Chicken Chimichangas

chicken chimichangas

In my family, we just LOVE Mexican. Flavorful chicken, peppers and onions wrapped in a crispy tortilla shell topped with cool sour cream. Yummm. This recipe is one of our favorites and includes some fool proof time saving tips that help make the chicken delicious and moist every time. 

If you’re like me, you may keep your chicken frozen and have to remember to defrost it, which is a deal breaker on most nights of the week. Another challenge with cooking chicken is that it often dries out when cooked on stove top or baked in the oven. When I discovered that the instant pot solves for both of these issues,  it was a total game changer. 

Although you can prepare the chicken on the stove top or baked in the oven, using the instant pot on pressure cook allows you to cook frozen chicken breasts in under a half hour while the salsa creates a super moist and flavorful chicken every time. It’s a win-win-win. 

Another pro-tip for time saving is to shred the chicken using a hand mixer. Although you can still do this with 2 forks by hand, the hand mixer gets the job done in under a minute. Love. 

 

This recipe is super versatile and the ingredients can be changed up to suit your family’s tastes. 

Enjoy!!!

shredded chicken instant pot
sauteed onions and peppers
assembling chimichangas
chimichangas in frying pan
chimichangas
chicken chimichangas

Chicken Chimichangas

Love Mexican? Here's a delicious variation for taco night with some time saving tips!
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Mexican
Keyword: chimichanga, mexican, taco, texmex
Servings: 4
Cost: $20

Equipment

  • Instant Pot

Ingredients

  • 2 chicken breasts Can use frozen if using instant pot
  • 1 jar salsa I prefer Herdez Green Salsa, Mild
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1 onion
  • 1 bunch cilantro
  • vegetable oil
  • shredded mexican cheese
  • 6 soft flour tortilla shells burrito size

Optional Ingredients

  • 1 lemon
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • hot sauce I prefer Cholula
  • pickled jalapeno for serving
  • sour cream for serving

Instructions

  • Cook the chicken breasts and the jar of salsa in the instant pot (pressure cook for 23 mins if frozen, 15 if defrosted, using natural release).
  • If you don't have a pressure cooker, simply cut chicken into small pieces and saute with the salsa on stove top.
  • Shred chicken after cooking. (A hand mixer works great for this.)
  • Reduce liquid until pretty dry using the saute function on the instant pot, or by sauteeing in the pan.
  • While chicken is cooking, slice onion and green pepper into thin strips and sautee these on the stovetop.
  • Assemble flour tortillas with shredded Mexican cheese, the shredded chicken, peppers, onions, cilantro.
  • Fold tortilla sides in then ends in to get a burrito style shape.
  • Heat a large pan with vegetable oil and saute the chimichangas on both sides until brown and crispy.
  • Place the chimichangas in a baking dish, top with shredded cheese and melt in 375 degree oven for 5 minutes before serving.
  • Serve with cilantro, sour cream, Cholula and jalapeños.

Notes

  1. When cooking the chicken with the salsa, I love to add some extra seasoning, like taco seasoning, cumin, Cholula and lemon juice. These aren't necessary because the salsa adds so much flavor, but it does amp up the flavor even more. 
  2. You can make many substitutions here for salsa type, hot sauce type and fixings. Use whatever you love. 
  3. The instant pot is a huge time saver here, and keeps the chicken super moist compared to other methods, but it is not necessary. 
  4. I like to make extras, as these are still delicious the next day!

One thought on “Chicken Chimichangas

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating