The Kitchen

Easy Ground Beef Burritos

The combo of chipotle-infused beef and Pico de Gallo is all you need for a quick, satisfying batch of burritos -- that's the key to these Easy Ground Beef Burritos! Sure, you can load them up with other fixings if you want, but I regularly come back to this simple combo when I'm craving a delicious, no-thinking-involve…

By Test Kitchen · Mexico · 4 min ·

Ingredients · Servings 4

1 lb. ground beef
1/2 small onion
2 garlic cloves
1-2 chipotles in adobo
1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can
1 tablespoon chile powder (optional)
2-3 teaspoons Mexican oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)
freshly cracked black pepper
4-6 burrito-sized flour tortillas
1 lb. cheese (I used Jack)
2-3 cups cooked rice
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 small onion
1 jalapeno
10-15 sprigs cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more taste)

Method · 10 min

If you want to make rice from scratch for your burritos, start with a single cup of uncooked white rice. Add the rice to a saucepan along with a glug of oil. Let the rice cook over medium heat until it's turning opaque and light brown in color, stirring occasionally. Add 1.5 cups water (or stock) along with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and let cook until all the liquid is absorbed. Sometimes I will add a squeeze of lime and chopped cilantro to the cooked rice, but for this batch I kept it plain.
For the Ground Beef, start by finely chopping 1/2 small onion (or 1/4 larger onion). Sweat the onion in some oil over medium heat. Once the onion has softened you can add the pound of ground beef, cooking until it is browned. Once browned you are welcome to drain off any fat if you want. Add 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for 30-60 seconds, and then add the remaining ingredients: 1-2 diced chipotles in adobo, 1-2 tablespoons adobo sauce from the can, 1 tablespoon chile powder (optional), 1/4 teaspoon cumin, 2-3 teaspoons Mexican oregano, 3/4 teaspoon salt, freshly cracked black pepper, and a splash of water. Combine well over medium heat and then take a final taste for seasoning. I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch. Once you're happy with the flavor, turn heat down to low to keep warm. Note: I usually scrape out the seeds of the chipotles.
For the Pico de Gallo, start by giving the tomatoes, jalapeno, and cilantro a good rinse, then de-stemming the tomatoes and removing the bottom portion of the cilantro stems. Finely chop the tomatoes, onion, jalapeno and cilantro, adding it to a mixing bowl along with the juice of 1 lime and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Combo well and take a final taste for seasoning, adding more salt and lime if you want.
To build the burritos, start by warming up a flour tortilla in a dry skillet over medium heat (this makes them easier to roll). Add some shredded cheese to the tortilla along with layers of rice, the ground beef, and plenty of Pico de Gallo. Tuck the ends in and roll tight. Give your burritos a minute or two in the dry skillet over medium heat until there are light brown spots forming on the tortilla. Serve immediately.
Tip: use a fork or slotted spoon when adding Pico to your burrito. There will be some liquid in the Pico bowl and it can sog up your burrito if you add too much of it.

How To Make Ground Beef Burritos

Ground Beef Burritos are a valid reason to always keep a few cans of these in the pantry:

Chipotles in adobo are the quickest way to make sure your ground beef is loaded with flavor. More info on chipotles if you're new to them.

Here's what I typically use for an ultra-fiery batch:

3/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)

freshly cracked black pepper

But don't worry too much about matching that exact ingredient list. As long you've got chipotles there's some leeway on the other spices.

Once you cook off the onion and brown the ground beef, it's just a matter of adding the additional spices and giving a final taste for salt. It is LOADED with flavor and I hope you add this beef mixture to your arsenal as it can lead to so many quick meals! And if you pair this beef with some freshly chopped Pico de Gallo then you've got everything you'll need for some quick burritos.

Pico is super easy to make -- here's what I typically use for a small batch:

10-15 sprigs cilantro

juice of 1 lime

1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more to taste)

Give it all a good chop and be sure to give a final taste at the end for salt level as it can make a huge difference. I added another generous pinch of salt to this batch along with a final squeeze of lime.

Beef, Pico, rice, cheese -- that's all you really need for some great burritos and that's what I used for this batch, but feel free to add your must-have fixings. I usually give the tortilla a few seconds in the skillet to warm it up -- this will make it easier to roll.

Then it's just a matter of loading it up! Tuck in each end, roll tight, and give it a minute or two in a dry skillet over medium heat.

Tips on rolling burritos. When the tortilla is getting light brown spots you'll know it's time to chow down.

Sure, you can serve this up with some freshly made Salsa (like this Roasted Tomato and Tomatillo Salsa) but when using fresh Pico you'll probably find that you don't need much else. The vibrancy of the Pico is the perfect complement to the fiery beef and that's a combo worth trying out if you're new to it.

The recipe box below uses a single pound of ground beef -- you'll get four loaded burritos out of that, or even more if you go easy on the fixings. Okay, I hope you try out this combo at some point!

It's definitely worth adding it to your kitchen arsenal and it will lead to all sorts of quick meals. Buen Provecho. Want the latest recipe?

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