Wet Burritos

Wet burritos are the cheesy saucy cousin to the traditional handheld dish you know and love. Smothered in a delicious gravy, this enchilada like dish will have your family begging you to make it over and over again! You’ll love making it too since this easy casserole makes the perfect freezer meal.

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Mexican and Tex-Mex recipes are one thing my family always agrees on.

Especially burritos.

What’s not to love? Meat, cheese and toppings all snuggled together in a tortilla.

The only way to make it better in my opinion is smothering all that goodness with a rich beefy tomato based enchilada sauce that turns this portable favorite into a full on meal experience you’ll want to be sitting down to really enjoy.

And, as an added bonus, not only do these taste extra delicious, but this meal is the picture of easy and convenient.

This tasty recipe makes two full pans of smothered burritos, so I can feed my hungry family on a night I have time to put it together and I can feed them a home cooked meal when things get crazy.

Ingredients

You’ll need:

• Ground beef – If you want to shake things up a bit, you can use just about any ground or shredded meat you like, such as ground turkey, chopped rotisserie chicken, pulled pork or beef, or other cuts.
• Diced tomatoes – You can use your preferred brand of canned diced tomatoes.
• Garlic – You can mince it or use a garlic press.
• Onion – I use white or red onions for this.
• Diced green chilies – You just need the canned chilies for this.
• Worcestershire sauce – This adds a bit of extra flavor.
• Seasonings – You’ll need ground cumin, dried oregano, smoked paprika, chili powder, black pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Beef gravy – You can use your favorite variety of beef gravy.
• Red enchilada sauce – For more of a kick, you can use hot or you can use mild or medium.
• Finely shredded cheddar cheese – You could also use a Mexican blend if you prefer.
• Refried beans – You can use your favorite brand or even use canned black beans or red beans instead. And if you really don’t like beans, you can skip them altogether.
• Burrito size flour tortillas – Other flour tortillas also work for this if you can’t find burrito sized.
• Toppings for garnish – This can include your favorites like more cheese, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, and so on.

How to make

Making these is pretty simple and you cook once to get two nights of dinner!

Let’s break it down into parts:

• Prepping the filling and ingredients
• Assembling and baking

Prepping the filling and ingredients

To do it, start by heating a large skillet over medium and add the ground beef, garlic, onion, and one drained can of the tomatoes.

Stir everything together and break up the meat as it cooks.

Let the meat cook until there is no pink remaining.

Then, add salt and pepper to the mixture to taste and strain the beef to remove any excess grease. Return it back to the skillet.

Next, add the green chilies, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, oregano, paprika, chili powder, and the second can of (undrained) tomatoes.

Stir everything until evenly incorporated.

Simmer the beef mixture for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened and then set aside.

As it simmers, heat the beans either in a microwave safe bowl or in a pot on the stove.

Cover the warm beans and set aside to wait for the beef mixture to finish simmering.

While the beans are heating, pour both the beef gravy and the enchilada sauce into a large skillet. Whisk them together to combine.

Heat the gravy mixture until it becomes piping hot and then remove from heat and set aside.

Finally, soften the tortilla shells according to the package instructions.

Assemble and bake

When the parts are heated and ready, add 1 cup of the enchilada sauce mixture to the bottom of a 9×13″ pan and spread it to cover the bottom of the dish.

To make a burrito, layer 1/12 of the meat mixture, 1/4 cup of bean mixture, and 1/4 cup of cheese in the center of a softened flour tortilla.

Next, fold the smaller sides of the burrito over and then roll it lengthwise, like a jelly roll, until it has formed a little package.

Once rolled, transfer the burrito to the prepared baking dish with the seam side down.

Continue the same process and fill 5 more burritos and adding them to the dish until it’s full.

Repeat with the remaining tortillas and the a second baking dish.

Next, pour the sauce equally out over the burritos in both dishes.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly out over each dish to top the burritos.

Finally, bake them at 375° for 15 to 20 minutes or until the burritos are heated through and the cheese is melted.

Serve the baked burritos warm with toppings of your choice.

This recipe makes two 9×13″ baking trays worth of enchiladas.

If you want, before baking the burritos, cover one pan with aluminum foil and freeze it to bake later.

Cooking frozen burritos

If you froze the second pan, baking the burritos is super easy.

The night before you plan to serve them, remove them from the freezer and place in the fridge to thaw.

When you are ready to bake them, place them covered in a preheated oven at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, remove the cover and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes uncovered.

Serving and storing

You really need to eat these burritos fresh.

If you store cooked burritos, the tortilla shells can become soggy and have a funky texture.

If you can’t eat them all, I highly recommend freezing the second tray before baking.

That way, when you want or need an easy dinner, you can thaw them and pop them in the oven for a fast weeknight dinner.

We love to serve these burritos with our favorite taco and Mexican toppings.

Some of our favorites are:

• cheese
• tortilla chips crushed over top
• guacamole
• sour cream
• salsa
• more sauce
• shredded lettuce

Tips and tricks

• Make sure you drain any excess grease from the skillet once you cook the beef.
• If you have more than you need, freeze the second pan before baking.
• Don’t over-stuff the burritos to help keep the stuffing even and avoid it leaking out of the shells.
• Use throwaway aluminum pans for an easier clean up!

More Mexican inspired recipes you’ll love

Wet burritos are a filling, flavor packed meal that easily feeds my family of hungry boys and still makes leftovers.

Add them to your meal plan and enjoy!

If you love Mexican food, check out some of my other favorites here:

• Pork Tamales
• One Pot Arroz Con Pollo
• Mexican Street Corn Salad
• Birria Tacos
• Cheesy Pulled Pork Enchiladas
• Authentic Horchata

If you’ve tried these WET BURRITOS, or any other recipe on the site, let me know in the comment section how it turned out, we love hearing from our readers! You can also follow along with me on PINTEREST, FACEBOOK, and INSTAGRAM to see more amazing recipes and whatever else we’ve got going on!

This post may contain affiliate links. As an amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See my full Disclosure Policy for details. As always, all opinions are my own.