Baked Burritos are a delicious and popular Mexican entree. The filling ingredients are tucked into a large flour tortilla and oven-baked to cheesy, beefy perfection. Baking the burritos in the oven gives them a crispy, golden-brown exterior. Here's an added bonus, the burritos can be assembled in advance and then baked when your family is ready to eat.
Jump to:
- Ingredients to Have on Hand
- Burrito Filling
- Substitutions and Options
- What to Serve with Baked Burritos
- Homemade Burrito Spice Mix
- How to Prepare the Filling
- Make Ahead and Storage
- Use Large Flour Tortillas
- How to Assemble Baked Burritos
- Freezer Friendly
- Top Tips and FAQ
- More Beef Recipes
- More Dinner Ideas
- Recipe
- Reviews
Ingredients to Have on Hand
Baked burritos include simple ingredients, but put them all together in a large flour tortilla and baked in the oven and it's a wonderful meal sure to please everyone at the table.
- ground beef
- black beans
- canned green chilis
- spinach
- limes
- green onions
- fire roasted tomatoes
- Monterey Jack cheese
- large flour tortillas
- chili powder
- cumin
- oregano
Scroll down to the recipe card to read specifics on quantities for each ingredient.
Burrito Filling
This baked burrito recipe is full of all our favorite burrito flavors, but what makes these a meal in one is each burrito also includes plenty of black beans, cheese and fresh spinach greens.
You can mix and match the ingredients to discover the flavor combination that your family enjoys the most.
Substitutions and Options
Beans: The recipe calls for black beans, but you can substitute pinto beans or great northern beans.
Vegetables: Not a fan of spinach? Shred carrots or add chop broccoli instead (chop it into very small pieces) or slice and chop red, green or yellow peppers.
Cheese: Instead of Monterey Jack cheese, use shredded Cheddar cheese - sharp or mild - or a Mexican cheese blend from the grocery store or even Monterey Jack cheese with jalapeno peppers.
Beef: Instead of using ground beef, use the same amount of ground turkey or ground chicken.
What to Serve with Baked Burritos
One of the best things about baked burritos is they are packed full of just about everything you need for a meal: meat, beans, veggies, and cheese - all tucked neatly into a big flour tortilla.
But side dishes are always a good idea!
I recommend serving with a fresh green salad, Crunchy Cole Slaw, Sweet Corn Pasta Salad, and plenty of fresh Homemade Guacamole. But perhaps my favorite side dish for baked burritos is Easy Mexican Fried Rice.
Homemade Burrito Spice Mix
No store-bought burrito seasoning mix is needed to make these burritos.
Blend chili powder, cumin and dried oregano for the perfect Mexican-inspired flavor combination.
Combining the spice mix is the first step in this recipe. You'll use half the spice mix to season the canned, fire-roasted tomatoes and the other half to season the meat.
How to Prepare the Filling
Here's how to prepare the filling for baked burritos, step by step:
- Heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet on the stove.
- Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the beef, half the diced green onions and ½ the spice mix.
- Cook until the meat is no longer pink.
- Season with salt and pepper and remove cooked beef from the pan.
- Place it in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
- In the same skillet, add all of the Spicy Tomato Sauce ingredients, the remaining spice mix and cook over high heat until bubbling and most of the water has evaporated.
- Spoon half the cooked tomato sauce into a small bowl and set aside, you'll use this later to top each burrito before they go into the oven.
- Turn the heat to low, and return the cooked beef to the same large skillet with the tomato sauce.
- Add the black beans, green chilis, spinach and ½ cup of Monterey Jack cheese.
- Stir until the spinach begins to soften and the cheese has melted.
- Assemble the burritos
Make Ahead and Storage
Baked Burritos are easy to prep a day ahead.
Assemble the burritos according to the recipe, then place them in a large covered container and refrigerate overnight.
When you are ready to eat, place the burritos on a large baking sheet and bake in the oven at 375° F for 20 - 25 minutes.
Slice limes, chop cilantro and dice a few green onions to sprinkle on top and you've got yourself a fresh, tasty meal ready to go.
Use Large Flour Tortillas
Perhaps you've seen those big flour tortillas in the grocery store that are so cleverly labeled "burrito size" - those are in fact the perfect size tortilla for baked burritos.
Although they may look extra large on the grocery store shelf you'll need plenty of tortilla to wrap around the filling.
How to Assemble Baked Burritos
Place the burrito-sized, flour tortillas in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to warm them up slightly, this softens the tortilla and makes is easy to wrap around the filling ingredients without tearing them.
One by one, place a warmed tortilla on a large plate, cutting board or other clean surface.
Here's how to warm tortillas in the microwave:
- Layer the tortillas on a microwave-safe plate
- Heat for about 30 seconds, depending on the wattage of your microwave, you may need to add a few more seconds.
