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Home Mexican Recipes Burritos

Chicken Burrito

By:Nagi
Published:24 Feb '20Updated:5 May '20
129 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Don’t you hate it when the filling of your Chicken Burrito falls out and you end up with a chaotic mess on your hands? This one won’t! Juicy, cheesy, flavour loaded chicken burrito filling keeps everything together as you munch your way through.

Eat some now, freeze some for later – you can even reheat from frozen!

Close up of stacked Chicken Burrito

Chicken Burritos

One of my biggest gripes about Burritos (other than how ridiculously gigantic they can be, far wider than any normal human mouth) is that by the time you get halfway through, you’ve got burrito explosion on your hands.

Rolling technique comes into play – the firmer it’s rolled, the better it holds together. The filling you choose also has an effect – Shredded Beef and Shredded Chicken holds together pretty well.

But chopped chicken more often than not comes tumbling out a few bites in. As for the last few bites – forget about it. It’s just one big diabolical mess (albeit a delicious one).

Which is why I make my chicken burrito filling using refried beans which not only holds everything together, it makes the filling juicy and adds extra flavour!

Seasoned Mexican Chicken for Chicken Burrito

Chicken Burrito filling being cooked in a skillet

What you need for Chicken Burritos

Here’s what you need. PLUS TORTILLAS! How did I forget the single most important ingredient for this recipe?? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Ingredients in Chicken Burrito

Refried beans are the secret ingredient that fills it out and holds everything together

I’ve used seasoned Mexican Red Rice here which is my favourite to stuff into burritos. But feel free to use plain white rice – the Chicken Burrito Filling has so much flavour you won’t feel deprived!


How to make Chicken Burritos

And here’s how I make it:

How to make Chicken Burrito

  • Sear chicken seasoned with a homemade Burrito spice mix, then chop it up;

  • Make burrito filling – sautéed onion, capsicum/bell peppers, refried beans, and add the chicken. The filling should be juicy and wet, but not watery – otherwise it will make the burrito soggy;

  • Pile filling, corn, rice, coriander/cilantro and cheese on a tortilla, then roll up tightly;

  • Bake or panfry to melt the cheese and warm it all up!

Few things in life rival the sense of smug satisfaction when you’ve got a stash of burritos in the freezer…. and you can reheat from frozen!

Hand picking up Chicken Burrito

How to freeze burritos

Burritos are PERFECT for freezing, making them the ideal standby homemade convenience meal! To freeze, just wrap in paper then foil, place in an airtight container or ziplock bags then freeze.

To reheat:

  • thaw then oven for 15 minutes; OR

  • reheat from frozen for 40 minutes.

Dunking Chicken Burrito into Avocado Sauce

Dunking Sauce for Burrito

You’ll find the filling for these Chicken Burritos is juicier than most, thanks to the refried beans. So you don’t even need a sauce.

However, I am never one to say no to a sauce for dunking or drizzling or dolloping or smearing, so here are some suggestions:

Sauce for burritos

Quesadilla being dipped into Avocado Sauce
Avocado Sauce
Salsa recipe for restaurant style salsa. Salsa in a ceramic bowl with corn chips.
Restaurant Style Salsa recipe
Code cracked: Queso Dip made with real cheese that's ultra silky even when it cools. recipetineats.com
Life Changing Queso Dip (Mexican Cheese Dip)
Close up of corn chip being dipped into Guacamole
Guacamole
This dip does not harden when cooled, and doesn't split when reheated. Just 5 min to make, without using processed cheese. #dip #cheese #nachos #sauce
Nachos Cheese Dip (and Sauce!)

The Avocado Sauce is pictured in the photo above. But the Queso is secretly my favourite. Seriously, imagine a burrito dunked in a warm Cheesy Mexican Dip?? – Nagi x


Watch how to make it

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Hand picking up Chicken Burrito

Chicken Burrito

Author: Nagi
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 15 mins
Mains
Mexican, Tex-Mex
4.96 from 41 votes
Servings5
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. This is a chicken burrito stuffed with a juicy seasoned chicken filling, refried beans, corn, cheese and Mexican Red Rice. The refried beans makes it juicy inside without being soggy, adds flavour and holds it all together so the filling doesn't come tumbling out when you pick it up!

