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!
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!
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?? 🤦🏻♀️
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:
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Sear chicken seasoned with a homemade Burrito spice mix, then chop it up;
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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;
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Pile filling, corn, rice, coriander/cilantro and cheese on a tortilla, then roll up tightly;
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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!
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:
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thaw then oven for 15 minutes; OR
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reheat from frozen for 40 minutes.
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
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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Chicken Burrito
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:
Nutrition Information:
Burrito Fever
I love a good burrito….so handy to have a stash in the freezer!
Life of Dozer
Food Porn for Dogs.
Excellent!! Great seasoning and flavor combo. I didn’t have the large burrito size tortillas (had the next size down/tortilla size) and it made 12 burritos. 1 was plenty for me – hubs had 2 for dinner. Wrapped in foil and baked in air fryer at 325 for 6 min. This filling would also be excellent as a naked burrito bowl. Recipe is Definitely a Keeper!!! Excellent job, Nagi, as usual!!
Oh I’ll have to try those in the air fryer! N x
LOVED this recipe! I had smaller tortillas on hand so had lots of extra filling. Used it to make burrito bowls which I customized and had for lunches. Will try freezing some next time. Thank you!
I had some leftover rotisserie chicken and found your recipe and gave it try. Other than the chicken followed directions exactly. We LOVED this recipe. Like a previous reviewer I made 4 burritos and have plenty of the chicken mixture left to freeze a few more and enjoy later. Thank you very much. PS my wife loved that the stuffing didn’t fall out!
Nagi, I made these in a Mini form to take to a Mexican themed going away party, and safe to say, they were a massive hit!
Thank you so much 😊 you are my go to website and I can’t can’t till the cookbook xx
Thanks Naomi!! N x
What can we use instead of refried beans ?
Hi Melissa – the refried beans help to hold it together but if you can’t find them you can always get a can of pinto beans and mash and fry them yourself with some oil and whatever Mexican spices you like! N x
These are so yummy! I made a batch for new parents to pop in the freezer for those nights when baby won’t let you cook. Miss 8 also gave it 2 thumbs up. I added in a handful of baby spinach with the chicken mixture to up the veggies a little bit.
It’s the PERFECT make ahead for people to have in the freezer! N x
So excited to make these. Your video shows paprika and oregano but your cooking instructions don’t. What’s the measurements?
Hi just a question regarding nutrition info! Are all the amounts for the whole batch or for individual serving sizes? I have to be sodium conscious and also cholestorol conscious too! They look damn yummy 😊👌
Can I use pork carnitas instead of the chicken?
Absolutely! N x
This seems like a ton of filling for just 5 tortillas – are the quantities supposed to leave a lot of leftovers?
I stuff them pretty full and use large tortillas – I usually use up all the filling! N x
I accidentally put one cup of sugar in instead of 1 1/2 cup. Do you think it will still be ok?
Looks so moist! Hoping with the icing it will be sweet enoughy
Loved making these and even had a wee helper on hand !! They’re currently heating in the oven 😬Wish i could add the photo of my wee doozer helper to show you x
Super deliciosas
So glad you enjoyed it Sara! N x
Hey Nagi,
I don’t have any refried, black or red kidney beans right now. Do you think I can just leave it out? Will it affect the texture of the filling?
Thank you so much. Looking forward to your reply.
Hey there..
I would like to ask.. what if we don’t have refried beans? Or any type of beans at all..? Do you think it is alright to omit it?
Thanks in advance.
Hi Maze…see note 2 in the recipe for bean substitutions! Nx❤️
Thank you for replying.
Yes I have read the note about bean substitutions, but currently I don’t have any type of beans. So will it be fine if I were to leave it out altogether?
Some people will tell you it isn’t a real burrito without beans – they’re kind of right. Beans definitely a lot to this dish. However, if you don’t have them, you don’t have them – you can still make this recipe sans beans but you won’t get the thickened consistency which helps keep everything together.
Thank you so much for answering. I really appreciate it 🙂 🤍
Thank you for answering.
Yes I have read the note about beans substitution. Unfortunately I don’t have any kind of beans right now. Not refried, nor black or red kidney beans. Do you think it will be alright if I were to leave it out altogether?
What can I use instead of refried bean ?
Hi Keller, see the recipe notes for a sub here 🙂 N x
This recipe is definately a keeper! My family loved them!! I did use black beans instead of refried beans, and served with avacado and salsa. Delicious!
Absolutely delicious!
So since I last commented, we now have these about every week (with your flat breads) and I make 3 batches of spice mix each time, then double the recipe – hot tip (and it’s not pretty…) I mix in the pan the corn, the cooked rice (I use black rice – so good!) and cheese, then stuff them in the flat breads (or use Old El Paso tortilla rolls as a short cut). Then the 2nd half of the mix goes in the freezer and is amazing for nachos!! FYI if i can’t be bothered making your amazing avocado dip, Yumi’s make an amazing avo dip in little pots (3 in a pack) that goes so well with burritos, nachos etc. with sour cream. Thank you so much for this recipe – this has made my kids love me more ;-p
Mercy, Nagi! Super delish!
These burritos were so delicious! I left out the corn due to digestive issues nd substituted drained, rinsed black beans for the refried beans. Absolutely Delicious!!!