Skip the freezer aisle and make your own freezer-friendly Beef and Bean Burritos at home. Flour tortillas are layered with a well seasoned ground beef filling, two kinds of beans, and plenty of shredded cheese.
Looking for a meatless meal? Try my Baked Cheesy Bean and Rice Burritos.
If you’ve got teenagers in the house over the summer break, I guarantee you’ll be happy to have your freezer stocked with these Beef and Bean Burritos!
But honestly, it’s been years since we’ve had teenagers here and we still love them. They stay fresh a good long time in your freezer and can be reheated quickly from frozen for an easy lunch or dinner. And most importantly, they’re more wholesome and taste so much better than store-bought frozen burritos.
The next time you’re in one of those Marie Kondo I’m-going-to-tackle-my closets-and-the-world kind of moods, add these easy Beef and Bean Burritos to your to-do list. That way when all heck breaks loose, as it seems to frequently, you’ll have a homemade microwaveable meal in minutes.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Ground beef filling – 90% to 93% lean ground beef, diced yellow onion, tomato paste, Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix (or a store-bought blend), a little water, canned diced green chiles, and a little hot sauce. These ingredients create a moist and flavorful ground beef fillig.
- Beans – A can of refried beans and a can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- Cheese – I use a combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese.
- Tortillas – Burrito size (10-inch) flour tortillas. For smaller burritos, you can use 8-inch soft taco tortillas.
How to Make Beef and Bean Burritos
- Ground beef filling: Follow the recipe directions to cook the easy ground beef filling in a large nonstick skillet. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
- Beans: While the beef is cooking, combine the refried beans and pinto beans in a medium mixing bowl.
- Fill: Layer a tortilla with beef filling, beans, and shredded cheese.
- Fold: Fold the ends of the tortilla over the filling.
- Roll: Then, roll tightly roll up the burrito.
- Repeat: Repeat this process with the remaining tortillas and filling ingredients.
Be sure to tuck the edges of the flour tortilla in over the filling and roll the burritos tightly to form a neat package so the ingredients won’t spill out when they are heated.
How to Freeze Burritos
- Layer 1: Securely wrap the burrito in a small sheet of parchment paper (I cut sheets of parchment paper in half to create squares).
- Layer 2: Then, wrap it again in a sheet of foil. Two layers of wrap is an important step to help prevent freezer burn.
- Freezer bag: Place the wrapped burritos in gallon size freezer-safe plastic storage bags.
Heating Frozen Burritos
These burritos can be heated straight from the freezer in the microwave or a conventional oven. If you’d like to heat an entire batch of them all at once, this can be done best in a conventional oven but it does take much longer.
I also tested reheating these burritos from their frozen state in an air fryer and didn’t love the outcome so I’m not sharing that method. In the time it took for the frozen filling to warm through, the tortillas became overly browned and somewhat dried out. Not ideal.
Microwave method: Remove the foil and parchment paper from one burrito and wrap it in a paper towel. Cook for 2 minutes and then flip the burrito and cook for an additional 30 to 45 seconds, or until heated through. Allow the heated burrito to sit for 20 seconds or so before serving. When using the microwave you should reheat them one at a time for the best result.
Conventional oven method: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. If you used plastic wrap or wax paper, unwrap the burrito and re-wrap them with just the foil. If you used parchment paper, you can leave the burrito wrapped in both. Place the foil-wrapped burritos on a baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes or until heated through, flipping halfway through the cooking time. The tortillas will toast up a little and they will cook up perfectly.
Tips for the Best Beef and Bean Freezer Burritos
Add flavor: Even if you like burritos on the mild side, I recommend adding a few shakes of a flavored hot sauce to the ground beef filling. Our favorites are Cholula Chipotle Hot Sauce or Chipotle Green Pepper Hot Sauce. These sauces are a quick way to add a ton of flavor to the filling.
Soften the tortillas before rolling: Use room temperature flour tortillas since chilled tortillas have a tendency to crack. If you are pulling the tortillas from the fridge, microwave a stack of 8 to 10 tortillas on a microwave-safe plate for about 30 seconds to warm them slightly.
Avoid soggy burritos: Allow the meat mixture to cool slightly before filling the tortillas. If the mixture is too hot, it can result in a soggy tortilla.