Ingredients

  • 5 tortillas , flour (approx 20cm/8" wide)

Burrito Seasoning:

  • 1 tsp each onion powder, dried oregano, salt
  • 2 tsp each dried cumin powder, paprika
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, adjust to taste)

Chicken Filling:

  • 600g / 1.2 lb chicken breast , sliced in half horizontally (Note 1)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil , separated
  • 1/2 onion , chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves , finely minced
  • 1 red capsicum/bell pepper , diced
  • 400g/14oz refried beans , canned (Note 2)
  • 1/4 cup water

Rice - CHOOSE one:

  • 2.5 cups white rice , plain (cooked, Note 3)
  • 2.5 cups Mexican Red Rice (the best for Burritos!)

Other Stuffings:

  • 400g/14oz canned corn , drained (or 280g/9oz frozen thawed)
  • 1.5 cups (150g) cheese , shredded (Mexican blend, cheddar, tasty, Montery Jack)
  • 1/4 cup coriander/cilantro , finely chopped

Sauce for dunking - choose:

  • Avocado sauce
  • Sour cream
  • Salsa (restaurant style, smooth)

Instructions

  • Burrito Seasoning - Mix Seasoning ingredients. Drizzle 1 tbsp oil over chicken, mix to coat. Sprinkle with Seasoning, toss to coat.
  • Cook chicken - Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add chicken, cook 2 minutes. Turn and cook 1.5 minutes. Remove, rest 2 minutes then chop.
  • Saute onion - In the same skillet, add onion and garlic, cook 1 minute. Add capsicum, cook 2 minutes until onion is translucent.
  • Finish Filling - Add refried beans, diced chicken and water. Stir and cook for 2 minutes until reduces slightly. Should be thick and juicy, not watery and not dry/stodgy! Let cool 5 minutes - will thicken.

Assemble burritos:

  • Gently warm tortillas in microwave (makes them pliable), lay on work surface.
  • Place rice on lower third, top with Chicken Filling, corn, cheese then sprinkle with coriander. Fold up, burrito style.
  • Toasting: Either pan fry over medium high heat (no oil) for 2 minutes each side to make tortilla crispy and melt cheese a bit OR wrap tightly in foil and bake in oven 10 minutes at 180°C/350°F.
  • Dunk in sauce(s) of choice or douse with hot sauce of choice, and devour! Suggestions: Avocado Sauce, Guacamole, sour cream, Restaurant Style Salsa, Queso, Nacho Cheese Dip.
  • Freezer friendly! Note 4 for directions.

Recipe Notes:

1. Chicken breast - slice in half horizontally to make 2 thin steaks out of each breast. I do this so there's more surface area to coat in the spice mix! 
2. Refried beans - secret ingredient! Makes the burrito filling juicy and holds it all together, rather than dry and crumbly (which too many burritos are!)
Substitution: Saute 1 garlic clove minced in a little oil until golden. Add 1 can pinto, red kidney or black beans  with 1/4 cup of the liquid in the can, 1/2 tsp each cumin, onion and paprika powder. Stir few minutes until beans thoroughly heated then mash or puree.
Any beans will actually work just fine, just a different colour!
3. Rice - you'll need 1 cup of uncooked rice to make 2.5 cups cooked rice. See here for instructions for how to cook plain rice, or make Mexican Red Rice!
4. Storage - Wrap in cling wrap or foil, fridge for 4 days or freeze. Best to warm in oven - 15 minutes at 180C/350F wrapped in foil. Frozen - thaw overnight then warm in oven 15 minutes. To reheat from frozen, wrap in foil and place in oven for 40 minutes at 180C/350F.
5. Nutrition per burrito.

