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:
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!
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 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.
I have tried most of your recipes and all of them are superb!!! Keep up the good work and thank you for sharing your recipes!
You’re so welcome Roma, thanks so much for the feedback! N x
My partner (who is not keen on beans) watched over my shoulder as I cooked this, and said dubiously, “It looks pretty goopy…” I took hold of his shoulders and told him simply, “Trust Nagi!” We took the finished product to the shore for a sunset picnic dinner, and I commented, “I’d make this again!”, to which he replied, “You’d better!” Thanks, Nagi, for another winner of a dinner!
Oh that sounds lovely Lani! Thanks so much for letting me know ❤️
wow
Thanks so much! N x
So so good!!! Hands down one of the best burritos I’ve had! That avocado sauce is just divine.
WOOT! Thanks so much for letting me know Kristin! N x
Fantastic… well done Nagi , we are not good cooks but your brilliant and short videos make everything seem so easy! Thanks again and I recommend you whenever I can!
I LOVE hearing this Leon!! ❤️
Oh! My! God!!! Just finished eating these Devine creatures with your avocado sauce! Massive HIT!!! Another perfect recipe Nagi! You are my cooking guru and our mouths and tummies adore you!!! 😇😆
Oh, and I used black rice, which is our new favourite!! OMG!!!
YESSSSS! Great to hear Cat!
I have a question about this recipe. I made it, using what I think were 8″ tortillas, but used only half of the chicken filling. So, does this recipe make more like 10 or 12 burritos or did I use the wrong size tortilla?
Hi Robert – maybe I’m just a little more generous with my filling! Any left over filling would be great to freeze – top nachos or even a baked potato! 🤤
I’d love to make these as an easy take to work lunch (easy to freeze so I can do all the work on Sunday and have them handy for the whole week). However, we only have a sandwich toaster and a microwave for reheating.
So – thoughts on whether wrapping in the foil and then using a sandwich toaster to reheat would work? Otherwise it would need to be baking paper for the microwave, but may be a bit harder to stop it coming unwrapped in the freezer?
Hi Jo – yes definitely wrap in foil and toast away!
Oh, and adding in – the save, freeze and reheat in the sandwich toaster worked really well – though I learned the hard way to take the foil wrapper off first 😉 (ended up with some of the burrito sticking to the foil)
So – awesome recipe to make a large batch and make enough for a week’s worth of meals.
Stash of burritos made up – I also ended up with loads of filling left over. So we’re having the remainder mix for supper this evening – bonus!
Only grumble is that, for someone who has never made burritos before, the video was not very clear on the folding. However, I did find a good video on YouTube with someone explaining where top and bottom were! Hopefully it’s ok to post the link for other confuzzled folks? https://youtu.be/IAbpVXEUt_c
Easy and tasty recipe. My husband loved it. Will make again!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Karen! N x
Excellent recipe, exactly as described. I used the Mexican Red Rice which was delicious. Thank you.
Yum! Thanks so much for letting me know Lynn ❤️
Love all kinds of meat- or fish-filled wraps with a salad . . . and sometimes take the toad to Mexico ! This is an inviting combo tho’ I prefer not to use tinned foods because of that ‘h’ word 🙂 ! Yes, have seen the refried beans at our supermarkets and may just fly across the Pond for a change . . . as for Dozer, methinkls he sees the food porn daily in real life . . .
I hope you give them a try Eha, would love to know what you think! And yes, Dozer has the life doesn’t he?! N x
You little genius !! How come you don’t weigh 300 lbs.? How do you refrain from scoffing down all these heavenly things you taunt us with? I made your 2 layer carrot cake four days ago (yes, it IS an easy recipe) and I ate one half of the cake within two days.
This burrito recipe will be next. I love having food to go in the freezer. thank you.
Hi Jenny, I really do need to exercise some self control sometimes – I like to give away a lot of food so I don’t scoff it all!! 😂
Those burritos look delicious and I like that they can be made ahead and frozen for the work from home hubs! But I need to tell you that while I very often save and try your recipes – Dozer makes my mornings!!! Food Porn – you are one funny lady! Thanks for my AM fun!!!
Yes – they’re the perfect freezer meal!!
Nagi, I use refried beans ( usually black) in my burritos most of the time. I also use New Mexico red or green chili powder rather than cayenne. And no burrito in our family is finished without sour cream unless it is made to freeze for later. I also use the powder in scrambled egg breakfast burritos.
Sounds divine Karen! N x
The chicken burritos look wonderful but I can’t eat beans. Allergic reaction. What can I use in place of them?
I have used lentils.
And food porn for people!! Droooooooling!! Will make this tomorrow night (today we fast!!). I love everything in this recipe and together it looks irresistible!!! Thank you (yet again!).
I hope you love it Cat! N x
where do you buy refried beans in Aussie please?
Hi Julie! It’s in the Mexican section of Coles, Woolies etc where the taco shells and other taco/nachos things are! N x