Guess what my all-time favorite food is… I’ll give you one guess…
YUP! Chimichangas!
The other day, I saw a picture of a chimichanga, and I told my husband, “I wish I could make Weight Watchers friendly chimichangas on the blog, but I can’t figure out how!” I calculated the ingredients I thought I would need to use, and the math just didn’t land where I wanted it to. After considering the different ways I could change up the recipe, I ended up not being happy with any of the ideas I had come up with, so I resigned to move on. Then at the store, I came across egg roll wrappers, and I had a light bulb moment. I got all excited because I knew I had found my answer…
Egg roll chimichangas!
All the things you love about a chimichanga, except with egg roll wrappers instead of flour tortillas. Cooked right, your family may not even notice the difference! You can even get the crunch on the outside of the chimichanga when you follow the instructions in this recipe… but without all the fat. What’s not to love?
How the points add up.
If you have been doing Weight Watchers for very long, you know that “points” and “calories” are not one and the same. Four of the major ingredients in these chimichangas are actually zero Smart Points, keeping these bad boys down to just 3 WW SP per chimichanga.
Zero point foods in this recipe:
- 99% lean ground turkey
- Rotel diced tomatoes and green chiles
- Fat-free refried beans (make sure to get fat-free)
- 1 egg
Here are just a couple of variations to consider:
- If you leave off the cheese, one chimichanga will be just 2 WW Smart Points.
- If you swap out the egg roll wrappers with medium tortillas, each one will be 5 WW SP each.
- If you add one tablespoon of reduced fat sour cream to each one, they will be 4 WW SP each.
- Rotel can be swapped out for zero point salsa without the points changing, and you can serve some salsa over the top of the chimichangas without noticing a change in points as well.
We just recently shared a list of tortillas that are just 1-2 WW Smart Points each! You can get to our list of low point tortillas here.
Are you ready to give these Weight Watchers friendly chimichangas a try?
Here is what you need:
Cooking spray
1 pound 99% lean ground turkey
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles
1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 (16 ounce) can fat-free refried beans
9 egg roll wrappers
1 egg, beaten
1-1/8 cups reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Here is what you do:
Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and set to medium heat.
Add ground turkey to the pan. Cook ground turkey, breaking up the meat and mixing it occasionally, about 5-6 minutes, or until turkey is no longer pink.
Mix Rotel, taco seasoning, and 1/2 cup water in with the ground turkey. Allow to cook about 8 minutes.
Add beans and mix well.
Preheat a separate skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
Scoop 1/2 cup of the meat/bean mixture onto the middle of an egg roll wrapper. (Ignore the cheese in the picture below… I changed my mind later and decided to melt it on the top… of course, you are welcome to add cheese to the inside if you like.) Brush edges of the wrapper with a little of the beaten egg.
Fold over the top and bottom of the egg roll wrapper, and then fold the other two sides in to the middle until you have a rectangle similar to the shape of a chimichanga. Chimichangas will seal because of the egg brushed on the sides.
Spray the top and bottoms of the chimichangas with cooking spray and place in the preheated skillet. Allow to cook 2-4 minutes on both sides, or until they are slightly browned and a little crunchy on the outside. (Cooking time will vary based on the temperature of your skillet, so you will want to keep an eye on the chimichangas as they cook.)
Top chimichangas with 2 tablespoons cheese each. Cover the skillet and allow to sit about 1-2 minutes or until the cheese begins to melt on top.
Makes 9 chimichangas
One chimichanga is 5 green, 3 Blue, 3 Purple points.
Egg Roll Chimichangas
Ingredients
- Cooking spray
- 1 pound 99% lean ground turkey
- 1 (10 ounce) can Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chiles
- 1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 (16 ounce) can fat-free refried beans
- 9 egg roll wrappers
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1-1/8 cup reduced-fat shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Spray a large skillet with cooking spray and set to medium heat.
- Add ground turkey to the pan. Cook ground turkey, breaking up the meat and mixing it occasionally, about 5-6 minutes, or until turkey is no longer pink.
- Mix Rotel, taco seasoning, and 1/2 cup water in with the ground turkey. Allow to cook about 8 minutes.
- Add beans and mix well.
- Preheat a separate skillet over medium to medium-high heat.
- Scoop 1/2 cup of the meat/bean mixture onto the middle of an egg roll wrapper. Brush edges of the wrapper with a little of the beaten egg.
- Fold over the top and bottom of the egg roll wrapper, and then fold the other two sides in to the middle until you have a rectangle similar to the shape of a chimichanga. Chimichangas will seal because of the egg brushed on the sides.
- Spray the top and bottoms of the chimichangas with cooking spray, and place in the preheated skillet. Allow to cook 2-4 minutes on both sides, or until they are slightly browned and a little crunchy on the outside. (Cooking time will vary based on the temperature of your skillet, so you will want to keep an eye on the chimichangas as they cook.)
- Top chimichangas with 2 tablespoons cheese each. Cover the skillet and allow to sit about 1-2 minutes or until the cheese begins to melt on top.
[signoff]
Connie says
Recipes look so good but am I the only one that when I try printing a recipe just a gray box shows up?
Alisha Hughes says
Hi Connie, it could be a printer issue or a browser issue. Have you tried opening a different browser? Internet explorer, Safari, or Chrome?
Krista Wilson says
We made this last week and loved it. I omitted the cheese and made guacamole to go with it. Added FF Sour Cream Will definitely make again!!
Alisha Hughes says
Yay! So glad you liked it. You substitutes/additions to the recipe sound fantastic! 🙂
Margarita says
Alisha that was sooo good. Next time I’m just going to use the lower calorie tortillas to make it even quicker. The only thing I switched was I used the Rotel with habaneros. I also made some “Mexican” cauliflower rice to go with it. Thank you! I will be adding this to my weekly meals.
Alisha Hughes says
Good idea! Mexican cauliflower rice sounds great! Glad you liked these chimichangas.