Kid Friendly Recipes - Burritos

Let me start out by saying making burritos is something my kids love to do. They even like to make the tortilla you make a burrito with.

I'm calling this a Kids Can Cook recipe because kids like them and kids like making them. I also like to call this a "What's On Hand" recipe.

Yes, there are some traditional ingredients that go into a burrito, like black beans or rice, but that doesn't mean you can use this dish to clean out the refrigerator.

Do you have leftover turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce? How about a post-Thanksgiving burrito? I know my Mexican friend would add some hot peppers to this and call it a success, but then she adds hot peppers to just about everything.

How about some leftover fish from the night before? Combine it with some wild rice and fresh herbs and you have a fish burrito.

So try the recipe below for a more traditional Mexican burrito or try some of the other suggestions, but get adventuresome and experiment with many ingredients on hand. Great way to learn more about food combinations while making some room in the fridge.

Mexican Cuisine

Mexico is a huge country, and its many states have very diverse cuisines, so it is a bit of a simplification to talk about "Mexican food" and "Mexican flavors."

On the other hand, making foods inspired by Mexican cooking while using some authentic ingredients honors the spirit of the cuisine, if not the letter. And besides, I don't know about you, but for our family, wrapping "regular" food in a tortilla automatically makes it exotic.

Making burritos with your kids is also a great way to teach them about other cuisines. Traditional burritos might only be filled with refried beans or maybe some meat, but in America, they have swelled to contain everything from seasoned rice to guacamole to bacon and eggs.

Keeping the cheese to a minimum and adding a lot of fresh vegetables makes a burrito not only a fun dinner option but also a healthy one.

Burritos are always made with flour tortillas. You can use plain tortillas from the store or make your own like my daughter Maddie did in this post - How to Make Homemade Tortillas.

Some grocery stores also sell flavored tortillas made with spinach or peppers, so look around and find one that you like.

How to Wrap (Fold) a Burrito

Burritos are really made to be picked up, even though many people eat them with a knife and fork. I think that most people choose the cutlery route because they are afraid their burrito is going to fall apart. If you don't wrap them correctly, they will fall apart, so here's how you fold them so you can pick them up without worrying.

Actually, there a several ways to wrap a burrito. I did a little research on YouTube and found some very "interesting" videos of how America is folding their burritos. You want a good laugh, go to YouTube and do a search on How to Fold a Burrito.

There are several techniques, but I found it really comes down to two - Open At One End Fold and Completely Closed Fold. With either one, you want to heat up the tortilla for a few seconds in a hot pan or even the microwave if need be so it will be pliable and easier to work with. Don't heat it up and there is a very good chance it's going to rip.

Open Ended Burrito

These are more traditional and by leaving one side open, the burrito can be longer, slimmer, and much easier to hold than those short and fat chain store versions that require eating with a knife and fork. The open-ended burritos also work much better with a classic 8" to 10-inch sized tortilla.

Think of the tortilla as the face of a clock. Add a strip of filling down the middle from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock, but leave a little room on the left side of the tortilla.
Fold the left side of the tortilla up and over the end of the strip of filling.
Fold the bottom of the tortilla up over the filling and pull back with your fingers, tightening up the filling and tucking the edge of the tortilla under the filling.
Roll the tortilla up the rest of the way, leaving it seam-side down.
Let the tortilla rest for two or three minutes for the tortilla to mold itself to the filling.

Enjoy.

Big Fat Closed-Ended Burritos

These are the kind you find at some of the chain Mexican restaurants like Qdobo and Chipotle. They are very big and usually start with 12" - 14 inch tortillas.

We Americans want our burritos big and filled with as much as possible. My daughter and I will split one of these for lunch if we are out doing something fun and get hungry.

In fact, I told her I was writing this post and she said let's go out tonight for a burrito even though I purchased some beautiful fresh fish.

Again, think of the tortilla as the face of a clock. This time, add a strip of filling down the middle from 9 o'clock to 3 o'clock, but this time, leave room on both ends.
Fold both the left and right sides over the strip of filling.
Fold the bottom of the tortilla up over the filling and pull back with your fingers, tightening up the filling and tucking the edge of the tortilla under the filling.
Roll the tortilla up the rest of the way, leaving it seam-side down.
Let the tortilla rest for two or three minutes for the tortilla to mold itself to the filling.

Enjoy this one, too.

As I said before, burritos are a great way to use up leftovers, from Thanksgiving turkey-stuffing-cranberry burritos to last night's roast chicken or stir-fry. But, here are is a simple recipe for chicken or pork filling, just in case you're starting from scratch.

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

How to Make and Wrap a Burrito

Prep Time15

Cook Time1

Total Time1 15

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Ingredients

6 chicken thighs skinned and deboned or 1½pound pork butt, cut into small chunks
1 cup chicken broth
1 medium onion cut into small dice
2 cloves garlic minced
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 can tomatoes and chiles such as Ro-Tel*
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
½ teaspoon Mexican oregano

Instructions

Place all ingredients into a medium pot. Cover and just bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the meat is cooked through.
Shred the meat with two forks right in the pan. Cook on medium-low, uncovered, until a lot of the liquid has evaporated but the mixture is still nice and moist.

Other Ideas for Burrito Fillings

sautéed peppers and onions with leftover roast beef (fajitas)
roasted vegetables
seasoned ground beef
leftover meatloaf, crumbled
a simple salsa of tomatoes, onions, lime juice and cilantro
refried beans
scrambled eggs, sausage, onions and peppers (for breakfast or breakfast-for-dinner)
seasoned rice
chili
fish, shrimp or lobster
shredded cheese