Oven-Baked Chimichangas

...or use your air-fryer for a healthier version of this deep-fried Mexican dish.

If you’re a fan of the delicious, deep-fried Mexican restaurant favorite Chimichangas, you’ll love One Potato’s healthier, baked version (with easier clean-up, too). With shredded chicken and a tasty smashed black beans filling, topped with One Potato’s Mango Manchamantel Sauce and a sprinkle of Oaxaca cheese, this meal will make everyone at your table want to do the shimmy-changa!

Since we’re all busy parents with zero free time, we like to keep our intros short. Let’s dig into this delicious recipe.

Meal Prep & Time Savers

Similar to our family favorite arepas recipe, there are a few components to this dish that you can buy pre-made, make from scratch, or meal-prep in advance to make extra for use in other meals. 

1. These chimichangas call for our special One Potato Mango Manchamantel Sauce, our version of a fruit-forward molé. If you haven’t already cooked up a batch, you can do so now and store in the fridge for up to two weeks or freeze in serving-size portions to save for longer. You can always search for a pre-made molé sauce to use in these recipes; you may have to try out a few different ones to find one you like, or doctor up a store-bought version on the stove-top by adding some fruit - such as mango or pineapple - to taste. 

2. We’ve written this recipe using pre-cooked shredded chicken - already shredded chicken breasts from the store or a whole rotisserie chicken, shredded at home. Of course, you can make quick shredded chicken breasts and/or thighs at home in the Instant Pot: cover chicken breasts and thighs in water with a little Better than Bouillon for 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool slightly, shred, and use as outlined in the recipe below. 

3. Season those beans! In the directions, we include a quick smashed black beans recipe. These flavorful beans elevate the chimichanga filling, and we recommend doubling the amount to have a quick rice & beans dish for lunch or dinner the following day. No time? Buy a pre-made black bean salad or a seasoned ready-to-eat packet to warm and use in your chimichangas. We like to keep these Somos Mexican Black Beans stocked in our pantry.

Make extra or make ahead:

Double (or triple) the ingredients for the black beans that go in the chimichangas, cook up a batch of rice, add some scallions on top, and you have a delicious quick rice & beans main dish for a second meal this week. If you are preparing the vegetarian option, you can also double the veggie quantities and have the veggie filling as a vegetarian main with rice and beans.

One Potato recommends reading through the full recipe before starting to cook - that way all the steps will go more smoothly.

Oven-baked Chimichangas

For 4 Servings

PREP TIME: 15 minutes COOK TIME: 25 minutes TOTAL TIME: 35 minutes

One Potato Kitchen Tools: large sauté pan, small pot or bowl, pastry brush, large oven-safe baking dish, chef’s knife, cutting board

From Your Pantry: salt (kosher or sea), pepper, canola oil, olive oil, adobo seasoning, minced garlic OR 2 garlic cloves, sweet butter, red wine vinegar