Air Fryer Chicken Chimichangas

Air Fryer Chicken Chimichangas are baked burritos filled with salsa chicken and plenty of cheese and air fried until hot and crispy.  Ready in minutes!

You can make the best crispy baked burritos, or chimichangas, by using both your Instant Pot and your air fryer. Make salsa chicken in your pressure cooker, fold it into tortillas, and air fry until crispy!

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As much as I love authentic chicken chimichangas from our favorite Mexican restaurant, those babies are high in fat and calories! But, they are absolutely delicious! So after I got my air fryer, chicken chimichangas were one of the first air fryer recipes I made.

You can definitely make these baked burritos in the oven with leftover rotisserie chicken. But, I like making a batch of salsa chicken in the Instant Pot and using that as the filling. It's super easy, and I can use the leftover chicken later or make extra chimichangas and freeze for later.

Air fryer chicken chimichangas are perfect when you want a quick and easy weeknight dinner. And these are a nice change if you're getting tired of making the same old chicken recipes over and over!

How to Fold a Chimichanga

I like to set out all of my ingredients -- kind of like an assembly line. I can make burritos super fast this way.

Place the tortilla on a flat surface, then add some of the salsa chicken in the middle. Next, sprinkle some shredded cheese over the chicken.

Then, fold both sides of the tortilla over the filling. The sides probably won't meet, but that's fine.

Finally, bring the bottom of the tortilla up and over the filling. It should look like an envelope. Then, tuck and roll the tortilla over so that the seam is on the bottom.

How to Cook Chimichangas in the Air Fryer

I've made chimichangas in my new Instant Pot Vortex air fryer and in my smaller Ninja air fryer. The advantage with the larger Vortex is that you can cook more of them at once, instead of in batches. Otherwise, the cooking process is mostly the same.

Lightly spritz the chimis with olive oil spray. Then, place them on the air fryer tray or in the basket.

Preheat your air fryer according to manufacturer's instructions. I set the temperature for both air fryers to 390 degrees for both.

Then cook the chimichangas for 3 minutes if you're using a smaller air fryer and 2 to 3 minutes in the Vortex air fryer. I personally found the chimichangas got brown faster in the Vortex, so you should rotate the trays about half way through the cooking time.

Top your chicken chimis with guacamole, salsa, fresh tomatoes, sour cream and anything else you want. Homemade queso would be awesome!

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Air Fryer Chicken Chimichanga Recipe

Air Fryer Chicken Chimichangas

Published by Dee

Air Fryer Chicken Chimichangas are baked burritos filled with salsa chicken and plenty of cheese and air fried until hot and crispy.  Ready in minutes!

5 from 6 votes

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Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 2 mins

Total Time 12 mins

Course Main

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 8

Calories 258 kcal

Equipment

• air fryer

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 4 cups cooked salsa chicken
• 8 flour tortillas
• 4 cups shredded cheese cheddar, colby jack or Mexican Blend
• olive oil spray

Instructions

 

• Add some salsa chicken to center of tortilla
• Sprinkle cheese over chicken
• Roll tortilla up and over filling into burrito shape
• Repeat process until all burritos are formed, and spritz with olive oil spray
• Preheat air fryer to 390 degrees. Place chimichangas into air fryer. If using the Instant Pot Vortex or similar air fryer, place burritos on 2 separate trays. If using smaller air fryer, you may have to cook these in batches
• Cook for 2 minutes, rotating trays halfway through cooking time -- or 3 minutes for extra crispy chimichangas or if using smaller air fryer
• Serve with sour cream, guacamole, tomatoes, extra cheese and salsa or your favorite toppings

Notes

Recipe was made in the both Instant Pot Vortex Air Fryer and the Ninja Air Fryer

You can use leftover rotisserie chicken or shredded cooked chicken seasoned with taco seasoning and salsa in place of salsa chicken 

If you don't have an air fryer, bake the chimichangas at 400 degrees until brown

Nutrition information is estimated. Please do your own calculation to fit special diets.

Nutrition

Calories: 258kcalCarbohydrates: 17gProtein: 15gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 44mgSodium: 557mgPotassium: 88mgFiber: 1gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 380IUCalcium: 315mgIron: 1.2mg

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I hope you enjoy these easy chicken chimichangas for dinner as much as we do!