This slow cooker shredded beef chimichanga recipe is actually really easy to make. Whenever I go to a new Mexican restaurant, the thing I always try is their chimichanga. I judge the restaurant by its chimichanga.
But I always thought they were too complicated to try at home, so I came up with this easy recipe. It makes the beef really tender and flavorful. Then after you cook your beef, all you do is throw it in a flour tortilla and fry it in a little oil in a frying pan and add your sides and toppings. So good and so easy.
If you want a really good crockpot beans recipe to go with these chimichangas, please check out this one. This meat can also be used for just about any Hispanic shredded beef recipe, like burritos, tacos or salad.
One of the things I like about this recipe is that it uses stew meat. This means it's cheap and easy. It's already cut up, and it's usually one of the cheapest cuts of meat. Plus, it turns out super tender and juicy with this recipe. It isn't always true that the stew meat is the cheapest cut of meat in the store.
Look at the per-pound prices. Sometimes I think they charge to cut the stew meat up into such small pieces. I usually watch for sales and buy a rump roast on sale for about half the cost of stew meat and all I have to do is cut it up. I get out my electric knife * and it makes the job really quick and easy.
Any cut of beef no matter how cheap it is good for this recipe because it's cooked in the crockpot. When the meat is cooked in the crockpot so slowly for such a long time, it gets very tender. That's why I think a crockpot is such a budget-friendly investment.
Another thing I do is pre-cook like 5 pounds worth of meat at a time and then freeze it in individual containers then all we have to do is pull the meat out of the freezer and warm it up in the microwave or stove-top and we have a really easy dinner. If you put the meat in a tortilla and fry it fresh you can't even tell it is technically a leftover.
Please comment below and let me know how you like this recipe.
PrintRecipe
Healthy, Easy Shredded Beef Chimichanga Recipe
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 270
- Total Time: 4 hours 50 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Cuisine: Mexican
Description
I love how easy these crock pot chimichangas are. Just throw some stew meat in the crock pot, let it cook all day, fry it in a tortilla and add some toppings. This is my new favorite recipe!
Ingredients
- 1 Pound Beef Stew Meat
- ½ Cup Beef Broth
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- 1 ½ tsp Chili Powder
- ½ tsp Cumin
- ½ tsp Real Salt *
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- ¼ tsp Black Pepper
- 6 Large Flour Tortillas (depending on your diet you may need to use Clean Eating tortillas, gluten-free flour tortillas or Paleo tortillas)
- Avocado oil (or vegetable oil of your choice)
Serve with any of the following (leave off any that don't fit with your diet)
- Cheddar Cheese
- Salsa
- Sour Cream
- Lettuce
- Black beans or pinto beans
- Guacamole
Instructions
- Place the stew meat, beef broth, garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt, oregano, and pepper in a crock pot. Cook on high heat for four hours or low for eight hours. Shred the meat with a fork or tongs.
- Heat one inch of oil in a frying pan over medium/high heat. Lay the tortillas out on your work surface and divide the meat mixture evenly between them, spreading the meat in a rectangle shape. Fold two sides of a tortilla inward, then roll the tortilla up horizontally. Repeat with remaining tortillas.
- Fry the stuffed tortillas in the hot oil, turning on each side once browned. When the entire tortilla is golden brown, remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Cook remaining tortillas.
- Serve hot over beans, topped with desired toppings.
Jean
These look so good, I really want to try them.
Eric
Can you cook the meat in an instant pot? Our meat always turns out so tender in the instant pot and saves a lot of time!
Rebecca Baron
You definitely should be able to. I cook stew meat in the Instant Pot all the time.
cori shetter
This recipe is so easy and so delicious. My husband reluctantly tried it and now it’s one of his favorite dishes. I have been searching for a good chimichanga recipe and this is perfect. The cut of meat I use is a po boy brisket because there isn’t a lot of fat and it shreds so nicely. Oh, did I mention? It is so easy!
Rebecca Baron
I’m so glad you like the recipe! I totally agree with you that it’s so easy and so good. I actually like it better than a lot of restaurant chimichanga meats that are often too dry. Plus, the price is right.