These chimichangas are the best when homemade! Packed with flavorful ground beef, refried beans, and a spicy sauce, you’ll have these fried burritos within 30 minutes. Add some Spanish Rice and a Horchata drink to complete your taco Tuesday night. Serve with Guacamole, sour cream, and tomato salsa.
Chimichangas are best known for being similar to a burrito, but it’s deep-fried. Although chimichangas are especially popular in the Mexican regions of Sinaloa and Sonora, most people believe that it was either invented in a Tucson restaurant or in a Phoenix restaurant in the early 1920s. This dish is widely popular in Mexico and the United States with plenty of variations. There’s chicken, beef, and even pulled pork chimichangas. In this recipe, I used Homemade Refried Beans (though you can use canned refried beans if you wish), ground beef, a chile-tomato sauce, cheese, green onions, and bell peppers. You can add rice to the chimichanga; it would taste amazing with Spanish Rice.
How to make Beef Chimichangas
There are 3 different methods to making these. You can pan-fry, bake them, or deep-fry them. The choice is up to you! I personally love deep-frying as it’s the original method, but if you’re looking for less oil and fried foods, you can pan-fry or bake them. (Full ingredient amounts and complete instructions are available in the recipe card down below).
- Ground Beef: 80-85% lean is great for this.
- Diced Tomatoes with Chiles: Buying this canned makes prep easier. If you want non-canned, chop up some plum tomatoes, and anaheim peppers, then add a tiny bit of salt so the tomatoes release their juices.
- Canned Tomato Sauce: Try to find low-sodium or unsalted.
- Garlic
- Yellow Onion
- Red Bell Pepper: Switch out for green, orange, or yellow if you wish.
- Refried Beans: Canned or Homemade will work!
- Salt, Black Pepper, Cumin, Chili Powder, Oregano
- Fresh Cilantro
- Shredded Colby Jack Cheese: You can swap this out for mild cheddar, Monterey jack, or pepper jack.
- Fresh Jalapenos
- Lime Juice
- Burrito Tortillas
In a large skillet, brown the ground beef until no longer pink. Drain the ground beef; return to skillet. Add in the refried beans, garlic, onion, bell pepper, cumin, chili powder, cilantro, and some tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, so the onions and peppers can soften slightly. Transfer the meat mixture to a bowl and set aside. In that skillet, add diced tomatoes with green chiles, jalapenos, tomato sauce, and lime juice. Sprinkle in the remaining cumin and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the sauce to another bowl and set aside. Warm the tortillas. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the meat mixture off-center of the tortilla. Sprinkle some cheese. Roll into a burrito then fasten with toothpicks. Heat about 1-inch of frying oil to 375F. Fry the chimichangas until golden brown, flipping halfway through. Drain on paper towels then remove the toothpicks. Serve. Instructions for pan-frying and baking are in the recipe card below.
Tips & FAQs
- You can swap the protein for shredded/chunked chicken or shredded pork.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
- Freeze: Allow them to cool completely. Just place them in an airtight plastic bag and place toss them in the freezer. Freeze for 2 months.
- Reheat: For best results, reheat them in the microwave for 30 seconds, or 1 minute if frozen. Then, place them in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes to finish reheating. A toaster oven or an air fryer will also heat up the chimichangas and help give a crispy tortilla.
- Freeze before frying: You can assemble the chimichangas ahead of time to fry/bake later. Complete steps 1-3 as written. Wrap each folded chimichanga with plastic wrap and place them in an airtight freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 6 months.
- Thaw and cook according to the recipe directions. To bake frozen chimichangas, preheat the oven to 425°F and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Want the recipe? Click print below! Let me know how it came out for you by tagging me on Instagram (@missravenskitchen) and using #missravenskitchen! Follow my Facebook page for updates as well! Let me know if I need to tweak anything.
Beef Chimichangas
Ingredients
- 1 lb 80% lean ground beef
- 1 (16 oz) can refried beans
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp cumin, divided
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 lime, juiced, divided
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 (10oz) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
- 2 jalapenos, chopped
- 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
- 12 burrito tortillas
- Oil, for deep frying
Instructions
- In a large skillet on medium heat, brown the ground beef until no pink remains, about 8 minutes. Drain the ground beef then return to the skillet. Add in the refried beans, garlic, yellow onion, bell pepper, 1 tsp cumin, chili powder, cilantro, and 1/2 cup of tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally so the onions and peppers soften slightly. Transfer the meat mixture to a bowl and set aside.
- In that same skillet, add the diced tomatoes with green chiles, jalapenos, tomato sauce, and lime juice. Sprinkle in 1/2 tsp cumin and oregano. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a separate bowl and set aside.
- Warm the tortillas. Spoon about 1/3 cup of meat mixture off-center of the tortilla. Sprinkle some cheese. Fold the left and right sides together, leaving about an inch of space between the two sides. Fold the bottom toward the top. Continue rolling into a burrito. Fasten with toothpicks.
- Heat 1 inch of frying oil in a pot, electric skillet, or fryer to 375F. Deep fry the chimichangas for 1-1 1/2 minutes until golden brown, flipping halfway through. Drain on paper towels. Take out the toothpicks. Top with sauce and extra cheese.
- Continue the recipe to step 3.
- Add 1 Tablespoon oil to a medium-sized skillet over medium heat. Add the chimichanga skin side down. Fry on each side for 2-3 minutes until golden brown and crispy.
- Preheat the oven to 400F. Continue the recipe to step 3.
- Brush the tops with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and heated through.
Notes
You can swap the protein for shredded/chunked chicken or shredded pork.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.Freeze: Allow them to cool completely. Just place them in an airtight plastic bag and place toss them in the freezer. Freeze for 2 months.
- Reheat: For best results, reheat them in the microwave for 30 seconds, or 1 minute if frozen. Then, place them in a 350°F oven for about 10 minutes to finish reheating. A toaster oven or an air fryer will also heat up the chimichangas and help give a crispy tortilla.
Easy Make-Ahead Meal: You can assemble the chimichangas ahead of time to fry/bake later. Complete steps 1-3 as written. Wrap each folded chimichanga with plastic wrap and place them in an airtight freezer-safe container. Freeze for up to 6 months.
- Thaw and cook according to the recipe directions. To bake frozen chimichangas, preheat the oven to 425°F and bake for 35-40 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
445.4Fat (grams)
32.2Sat. Fat (grams)
14.95Carbs (grams)
17.13Fiber (grams)
4.83Net carbs
12.29Sugar (grams)
8.04Protein (grams)
27.51Sodium (milligrams)
740.81Cholesterol (grams)
95.48The nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and the brands of ingredients used.
Miss Raven's Kitchen 
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