Cheesy chicken and rice burritos are the perfect easy dinner or lunch-time meal prep. They're simple, yet packed with flavor and incredibly delicious. These burritos are freezer friendly so you can make them months in advance!
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Meal prep is awesome. Want to save time, save money, eat healthier and feel more organized? Make-ahead recipes will help you to accomplish all of this.
I've got tons of meal-prep friendly recipes to help you reach your goals.
These chicken burritos are one of my favorite lunch-time options. Also great for lunch? Greek yogurt chicken salad or Greek yogurt egg salad served on whole grain bread or with crackers for scooping.
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Give Me All The Burritos!
There are endless reasons to make this recipe on repeat. I guarantee these freezer burritos will become a staple in your house once you give them a try.
Simple and easy: Made with just seven simple ingredients, no crazy steps and a very straightforward process.
Makes a lot! This recipe is designed to make a large batch so you'll be set for a while.
Lunch or dinner: Meal-prep burritos are beyond convenient for both lunch and dinner. Heat and eat for a quick meal when you're in a rush or on the go.
Versatile: I use very basic ingredients in this recipe but you're welcome to mix in veggies, sweet corn or black beans. I do recommend avoiding high-moisture ingredients so burritos don't get soggy.
Filling: Often, I think of salads when meal-prepping lunch. But if you want something a bit more substantial, burritos are PERFECT.
Not sandwiches: Also common when meal-prepping lunch? Sandwiches. Now there's nothing wrong with a good sammy. But, Mexican food for lunch is a great way to spice things up.
Your Grocery List
- Flour tortillas: Look for a pack of 16 burrito-sized tortillas. If you can't find a 16 pack, I'd recommend two 8 packs.
- Refried beans: Try refried pinto beans or refried black beans. I like to buy low-sodium beans as a healthier option, but it's not required.
- Rice: Brown rice is my go-to for meal prep burritos as it's much higher in fiber than white rice. That being said, white rice will work just fine.
- Chicken: I cook and shred approximately three pounds of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for this recipe. This is approximately 4 medium sized chicken breasts. You can also use boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
- Salsa: Grab a 16 ounce jar of your favorite brand. Remember, you can use red or green salsa!
- Taco seasonings packet: My favorite is Siete Brand Taco Seasonings. You can also purchase your preferred brand or make homemade taco seasonings.
- Cheese: Sharp cheddar is my preference, but any type will work. I usually shred my own cheese, but pre-shredded will absolutely do the trick if you want to save some time.
How To Make Freezer Burritos
Keep scrolling for the full recipe card and measurements. We’ll start here with a quick overview!
Make salsa chicken:
- Arrange chicken in the slow cooker, cover with salsa, and cook on high for 2-3 hours until it shreds easily. You can also poach (simmer) chicken in salsa on the stovetop until it reaches 165°F.
- Finely shred chicken and mix together with salsa. I usually shred mine right in the crockpot, but you can also take it out, shred on a cutting board and mix it back in.
Cook rice:
- When your chicken is almost done cooking, make rice according to package directions. You can also cook rice a day or two in advance and store in the fridge.
- Add cooked rice and taco seasonings to the chicken and salsa mixture. Stir until well combined.
Assemble burritos:
- Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 1-2 minutes to soften. Don't skip this step or burritos will crack when you try to roll them up.
- Create an assembly line with tortillas, beans, chicken mixture and shredded cheese.
- Spread refried beans in the center of your tortilla. Next, add Mexican rice and chicken filling and top with shredded cheese.
- Roll tortilla around fillings to create your burritos!
- The more burritos you wrap, the better you'll get. Don't get discouraged if it's difficult at first. *Note: see video linked in the recipe card at the bottom on this post for a video showing my burrito rolling technique.
Wrap in parchment:
- Wrap burritos in large sheets of parchment paper. Bigger pieces making wrapping much easier.
- *Note: You can wrap in aluminum foil, but you'll have to remove before microwaving. I prefer parchment because you can microwave burritos without removing the wrapper, which is very helpful for grab-and-go situations.
- Store burritos in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or freeze up to 6 months.
Helpful Recipe Tips
Make rice ahead of time: To make things easier, prepare rice a day in advance and store in the refrigerator.
Finely shred chicken: These burritos are easier to eat when the chicken is shredded into small pieces.
Heat tortillas: Before assembling burritos, warm your tortillas. Wrap them in damp paper towels and microwave 1-2 minutes. Your tortillas will likely crack when rolling burritos if you skip this step. You can also re-heat tortillas in the microwave as needed if they cool and lose flexibility.
Don't overfill: It's so easy to overfill burritos during assembly. I have found that 1-2 tablespoons of refried beans, ⅔ cup of chicken mixture and about ⅓ cup of shredded cheese is the perfect amount.
Parchment: Big pieces of parchment paper make wrapping your burritos so much easier. I cut mine into 15x15 inch squares. You can also use pre-cut parchment sheets.
