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!

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4.5 from 10 votes

Crispy Baked Chimichangas

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time12 mins

Total Time12 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

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