We’re making 10 Cheesy Beef and Bean Burritos! Great for a Snack or Lunch, and even a dinner with a side of Rice like Mexican Rice or even Yellow Cumin Rice. These can be oven baked with an Enchilada sauce over the Burritos with some cheese, served with a side Rice. You can also use this same recipe for Cheesy Beef & Bean Burrito Bowls. Wrap any leftover Burritos in tinfoil to freeze and have them anytime you want.

These are about the same size you buy at your grocery store at about 155 g per Burrito. Except these homemade ones only cost about $2.00 each as suppose to double that or more for the store bought.

With these made up in advance they make for a Quick Lunch or Snack too! Even making a few for Dinner or Supper and freezing the rest for a later Snack or Lunch is pretty quick and easy.

Cheesy Beef and Bean Burritos Ingredients

Ground Beef, Old El Paso Taco Seasoning, Beef Bouillon Cube, Refried Beans, Lemon Juice, Cheddar Cheese, Large Tortillas.

Cheese

Start by shredding the cheese and setting it aside, ready to add to the burritos during assembly. During this time, you can heat a large pan over medium heat and wait until it gets hot while you shred the cheese in order to toast the Tortillas in the next step.

I use a food processor to quickly shred the cheese and empty into a bowl and cover to keep it from drying out.

Tortillas

Use large tortillas, preferably the ones that come in packs of 10, as this recipe makes 10 burritos. Wonder or Casa Mendosa brand tortillas work well. Toast them briefly before cooking the filling. Once the pan is heated, cook each side for just a couple of seconds over medium heat.

Toast these and set them aside, then make the burrito filling. The pan will be hot and ready to use immediately.

Ground Beef

1 lb (ca. 454 g) of ground Beef are used for these Burritos. But an even cheaper option could be a 50/50 mix of Ground Beef & Pork, which is cheaper per lb than beef. Since there is a bouillon cube that is added when cooking the meat, even the pork will come out tasting beefy.

If you want a bit of heat, add the desired amount of finely chopped or minced Chilies. A bit of Sriracha can be added here too.

Burrito Meat Paste

To make the seasoned burrito meat paste, use 1 lb of ground beef, 1 pack of Old El Paso taco seasoning, 2/3 cup of tomato juice or water, and a beef bouillon cube for extra beefy flavor. Add the liquids to the meat before cooking to create a beef paste, much like the refried beans that will be added later.

Add Refried Beans to make a Beef & Bean Burrito meat paste filling. Mix it in well, until uniform in consistency while cooking.

Refried Beans

Use a whole can of Refried Beans at about 454 g. Slightly more as with La Costena (546 ml), or slightly less with Old El Paso Refried Beans (398 ml) is fine. Add into the Burrito meat after it has browned, and the liquids have evaporated to create the Burrito Beef & Bean Paste used to stuff the Burritos.

If you want, you can make your own Refried Beans from dried Pinto Beans and use 454 g for the Beef & Bean Meat paste filling.

Beef Suet

A bit of Beef Suet will also up the Beef Flavor and can be included in the Burrito meat filling before being cooked. If you don’t have this on hand, then rendered beef fat or just a neutral oil or lard will work just fine.

Melted Beef Fat can also be used to brush the assembled Burritos and pan fried or oven baked. This will give a beefy taste to the exterior when consuming the Burritos.

How to assemble Cheesy Beef and Bean Burritos

Get all your ingredients prepared, cooked and gathered together for assembling the Cheesy Beef & Bean Burritos. You want your cheese shredded, the Tortillas toasted and the Burrito Beef & Bean Paste cooked and ready to go. Along with any additional filling you may want to add.

You can weigh out the ingredients that will go into each Burrito or guess it at about 1/3 C of the Beef & Bean Paste and then make adjustments ensuring the meat filling is spread out pretty evenly or weigh out 90g for each burrito. Then a generous sprinkle of cheese or weigh it out at 40g for each burrito.

Burrito Assembly

• Weigh out 90g or place a scoop of the Beef & Bean Paste on the Toasted Tortilla, just off center towards the bottom.
• Weigh out 40g or sprinkle a generous amount of cheese on the top
• Additional ingredients can be added such as Rice, Pico De Gallo, Salsa, Red Taco Sauce, Cheese Whiz Sauce or Nacho Cheese Whiz Sauce.
• Fold the sides of the tortilla over the filling, about 1 inch. This will help contain the ingredients.
• Starting from the side closest to you (the bottom), fold the tortilla up and over the filling. Tuck the filling in tightly towards yourself, so it stays compact. Fold in any protruding sides in again and continue rolling the tortilla away from you, keeping the sides tucked in and tightly rolling.

Freezing Burritos

Wrap up any leftover burritos in tin foil and place into the freezer. From here they can be defrosted in the microwave and cooked a few different ways, or placed in the refrigerator overnight to thaw for the next day.

Reheating Burritos

No matter how you plan to cook the burritos—whether in the microwave, pan-fried, or in the oven, start by defrosting them. Microwave the frozen burritos for 5 minutes, or place them in the refrigerator the night before to thaw for the next day and cook them directly.

Thawed Burritos can be reheated or cooked in the following ways;

• Cooked in the Microwave for a few minutes until heated through
• Pan Fried over medium heat with a bit of fat until crispy. Turning them over to crisp up all sides.
• Baked in the oven at 400 F, while still wrapped in Tin Foil. This method keeps the Tortilla soft and pliable.
• Baked in the oven at 400 F, while unwrapped and placed on baking sheets. This method create crispy burritos. Optionally brush with Fat before placing into the oven, melted beef fat/suet is good.

Oven Crispy Burritos

Burritos are typically reheated soft or slightly crispy. Even thawed and pan fried until crisp. But by far the best Crispy Burritos are reheated as follows;

• With Frozen Burritos straight from the freezer and the foil discarded, defrost in the microwave for 5 minutes, while preheating the oven to 400 F.
• Toss into the oven on a baking sheet for 8 minutes. This creates an extra crispy exterior and with a soft mushy inside with cheese, it’s just perfect.

Cheesy Beef and Bean Burritos Dinner

These can always be enjoyed as a lunch or snack. But are just as good when served with a side, for a Burrito Dinner or Supper, and pretty cheap too. Some ideas are below.

Cheesy Beef and Bean Burritos with Rice

Serve the Burritos with a side a Rice. Some good ones are Mexican Rice, Taco Rice or Yellow Cumin Rice. Include some Pico De Gallo, Sour Cream or Guacamole. While the Rice is typically served on the side for a meal, you can include the Rice as a Burrito filling too. Along with other fillings to fill out the burritos.

Cheesy Beef and Bean Enchiladas

You can also serve them Enchilada Style with the Red Taco Sauce, using Tomato Paste and Beef Broth, instead of the Tomato Juice & Cornstarch, and omitting the Ketchup. Add some rehydrated Pepper such as Guajillo & Ancho, blended and added in. It adds a nice color too and a bit of heat. Top off with more cheese on top and bake. Although with Enchiladas, Corn Tortillas are typically used, but flour tortillas can be too.

These Chilies can also be rehydrated in water after removing the seeds and then pureed, to add to the meat filling before cooking.

Burrito Condiments

Stuff the burritos with additional sauces or condiments like pico de gallo, salsa, or red taco sauce. Serve condiments like guacamole or sour cream on the side, although they can also be added to the burritos. Sriracha can also be served on the side or drizzled over the Burrito filling when assembling for extra heat.

Make some Cheesy Beef & Bean Burritos for your next Taco Tuesday and enjoy one as a late night snack! Check out our other Taco Tuesday Meals.