Easy Baked Beef Chimichanga Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What meat is traditionally in a chimichanga? ›

Sonoran-style chimichangas: These are the most well-known type of chimichanga and are said to have originated in Tucson, Arizona. They are typically made with a flour tortilla filled with shredded beef or chicken, beans, and cheese, and then fried until crispy.

Chimichanga is a Mexican appetizer or entre that includes a tortilla filled with a meat or bean mixture, typically deep fried to make it crispy on the outside. Chimichangas are basically deep-fried burritos. They're usually served topped with salsa, sour cream, or guacamole, and a side of Mexican rice.

Chimichangas are traditionally served with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, guacamole, and/or sour cream. Unlike other Mexican-inspired wraps, these cold ingredients are typically dolloped on top or on the side. You can pair them with any combination of Mexican side dishes.

Worst: Chimichanga

The dish has more than 1,500 calories and 93 grams of fat. Factor in toppings like guacamole and sour cream, and you'll get most of your day's calories and sodium in one meal. And research shows that a diet high in fried foods can raise your chances of diabetes and heart disease.

1922), accidentally dropped a burrito into the deep-fat fryer in the early 1950s. She immediately began to utter a Spanish profanity beginning "chi..." (chingada), but quickly stopped herself and instead exclaimed chimichanga, a Spanish equivalent of "thingamajig".

Forget fried foods

Some popular foods to avoid are nachos, chimichangas, chalupas, taquitos and chile relleno and other dishes that are also deep-fried. Better choices are chicken fajitas, grilled chicken with peppers and onions or a soft taco. AMA offers a recipe for chipotle chicken bowls with cilantro-lime quinoa.

Mexi-sauce:

Saute onions and garlic cloves in a skillet with vegetable oil. Add a pinch each of chili powder, cumin, sugar and salt; cook 30 seconds. Stir in green chiles; cook 2 minutes. Add chicken broth and simmer until thickened, then puree.

The most obvious difference between chimichangas and burritos is that the former is deep-fried, but there are some other differences, too. Burritos come from Mexico rather than the United States, and often contain more filling than chimichangas.

Chimichangas are high in calories, saturated fat and trans fats. According to the American Heart Association, eating a diet high in saturated fat puts us at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. These risk factors go up when we eat fried food three or more times per week.

Does tuna steak have a lot of sodium? ›

Tuna has many health benefits and has a naturally low amount of sodium, but additional salt is often included during the canning process. A 5-ounce can typically has about 280mg of sodium which is 12% of the recommended daily intake.

Deep-fried, restaurant-style chimichangas can have 760 calories, 34 grams of fat and 1,930 mg of sodium -- this baked version has a fraction of that. The chimichanga, or chimi as it's affectionately termed in the Southwest, is a deep-fried burrito stuffed with meat, vegetables and spices.

Traditionally, a chimichanga is filled with a combination of rice, beans, meat and cheese, similar to a burrito. You can opt for seasoned Mexican-style rice or yellow rice or even plain white rice. As for the beans, refried beans, black beans or pinto beans are traditional.

SERVE with guacamole, sour cream and salsa on the side.

Traditional chimichangas are deep-fried, but many prefer to make them in the oven to reduce the amount of oil used.

The major difference, however, is that chimichangas are deep-fried. In fact, the simplest way to define chimichanga is as a deep-fried burrito. It's thought that a burrito was dropped into a deep fryer, with the result being what we now call Mexican chimichangas.

A Chimichanga is a deep-fried burrito made with a flour tortilla, while an enchilada is a baked dish that uses corn tortillas and is smothered in a chili sauce. Q2: Are enchiladas healthier than chimichangas? A: Yes. Enchiladas are lower in calories than deep-fried chimichangas.

A: Nothing other than the outside of the chimichanga is deep fried and the burrito is not. Helpful? Thank you for your feedback!

While historians agree that the chimichanga is not an authentic Mexican food, the exact location of its origin is disputed.