A beef and bean burrito skillet hits all the right spots. A little bit beefy, a little edge of spiciness, nice and filling, a beef and bean skillet just satisfies so deeply. Can’t forget about all that melted cheese, either!

Beef and Bean Burrito Skillet

A skillet burrito keeps things simple. You cook everything in one skillet, and it goes pretty quickly. Then serve it with tortilla chips or put it in a flour tortilla.

If you like this, then you might enjoy my Mexican beef casserole too by the way.

Quick and easy beef and bean skillet burrito

Start with the right beef. You can certainly use any kind of hamburger, but I recommend lower fat ratio burger. It will help keep the greasiness down, especially when you add the melted cheese. If you decide to go with more fat, just make sure to drain it well after it is cooked.

Brown the beef on high heat, and once it is nearly cooked through add in your taco seasoning. Taco seasoning comes in premixed packets, but my favorite kind comes from Spiceology. LOVE THIS STUFF.

If you don’t have it or have a tough time finding it, then mix some cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne.

Season the beef liberally. The seasoning browns into the meat and helps the beef not get lost in the chilis.

Heat levels of the chilies

With the canned chilis, control your heat tolerance by using more or less according to personal taste. With canned chilis, you don’t have to worry about removing seeds and pith to take the heat down a notch.

I find most canned chilis don’t burn quite as much as fresh chilis. Although there are exceptions. The chilis in this recipe are not scorching. They bring the spice, but you don’t have to have the fire department number handy.

Is it a burrito if I don’t roll it in a tortilla?

Burrito is spanish for “little donkey”.

The name plays on the way a tortilla wraps up a bunch of ingredients the way a donkey carries its pack. Rolling up the ingredients in a flour tortilla serves a purpose. But if you don’t want to roll it up, then don’t worry about it. You can serve it open faced on top of a tortilla and enjoy it just as much. It may not be easy to pick up that way, but it isn’t going to taste any different right?

If you do want to roll it up, then ladle your ingredients about a third of the way up from the bottom of the tortilla. Leave about an inch and a half on each side. This gives you plenty of tortilla to fold over the ingredients. After you fold up the bottom over the ingredients, then fold in the sides. Continue rolling up.

Everything should stay inside, but the sauce will be saucy. If you are going to be picking up your burrito, then I suggest a little square of foil to wrap around it. You don’t want that chili sauce spilling out. It will do it even if you are the best burrito rolling champion the world has ever seen.

You do need fairly large tortillas to do it right though. You can soften the tortilla up a bit before you roll the ingredients up too. Just toss one or two tortillas over the skillet of beef and beans before you add the cheese. The steam from the meat and beans softens the tortilla up and also helps give it some “stick”. So, it helps keep the beef and beans in your tortilla. Much better than on your lap.

Serve my super popular CHURROS after this meal!

Serve your beef and bean burrito skillet “wet”

I love wet burritos. You can either use the liquids from the cans of chilis mixed with a bit sour cream, or you can use a can of enchilada sauce if you have one handy. Pour the sauce on.

Reserve a bit of your shredded cheese to throw on top, then broil the cheese for just a minute to melt and brown it up just a bit.

Use enough sauce so every bite gets a bit. Don’t use too much or people will wonder why you are licking the plate.

Refried beans for beef and bean burritos

Refried beans work great for these beef and bean burrito skillets. The mashed texture of the beans helps thicken up the sauce in the burrito filling. That comes in handy if you don’t want the burrito dripping out from the bottom.

However, you can substitute the refried pinto beans with black beans if you prefer. If you use black beans, then mash them up a bit.

Unless you buy vegetarian style refried beans, most refried beans do get made with lard. So, if you are looking to cut some calories, and don’t mind losing a bit of flavor, then black beans or vegetarian refried beans are the way to go.

Like Mexican flavors? Check out this Taco Pizza!

More Mexican inspired recipes to check out

• Pressure Cooker Mexican Rice
• Grilled Mexican Street Corn
• Instant Pot Shredded Beef Burrito