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Home Mexican Recipes

Beef Burrito

By:Nagi
Published:7 Oct '18Updated:9 Mar '21
218 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

An everyday Beef Burrito recipe, stuffed with a simple, super tasty seasoned beef, rice and other fillings of choice. These Burritos are a brilliant freezer standby because they are just as good made fresh or frozen then reheated. The burrito beef filling is especially good – made with a homemade Mexican seasoning that’s way better than a packet of Old El Paso!

A great everyday Beef Burrito, made with super tasty seasoned beef filling. Fresh and freezable versions! www.recipetineats.com

Flavour packed everyday Burrito recipe!

Having a stash of burritos in the freezer makes me feel smug. Along with homemade Frozen Pizzas, these are one of the all time ultimate freezer meals.

Except burritos have the added bonus that you don’t even need to dirty a tray to reheat them, or a plate to eat them. Food you can eat with your hands always rates highly in my world!!! 😂

I call this Beef Burrito recipe an “everyday beef burrito” because beef filling aside, it’s a terrific one for adding in what you have and what you want. The key part of this recipe is the Beef Burrito Filling – highly seasoned with a homemade spice mix that tastes like Old El Paso – except it’s preservative free!

A great everyday Beef Burrito, made with super tasty seasoned beef filling. Fresh and freezable versions! www.recipetineats.com

Freezer burritos: filling tips

  • Use ingredients that freeze well

  • Use cabbage instead of lettuce – cabbage holds up to freezing better

  • Only use a small amount of “watery” vegetables like tomato as they become even more watery once defrosted

  • Other raw vegetables used in burritos that do not freeze well include: avocado, cucumber

  • Cook vegetables like capsicum/peppers, zucchini, carrot. Dice and add to Beef Filling.

What goes in beef burritos

The Beef Filling is the main flavour component in this burrito recipe. It’s highly seasoned and juicy so it provides the “wetness” in the burrito as well as the flavour mixing through the other ingredients when you roll it up.

So other than the Beef Burrito Filling, there’s endless possibilities for what to put in the burrito! For this recipe, I’ve chosen a combination of ingredients that freeze well:

  • Beef Burrito Filling – juicy and packed with flavour!

  • Plain white rice – or try brown rice, quinoa, or this Mexican Red Rice!)

  • Corn

  • Black beans

  • Cabbage or lettuce

  • Diced tomato

  • Red onion

  • Cheese

  • Coriander/cilantro

A great everyday Beef Burrito, made with super tasty seasoned beef filling. Fresh and freezable versions! www.recipetineats.com

How to freeze and reheat burritos

I like to use foil to roll up the burritos as it holds it together and then I can reheat it in the foil in the oven.

To freeze, I wrap in cling wrap (for extra air tight assurance) then put it in a ziplock bag or airtight container.

To reheat the burrito, I simply defrost in the fridge overnight then pop it in the ovenin the foil  to make it crisp and heat through. If I forgot to defrost overnight, then I take it out of the foil, microwave on low to defrost, then wrap it up in the foil again and pop it in the oven to crisp up.

A great everyday Beef Burrito, made with super tasty seasoned beef filling. Fresh and freezable versions! www.recipetineats.com

Dipping sauces for burritos

I totally forgot to take a photo of what to dip burritos in. They do need something because you can’t make the filling too wet, otherwise it makes the tortilla soggy.

For simplicity, my go-to is sour cream or yoghurt, sometimes with a dollop of some sort of chilli sauce. If I feel like making more of an effort or I’m doing these for a group (I like doing burritos for camping), then I’ll make Restaurant Style Salsa (because it’s smooth, it’s good for dipping) or this Avocado Dipping Sauce.

So – have I convinced you that you need to fill your freezer with these burritos??? – Nagi xx


FAVOURITE MEXICAN RECIPES

  • Carnitas (Mexican Pulled Pork)

  • Beef Barbacoa

  • Chicken Fajitas and Beef Fajitas

  • Beef Enchiladas

  • Queso Cheese Dip

  • Mexican Fiesta Menu and recipes

  • See all Mexican recipes

A great everyday Beef Burrito, made with super tasty seasoned beef filling. Fresh and freezable versions! www.recipetineats.com

WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT

Beef Burrito recipe video!

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A great everyday Beef Burrito, made with super tasty seasoned beef filling. Fresh and freezable versions! recipetineats.com

Beef Burritos

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Mains
Mexican, Tex-Mex
4.98 from 70 votes
Servings6 - 8 burritos
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 810
Recipe video above. Simple, super tasty everyday beef burritos made with a homemade beef mince filling (ground beef), rice and your choice of fillings. One of the best freezer meals ever!

