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Do you love cheese? Do you love spicy food? Then you’re going to love Smothered Green Chili Burritos made with two kinds of cheese, grilled peppers, and low-fat ground turkey.
My original intention was to make cheese enchiladas, but I got the idea to make smothered burritos after locating a few key ingredients in my refrigerator and pantry. I consider this recipe to be low-carb since it used lean ground turkey and low-carb tortillas, but to be honest, it is loaded with decadent cheese so I’ll let the jury decide.
(The green chili sauce recipe is an adaptation of one I saw on From Valerie’s Kitchen. My complete recipe version uses so many swaps it’s become my own.)
To make the burritos, it’s as easy as stuffing the tortillas with filling, placing them seam-side down in an oil sprayed 13″x9″ glass baking dish, and smothering them with homemade green chili sauce and warm queso and baking them.
Once removed from the oven and slightly cooled, you can add additional toppings such as diced tomatoes and green onion and cilantro leaves. If you like black olives or sour cream, heck, add those as well.
Depending on your heat tolerance, you could add hot sauce to any step of this recipe. The green chili peppers (de-seeded) bring enough heat to the dish for most people but I enjoyed adding a few dashes of hot sauce to the sauce. I used 5-6 chili peppers (purchased during a popular Hatch green chili sale at a local nursery and later grilled and cooled) and chopped them up into small bits. You don’t have to use grilled chilis and can make this recipe with canned, diced green chilis as well.
Later, I used the diced chili to make the sauce to smother the burritos with AND for the filling, a real flavor punch.
The burritos were delicious. I knew I had a hit recipe on my hands when my boyfriend said, “This is in the top 3 recipes you’ve made this year. You need to write this one (recipe) down.” In my house, that’s a win.
I know you’re going to love this dinner made in under an hour. Let me know if your family enjoys them as much as mine does by leaving a comment below.
If you need a cocktail to pair with this dinner meal, consider my recipes for Cantaloupe Margaritas and Michelada With Lime.
Smothered Green Chili Burritos
Ingredients
- Green Chili Sauce:
- 2 T. vegetable oil
- 3 T. flour
- 1 c. chicken broth
- 3 seeded and diced grilled green chilis
- 1 tsp. cumin
- 3 dashes hot sauce
- heavy pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
- Burrito Filling:
- 1 lb. 90/10 ground turkey
- 2 diced seeded grilled green chilis
- 1/2 c. shredded Mexican cheese mix
- 1/2 c. sour cream
- heavy pinch salt
- pinch black pepper
- Queso Sauce:
- 3 oz. of Rotel®
- 4 oz. of Velvetta®
- Extra Ingredients:
- 1/4 c. shredded Mexican cheese mix
- Diced green onion for garnish
- Diced tomatoes for garnish
- 1 1/2 T. cilantro leaves for garnish
- 8 " low-carb tortillas 7-8
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13"x9" glass plan with cooking spray and set aside.
- To Prepare Green Chili Sauce:
- Add vegetable oil to saucepan and bring to low heat. As soon as you smell the oil heating up, add the flour until it become a paste-like consistency. Then, whisk in the chicken stock until completely smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients and bring the sauce to medium-high heat. Continue to whisk occasionally until thickened. Set aside when the sauce is thickened.
- To Prepare Queso:
- Add the Rotel® and Velvetta® to a small glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave 15 seconds and remove to stir with a spoon. Return bowl to the microwave and continue this cook/stir method until the cheese reaches a smooth consistency. Add Rotel tomato liquid to thin it out if necessary.
- To Prepare Burrito Filling:
- Cook the ground turkey in a skillet until completely browned. You shouldn't need to drain grease from it since you're using a 90-10 mix.
- In a large bowl, combine all the burrito filling ingredients including the crumbled ground turkey and mix well.
- Fill each tortilla with filling (make a heaping log shape of filling) and then roll the sides of the tortilla towards the middle, then roll the burrito away from you to finish it. Add each burrito seam-side down to the prepared, glass baking dish in a row-like formation.
- Cover the burritos with the chili sauce, queso, shredded Mexican cheese, and heat in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the exposed corners of the burritos are golden and the sauce has slightly darkened.
- After allowing the burritos to cool a few minutes, garnish them with toppings and serve warm.
Notes
I prefer a thick tomato based chili served as the base for a multitude of toppings. Lone Star Turkey Chili with Sour Cream and Chives is not a overly spiced chili, but if you want more heat you can add a couple smoked ancho peppers (that will crank up the heat!) to the pot or top a bowl of chili with fresh sliced jalapenos. Because people like their chili with different levels of heat, I keep it simple and provide options for toppings, like a “buffet o’ heat” ranging from bottled sriracha to sliced peppers. The sour cream cools of the heat and balances the acidic tomato flavor.
Saute the garlic and onions in a tablespoon of melted butter until soft before adding a pound of ground turkey. Over medium heat to medium-high heat, stir the meat with the garlic and onions continuously until it is cooked thoroughly, Because there is no grease to drain (healthier!), you can then add the canned ingredients, mix well, cover and allow to cook on a medium-low simmer until the chili reaches the consistency you prefer for serving (typically about 30 minutes).
Remember to provide options for toppings for your chili fans. I grow fresh herbs in container pots so adding fresh chive was as easy as chopping some and sprinkling them on top of added sour cream and cheddar cheese.
