Ever been tempted by the contents of the frozen food aisle? It will be easy to just say NO when you’ve made your own homemade freezer burritos. Learn how to make a lot of burritos at one time to maximize your savings.
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You’ve been there before. Strolling down the frozen food aisle late at night, little cries of hunger pangs echoing from your tummy. You’re tired after a long day, so you don’t want to cook. Should you succumb to that mediocre frozen burrito you see in the case?
Um, probably not.
As fascinating as frozen foods can be, they’re rarely as good as homemade. Not as cheap either!
And trust me, the commercially frozen burrito? It pales in comparison to the real deal.
The beauty of home cooking is that you can make whatever you want in the world of food yourself, frozen burritos, too!
Why Make Your Own Freezer Burritos
They are easy.
They are delicious. Freezer burritos are excellent for quick lunches, snacks, or dinners on the go. You can grab as many as you want out of the bag and have a super convenient dinner ready in minutes!
Ingredients
Burrito making is a simple affair. You don’t need too many ingredients, just large tortillas and a filling, like beans, chicken, and cheese.
If you plan to freeze the burritos, it’s helpful to have deli papers to make wrapping easier and a ziptop bag for storing them. If the tortillas come in a ziptop bag, you can reuse the bag to store the prepared burritos.
Here’s what you’ll need to make your own freezer burritos:
burrito tortillas – I like to use large burrito size flour tortillas. There are a variety of sizes, ranging from 10 to 16 inches in diameter. which will change how much filling you need. I recommend 12 to 14 inch tortillas for your freezer burritos.
beans – You can use canned beans or cook dry beans yourself.
cooked chicken – You can use grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken from another meal. There are lots of ways to cook chicken for recipes.
salsa verde – I love Herdez or Trader Joe’s salsa verde. You can also use salsa or enchilada sauce.
shredded cheese – Use whatever shredded cheese you like, such as Jack, cheddar, or a Mexican cheese blend. Remember you can freeze cheese if you buy more than you will use right away.
Variations – feel free to vary, the sauce, meat, cheese, and beans depending on what you have and what you like.
Of Special Note
If you know you’re making burritos to freeze, it’s important to have your tortillas at room temperature and your filling ingredients cold.
- Room temp tortillas will roll better without cracking.
- Chilled filling will help the burrito freeze more quickly which reduces the risk of freezer burn.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make freezer burritos at home:
- Combine the beans, chicken, cheese, and salsa in a bowl. Stir well to combine.
- Lay out the deli papers on a large work surface. Place one tortilla on each deli paper.
- Divide the filling among the tortillas. You want to make sure to spread the mixture in a line across the middle of the tortilla.
- Fold one side of the tortilla over the filling, tuck in the ends, and continue rolling. Wrap in the deli wrapper and place in the ziptop bag.
- Store immediately in the freezer.
To reheat freezer burritos
Microwave until hot, 1 to 3 minutes depending on your microwave. Alternatively, you can thaw and bake, nuke and bake, or nuke and crisp on the griddle.
You can also bake them in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
FAQs
As long as you wrap them well, burritos freeze incredibly well. Be sure to make them with cool ingredients so that the tortilla doesn’t get soggy.
Your freezer burritos will be good at least 2 months in the freezer (if they last you that long!). Once thawed, they will last you 1-2 days in the refrigerator.
You can heat your frozen burrito by placing it on a microwave safe plate and microwave for 1 minute on high. You can also thaw the burritos in the refrigerator and then bake them for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
Is it cheaper to make your own freezer burritos?
Anytime you’re making homemade, it’s important to determine if you’re really saving money. Let’s crunch the numbers on this recipe, per 2025 prices:
- ½ pound boneless, skinless chicken breast – $1.39 ($2.79/pound at ALDI)
- shredded cheese – $1.75 ($3.50/pound at Ralphs)
- one large can pinto beans – $2.00 (Ralphs)
- salsa verde – $1.00 (Ralphs)
- 8 tortillas – $2.39 (Ralphs)
Total spent for eight burritos filled with chicken, beans, and cheese: $8.53 That works out to about $1.06 each!
Frozen commercial chicken burritos range in price from $1.50 to $2.99, depending on the brand and quality. The quality? Yeah, there’s no comparison, really.
So, it’s not hard, it’s typically cheaper, it’s (probably) healthier, and it’s tastier to make your own freezer burritos.
How to save even more:
- Meal plan around what’s on sale. Don’t decide to make this when chicken breast is $7/pound and you have none in the freezer.
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. For instance, when I see a great price on chicken breast, I buy a lot. The same goes for cheese. In some ways jack is a specialty item around here, so I shoot for buying it at less than $3/pound.
- Do a price comparison. I know that ALDI is the best place to buy ingredients like boneless, skinless chicken breast when there isn’t a great sale elsewhere. I keep track of prices so that I know who has the best deal where.
More Freezer Burrito Recipes
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Freezer Burritos with Chicken, Beans, and Cheese
Ever been tempted by the contents of the frozen food aisle? It will be easy to just say NO when you’ve made your own homemade freezer burritos.
Servings: 8 burritos
Calories: 506kcal
Ingredients
- 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans rinsed and drained(or 4 cups homecooked pinto beans)
- 2 cup chicken (cooked and cubed)
- 8 oz cheddar cheese (shredded) (2 cups)
- 1 7-ounce can salsa verde
- 8 burrito-size flour tortillas or 8 extra large
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, combine the beans, chicken, cheese, and salsa.
2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, 2 cup chicken (cooked and cubed), 8 oz cheddar cheese (shredded), 1 7-ounce can salsa verde
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Lay out the tortillas and divide the mixture in a line across the middles of the tortillas.
8 burrito-size flour tortillas
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Roll up the tortilla tucking in the sides as you go.
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The rolled tortillas can be placed in a ziptop freezer bag and frozen. Or you can heat them and serve them right away. We like to heat them on the griddle, turning to crisp all sides.
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Frozen burritos can be reheated in the microwave, oven, or on the griddle.
Notes
Nutritional values are approximate and based on 1 burrito.
Nutrition
Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 29g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 850mg | Potassium: 749mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 450IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 339mg | Iron: 5mg
This post was originally published on October 3, 2013. It has been updated for content and clarity.
