Beef Burritos with Chili-Spiced Beef and Crispy Tortillas
By Isabella Quinn
Total
30 min
Servings
4
Level
Easy
Cook chili beef and cilantro lime rice ahead of time. Add cooked ingredients to burritos right away or use them at the next meal to make toasted burritos. Add beef, black beans, cheese, guacamole, and other ingredients to tortillas to make burritos for quick, portable meals.
The meat filling includes sautéed onions and garlic, homemade taco seasoning, salsa, and diced green chiles. Cilantro lime rice and black beans provide flavor and texture. Guacamole, chipotle salsa, and sour cream or Greek yogurt provide moisture to the filling to keep it from drying out. Big tortillas help prevent the filling from falling out when the tacos are rolled.
Brown the ground beef and onions and garlic. Simmer with salsa, green chiles, and other seasonings. The cooked ground beef should be juicy, not dry. Arrange other ingredients separately when assembling burritos for baking until the tortillas are toasted and the cheese is melted. Problems with burrito tortillas include size and thickness issues that can cause tearing and filling to show.
For meal planning, cook the burrito filling ahead of time or make complete burritos without toasting for future service. Toast burritos made ahead of time in an air fryer, on the stovetop, or in the oven before serving. Individually frozen burritos are a practical packaged food choice. Fresh vegetables, such as lettuce, are best served in burritos eaten right away.
Why we keep this one around
- Cook the seasoned beef and cilantro lime rice ahead of time. These ingredients will be used throughout the week to assemble individual burritos.
- Freezing burritos helps you serve single portions by wrapping and fully toasting each burrito for a convenient meal.
- Toasting happens after the burrito is made. Meal-prepared cooked burritos may be stored without toasting and toasted again before serving to add a crunchy tortilla and melted cheese to the burrito.
- Separating ingredients helps control portion sizes because rice, beans, beef, guacamole, and sauce can be prepared in quantities appropriate for each customer.
- The salsa and green chile mix rehydrates well when used in burritos, whereas dry crumbled beef does not.
- Large burrito tortillas can contain generous make-ahead portions of burritos without leaking filling ingredients, such as rice, beans, meat, cheese, and other fillings.
Ingredients
- •ground beef (85% to 93% lean)
- •cilantro lime rice
- •black beans (pinto beans or refried beans may be used instead)
- •guacamole
- •melting cheese (such as sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack, Colby Jack, or Habañero cheese)
- •chipotle sauce (or sour cream or Greek yogurt)
- •burrito-size tortillas (10- or 12-inch)
- •½ yellow onion
- •4 cloves garlic (4-6 cloves; garlic powder may be substituted)
- •salsa (mild or medium)
- •mild chopped green chiles (canned)
- •chili powder
- •ground cumin
- •smoked paprika
- •dried oregano
- •¼ tsp cayenne pepper (adjust to taste)
- •salt (to taste)
- •black pepper (to taste)
Instructions
- 1
Cook the cilantro lime rice.
- 2
Brown the ground beef with the yellow onion and garlic.
- 3
Season the beef with chili powder, ground cumin, smoked paprika, dried oregano, cayenne pepper, salt, and black pepper.
- 4
Add the salsa and mild chopped green chiles, then simmer until the beef is juicy and saucy.
- 5
Layer the seasoned beef, rice, black beans, cheese, guacamole, and chipotle sauce, sour cream, or Greek yogurt in burrito-size tortillas.
- 6
Roll the tortillas into burritos, keeping the filling enclosed.
- 7
Toast the burritos in an air fryer, skillet, or oven until the tortillas are crunchy and the cheese is melted.
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