Easy Ground Beef Burritos

The combo of chipotle-infused beef and freshly chopped Pico works great in these Easy Ground Beef Burritos!

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4.70 from 10 votes

The combo of chipotle-infused beef and freshly chopped Pico works great in these Easy Ground Beef Burritos!

Prep Time20

Cook Time10

Servings:

Calories: 972kcal

Author: Mexican Please

Ingredients

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

For the Pico de Gallo:

2 plum tomatoes
1/2 small onion
1 jalapeno
10-15 sprigs cilantro
juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon salt (plus more taste)

Instructions

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.

Notes

Using 2 chipotles will give you a fiery batch of ground beef. Feel free to use only a single chipotle (or half of one) for a milder batch.

If you want to add chile powder to your beef, try to use pure chile powder when you can. Here's more info on the pure chile powders I use.

Nutrition