Easy Burrito Recipe – Cooking Classy

The easiest Burritos recipe! Made with protein packed ground beef and pinto beans, flavorful salsa and spices, melty cheese, and flour tortillas that are toasted to beautifully browned perfection. A family favorite recipe!

This is the simple, hearty, high protein beef burrito you’ll want for lunch or dinner any day of the week! It’s a family friendly recipe you’ll have on repeat.

These homemade burritos are a go-to recipe for me. I’ve made them too many times to count and I’ve always got a stash of them in my freezer. Once you try them for yourself you’ll see why.

They are incredibly easy to prepare, they freeze perfectly well, and you’ll find they heat up amazingly toasted and browned in a hot skillet. Plus these easy burritos are an excellent last minute dinner option on busy days if you’ve got some stored in the freezer (I freeze single servings of cilantro lime rice to pair with them because sometimes we just crave lots of carbs).

There’s plenty of ways you can switch these up, though I usually just go as is for simplicity and the flavor is spot on delicious. A jar of salsa, a few simple Mexican spices, plenty of beef and cheese does the trick.

Then smother them atop to your hearts content with your favorite toppings. Or just serve solo and absolutely no one will complain.

Burritos Recipe Ingredients

Lean ground beef: I recommend using 85 to 93 percent lean beef.

Cooking spray: Avocado or olive oil cooking spray works well. You can also just use a little olive oil instead versus spray.

Spices: You’ll need mild chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika and garlic powder.

Bottled salsa: I have tried this with a few salsas. Mateos is great or a chunky salsa such as Siete.

Pinto beans: These are canned beans that are already cooked and completely softened making them perfect for quick and simple recipes.

Flour tortillas: Sonora/ Northern Mexico flour tortillas are preferred. They are thinner and have better flavor. The raw tortillas in the refrigerated section are another good option you’ll just have to cook them before beginning.

Cheese: This adds rich flavor to the burritos and melts beautifully once they are heated. Monterey jack or cheddar cheese are what I usually use.

How to Make Super Easy Beef Burritos

Brown and crumble the beef: Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Once preheated spray pan with non-stick cooking spray, break beef into chunks and place in skillet. Season lightly with salt and pepper and let sear until browned on bottom about 3 minutes.

Turn beef, let cook a few minutes longer, then break up beef and just cook through.

Add spices: Drain rendered fat from beef. Add chili powder, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder powder and cook 30 seconds longer.

Add salsa, simmer mixture: Pour in salsa and let simmer over medium-low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. If you plan to make the burritos for freezing let the filling cool for 15 minutes, otherwise you can proceed without cooling.

Assemble burritos: To assemble burritos lay one tortilla out and place a row of 1/3 cup cheese in center of tortilla in a rectangular shape. Add just over 3/4 cup beef filling in a rectangular shape over cheese layer.

Wrap burritos up snugly: Wrap sides of tortilla inward then roll tortilla from one opened end to the other (refer to step photos below for a guide if needed). Repeat process with remaining 4 tortillas, topping with the cheese and filling.

Brown the burritos in a skillet: To toast the burritos, rinse and wipe the now empty skillet clean. Heat over medium heat and spray with a fair amount of cooking spray. Add 2 to 3 burritos at a time and brown on all four sides, using tongs to turn them.

Top as desired: Serve right away after being toasted and add toppings if desired such as guacamole, sour cream, Mexican hot sauce, pico de gallo.

Best Toppings for Burritos

If you want to upgrade the burritos even further try one or more of these toppings to serve over or with them:

• Guacamole
• Pico de Gallo
• Chopped red onions or pickled onions
• Shredded lettuce – iceberg or romaine
• Sour cream or Mexican crema
• Mexican hot sauce
• Fire roasted corn
• Cilantro lime rice

Storage Instructions

Fridge: Store burritos in the fridge for up 1 day in an airtight container (I don’t recommend longer fridge storage or the tortillas may get soggy).

Freezer: Or freeze burritos in an airtight container (I just use a gallon size resealable freezer bag), up to 3 months for the best flavor (they can freeze longer you’ll just lose a little quality).

Heating Directions

Thaw from frozen first: Thaw burritos overnight in the fridge, or thaw through in the microwave one at a time about 45 seconds per side on a microwave safe plate.

Brown burritos in a skillet: Heat a non-stick skillet with a little avocado oil over medium heat, cook burrito until browned on all sides, using metal tongs to turn to each side.

Possible Variations

Meat: Cooked shredded chuck roast or rotisserie chicken is another good option in place of ground beef. Just warm it with the salsa and spices.

Cheese: Try another smooth melting cheese such as Pepper Jack, Colby Jack, Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Aserdo, Mozzarella or a Mexican cheese blend.

Beans: I’ve also made these with black beans and they taste great here as well. Another option is to use refried pinto beans or refried black beans, if doing so just spread a layer over tortillas then add beef filling.

Salsa: These can be made with a variety of salsas ranging from chunky to more smooth, fresh to bottled, fire roasted or spicy. You can even make these with salsa verde. Just use the lesser option if the salsa is runnier and less chunky.

Spices: In place of the blend of spices used here (chili powder, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder) you can simply replace them with 1 1/2 Tbsp unsalted taco seasoning. If you want to make these spicy add some chipotle chili powder or cayenne pepper to taste.

Gluten free: I have also had success making these gluten free with gluten free flour tortillas. Mi Rancho Gluten Free are a good option or try Siete cassava flour tortillas.

Homemade tortillas: These can also be made with homemade flour tortillas you just need to use slightly larger portions of dough and roll fairly thin to 10-inches.

Helpful Tips for the Best Quick Burritos

• Brown the beef well for maximum flavor.
• Drain beef fat so the burrito filling isn’t overly greasy.
• Let excess moisture of the salsa in the filling cook and simmer off so the burrito filling doesn’t make the tortillas soggy.
• Take it easy on the salt. The bottled salsa added here can be quite salty (it varies by brand) so start with just a little salt then add more later as needed.
• Let the beef filling cool slightly before assembling the burritos, again for non-soggy tortillas.

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