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Loaded Smothered Beef Burritos

Averie Sunshine

4.48 from 321 votes

Updated: Jan 31, 2026

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Ground Beef Smothered Burritos 🌮🎉🧀 are Mexican comfort food and are loaded with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, rice, and smothered with sauce and CHEESE! Easy and they taste BETTER than from a restaurant! Make-ahead tips are provided and these burritos are freezer-friendly!

Smothered Burrito Recipe

There is something so comforting about a warm Mexican burrito that’s loaded to the max with ground beef, onions, refried beans, rice, cheese, smothered in more cheese, and covered with red enchilada sauce. 

• If you’re looking for easy comfort food that the whole family will love, look no further than this smothered burrito recipe that takes a nod from enchiladas since there’s all that glorious enchilada sauce poured on top.
• These ground beef burritos taste even better than what you get at a Mexican restaurant. 
• This beef burrito recipe takes less than an hour to make, and most of that time involves baking the smothered burritos!
• Because this recipe makes about 7 burritos, it’s a great recipe to have on hand when you have friends coming over or are serving a larger group. 
• And in case you’re in the mood for Ground Beef Enchiladas or 5-Ingredient Chicken Enchiladas, I’ve got stunning recipes for those, too! These Smothered Veggie Burritos are vegetarian and just as easy to make as the ground beef version!

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Ingredients in the Smothered Baked Burritos

To make these homemade burritos, you’ll need: 

• Olive oil
• Ground beef – You could also use ground turkey or ground chicken to keep this dish lighter.
• Sweet Vidalia onion – White or yellow onions work too.
• Taco seasoning –  I used medium heat, reduced sodium taco seasoning for the ground beef and medium heat enchilada sauce. Dial the heat up or down in the burritos overall based on your choice of mild, medium, or hot versions of taco seasoning and enchilada sauce. If you like cumin, you can sprinkle a bit more into your pan.
• Flour tortillas – I recommend using large, 10-inch flour tortillas that are specifically made for burritos. These burritos are stuffed to the max, so it’s important to have a tortilla big enough to hold everything. I recommend flour tortillas because they’re easier to roll than corn tortillas but those will work if you are careful and warm them a bit first.
• Refried beans 
• Cooked rice – Save time and use a couple packets of microwaveable rice that you zap for 90 seconds in the microwave. I’m fond of this Spanish Rice in the burritos.
• Mexican shredded cheddar cheese blend
• Red enchilada sauce – You can go as mild or wild as you like with the spice level here.
• Fresh cilantro – optional, for garnishing or green onions are a great touch.

Scroll to the end of this post for the full recipe card with ingredient measurements. 

How to Make Smothered Beef Burritos 

This is such an easy recipe for beef burritos! Here’s an overview of the cooking process: 

1. Brown ground beef with some diced onion and season with a packet of taco seasoning. Skillet Tip: Keep in mind you will need a very large skillet. I used this Lodge 15-inch cast iron skillet and my skillet was packed with 7 burritos. Maybe I could have fit 8 or 9 smaller burritos in it, but I didn’t test it.
2. Then, add the beef mixture along with a generous smear of refried beans, cooked rice, and cheese to large flour tortillas.
3. Roll up the burritos and place them in a large skillet before baking for 25 minutes.
4. Add red enchilada sauce on top of the beef burritos and top with more cheese.
5. You’ll want to continue baking the smothered burritos until the cheese melts and the sauce is bubbly, about 15 minutes more. 

Make-Ahead Instructions 

You have a few options when it comes to prepping this beef burrito recipe in advance: 

1. Burrito filling: Assemble the beef burrito filling, let cool slightly, then refrigerate for up to 5 days. 
2. Rice: If not using pre-cooked rice in a packet, you can cook the rice up to 3 days in advance. 
3. Fully assembled: You can also opt to fully assemble the burritos, then cover them before storing them in the fridge. Wait to add the sauce until you’re ready to bake the burritos! 

What to Serve with Ground Beef Burritos 

These burritos are packed with so many ingredients that you can keep your sides super simple. The burritos have beans and rice in them, so stick to something light, like a side salad or veggies. Trust me, these will be the star of your dinner table!

Here are some of my favorite sides for homemade burritos: 

• Borracho Beans
• Baked Tortilla Chips
• Grilled Avocado Corn Salad
• Grilled Mexican Corn
• Avocado Black Bean Salad
• Mexican Corn and Zucchini Salad
• Mexican Wedge Salad

And of course you have to wash down these burritos with a homemade margarita! 

Storage Instructions

For the best burritos, I recommend eating them as soon as they come out of the oven. However, leftover ground beef burritos may be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Can You Freeze Burritos? 

Yes! You may not need 7 or 8 big burritos all at once — no problem!

To freeze burritos, you’ll need to individually place them in freezer-safe containers and pull them out when you need a fast lunch or dinner on the fly.