Ingredients

Burrito Seasoning:

  • 1 tsp each onion powder , dried oregano, salt
  • 2 tsp each dried cumin powder , paprika
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp cayenne pepper , or to taste (optional)

Beef:

  • 1/2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • ½ onion , finely chopped
  • 500g / 1 lb beef mince (ground beef), I use lean
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp water

Burritos:

  • 6 - 8 large soft flour tortillas or round wraps (~25cm/10”+) (Note 1)
  • 3 cups cooked rice , warm not piping hot (I use white long grain)
  • 3 cups iceberg lettuce or cabbage , finely sliced (use cabbage if freezing)
  • 1 cup corn kernels (I use canned, drained)
  • 1 cup black beans (I use canned, drained)
  • 3 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
  • 1/2 red onion , finely chopped
  • Finely chopped coriander / cilantro (optional)
  • 1 1/2 cups / 150g shredded cheese of choice (melting kind)

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a skillet over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 2 minutes until onion is lightly browned. Add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until it turns from red to brown.
  • Add Taco Seasoning (or use 1 packet store bought) and cook for 1 minute. Then add tomato paste and water, cook for 3 minutes until the water is mostly evaporated but the beef is still juicy, not dried out. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes – piping hot filling will steam the burrito, making the tortilla soggy.
  • Optional: If not warming rolled burrito, warm the tortillas before rolling (per packet directions).
  • Place a burrito on a work surface. Place 1/4 - 1/3 cup of rice just below the centre. Top with 1/4 - 1/3 cup beef, then some lettuce, corn, black beans, tomato,  a sprinkle of red onion, coriander and cheese.
  • Fold up the bottom to cover the filling then fold the edges in (video helpful to see how to do this). Roll up tightly, then wrap in foil. Serve as is or heat per below.
  • HEATING: To warm through, pan fry (dry pan) in the foil over medium high heat for a few minutes on each side to slightly crisp and warm the outside. Or for 10+ minutes on a medium low heat if you want to melt the cheese. Or they can be baked at 180C/350F for 20 minutes in the foil – this will warm them all the way through and crisp up the tortilla slightly. If they are straight from the fridge, they will take around 30 minutes to warm through.
  • Burritos are best served with something to dollop/dip - sour cream (or yoghurt) and some sort of chilli sauce are my usual because it's easy. When I'm making more of an effort, I use  Restaurant Style Salsa or Guacamole.

Recipe Notes:

1. I like to use Mission large soft wraps (see photo in post) because they are slightly larger than burrito wraps sold in the Mexican section of Woolies/Coles etc plus they are slightly softer so less prone to breaking AND they are slightly cheaper. Win, win, win! (PS I'm in Australia 🙂 )
2. STORAGE/REHEATING: Burritos freeze / reheat brilliantly as long as you avoid watery vegetables. The combination of ingredients I use (don't use lettuce, use green cabbage) is ideal for freezing. Typically, tomatoes aren't great for freezing but because it's the only "watery" vegetable and not much is used, it works great. To reheat, thaw for 24 hours in the fridge or overnight on counter (as log as it's not super hot where you are) then:
- OVEN: reheat in oven at 180C/350F in foil for 30 - 4o min (place on tray in case there is leakage) until outside is slightly crisp;
- MICROWAVE/STOVE: unwrap then microwave for 2 minutes then crisp in dry pan over medium heat;
- STOVE: Leave in foil and turn over medium heat in dry pan for 10+ minutes until crisp all over (takes a while to warm all the way through).
3. MORE VEGGIES / Great for Freezing: One way to pack more veggies into this and/or reduce the carbs by leaving out the rice is to add veggies into the beef filling. To do this, increase the Seasoning, tomato and water by 50% (use the scaler by hovering your cursor over Servings) then add 3 cups of diced veggies of choice, like zucchini, carrots, celery, capsicum, corn. Use a large skillet, saute these veggies after the onion, then push to the side and add the beef and proceed with the recipe. 
4. Nutrition per serving assuming 10 burritos.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 308gCalories: 511cal (26%)
Keywords: Beef Burrito, Burrito Recipe
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Burrito recipe originally published June 2017. Updated for housekeeping matters October 2018 – no change to recipe!

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218 Comments

  1. Jean says

    December 12, 2022 at 9:27 am

    5 stars
    Easy and flavorful. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  2. Jay says

    September 7, 2022 at 1:38 am

    Hello! I’m curious how you’d do this for camping. Would you just freeze 6-8 and then reheat in the foil in the fire?

    Reply
  3. Linda Faciana-Smith says

    May 3, 2022 at 10:23 am

    5 stars
    Made these today and they are a family favorite now. Delicious!!!! One question, when you freeze them do you wrap them in foil first then wrap them in the cling wrap for extra air tight assurance? Or do you skip the foil and just wrap them in cling wrap. Thank you for sharing this recipe!!!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 3, 2022 at 10:08 pm

      I ate one from the freezer just the other day! I do foil then the clingfilm. When you want one, remove the film and you can pop them in the oven in the foil to heat from frozen! N x

      Reply
  4. Rosalie says

    March 26, 2022 at 9:12 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for this great recipe! I paired it with the homemade tortilla recipe from Mexican Please.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 27, 2022 at 1:01 am

      Ole! Sounds delicious Rosalie! N x

      Reply
  5. Brianna Tate says

    March 11, 2022 at 11:20 am

    5 stars
    This is such a great recipe that I even asked my friend from school if he wanted to use this recipe but he said no because he has other burrito recipes but I said that he should definitely use this one. SO this is such a good recipe I am definitely cooking this more often for my family.

