I made Bean & Cheese Burritos for the freezer yesterday. These were so easy to put together — and quite inexpensive, too.
They aren’t anything spectacular and, if you’re a foodie, you just might be appalled that I’m posting such a crazily basic recipe. 🙂 But I’m all about keeping it simple — especially when it comes to quick lunches on the go!
Oh and I took around 30 pictures yesterday afternoon when I was making these. I went to download them later to post this post and the pictures had magically disappeared.
Kind of like my phone did yesterday, too. Yes, we’re just all organized here… ahem. {Gratefully, after over an hour of tearing the house apart from top to bottom, I finally found it logged under our bedskirt. Don’t ask me how it ended up there! :)}
Jesse and I spent a long, long while trying to retrieve the photos last night, to no avail. I could have gone to the store, bought more ingredients, and re-made the recipe so I could have photos, but I just decided I’d “cheat” and use a few photos from a similar recipe I made recently. This way, those of you who are visual learners can see how simple these are to make. 🙂
Freezer-Friendly Bean & Cheese Burritos
- 1 (10-count) package of tortillas (or homemade tortillas)
- 1 16-oz. can of refried beans (or two cups homemade refried beans)
- 1/4 cup salsa
- 6 to 8 oz. of cheddar cheese, shredded
Mix refried beans and salsa together (you can add chopped cooked chicken or browned ground beef, if you’d like). Spread bean mixture down the middle of tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese and roll up.
To freeze: Wrap in plastic wrap or a sandwich baggie and stick in a gallon ziptop freezer bag. When freezer bag is full, seal until airtight and freeze for up to two months.
To serve: Thaw for a few hours and warm in the microwave or oven. Can be eaten cold, though warm would be better.
Makes 10 burritos.
Cost: Approximately $3 if using groceries from Aldi = $0.30 per burrito. Approximately $0.15 to $0.20 each if using homemade tortillas and homemade refried beans.
Recipe adapted slightly from Skinny Mom’s Kitchen.
Can’t have dairy and/or wheat? Check out Milk Allergy Mom’s adapted recipe.
More freezer-friendly burrito recipes:
Easy Freezer Burritos
Brown Bag Burritos
Southwest Rollups
See my complete Lunchbox Freezer Cooking Plan here.
Want more make-it-from-scratch ideas? I highly recommend Easy Homemade by Mandi Ehman. This ebook contains more than 60 recipes for homemade kitchen staples and it’s beautifully laid out, well-illustrated, and packed with great ideas and recipes.
These were really simple and good. I had one as a snack but froze the rest of them. Thanks for sharing this nice keeper.
Yay!! You are so welcome! -Olivia, MSM Team
Honestly, thank you for posting this recipe! As someone who has no cooking skills and was never taught to use the stove (microwave only), I appreciate simple recipes that I can actually follow and make! 🙂
About how much bean mixture do you put in each burrito?
I used between 1/3 and 1/2 cup. It will depend on how large the tortillas are. If you overfill they will be hard to roll and close. I also put the finished burrito back on the warm skillet to seal them closed.
I made these today with the help of my son. He had the brilliant idea of just mixing the cheese into the bean and salsa mixture. So easy and yummy
Needed to report back on this recipe.
Made the burritos for my kids lunch on Friday, and they were soooo easy to assembly. Then, when the kids got home, I didn’t even have to ask how they liked them. The first thing out of their mouths was ‘our lunch was awesome today!’
High praise from a 9, 11 and 13 year old. 🙂
Oh yay! That makes me so happy!
How did you keep the tacos warm till lunch time? Or were they just room tempurature? When I’ve made these for my kids lunch, I’ve microwaved them in the morning and wrapped in tin foil. Kids report back that they are soggy and cold by lunch time. Trying to figure out how to make them stay warm. Any suggestions?
I’ve been making homemade burritos for 20+ years, but I also use 1 lbs of hamburger. I bake them and wrap up the remainder in wax paper. They don’t last long enough to freeze:)
Excited to get these in the freezer. We’re a big fan of Brown Bag burritos and I usually make 50 at a time but the one you posted today is cheaper and quicker. Sweet!
I have a question…..are you cooking the totillas first or do you use them straight from the bag? If so, how do you prevent them from splitting?
I warm the tortillas in the microwave so they don’t split.
I made these today {and added crockpot shredded chicken!} for my husband to take to work since he is working overnight and fast-food places close before he can get dinner. I made a few extra for our freezer and it’s so nice to have something convenient to grab for lunch or dinner on the go!
I’m excited to have some warm lunches for homeschooling. 🙂
Here is my version of bean and cheese burritos – if you wanted to freeze these, you would just skip the part where you lightly fry them. They are really delicious and the couple of extra ingredients do make them great!
I’m pretty sure I’ve shared this recipe before so sorry if its a repeat for any of you!
Enjoy 🙂
http://healthyfoodchat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28
I my card reader became a card “eater” this week too! Pictures of tutorials and freezer cooking all gone. :(. But I agree with you, just do it again! 🙂
I’m going to make this recipe tonight during my dinner prep. Simple and easy recipes are my favorite! I’m glad you share it!
So easy! 10 minutes to do this recipe. Love it!
Rats! I’m sorry you the case of the missing pictures at your house, too! 🙁
I made a rendition of the Brown Bag burritos today for my husband to take to work. I used to make them when he was in school. They’re great because I can pack his lunch the night before and they act like ice packs for his yogurt or cheese and are perfectly thawed by lunch the next day! He enjoys them cold if he’s in a hurry but will also heat them up if he has time. If we’re short on time for lunches around the house, I’ll pull a couple out and top with lettuce and salsa. So easy, so versatile, so delicious.