Variations
- Burrito Size: This recipe will make 8 burritos using 10-inch burrito size flour tortillas. For mini burritos, use smaller 8-inch soft taco size tortillas and you’ll get 10 or more, depending on how beefy you want them.
- Tex-Mex Burritos: Sauté some diced red bell pepper and add some frozen corn to the ground beef filling. Layer the burritos with pepper Jack cheese for a Tex-Mex twist!
- Lower Carb Burritos: I like to wrap half the burritos in low carb wraps like Ole Extreme Wellness High Fiber Wraps or La Tortilla Factory Whole Wheat Tortillas for my husband and I. This is an easy substitution to make that will cut a substantial amount of refined carbs from your meal.
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Beef and Bean Burritos (Freezer-Friendly)
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds 90% to 93% lean ground beef
- ¾ cup diced yellow onion
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 4 teaspoons Homemade Taco Seasoning Mix
- ½ cup water
- 4 ounce can diced green chiles, drained
- Hot sauce, optional and to taste (we love Choluha flavors)
- 16 ounce can refried beans
- 16 ounce can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
- 3 cups shredded cheese, sharp cheddar, Monterey Jack cheese or pepper Jack cheese (or a combo)
- 8 (10″) burrito size flour tortillas, room temperature
Instructions
- Coat a large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray and place it over MEDIUM heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, stirring to break up the ground beef, until the beef is thoroughly cooked and no pink remains. Drain the grease from the skillet and return it to the heat. Add the tomato paste and taco seasoning and cook, stirring, until the tomato paste and spices are combined well with the beef. Add the water, diced green chiles, and a few generous shakes of your favorite hot sauce, or as much as desired to suit your taste. Reduce the heat to MEDIUM-LOW and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the water has been absorbed. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow the mixture to cool slightly.
- Meanwhile, combine the refried beans and pinto beans in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside.
Assemble the Burritos
- Layer a tortilla with ¼ cup of the bean mixture, ½ cup of the beef mixture and about ⅓ cup shredded cheese. Fold the ends of the tortilla over the filling and then roll up tightly. Repeat with remaining tortillas and filling ingredients. (Important to fold ends over before rolling so filling will stay put when reheating.)
To Wrap and Freeze
- Securely wrap the burritos in a sheet of parchment paper (can use plastic wrap or wax paper) and then in a sheet of foil (just regular foil – not heavy duty). Use a permanent marker to label them individually with the date or place them in a gallon size freezer-safe plastic storage bag and label the bag with the date and contents. Freeze for up to 3 months.
Heating the Frozen Burritos
- Microwave: Remove and discard the foil and inner wrapping from one frozen burrito. Wrap it in a paper towel and place it on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Flip the burrito over and cook for an additional 30 to 45 seconds or until heated through. Let stand, wrapped, for 20 seconds and then devour!
- Conventional Oven: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. If you used plastic wrap or wax paper, unwrap the burrito and wrap it again with just the foil (without the inner wrapping). If you used parchment paper, you can leave the burrito wrapped in both. Place the foil-wrapped burrito in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or until heated through, flipping halfway through the cooking time. If baking more than one burrito at a time you can place them on a baking sheet and it may take a bit longer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
More Freezer Meals
This post was originally published March 9, 2019. It has been updated with new text and images.
There is another way to reheat that I like. I microwave them wrapped in a paper towel (or can use parchment) for about 4 min or until filling is hot, then I remove the paper towel and air fry a couple of minutes until lightly golden, maybe a minute per side. They always come out perfect!
Absolutely delicious. Easy to prepare. Great to have on hand for a quick, hearty meal. So much healthier and tastier than store-bought frozen beef and bean burritos. I made 8 burritos from one recipe so each burritos was full of flavorful beef and beans. I will make sure to always have a few in the freezer!
Yay! So glad the recipe worked out so well for you. 🙂
Have you ever tried sneaking any veggies in these? What veggies? Did it work? I hat were the process and method?
Veggies would be great. Just sauté your veggies of choice and mix them in with the cooked beef. I think zucchini, bell pepper, corn, spinach, and/or mushrooms would all be delish!