How to Reheat Frozen Burritos

To reheat the frozen burritos, either microwave them for 1-minute bursts, or bake them at 350F for 30 minutes, or until heated through. 

You won’t need to buy store-bought frozen burritos or even go out to a restaurant when you can make your own. They have so much flavor and are much more cost efficient! 

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4.48 from 321 votes

Loaded Smothered Beef Burritos

By Averie Sunshine

🌮🎉🧀 EASY and loaded with seasoned ground beef, refried beans, rice, topped with sauce and as much CHEESE as you'd like! Easy to make ahead and bake-off when you're ready and the leftovers are freezer-friendly.

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Servings: 7 burritos

Video

Equipment

• large cast iron skillet

Ingredients 

• ▢ 4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• ▢ 1 lb ground beef, I used 90% lean
• ▢ 1 small sweet Vidalia or white onion, diced small
• ▢ one 1-ounce packet taco seasoning, I used medium heat, reduced sodium
• ▢ 7 large flour tortillas, 10-inch, burrito size
• ▢ one 16-ounce can refried beans
• ▢ one 8.5-ounce package precooked rice, I used Spanish Rice
• ▢ 1 ½ cups + 1 1/2 cups Mexican shredded cheese blend, divided
• ▢ one 15-ounce can red enchilada sauce, I used medium heat
• ▢ cilantro, optional for garnishing

Instructions 

• To a large skillet, add 2 tablespoons olive oil, beef, onion, and cook over medium-high heat for about 7 minutes, or until beef is cooked through and onions are soft and translucent; stir and crumble intermittently to ensure even cooking.
• Add the taco seasoning and stir to combine; set skillet aside off the heat.
• Preheat oven to 350F and drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil into a large oven-proof skillet; set aside.
• Lay the tortillas out on the countertop, evenly smear each with about 2 tablespoons of refried beans down the center, evenly distribute the rice (about 2 to 3 tablespoons) to the center of each tortilla, evenly top with the beef mixture down the center, and evenly distribute 1 1/2 cups of cheese down the center of each tortilla.
• Roll up each burrito and place in the prepared skillet, seam side down. Bake for about 25 minutes.
• Remove skillet from the oven, slowly and evenly drizzle the enchilada sauce over all the burritos, evenly sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheese over the top of all the burritos, return skillet to the oven, and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cheese has melted and sauce is lightly bubbling. Optionally garnish with cilantro and serve immediately.

Notes

Storage: Extra burritos will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 4 months. Reheat for about 30 seconds in the microwave, or as needed. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 427cal, Carbohydrates: 19g, Protein: 19g, Fat: 30g, Saturated Fat: 11g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 69mg, Sodium: 737mg, Potassium: 256mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 538IU, Vitamin C: 3mg, Calcium: 217mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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More Beef Mexican Recipes: 

ALL OF MY MEXICAN RECIPES! 

Ground Beef Enchiladas – 🌮🎉🧀 Seasoned ground beef is rolled into tortillas and topped with red sauce and cheese, before being baked to enchilada PERFECTION! Garnishing these EASY beef enchiladas with guacamole and sour cream makes them next-level! These authentic enchiladas taste like they came straight from your favorite Mexican restaurant! Ready in 45 minutes and do-able on busy weeknights.

Ground Beef Taco Salad —This taco salad is loaded with crisp romaine lettuce, sweet corn, juicy tomatoes, and more! It comes together in just 20 minutes and is topped with the most incredible cilantro lime dressing. 

Baked Cheese and Beef Taquitos — Craving Mexican food? Make these EASY taquitos made with seasoned ground beef, melted cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, and baked to crispy perfection!

Ground Beef Taco Salad Bowls — Making homemade taco salad bowls is so easy and they’re perfect for holding this family-favorite taco salad including seasoned ground beef, black beans, cheese and more! 

Easy Carne Asada Tacos — EASY carne asada at home that rivals your favorite restaurant!! Tender juicy beef that’s seasoned to perfection and topped with pico de gallo and salsa make these carne asada tacos INCREDIBLE!!

Beef Totchos — Crispy tater tots topped with taco-seasoned ground beef and melted cheese is a DELICIOUS and fun twist on nachos!! EASY, ready in no time, and perfect for PARTIES!!

Loaded Skillet Nachos with Beef — EASY, ready in 15 minutes, and LOADED with taco-seasoned ground beef, black beans, corn, cilantro, and lots of CHEESE!! Great for parties, game days, after school snacks, or a cheat night dinner!!

Beef Taco Pie — In this taco pie, a crescent roll crust is topped with a mixture of crushed tortilla chips, ground beef, tomatoes, sour cream, and loads of glorious cheese! It’s the ultimate Mexican comfort food! 

Originally posted November 7, 2018 and reposted April 21, 2021 with updated text.