This quick and easy recipe for Crock-Pot Shredded Beef Chimichangas is super simple. Just 5 ingredients thrown in the slow cooker and let it cook away all day on low for super moist shredded Mexican beef.
Trim the excess fat (if any) on the boneless beef chuck roast and add it to the bottom of a 5 quart or larger slow cooker.
Sprinkle half of the taco seasoning on one side of the meat. Flip the meat over and sprinkle the other half of the taco seasoning on the meat.
Add the diced tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel), diced green chiles and minced garlic on top of the meat.
Cover and cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours or until the meat is nice and tender.
Remove just the beef roast from the slow cooker and place it in a bowl or food storage container and let it rest for 5 minutes.
Shred the beef using 2 forks.
Add as much or as little of the cooking liquid that contains the tomatoes, chilies and garlic back to your shredded beef. This is a personal preference. I scooped out as much of the tomatoes and green chili chunks as I could with a slotted spoon and then poured about 3/4 of a cup of the liquid and mixed it back into the shredded beef to keep things moist but not too wet.
To Prepare Chimichangas
Make burritos out of the shredded beef adding your favorite burrito fillings such as refried beans, Mexican rice and cheese. Roll the burritos up with both sides closed.
To bake (healthier): preheat the oven at 350° F. Place rolled burritos on a baking sheet seam side down and spray or lightly brush the top of the burrito with vegetable oil. Bake for 10 minutes. Flip burrito over, spray or lightly brush with oil and return to the oven for another 10 minutes. Both sides should be crispy and lightly browned.
To fry: Fill a large skillet (cast iron preferred) with about 1 inch of vegetable oil. Heat oil over medium heat until it is nice and hot but not smoking (I test my oil by adding a piece of tortilla to the oil. If it sizzles, sinks really quick and then floats up to the surface pretty quickly the oil is ready). Add rolled burritos 2 at a time seam side down carefully into the hot oil and fry for 2 - 3 minutes per side or until the tortilla is nice and crispy. Drain chimichangas on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
Eat your chimichanga as is, or top with sour cream, guacamole, shredded lettuce, hot sauce, salsa, or whatever makes you smile!
Notes
This recipe yields quite a bit of shredded beef that will fill about 16 chimichangas. If you are not feeding that large of a crowd all at once feel free to portion out the extra shredded beef into freezer bags or containers and save it for another meal. The beef is lovely in sandwiches, burritos, tacos or even in chili. You can also just make burritos out of it with added beans, rice and cheese, wrap them up in plastic wrap or foil, place the rolled and wrapped burritos in freezer bags and freeze them for quick and easy lunch or dinner. Freezer Meal Instructions: Throw the beef, RoTel tomatoes, green chilis, garlic and taco seasoning all in a gallon sized zippered freezer bag. Label bag with name of recipe, ingredients and cooking instructions. To cook partially thaw overnight in the refrigerator or in a sink of warm water just until the contents of the bag can easily be removed and dumped into your slow cooker. Cook on LOW from the partially thawed state for 11 to 13 hours or until easily shredded with a fork.