Crispy Baked Chimichangas Recipe

My husband is one of those people who will literally eat anything.  He grew up in a family of 8 children, and there was no room for being picky.  All of his siblings are the same way and it is awesome – and amazing.  How did his mom do it??  One thing she did is that she always had a garden and so they ate lots of fresh veggies.  I have never met people who love to just take a bite out of a tomato like they do.  And they all love beets………and Swiss chard.  And Brussels sprouts.   You get the idea.

So when we got married, my husband was a bit surprised to find out that I had a more ‘discriminating palate’ as I like to call it. Because he is so un-picky (there has got to be a better term for that) he really likes to try new and different foods.  He never orders the same thing at a restaurant.  Ever.

The longer we have been married, the more his influence has rubbed off on me and I started wanting to try more foods.  I remember thinking mushrooms were completely disgusting and were classified as a fungus for a reason.  But of course my husband LOVES mushrooms.  And so I began forcing myself to eat them over and over in the hopes that one day I would appreciate their unique texture and flavor.  And guess what happened?  It worked!  I now can honestly say that I love mushrooms.  I did this with quite a few foods.  And even entire food groups.  I was never a big Mexican food fan.  Enter husband who lives for spicy foods.  And now?  I LOVE Mexican food.

I am not sure chimichangas are classified as Mexican food, but for my purposes they are.  They are typically deep fried and stuffed with beef or chicken and cheese.  A big deep fried, meat filled chimichanga would probably feel the same as a pound of rocks sitting in the bottom of your stomach.   But they sounded delicious one afternoon and so this is a lighter version I came up with.

The great thing about this Crispy Baked Chimichangas Recipe is that you can switch up what you fill them with.  If you can’t have dairy – no problem.  Leave out the cheese.  If you don’t really care for black beans, then you are loco in the cabeza!  Ha – just kidding.  Use a different kind of bean.  I used 2 kinds of beans for a double fiber experience, plus it gives it is a littler flavor and texture variety.

I used refried beans (without added fat), and mixed them with El Pato Salsa de Chile Fresco. (It is a little yellow can – you can find it at pretty much any grocery store) It gave it nice flavor and a tiny bit of spice. Spread a little of the refried beans, black beans, and cheese down the center of the tortilla.  You can add any other filling you want.  I kept ours simple for the filling, because you can always add other fresh toppings at the end.

Next fold your tortilla in half and brush with a little of the egg white.  I used uncooked tortillas, but you could use any kind you want.

Keep folding in the edges and sealing with a little egg white.

You will end up with a little pouch.

Next you will flash fry the chimichangas. Put 1 or 2 teaspoons of oil in a pan and heat over medium-high heat.  When the pan is hot, place the chimichangas in the pan.  Cook each side for about 1 minute until it is golden brown.

Place on a baking sheet covered in foil  Bake at 350 degrees F for 12-15 minutes.

They come out hot crispy, and gooey inside.  Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, cilantro, and sour cream or plain yogurt.   We LOVED these.  I wasn’t even super hungry when they came out of the oven, but I ate an entire one by myself.

Try them out on your deep fry lover!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

4.5 from 10 votes

Crispy Baked Chimichangas

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time12 minutes mins

Total Time12 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 6 servings

Calories: 434kcal

Ingredients

• 6 medium tortilla, whole wheat
• 1 large egg white
• 15 ounce refried beans, canned, fat-free
• 1/2 cup enchilada sauce
• 15 ounce black beans, canned
• 2 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Toppings

• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 medium tomato, red
• 2 tablespoon cilantro
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1/2 cup sour cream

Instructions

• Add egg whites to a bowl and mix with whisk.
• Stir the enchilada sauce into the refried beans. Add beans to the middle of tortilla, and sprinkle with cheese.
• Begin folding tortilla. Start with one side and fold up an inch and then fold sides and then add more egg white where you make the last fold.
• Flash-fry chimis by placing in a pan of 2 tsp oil on medium-high heat. Heat on both sides for 1 minute until golden brown.  Place chimichangas onto a pan covered in foil, seam-side down.
• Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 434kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 24mg | Sodium: 1819mg | Fiber: 21g | Sugar: 8g

Keyword : baked, beans, Chimichangas, vegetarian, Veggies

www.superhealthykids.com