crispiest results.

For oven:

  • Using tongs, CAREFULLY place prepared chimichangas on the hot baking sheet, seam side down.
  • Bake 4-5 minutes.
  • Flip chimichangas and bake until crispy.

For serving:

  • Serve with your fave toppings, ie: green onions, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, black olives.

Notes

This is a a little of this and a little of that type of recipe, so amounts are flexible. The important part is to brush oil all over the tortillas before baking or air frying. If you skip that part, you will just have burritos and not crispy, crunchy chimichangas!
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