Frozen Burrito Meal Prep
I've been meaning to share this for a while, but didn't have the time to write it until now. I love to meal prep a whole bunch of these burritos on a good day, and then I have a simple and tasty meal I can pop in the microwave for when I'm flaring. They save me so much money compared to frozen dinners or takeout; meal prepping on my good days has been an essential tool for me to continue eating consistently, cheaply, and healthily since developing RA.
Sometimes I'll enlist someone to help me with rolling the burritos, since that's the most difficult part of this recipe. Let me know if you all like this and maybe I can share some more of my meal prep recipes in the future!
Ingredients
- 16 burrito tortillas
- 2 cups uncooked white rice
- 16 oz grated cheese (I usually use cheddar or pepper jack)
- 32 oz refried beans
- 1.5 lb chopped or shredded seasoned cooked chicken*
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 1 cup taco sauce
- 1 Tbsp tomato chicken bouillon
Materials
- Pot or rice cooker
- Mixing bowl and spoons
- Parchment paper
- Gallon freezer bags
Directions
- Cook the rice with the tomato chicken bouillon according to the package directions or in a rice cooker if you own one.
- Mix together the chicken, refried beans, and corn
- Lay out a tortilla** on a clean surface, then layer in this order: about 1/16 of the rice, about 1 Tbsp of the taco sauce, about 1/16 of the bean and chicken mixture, and about 1 oz of the cheese. You may need to vary the amount used based on the capacity of your tortillas.
- Fold the burrito***, wrap it in parchment paper, then put it in a gallon freezer bag
- Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have used up all the tortillas. I often have some of the ingredients leftover at the end, I'll sometimes make an extra burrito bowl with whatever is left.
- To reheat the burritos from frozen, put it in your microwave on the "defrost" setting for either the 1 lb setting, or 10 minutes. Then, heat it at full power for 30-60 seconds until hot all the way through.
* I season, cook, and chop up my chicken myself using chipotle chili powder, smoked paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, but to reduce strain you could easily use precooked chopped or shredded chicken. I recommend something chipotle flavored if you can find it, but normal chicken should work just fine.
** To soften the tortillas, making them easier to roll, put 4 of them onto a microwave-safe plate, cover with a damp paper towel or kitchen towel, and microwave for 30 seconds.
*** Here is a short video demonstrating how to fold a burrito: https://imgur.com/burrito-fold-lqD7a70