    Reply
  6. shannon says

    March 4, 2022 at 9:20 am

    Cheese melting? It isn’t listed in the ingredients, but in the instructions. Just gonna add a bunch…kids love it. Great recipe.

    Reply
  7. Amber says

    January 28, 2022 at 9:37 am

    Could you please make a vegetarian version because to much meat. It wasn’t the best but it was ok

    Reply
  8. Gordon Tansey says

    January 18, 2022 at 8:42 pm

    5 stars
    Just magnificent! Next time will get the super large tortillas – but a great flavour. could add jalapeños and ranchero to pimp up the spice, but absolutely loved by all. Sadly, it meant my plans for the spares as tomorrow’s lunch went out the door when everyone wanted more!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 18, 2022 at 11:00 pm

      Not a bad problem to have Gordon! N x

      Reply
  9. Tara Van Dyk says

    December 15, 2021 at 1:10 pm

    I didn’t realize how crucial the tomato paste was! I’ve attempted burritos before, but these were amazing!!!!

    Reply
  10. Dorothy says

    November 26, 2021 at 2:34 am

    Excited to try these! Just wondering how long these will keep in the freezer? im trying to make freezer meals for after I give birth and would love to make these if they’re suitable!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 26, 2021 at 2:48 pm

      Hi Dorothy – these are great in the freezer. They will keep about 3 months frozen if well wrapped, possibly longer! N x

      Reply
  11. April says

    October 27, 2021 at 4:08 pm

    Best burritos ever

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 27, 2021 at 5:05 pm

      So glad you enjoyed them April! N x

      Reply
  12. Barb says

    October 24, 2021 at 9:14 am

    5 stars
    The best burritos I’ve ever had! So much amazing flavor!
    Wow! 😋

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 24, 2021 at 2:53 pm

      Thanks! So glad you enjoyed them! N x

      Reply
  13. April says

    September 24, 2021 at 8:48 am

    5 stars
    Ugh…just read more comments and now I see it…oopsie!

    Reply
  14. April says

    September 24, 2021 at 8:47 am

    5 stars
    I’ve made this before and they came out great! I am a little confused… Just watch the video and in the seasoning for the beef, there is oregano, salt, and paprika that is not listed in the actual printed recipe. What are the amounts of those ingredients?

    Reply
    • Christine Campbell says

      March 29, 2022 at 5:27 pm

      ▢1 tsp each onion powder , dried oregano, salt
      ▢2 tsp each dried cumin powder , paprika
      ▢1/4 tsp black pepper
      ▢¼ tsp cayenne pepper , or to taste (optional)

      Reply
  15. heeelo says

    September 8, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    have died yet cuz the foil in the oven can cause an explosion…

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 9, 2021 at 7:43 pm

      I don’t know what foil you’re using but it definitely doesn’t explode in an oven! (Microwave is a different story) It’s used to bake all the time! N x

      Reply
    • raymond zimmerman says

      November 25, 2022 at 3:06 pm

      Maybe there’s to much moisture in your burritos or you are cooking way to long lol definitely shouldn’t explode

      Reply
  16. Donna says

    June 6, 2021 at 6:16 am

    5 stars
    Love this recipe – have made it a number of times now.
    We make a simple refried bean (from canned beans) and add to the beef mixture at the end for a beef and bean burrito filling.
    We are only 2, so we freeze the leftover filling in freezer bags for quicker future burrito nights.

    Reply
  17. SUSAN GAVIN says

    May 28, 2021 at 10:57 am

    5 stars
    Had the grandchildren over again for dinner and this was their choice. They love building their own burritos on warmed wraps and ended up having three between them – they thought Nana was very clever the way she folded the wraps and cut them in half for them (easily pleased)!! For the adults I wrapped them in foil and heated in the oven ….. oh my, they were sooo good!

    Reply
  18. April says

    May 28, 2021 at 10:37 am

    5 stars
    WOW!! Made these for dinner tonight and they were SO good! Better than my fav Mexican restaurant. My hubby loved them. He said your recipes are awesome! A little more work than the way I normally make them, but so much better! Since there is only two of us, I froze the rest. Looking forward to eating those too!

    Reply
  19. Lerma Pabilona says

    February 15, 2021 at 11:11 pm

    Hi Ms. Nagi,I cooked this three times already and my boss ,my madam,and my boss friends love it a lot…so simple but so yummy…thank you😘

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      February 16, 2021 at 2:08 pm

      You’re so welcome Lerma! N x

      Reply
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