These Smothered Burritos are filled with shredded chicken, cheese and spices, baked until crispy, and then smothered in the best homemade green chile sauce.
There’s almost nothing I love more than homemade Mexican food! If you love smothered burritos be sure to try my Pollo Fundido Burrito, Chicken Taquitos, and Mole Enchiladas.
A Smothered Burrito is a burrito that has been covered in sauce and cheese. These green chile burritos are smothered in a creamy green enchilada sauce that you’ll be tempted to eat straight from the pot with a spoon. You could also make these smothered burritos with red enchilada sauce.
What I love about Green Chili Burritos:
- From scratch. They’re made with real, fresh ingredients (no canned enchilada sauce or canned “cream of” soups!) because we should all agree by now that everything tastes better from scratch! 😉
- Restaurant quality. They’re just as good as anything you’d get at your favorite Mexican Restaurant! Serve them with Authentic Mexican Rice, refried beans or charro beans!
- Freezable! I like to double the recipe and serve half for dinner, then freeze the other half for another night.
How to Make Smothered Burritos:
1. Make burrito filling: Mix chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese and onions. Place a heaping ½ cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla. Fold the sides of the tortilla in and roll up like a burrito. Place seam-side down on baking sheet.
2. Bake: Brush lightly with olive oil or spray with non stick cooking spray. Bake at 400°F for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
3. Make the green chile sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted and bubbling, whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in chicken broth. Add cumin, oregano, and a dash of salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in green chilies, cheese and sour cream. Tastes and add more seasonings if needed.
4. Broil smothered burritos: Remove burritos from oven and turn the oven to HIGH broil. Ladle a spoonful of sauce over each burrito and top with a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Broil for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese has melted. Enjoy!
Make Ahead And Freezing Instructions:
To make ahead: The chicken filling and green chile sauce can both be made a day or two in advanced, making dinner prep super easy! Store them separately, covered in the fridge.
To freeze: Make the burrito filling as instructed and roll up in tortillas (either uncooked or regular tortillas). Place in a freezer ziplock bag. Make the sauce but do not add the sour cream. Freeze sauce in a separate container. To bake from frozen place frozen burritos on a lined baking sheet, cover with tinfoil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes or until warmed through and crisp on the outside. Add frozen sauce to a saucepan and warm. Stir in sour cream. Serve over cooked burritos.
Recipe Variations:
- Use cooked or uncooked flour tortillas: If using uncooked flour tortillas you don’t need to cook them first. Just roll the chicken filling in the uncooked tortilla and it will bake perfectly in the oven. I highly recommend the uncooked tortillas but you can also use packaged, ready-to-eat flour tortillas.
- Substitute red enchilada sauce.
- Swap the protein: Feel free to substitute steak carne asada steak, or pork carnitas.
Consider serving these with:
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Recipe
Smothered Green Chile Chicken Burritos
Ingredients
Chicken filling:
- 3 cups cooked chicken , chopped or shredded
- 1 1/2 cups salsa , your favorite kind
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves , crushed
- 1 1/4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 green onions , chopped
- 6 large flour tortillas *
- olive oil , for brushing on burritos
Green Chile Sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves , crushed
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 4 ounces diced green chilies , mild
- 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Make the filling: Mix chicken, salsa, cumin, oregano, cheese and onions. Place a heaping ½ cup or so of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla.
- Fold the sides of the tortilla in and roll up tightly like a burrito. Place seam-side down on baking sheet. Brush lightly with olive oil or spray with non stick cooking spray.
- Bake at 400°F for about 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Make the sauce: Meanwhile, prepare sauce by melting butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Once melted and bubbling, whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly for about 3 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in chicken broth. Add cumin, oregano, and a dash of salt and pepper and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in green chilies, cheese and sour cream. Tastes and add more seasonings if needed.
- Broil: Remove burritos from oven and turn the oven to HIGH broil. Ladle a spoonful of sauce over each burrito and top with a handful of shredded cheddar cheese. Broil for 2-3 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
- Serve with Authentic Mexican Rice!
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe October 2016. Updated October 2020.
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Delicious!! Easy to make and kids loved it too! Tastes even better the next day.. Looking forward to making it again. Thank you!!
I’m so excited to make these, but I prefer to make them as enchiladas using smaller flour tortillas. Would I get 12 enchiladas using a 6″ tortilla? Do you still recommend baking them before saucing them, or should I put the sauce on right away?
This was delicious! I added Mexican rice and Cilantro to the filling. This will be a new go to recipe, for sure! Thanks!
This sounds amazing, I can’t wait to make for my family.
We made this last night. It was delicious. Easy to make. My 9 month old grandson even gobbled it up.
Delicious recipe. I did add my own variations. I added diced green chili and chopped white onions to the chicken.
For the chicken I used blackened seasoning with Black pepper.
Everything else I left the same. I’ll definitely make this again for the family.
Delicious
Wow. So good!!! I used “that green sauce” for my salsa and Mixla (corn and wheat blend tortillas) …I will definitely be adding this to my regular rotation! Thank You!
With this recipe I finally get to make a Mexican meal my husband will not only eat but brags about to friends. Thank you!
Love this recipe, I make it frequently.