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 , 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 , 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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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
I originally shared this recipe October 2016. Updated October 2020.
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This is soooo good! The sauce tastes like restaurant quality. Will definitely make again.
I just found your website. While scrolling I found this recipe. I’m from Colorado but now live in Florida and we can’t find green sauce on burritos here. I had to make these. They were a big hit and we all rated them with 5 stars. I’m making some more and going to have them in the freezer to pull out when I need something fast. Thank you.
These are delicious! I have made this recipe twice now, and my family loves it! Tasty and comforting, very easy to make. I added some fresh cilantro to the chicken filling. Yummy!
These are definitely a keeper! We have quite a few leftover, my kids eat like birds. How would you recommend reheating them?
Hi Lauren, this looks amazing! I have recently started making homemade flour tortillas, by making the dough and then cooking it on a skillet. For this can I just wrap the filling in the dough without cooking, and then stick it in the oven? Thank you!
I think that would work fine! Just cook them long enough to make sure the tortillas are cooked through.
Hi, Lauren.. I had the same question – in your post you mention a couple times using uncooked tortillas.. what did you mean? I, too, have been making fresh flour tortillas for years, so to me, it sounds like you’re talking about the raw dough? I’m confused because when someone asked this same question, you replied that you think it would work.. lol.. can you clarify “uncooked” tortillas? Thanks much!!
Uncooked tortillas–meaning you can buy uncooked (raw and rolled out) flour tortillas from the store, and cook them yourself. Like these: https://www.tortillaland.com/
Amazing dish!!!!!!! Will be another favorite in our home!!!!
Do you think the dish would taste different with rotisserie chicken?
I always use rotisserie chicken and it’s delicious!
Wow! I just finished making these (and eating them), and it’s another winner from Lauren! I made it exactly as written. I initially thought it would be too much sauce, but you really do want to “smother” the burritos, just like the title implies. The tortilla soaks up all the wonderful yumminess. Positively addictive. Can’t wait for the leftovers!
Planning on making these for dinner but I just realized we’re out of cumin! Before I get ready and run to the store, do you think subbing either chili powder or taco seasoning would work here?
Yes, that would be fine.
Wet, Dry, Blue, Green, Fork, Hands…doesn’t matter, people. Did your belly like it or not? I liked it and so did my family. THANK YOU FOR SHARING!! Going into our meal rotation. Keep safe!
You advised to use un cooked flour tortillas. I buy raw un cooked flour tortillas , do you wrap them in the raw dough form or cook them then wrap and place in the oven?
Can’t wait to try this! We are originally from Denver CO and moved to NC a few years ago and we are missing real mexican food so bad !
My husband is from Jalisco, Mexico and this sauce is very close to a green enchilada recipe I make only without the chilis in it we are looking forward to your answer so we can try these emmediatly!
Thank you for sharing !
I wrap them in the raw flour tortilla and stick them straight in the oven! Hope you enjoy them!