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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!