Save a ziploc! Use your empty tortilla bag for storage.
Recipe Variations
Mix-ins: Mix in other veggies like corn, black beans or diced bell peppers. Avoid high-moisture content ingredients as they can make burritos soggy.
Salsa: Green salsa or salsa verde is a great substitution for red salsa!
Protein: Instead of shredded chicken try ground chicken, ground turkey or ground beef.
Extra spicy: If you love a good spicy kick, you can add some red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to your chicken and rice mixture.
Bowls: Skip the tortilla and create chicken burrito bowls. Simply divide chicken and rice mixture into containers and top with refried beans and cheese!
Serving Suggestions
Dipping sauce: Serve with a side of hot sauce, Baja sauce, salsa, sour cream or queso! I like mixing sour cream and salsa together to create a creamy salsa dipping sauce.
Smothered: Drench your burrito in warm green chili.
With chips: Shredded chicken burritos are tasty with a side of crunchy tortilla chips and guacamole or pico de gallo.
How To Store Burritos
Refrigerator: Wrap burritos in large sheets of parchment paper and place them in a Ziploc bag, or empty tortilla bag. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Freezer instructions: Freeze burritos up to 6 months!
How to heat burritos: Place parchment wrapped burrito in the microwave. If thawed, microwave on high power for 2-3 minutes flipping once halfway through. From frozen, microwave on high power for 4-5 minutes flipping halfway through.
If you wrapped your burritos in foil, you'll have to remove it before microwaving, but parchment paper is microwave safe.
You can also heat your burritos on a skillet or grill pan on the stovetop.
Note: If your burrito feels soggy when it first comes out of the microwave, give it a couple of minutes to set/rest and it will feel much firmer!
Frequently Asked Questions
Avoid adding high moisture ingredients to your burrito to keep them from getting soggy. If your burrito feels soggy when you take it out of the microwave, let it rest for a few minutes and it will firm up.
I find that freezing burritos in parchment paper is a great way to keep them from getting soggy!
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Chicken And Rice Burritos (Meal Prep)
Equipment
- 1 Large crockpot *I use my 7 quart crockpot, chicken can also be cooked on the stovetop in a pot.
- 1 Cheese grater *Optional if you buy pre-grated cheese.
Ingredients
- 4 medium (about 3 lbs) boneless skinless chicken breasts *or thighs
- 24 oz jar salsa *your favorite brand, red or green
- 1 & ½ cups brown rice *white rice works too
- 1 packet taco seasonings *see note below
- 16 pack burrito-sized flour tortillas *see note below
- 16 oz can refried beans *black or pinto
- 4 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese *or cheese of choice
Recipe notes:
Flour tortillas: I recommend two 8 packs if you cannot find a 16 pack. The largest tortillas will say "burrito size" on the packaging! Taco seasonings: My favorite is Siete Brand Taco Seasonings.Instructions
- Arrange chicken in a large crockpot and cover with salsa. Cook on high for 2-3 hours until it shreds easily. You can also simmer chicken in salsa on the stovetop in a large pot until it reaches 165°F.
- When chicken is almost done cooking, make rice on the stovetop according to package instructions (or you can also make oven baked rice, but start earlier because it takes a bit longer). You can also make rice a day in advance and store in the fridge.1 & ½ cups brown rice
- Finely shred chicken (burritos are easier to eat if chicken is shredded into small pieces). I usually shred mine right in the crockpot but you can take it out, shred on a cutting board, and return to the crockpot. Do not drain any of the salsa juices.
- Add cooked rice and taco seasonings to the chicken and salsa mixture and stir until well combined.
- Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave them for 1-2 minutes until they become more pliable. This step is important as the tortillas will crack when rolling burritos if they're not softened.
- Spread 1-2 tablespoons of refried beans in the middle of a warmed tortilla. Top with about ⅔ cup chicken and rice mixture and ⅓ cup shredded cheese.
- Roll tortilla around fillings to create your burrito and then wrap in a large sheet of parchment. I recommend nice, big parchment sheets as they make wrapping so much easier. I cut mine into 15x15 inch squares! You can also buy pre-cut parchment squares.
Storage:
- Place parchment wrapped burritos in a Ziploc bag or empty tortilla bag. Refrigerate up to 3-4 days or freeze up to 6 months. Note: you can also wrap burritos in foil but you'll have to remove before microwaving. I prefer parchment because you can microwave burritos right in the wrapper which is great for grab-and-go!
How To Heat Burritos:
- From refrigerated: microwave in parchment paper, on high, for 2-3 minutes flipping halfway through cooking. From frozen: microwave in parchment paper, on high power, for 4-5 minutes flipping halfway through. Note: If burrito feels soggy after microwaving, simply let it rest for a few minutes and it will firm up.Note: You can also heat burritos in a large skillet or grill pan on the stove top over medium heat.
Video
Nutrition
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