Nutrition Information:

Calories: 700cal (35%)Carbohydrates: 72g (24%)Protein: 49g (98%)Fat: 23g (35%)Saturated Fat: 9g (56%)Cholesterol: 109mg (36%)Sodium: 2051mg (89%)Potassium: 1209mg (35%)Fiber: 10g (42%)Sugar: 8g (9%)Vitamin A: 2036IU (41%)Vitamin C: 101mg (122%)Calcium: 470mg (47%)Iron: 9mg (50%)
Keywords: Burrito Recipe, Chicken burrito
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

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Food Porn for Dogs.

Dozer checking out burrito on screen

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129 Comments

  1. Mildred says

    April 11, 2021 at 9:11 am

    5 stars
    Wow!

    Reply
  2. Kartheek Hegde says

    April 8, 2021 at 4:09 am

    Ive been looking for recipes to make during the week and glad I can freeze these and reheat. I can’t wait to try em! Always love a good burrito.
    Cheers!

    Reply
  3. AMF says

    March 18, 2021 at 12:15 pm

    5 stars
    We all enjoyed this. I had to leave the red pepper out since two of my family members don’t like them. The next time I make this, I will use more chicken and less of the refried beans. I really liked the fact that this can be made ahead and heated up when ready. Thank you, Nagi, for another wonderful recipe!

    Reply
  4. James says

    March 14, 2021 at 3:07 pm

    Rice? Sacrilege!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 15, 2021 at 11:43 am

      Hi James, yes! And it’s sooo good! N x

      Reply
  5. Gurpreet Kaur says

    February 27, 2021 at 2:29 pm

    5 stars
    I loved this recipe. But request you to mention the degree/ temperature and time to bake in oven too for newbies like me.Thanks Nagi!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 1, 2021 at 10:44 am

      Hi Gyrpreet – you must of missed it, it’s actually there noted under the assembly in step 3 😉 N x

      Reply
  6. Jim says

    February 13, 2021 at 6:25 pm

    Dear Nagi
    This was delicious. This is the third recipe of yours I’ve used and all three have been winners!
    Thank you!

    Reply
  7. RachelP says

    February 11, 2021 at 7:48 am

    5 stars
    Wow! So yummy 😋
    This is the third recipe of yours that I’ve made and all have been a success. Thank you 😊

    Reply
  8. Jenn says

    January 25, 2021 at 9:37 am

    5 stars
    These are sooo good! I did the Mexican rice, but added half a can of rinsed black beans while it was simmering. I should have lowered the amount water. Tasted delicious, but a bit softer than it should have been. I did the chicken, but didn’t use refried beans, because I added the beans to the rice. I didn’t read through all the notes (oops…). Either way, the softer rice made up for the moisture. Topped with salsa and sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, and cilantro. Won’t need to buy burritos anymore 🙂

    Reply
  9. Shalini says

    January 21, 2021 at 9:00 am

    5 stars
    Made these for dinner and it was a hit. I got requests to make these again. Thanks Nagi for the recipe!

    Reply
  10. Becks says

    January 17, 2021 at 10:44 pm

    5 stars
    These are insanely good. Best burritos we’ve ever eaten!! Easy to make and a family favourite. Awesome?

    Reply
  11. Val says

    January 5, 2021 at 2:32 pm

    4 stars
    A bit too salty for my taste but will definitely remake without the salt. Thank you for the recipe!

    Reply
  12. Taylor Millar says

    December 30, 2020 at 6:09 am

    5 stars
    Amazing, restaurant quality burrito me and my husband love them!!

    Reply
  13. oreofan says

    December 15, 2020 at 12:35 am

    5 stars
    I used a can of baked beans as I had no other and pureed them. Worked beautifully.

    This recipe is amazing thank you. I also use the chicken marinade for other chicken dishes – its scrummy.

    Reply
  14. Marie says

    December 3, 2020 at 11:34 pm

    Hi Nagi,

    If I want to make this vegetarian would you suggest I just omit the chicken or substitute it with something else? Thanks!

    Reply
  15. Tammy says

    November 21, 2020 at 6:28 am

    Just wondering if you leave the skin on the breast or take it off?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 21, 2020 at 11:06 am

      Hi Tammy, I use skinless breast here. N x

      Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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