Queso Smothered Beef Chimichangas
User Reviews
5
34 reviews
Excellent
-
Prep Time
25 mins
-
Cook Time
6 hrs 15 mins
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Total Time
6 hrs 40 mins
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Servings
8 -10
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Calories
764 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Mexican
Queso Smothered Beef Chimichangas
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Queso Smothered Beef Chimichangas start with slow-cooked chuck roast seasoned with spices and chipotle chiles, producing tender, flavorful beef. This filling is wrapped in large flour tortillas and fried or baked until crisp. The dish is finished with a creamy queso sauce made of American and fontina cheeses, half-and-half, jalapeños, and spices, poured over the chimichangas. Garnishes like cilantro, avocado, and salsa add freshness.
Description
This recipe begins by seasoning and searing a 4-pound chuck roast cut into pieces, then slow-cooking the meat in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, cloves, black pepper, salt, beef stock, lime juice, chipotle chiles, and green chiles. The slow cooking melds the flavors and tenderizes the beef thoroughly.
The queso sauce combines shredded American and fontina cheeses with half-and-half, jalapeños, cumin, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, and seasoning, melted into a smooth and spicy cheese sauce to smother the chimichangas.
Large flour tortillas are filled with the shredded beef and queso fresco cheese, rolled into chimichangas, and fried in vegetable oil until golden and crisp. Serving suggestions include garnishing with pico de gallo, diced avocado, and fresh cilantro for added texture and flavor contrast.
This dish provides a combination of tender, smoky beef with creamy, lightly spicy queso and a crispy tortilla shell, delivering rich Tex-Mex flavors ideal for a hearty meal.
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Ingredients
CROCKPOT BEEF
- 4 lb chuck roast
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 4 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1/4 tsp cloves ground
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 3/4 cup beef stock
- 3 Tbsp lime juice freshly squeezed
- 3-4 individual chipotle chiles in adobo sauce add more if you want it spicier, + 2 tsp of the adobo sauce
- 4 oz green chiles drained, canned
- 2 bay leaf
QUESO
- 3/4 lb American cheese shredded or finely chopped, high quality, white
- 1/2 lb fontina cheese shredded, high quality
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 2 Tbsp jalapeños finely chopped, canned
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- cilantro tomatoes, and jalapenos for garnish, optional, chopped
CHIMICHANGAS
- vegetable oil for frying or canola or peanut
- flour tortilla large
- queso fresco cheese possibly found in the refrigerated section of the Mexican foods aisle - can substitue Cotija or shredded Monterey Jack
- Pico de Gallo or your favorite salsa
- avocado diced
- cilantro fresh, minced
Instructions
CROCKPOT BEEF
- Trim excess fat from the roast and cut into 8 large pieces. Pat dry and season liberally with salt and pepper.
- Add vegetable oil to a large, heavy pan, and heat over MED-HIGH heat. Once oil is shimmering, add half the meat to the pan, leaving room in between each piece. Let meat sear on one side without moving it for several minutes. If you try to flip the meat and it sticks to the pan, let it cook a little bit longer. It will release on it's own when it's ready to flip.
- Sear all sides of the meat, remove to a plate, and repeat with remaining half of meat.
- Add all meat pieces to the bottom of slow cooker, making sure to add any drippings from the plate, that's extra flavor!
- Add vinegar, garlic, cumin, oregano, cloves, pepper, salt, beef stock, lime juice and chipotle chiles to a blender and puree until smooth. Stir in drained green chiles.
- Pour sauce over meat in slow cooker, turn to fully coat meat in the sauce, then add bay leaves.
- Cover, and cook on LOW for 10 hours (or HIGH for 6 hours).
- Remove bay leaves.
- Remove meat to a large bowl and shred. Return meat to the slow cooker and heat on LOW in the sauce, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
QUESO
- Prepare ingredients and set aside.
- Add half and half to a saucepan and heat over MED heat until JUST simmering.
- Reduce heat to LOW and stir in 1/3 cheeses, mixing well until smooth. Repeat with another 1/3 of the cheeses, and then a final time with the remaining 1/3.
- Stir until cheeses are completely melted, then stir in jalapenos, cumin, nutmeg, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
- If cheese starts to get too thick or seize up, stir in additional half and half until it reaches desired consistency.
CHIMICHANGAS
- Heat several inches of vegetable oil (or canola, peanut, etc) over MED heat in a cast iron skillet (or whichever skillet you use to fry).
- To test to see if the oil is ready, rip off a small piece of flour tortilla and toss it in the oil... it should bubble and slowly turn golden brown.
- Lay out a flour tortilla, add several spoonfuls of shredded beef barbacoa to the tortilla in a horizontal line, leaving an inch or so of border on the sides.
- Top beef with a handful of Queso Fresco cheese.
- Roll the tortilla as you would a burrito, up from the bottom over the meat and cheese, fold the sides in, then continue rolling upward.
- Place chimichanga seam side down in the oil and let it fry for about 1-2 minutes, then carefully flip it over and fry an additional minute or so.
- Remove to a paper towel lined plate to drain and cool.
- Repeat with remaining chimichangas.
- To serve, top chimichanga with queso, queso fresco cheese, minced cilantro, pico de gallo and diced avocado.
Notes
- Recipes are adapted from sources like My Baking Addiction and The Cookie Rookie.
- Use 3-4 individual chipotle peppers from a single can, not multiple cans, to control spiciness; include a bit of the adobo sauce for flavor.
Nutrition Information
Show Details
Calories
764kcal
(38%)
Carbohydrates
6g
(2%)
Protein
60g
(120%)
Fat
55g
(85%)
Saturated Fat
29g
(145%)
Cholesterol
243mg
(81%)
Sodium
1595mg
(66%)
Potassium
978mg
(21%)
Sugar
2g
(4%)
Vitamin A
945IU
(19%)
Vitamin C
4.1mg
(5%)
Calcium
694mg
(69%)
Iron
6.2mg
(34%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 8-10
Amount Per Serving
Calories 764 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 764kcal | 38% |
| Carbohydrates | 6g | 2% |
| Protein | 60g | 120% |
| Fat | 55g | 85% |
| Saturated Fat | 29g | 145% |
| Cholesterol | 243mg | 81% |
| Sodium | 1595mg | 66% |
| Potassium | 978mg | 21% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 945IU | 19% |
| Vitamin C | 4.1mg | 5% |
| Calcium | 694mg | 69% |
| Iron | 6.2mg | 34% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
34 reviews
Excellent
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