Make-Ahead Bean Burritos

Last week, Lisa B. at Easy Frugal Living asked her readers how they keep breakfast quick and easy. In my comment, I told her that I make breakfast burritos ahead of time, but also that I think a bean burrito can be just as good for breakfast as an egg burrito. She responded by asking me to do a post on how I make my bean burritos for the freezer.

This is another of those "non-recipe" recipes. I just throw some stuff together, roll it up and freeze it.

For the filling, I usually cook my own pinto beans using 1 pound pintos, 1 Tablespoon salt and a Tablespoon or so of bacon drippings. I cook them until tender, drain off most of the soup, then mash them up a little with a potato masher so they are still a bit chunky instead of completely smooth. In the pictures below I used black beans instead of pintos. I mixed in about 2 Tablespoons salsa and just sprinkled on a little cheddar cheese. Sometimes I mix the cheese right into the beans before spreading them on the tortillas. Sometimes I add leftover cooked rice, ground beef or chicken to the mixture. Really, it's just whatever I have on hand that determines what goes into the burritos.

As for the tortillas, I like to make my own, but I usually don't. Making them is time consuming and I find it very difficult to get them rolled out large enough. I can get them large enough to roll enchilada-style, but not large enough to fold both ends in. Usually I buy a package of two dozen at Sam's Club. Sometimes I splurge a little and buy tortillas made from scratch at a Mexican grocery store just up the street.

To assemble the burritos, I heat one tortilla at a time in the microwave for 7-10 seconds, then lay it on a piece of foil on my countertop.

I spread 1/4 to 1/3 cup bean filling across the center of the tortilla, then sprinkle it with cheese.

I then fold both sides in to the center.

I fold the edge closest to me up toward the top. Actually, I do fold to the top, but then I slide it back toward me until it's just a little above the center point.  Why?  No real reason other than that's how I was taught to do it when I worked at Taco Bell back in my early 20s.  I do think it makes a tighter burrito, however.

At this point, I quit folding and start rolling, rolling the burrito away from me toward the opposite edge.

Then I center the rolled burrito on the foil and wrap the foil the same way I wrapped the tortilla:  sides in, bottom up, then roll away from me.

Once all the filling is rolled into burritos, I place them all in a plastic bag (often the bag the tortillas came in) and put it all in the freezer.

To heat the burritos later, I just unwrap them from the foil and microwave them for 1 to 2 minutes.  They can also be heated in the foil in the oven, but I don't ever do that, so I'm not sure how long it would take.  Another way would be to unwrap them and either pan or deep fry them chimichanga-style.

That's it.  Easy peasy! 

I make my breakfast burritos basically the same way.  I scramble eggs, using one large egg for each tortilla I have, plus one or two more eggs (for example, if I had 10 tortillas to fill, I'd cook 12 eggs).  After the eggs are cooked, I stir in shredded cheese, maybe some sauteed green pepper and onion, and cooked ham, sausage or bacon.  Sometimes I leave the cheese out and spread a little mild queso sauce on the tortilla instead.  I don't usually include salsa as we all like our burritos with different amounts of salsa and heat.  I roll them, freeze them and reheat them the same as the bean burritos. 

Either of these burritos makes a quick and easy breakfast or lunch.