Easy Chicken Burrito Recipe
Enjoy them tonight or freeze them for later - these easy chicken burritos are perfect either way! Stuffed with chicken, beans, rice, and cheese, they're satisfying and budget-friendly. Includes my foolproof, collapse-proof method for rolling burritos!
Yield: burritos
Equipment
- Cutting board
- Sharp chef's knife
- Large skillet
- Large wooden spoon
- Medium microwave-safe bowl
- whisk or silicone spatula, or spoon
- 5 Paper towels full-size sheets
- Large microwave-safe plate
- flat work surface
- Large plate
Ingredients
For the Chicken
- 1 medium rotisserie chicken approximately 2-3 pounds
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons taco seasoning store-bought or make your own
- 1 tablespoon water
For the Refried Beans
- 1 cup refried beans store-bought or make your own
- ¼ cup water
For the Burritos
- 2 cups cooked rice white rice, brown rice, or Mexican rice
- 4 10-inch flour tortillas see Notes
- 1 cup shredded cheese divided, Mexican-style cheese blend preferred
Suggested Toppings (All Optional)
- shredded lettuce
- pico de gallo
- diced onion
- roasted corn kernels
- chopped cilantro
- sour cream
- guacamole
- chimichurri ranch made from this recipe
Instructions
To Prepare the Chicken
- Remove skin from 1 medium rotisserie chicken. Cut all meat off bones and discard carcass. Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces.
- Place large skillet on stovetop over medium-high heat. Drizzle 1 tablespoon avocado oil evenly onto surface of skillet. Continue heating pan, swirling and tilting pan occasionally to spread oil across entire surface, until oil is hot and shimmery.
- When oil is ready, add chopped chicken to skillet. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons taco seasoning over chicken and stir to incorporate, then add 1 tablespoon water. Stir to incorporate water, then cook 2 minutes or until chicken is heated through.
- Once seasoned chicken is ready, remove skillet from heat and set aside.
To Prepare the Refried Beans
- Add 1 cup refried beans to medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave beans in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until beans are warm.
- When beans are warm, add ¼ cup water to bowl and stir until water is fully incorporated and bean mixture is smooth. Set aside.
To Prepare the Rice
- If 2 cups cooked rice are not already warm, add rice to microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring between each, until warm. Add small amounts of water as needed to keep rice from drying out in microwave.
To Warm the Tortillas
- Wet 5 full-size paper towels and wring out majority of excess water, leaving paper towels just damp.
- Cover plate with one paper towel, laying paper towel flat. Place one tortilla on top of paper towel, then cover tortilla completely with second paper towel. Repeat layers, alternating tortillas and damp paper towels, until all 4 10-inch flour tortillas have been stacked and covered.
- Place plate in microwave and microwave 15 seconds on full power, then check tortillas. If tortillas are not warm and soft after 15 seconds, microwave 10 seconds more. Rewet paper towels as needed. Note: if edges of tortillas feel dry or crisp, paper towels either need more moisture or are not covering tortillas completely.
To Assemble and Roll the Burritos
- Remove top tortilla from plate and place on flat work surface. Keep remaining tortillas stacked between paper towels in microwave until ready to use.
- Dollop ¼ cup refried beans onto center of tortilla and spread beans out horizontally, keeping beans in middle of tortilla. Leave approximately 1 to 2 inches between edge of bean layer and edge of tortilla.
- Top layer of beans with ½ cup rice, spreading rice out to cover beans evenly.
- Top rice with chopped chicken and ¼ cup shredded cheese, spreading each layer of ingredients out evenly. Add any additional toppings as desired.
- Gently run fingers under edges of tortilla to ensure tortilla doesn't stick, then carefully lift edge of tortilla farthest from you. Fold edge down and over filling to meet bottom edge of tortilla (edge closest to you). Lightly press on filling, then unfold tortilla. Filling should now mostly cover bottom half of tortilla.
- Gently fold left and right edges of tortilla in toward center, covering filling as much as possible without overlapping edges of tortilla. If tortilla edges don't touch, that's fine.
- With sides of tortilla folded in, gently lift bottom edge of tortilla (edge closest to you) and fold tortilla up toward center, covering filling. Tuck bottom edge of tortilla under top edge of filling.
- Gently but tightly roll tortilla away from you, holding sides together as needed, until burrito is completely rolled. Place rolled burrito seam-side down on large plate and set aside. Repeat process with remaining tortillas, until all 4 burritos have been rolled.
- Serve burritos immediately, or warm burritos to melt cheese (optional, see Notes below) and then serve. To freeze burritos for later, see Notes below.
Notes
- Refried Beans: Use black or pinto refried beans, whichever you prefer.
- Tortillas: Use 10-inch tortillas for 4 standard burritos or 12-inch burritos for 2 extra-large burritos. Feel free to use flavored flour tortillas, like spinach, sun-dried tomato, jalapeño cheddar, etc.
- Make it Gluten Free: Use gluten-free tortillas and gluten-free taco seasoning.
- Make it Low Carb: Use low-carb flour tortillas.
To Melt Cheese (Optional)
- Microwave: Place all 4 burritos seam-side down on microwave-safe plate. Microwave burritos 30 to 45 seconds, or until tortillas are warm and soft.
- Stovetop: Heat 1 tablespoon avocado oil in large skillet. When oil is hot and shimmery, place all 4 burritos in skillet seam-side down. Sear burritos 2 to 3 minutes or until tortillas are golden-brown underneath, then flip
To Freeze Burritos for Later
- Prepare, assemble, and roll burritos as instructed. Leave out any wet ingredients like shredded lettuce, salsa, pico, guacamole, sour cream, or chimichurri ranch. They won't freeze and defrost well, so save them for serving.
- Once burritos are rolled, let them cool completely, then wrap them tightly in aluminum foil. Be sure to cover both ends entirely.
- Place foil-wrapped burritos in an airtight, freezer-safe container or a sealable food-safe freezer bag. Remove as much air as possible from the container or bag, then seal it shut and put the burritos in the freezer. Keep frozen up to 4 months.
Nutrition
Serving Size: 1burrito | Calories: 809cal | Protein: 66g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 197mg | Sodium: 1813mg | Potassium: 101mg | Total Carbs: 66g | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 4g | Net Carbs: 60g | Vitamin A: 352IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 345mg | Iron: 4mg