- No microwave? Preheat your oven to 300° F. Stack the tortillas and wrap them in aluminum foil, place them in the oven for 10 minutes or until slightly warm, not hot.
Scoop one cup of the cooked burrito filling in the center of each tortilla.
Fold both the left and the right edges on top of the filling, then the top and bottom.
Place the burrito seam-side down onto the baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Repeat the process until all the burritos are wrapped.
Freezer Friendly
Baked burritos are freezer friendly.
Once the tortillas are filled and topped with the spicy tomato sauce, lime juice and cheese, place the burritos in an airtight container and freeze.
When you are ready to bake, place the frozen burritos on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375° F degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the burritos are slightly browned and piping hot.
For the best freshness, try to enjoy the burritos within 6 months after freezing.
Top Tips and FAQ
You will want the big burrito-sized tortillas. I know they seem oversized, but given all the ingredients that are tucked into these burritos you'll use every square inch of that flour tortilla for the hearty filling.
Here's where the spicy tomato topping and a few squeezes of lime juice come in handy. Both liquid ingredients on top of each burrito give the tortilla just the right amount of moisture to stay crispy, crunchy and fresh. Not dry at all.
There's no need to. I know that's how often we are served burritos, especially in fast-food settings, but you won't need foil with these baked burritos.
More Beef Recipes
Baked burritos are filled with tasty ground beef and here are some other beefy recipes I think you'll enjoy.
More Dinner Ideas
Baked burritos are a family favorite in my house, and are often requested for birthdays or special occasions, but I make them for weeknight dinners too.
Here are a few more recipes that are inspired by delicious Mexican flavors:
If you tried Baked Burritos or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below.
Recipe
Baked Burritos
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground beef
- 1, 26.5 ounces can black beans rinsed and drained, or use two 15 ounce cans
- 1 small can green chilis
- 1 cup fresh spinach chopped
- 3 green onions sliced thin
- 2-3 limes cut into wedges
- 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- cilantro for garnish
Spicy Tomato Sauce
- 1, 14.5 ounce can fire roasted diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup water
- lime juice from 1 or 2 lime wedges
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper to taste
Spice Mix
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground oregano
Tortillas
- 7 large, burrito-sized flour tortillas
Instructions
Preheat Oven, Mix Spices
- Preheat oven to 375° and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine spice mix ingredients in a small dish and set aside.
Cook Beef and Tomato Sauce
- Heat about 3 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet on the stovetop. Add beef, half the green onions and about ½ the spice mix. Cook until meat is no longer pink. Season with salt and pepper and remove cooked beef from the pan. Place it in a medium-sized bowl and set aside. In the same skillet, add all of the Spicy Tomato Sauce ingredients, the remaining spice mix and cook over high heat until bubbling and most of the water has evaporated. Spoon about half the cooked tomato sauce into a small bowl and set aside.
Combine Ingredients
- Over low heat, return the cooked beef to the skillet with the tomato sauce and add the black beans, green chilis, spinach and about ½ cup of the Monterey Jack cheese. Stir until spinach begins to soften and the cheese has melted.
Assemble and Bake Burritos
- Layer the tortillas on a microwave safe plate and soften for about 30 seconds. One at a time, place flat on a large cutting board. Spoon about one cup of filling on each tortilla. Fold in the sides, then roll up the bottom edge to the top to seal and place the burritos seam-side down on the baking sheet. (If preparing in advance - place the wrapped burritos in the fridge at this point, but hold off on topping with the sauce and cheese until you are ready to bake.) Spoon remaining tomato sauce on top of each burrito and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Squeeze the juice from a few wedges of lime and top with green onion slices and chopped cilantro. Bake for 20-25 minutes. To serve, squeeze the juice from a wedge of lime on top of each burrito and top with green onion slices and chopped cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note, the nutrition details are estimated using a food database and are offered here only as a guideline for informational purposes.
Tina says
Unbelievably tasty and such smart wrapping instead of fall apart rolled burritos. My husband is the cook in the family, but he had a late meeting and I tackled this to surprise him because burritos were on the menu. I did everything exactly as stated in the recipe and could not have been happier with the results, especially the puffed, crisp tortilla texture. Very impressed that it made the exact quantity of burritos stated in the recipe; pretty rare according to hubby. Flash froze a few unbaked ones and can't wait until burritos are on the menu again!
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
Hi Tina, Thank you for the five-star rating and for the lovely review! I'm thrilled to hear you enjoyed the baked burritos. It's a tried and true recipe that my family requests all the time. Good call on freezing a few extras. They bake up beautifully from the freezer. Thanks again!! 🙂
Natalie says
I love baked burritos. I'm going to give your recipe a try next time I'm making. Looks delicious!
Kayla DiMaggio says
These baked beef burritos were amazing! So easy and came out great!