Easy Chicken Burritos (Shredded Mexican chicken, corn, refried beans)

Chicken burritos are a quick and delectable one-dish meal that the whole family will enjoy!

Shredded Mexican chicken, corn, refried beans, and shredded cheese are neatly wrapped in a warm tortilla and served with guacamole on the side.

Why Will You Enjoy This Recipe?

• Chicken burritos are simple to make and packed with flavor! In one tortilla, you’ll find sweet, smoky tomatoes, aromatic taco seasoning, juicy chicken, buttery corn, and earthy refried beans.
• This is an excellent foundation upon which to develop. We’ve kept it simple here, but feel free to add your favorite ingredients to make your own ideal chicken burrito! Toss in some brown rice, sour cream, lettuce, pico de gallo, queso, salsa, cilantro, avocado ranch dressing, cilantro lime dressing, or whatever else you like on a burrito!
• While the recipe calls for four burritos, you can make more and store them for later! After following all of the steps below, set aside your pan-fried burritos to cool fully. After they’ve cooled, wrap each burrito in foil and store them in a freezer-safe freezer bag or similar airtight container. You may either thaw the frozen burritos overnight or bake them directly from the freezer. If you thaw them, reheat them at 350°F for 15-20 minutes (in foil). You’ll need to reheat them (in foil) at 350°F for 30-40 minutes if they’re frozen.

Important Ingredients

Chicken – For our chicken burritos, we’ll obviously need chicken! Although this recipe calls for shredded chicken, you can dice up cooked chicken instead if you like pieces.

To save time, you can use precooked chicken (such as a rotisserie chicken) — simply remove the skin and shred the meat off the bones!

Tomatoes, Fire-Roasted — Fire-roasted tomatoes are delicious. Before they’re canned, they’re literally roasted over an open fire, giving them a flavor depth (a little sweet, a little smokey) that normal tomatoes lack.

You don’t have to roast your own if you don’t want to. Most supermarket stores provide fire-roasted tomatoes in the canned veggies section.

Can you use ordinary beans in your chicken tortilla instead of refried beans? Sure! However, the refried beans’ consistency aids in holding the other elements together.

You can use canned refried beans or create your own at home with refried pinto or black beans.

Chef’s Advice

• Warming the tortillas makes rolling them a lot simpler, so don’t omit it! At the same time, don’t overheat them. They can tear if you make them too soft. You can end up with dried out, crispy tortillas if your paper towels aren’t damp enough.
• How should a perfect chicken tortilla be rolled? Fold the top edge of the tortilla – the edge furthest from you – down to meet the bottom edge – the edge closest to you – on a flat surface. Gently press the tortilla (mashing everything inside together a little) before unfolding it to make it entirely flat. The filling should be concentrated in the tortilla’s center and bottom half. Fold both edges of the tortilla in toward the center at this point. It’s fine if the margins don’t entirely cover the filling, but they should try to do so. Starting at the bottom edge of the tortilla and rolling up toward the top until the tortilla is entirely formed into a burrito. As you progress, you may need to tuck the sides in a little more. It takes a little practice, so don’t worry if it’s not perfect — it’ll still taste delicious! Note that using a lot of stuffing will make rolling your chicken burrito more challenging.
• Aren’t we all familiar with burritos that seem to lose their shape totally after a few bites? Your chicken tortilla will be less likely to break apart halfway through if you roll it securely. Just be careful not to overdo it, as you don’t want the tortilla to tear.

Chicken Burritos

Chicken burritos are a quick and delectable one-dish meal that the whole family will enjoy! Shredded Mexican chicken, corn, refried beans, and shredded cheese are neatly wrapped in a warm tortilla and served with guacamole on the side.

Ingredients

• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• water or chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil divided
• ¼ cup green chiles
• ¾ cup fire-roasted tomatoes
• ¼ cup tomato sauce
• 2 tablespoons taco seasoning store-bought or make your own
• ½ cup corn
• ½ cup refried beans store-bought or make your own
• 4 flour tortillas 10-inch tortillas or larger
• 1 cup shredded Mexican cheese
• guacamole is optional, for serving

Equipment

• Pot with lid
• Large bowl
• Two forks (or tools for the preferred method of shredding chicken)
• Large skillet
• Microwave
• Large microwave-safe plate
• Paper towels

Instructions For Chicken Burritos

1. Place the chicken breasts in a pot with enough water (or chicken broth) to completely cover them.
2. Bring liquid to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until chicken is no longer pink.
3. Shred the chicken with two forks in a large mixing dish (or preferred method, see Notes).
4. Heat one tablespoon of avocado oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shredded chicken to the heated oil.
5. Reduce the temperature to medium. Green chiles, fire-roasted tomatoes, and tomato sauce are added last. 3–4 minutes on low heat.
6. Reduce the heat to a low simmer. Add taco spice and mix well.
7. Microwave tortillas for roughly 15 seconds. For more information, see Notes.
8. Take the tortillas out of the microwave and place them on a flat surface. Refried beans, shredded chicken mixture, and shredded cheese are layered on each tortilla. Burritos are made by tightly rolling tortillas.
9. In a large skillet, heat the remaining avocado oil. Place rolled burritos seam-side down in a heated pan. Sear tortillas for 2 to 3 minutes on one side until golden brown, then turn and sear for another 2 to 3 minutes.
10. Serve immediately with guacamole on the side (optional).

Notes

• Use black or pinto refried beans, depending on your preference.
• Make it Gluten-free taco seasoning and gluten-free tortillas are recommended.
• Make it Low-carb flour tortillas are ideal.

Tortillas Warming

• Place tortilla on a platter that can be microwaved. Using a damp paper towel, cover the entire tortilla. If you want to warm all four tortillas at once, place them on a dish and alternate each tortilla with a damp paper towel. Use a paper towel to cover the top tortilla.
• Microwave for 15 seconds on high. Check the tortillas for warmth and softness. If necessary, microwave for another 15 seconds. Note: If the tortilla’s edges feel dry or crisp, the paper towel isn’t covering it completely or it needs more moisture.

Methods of Shredding

• Pull the chicken apart with your hands/fingers until it is totally shredded. You can make your pieces as big or as small as you want.
• Two forks: Use one fork to keep the chicken steady while shredding it with the other. Move forks away from each other in modest, quick strokes.
• Hand Mixer: In a large mixing basin, break the chicken into manageable parts. Set your mixer at medium speed and use the usual attachments. Mix until all of the chicken is shredded.
• Stand Mixer: Mix on medium-low speed with the normal paddle attachment until the chicken bits are totally crushed.
• Break up the cooked chicken breasts into chunks first in the food processor, then work in batches. To avoid your chicken turning to mush, put it in the food processor with the plastic dough blade attachment. Process for 30 seconds, or until shredded uniformly. Continue until all of the chicken has been shredded.

This recipe makes 4 burritos. The nutritional values listed are estimates based on one burrito made with Mission Burrito Super Soft Flour Tortillas.

Optional guacamole is not included in the calculations. The macros may differ significantly based on the type and brand of ingredients used.

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1burrito, Calories: 550kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 39g, Fat: 23g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 99mg, Sodium: 1366mg, Potassium: 536mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 6g, Vitamin A: 673IU, Vitamin C: 6mg, Calcium: 347mg, Iron: 4mg, Net Carbs: 43g