Beef Taco Burritos

Ground Beef Taco Burritos are a family favorite and a easy weeknight meal to throw together that is full of flavor and texture!

When you want tacos but also want burritos – the struggle is real! What I love to do is make taco stuffing, but then roll it around inside a burrito with all the usual taco toppings. It’s the best of both worlds and makes for a great DIY family dinner. If you have little kids and want a fun meal to switch things around, these taco burritos are worth a try!

WHAT IS A TACO BURRITO?

These beef burritos are made of all of the usual ingredients you would find in a ground beef taco, but rice is added and everything is rolled in a flour tortilla. They only take 30 minutes to make and they are loaded with amazing flavor!

HOW TO MAKE TACO BURRITOS

There are two parts to making the taco burritos: first, cooking the taco, and second assembling the taco meat into a burrito.

COOK THE TACO STUFFING

To cook the taco stuff, I start with lean ground beef and season with with chili powder, garlic and cumin. That alone is a ton of flavor for the taco stuffing. But a trick I learned from my mom (who is Lebanese, by the way, and is definitely no expert in Mexican cooking) was to add prepared salsa to the taco stuffing. Mom nailed it with that one, and I’m telling you, it really makes the taco stuffing juicy, flavorful and more nutritious with the extra servings of vegetables.

Mix the salsa with the seasoned ground beef, and the taco stuffing is ready for the taco burritos!

ASSEMBLE THE BURRITOS

Now’s the fun part! And if you’re having a DIY family style dinner, the recipe is pretty much done. Just serve the taco beef with your favorite toppings, extra salsa, some brown rice and tortillas for optional burrito making.

If you’re going through with the burrito making though, you’ll want to lay a tortilla flat on a cutting board, add cheese as the first layer. Then the remaining layers can be whatever you’d like. Just be sure to add another layer of cheese on top of everything to help bind the burritos.

I use soft taco tortillas instead of standard burrito tortillas since this is technically a taco burritos recipe. But any size tortilla is fine.

Roll that up, place it on a skillet with the seam side down for a couple minutes until it gets warm and crispy on the outside. I like to turn it on all its sides so it’s equally crispy on all the edges.

TIPS FOR MAKING TACO BURRITOS

• Avoid using salsa with too much liquid. Since we’re looking for burritos with a crispy exterior, I recommend draining extra liquid from the salsa if it has a lot of water. I also suggest draining the fat from the beef after it’s cooked if it releases too much liquid. This keeps the tortillas from getting soggy.
• Skip the tomatoes and salsa if you’re freezing. The tomatoes tend to have a high water content so they will release liquid when thawed and result in soggy taco burritos. This is true for any other water-based vegetables you want to include in the burritos.
• Warm the tortillas before stuffing and rolling. I recommend putting the tortillas in a stack on a large foil, add a few splashes of water and then wrapping tightly in the foil. Warm them up in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes. This makes the tortillas softer, more pliable and easier to roll and fold.
• Don’t overstuff the burritos. Easier said than done, I know. But you want to be cognisant of how many ingredients you’re adding so that you can manage to wrap the burrito…and keep it wrapped! Try to also keep the ingredients together in one line in the center of the burrito.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A TACO AND A BURRITO?

The main difference between the two is the size – tacos are smaller and are generally a lighter snack, where as burritos are larger and are made with rice for a more hearty meal. Burritos are rolled in a flour tortilla which are larger and more pliable and tacos tend to have corn shells, soft or hard.

WHAT’S THE BEST BEEF TO USE IN THIS RECIPE?

I would suggest that you use a lean ground beef to reduce the fat content. Where possible I always try to by locally reared beef as well, it tastes so much better as well as being better for the environment.

WHAT SO YOU SERVE WITH BEEF TACO BURRITOS?

These taco burritos are hearty enough to serve by themselves, but you could easily serve them with more Mexican sides for a bigger feast. Salsa, corn on the cob and tortillas and guacamole would all work really well.

I love how easy and convenient these taco burritos are. I’m sure they’re going to be a huge hit in your home!