At the start of the school year I had grand plans of having my kids make a week worth of sandwiches for themselves and freezing them so they are ready for the week. It hasn’t come to fruition yet, but hopefully will soon.
Maybe this series will give me the jump start I need.
Good idea, but there is no way my kids are going to eat a room temperature burrito at school. (I don’t think I’d even want to eat a room temperature burrito) It’s a good idea for a lunch to take to work where there is a microwave though.
Your recipes have been a tremendous help for me, especially the freezer cooking ideas. I struggle a little more with having good things for the kids’ lunchboxes, because they are not able to heat their food at school. Thanks so much!
I make these all the time, except I add shredded chicken! My husband, who didn’t eat beans when we got married even requests these. They are super tasty if you briefly pan fry them after you microwave them to get a little brown on the tortilla.
The bean burritos look really good and easy. I will be making these later in the series once I get out to the store to pick up some refried beans and tortillas.
I made some dairy-free mac and cheese cups with bread crumb topping. We had a few for lunch and they were really good. The kids and myself will be making the peanut butter and jelly sushi rolls next.
Be sure to link them up — if you blogged about them. I completely forgot to add the link-up this morning, but I just added it in!
Peanut butter and sushi rolls are so fun to make! I make them often for my son.
I meant peanut butter and jelly sushi rolls. 😉
I started making frozen burritos last month after your breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert freezer cooking series. We had some old dehydrated pinto beans that I needed to use and these are fantastic.
I like to make this same thing except sometimes I will blend salsa into the beans and add a little shredded chicken. Other times I do it just like you have done it here. Our family likes it better with the add ins, but we like them without the extra ingredients, too. So easy. I have a about 15 in the freezer right now. I will usually make a very large batch for dinner and then put the rest in the freezer. My husband and daughter are the ones that like to eat them for lunches.
You can’t beat that price! What a cheap lunch!
I like to add some frozen spinach into my burritos to get a little green into my kids’ bellies. One of mine has a problem with it, but the other two are fine with the spinach addition. Also, I use regular cooked black beans rather than refried.
Day 1 done – I did English muffin mini pizzas. I may try your burritos tomorrow.
http://extraordinaryordinarylife.blogspot.com/2012/09/lunchbox-freezer-cooking-english-muffin.html
We took these camping and they were super there too! Wrapped in foil and thrown on the grill.
Oh, I like the camping idea… well, for if we ever get brave enough to go camping. 😉
I made these over the summer Crystal for my freezer but modified your recipe. We ate them last week and oh.my.word they were delicious! I had some leftover cooked rice and cooked black beans in the fridge so I added it to the mixture. After defrosting in the microwave I briefly warmed them on a griddle till they had a warm and crispy outside. Delish! This will certainly become a staple for our household!
SO glad you tried and liked these easy peasy burrritos. These are my go to favorite freezer lunches to have on hand. I put them in mine and hubs lunch boxes in the morning and they are good to go by lunch – of course after a little warm up in the microwave.
I felt the same way about posting such an easy recipe on my site. However, it is actually one of my most read recipes – next to my freezer breakfast sandwich 🙂 I guess most moms like it simple like us. And it all inspires lots of other burrito ideas for people to have in their freezer.
Have a great day!
Thanks so much for the recipe inspiration!
Oh this looks like a must-do! Last time I needed re-fried beans I just cooked up a big batch of pinto beans and then blended them in the pot with my immersion blender then froze in 2 cup portions. No seasonings or anything, but they were delish- we like simple!
I am off to make these right now! Thanks… I have teenage girls who are in to lots of sports! This is something that I can add to their lunch box on away game days…can’t wait to see the rest.
Could you do something similar for breakfast?
You definitely can! I make breakfast burritos for the freezer all the time – scrambled eggs, cheese, salsa and black beans. Roll it up, stick it in the freezer and defrost for breakfast.
Oh yeah…I make more breakfast burritos than I do bean burritos. My “get up late” husband likes to grab and go sometimes. All I do is make an egg scramble and then scoop into burritos, wrap, and freeze. Our favorite combos include, eggs, chopped veggies, either chopped morningstar sausage or crumbled bacon, and cheese.
Here’s a Breakfast Burrito recipe we love:
https://moneysavingmom.com/2011/05/freezer-friendly-breakfast-burritos.html
It’s a little more expensive and time-intensive, but yummy!
Thank you for the link-up, Crystal. I hope we can be helpful to some allergy families. 🙂 And my boys loved these….taste-tested and approved!
Have you, or anyone actually tried making these with corn tortillas? I grew up eating these, but since we are dairy and wheat free, I have found the corn tortillas to be too small, not filling and tough when oven baked with beans in them.
Melissa, you are right. We have used corn tortillas and they can be tricky. I should have remembered that when I suggested it. I changed my post to just suggest using corn tortilla chips. Then the filling can be used as a “dip” and frozen in small plastic containers. The chips can be separated into individual baggies ready for single size dipping. 🙂 I think the best technique for corn tortillas is frying them, filling them fast, and eating before they cool. Probably not the best technique for freezing, huh!
It also looks like The Willing Cook makes her own gluten-free tortillas. I wonder if they freeze and reheat ok? 🙂
http://willingcook.com/recipe-inspiration-chicken-fajitas-with-gluten-free-tortillas/
They make brown rice tortillas that you could try that are gluten free. I think Food for Life is the brand.