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.
Made it a few times and family loves it. I follow the directions for the mash and use black beans. Decided to try doing them in the air fryer at 350 for 4 or 5 minutes and they come out really crispy without needing to use the oven or fry pan. Thanks for a great recipe
Hi Nagi, adding smashed beans to help hold everything together is genius! I also adds fiber to the meal too. I freeze a whole bunch of chicken burritos and bring them to my son’s apartment. He is very thankful for those times he is tied up with school and work and has no time to put together a decent meal. Oh and he is not crazy about any types of beans but he gobbles these up! Thank you very much for sharing!
It’s a flavor-packed experience. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Nagi! I made this recipe yesterday was wondering how long can you keep them in the freezing for?
I like your recipe layout a lot. Many cooks do not give times or servings info, though time varies considerable with skill level, it gives you some expectation. If it is 8 Hours, you know the recipe will not make tonights dinner.. I like a section of the recipe I call PREP, where I list any preparations to accomplish before actual cooking begins. Very handy for cooking Chinese or Japanese where significant marinade or chopping can be done ahead, and what oven setting may be required. The recipe itself looks delicious !
There were great – another hit. I made the red rice and added some jalopeno slices, not enough so I’m told, so will load it up next time. My trouble is that I can never get even close to your prep and cook time. It took a very long time to make (closer or even over an hour rather than 15 minutes). Bonus is we have a stash in the freezer, but I suspect will be snaffled for uni student lunches.
This is now on regular rotation at our place. Delicious and I love that it makes a good quantity, although none have ever lasted long enough to make it into my freezer.
I make this recipe often and it’s a solid 9!! Last time I made as stated but added about 1/2 cup of velveta queso blanco to shocker stuffing. Took it to an 11!!!!
These were delightful and so quick to whip up, we made with Avocado sauce…yum. I changed the chicken to rotisserie chicken as that’s what had on hand.
Oh my gosh this dish is the bomb!! This has been one of our top meals from Nagi. My kids said it was one of the best things they have eaten.
This recipe has made it into our regular dinner rotation! I have subbed in regular turkey and tonight we used prawns + firm tofu to rave reviews. Love your recipes – thank you!
we love this recipe . I made a big batch of the burritos seassoning to use on other things like scramled eggs or home made hash brown.
From the teenager: “these are the best burritos we’ve ever made!” (And we make a lot of burritos)
Yummy! It wasn’t at all spicy so my kids ate it happily, I prefer a little more kick but I’ll try your dunking suggestions next time!
Fixed these tonight and we loved them. Nagi is so right about them staying moist. Better than restaurant burritos!
I used Costco rotisserie chicken. Loved that you could click and adjust the serving size. Will share this recipe and definitely fix again.
Would this recipe work in a crockpot?
No sorry Shannon – it needs to thicken and reduce on the stovetop! N X
We really enjoyed the mix of flavors in these stuffed with lots of stuff burritos!
My whole family goes nuts for these burritos they are so moreish i always do extra for the freezer.Anyhow if any one was wondering about using left over pre-cooked chicken/turkey i found a bag of turkey lurking in the freezer but wanted that smokey charred taste/smell of the chicken cooked in the burrito spices so i mixed the seasoning with some oil tossed this through the turkey and hard fried it in a dry pan enough to get that lovely smokey char definatley works.
p.s. you might need to open a window or turn up the extractor fan.
Thanks for that feedback Lee!! N X
Delicious! This is a great make ahead recipe. I used slightly more chicken than the recipe calls for. Made 8 large burritos and wrapped them individually in foil for reheating the next day. Perfecto!
Happy Cinco de Mayo!! N x
This recipe is one of my most favourite things to make! The burritos are so tasty and I always feel like it doesn’t make enough. Need to spend a day making a huge amount haha.
Thank you so much, you have made my husband a very happy man. It’s a recipe that I make every week because it is that good!
I am happy that you both enjoyed them Dylan!! N x
Will make these again. I doubled the recipe to make 10 and ended up with 18 very full burritos.
Not that that’s a problem.