This Easy Beef Burrito Skillet is a simple 30-minute meal the whole family will love.
What could be easier than cooking up some ground beef, and adding taco seasoning, salsa, and beans? Then, instead of stuffing these hearty staples into a tortilla, we take a unique twist. We cut flour tortillas into strips and toss them into the mixture, coating them with the flavorful sauce. This quickly softens them to a noodle or dumpling-like texture. Who knew such a yummy thing was possible? Now we top with cheese because hey, it’s a burrito, and cheese is a must! A generous dollop of sour cream and sliced green onion add the perfect finishing touches.
Easy Beef Burrito Skillet Tips
- Beans – I’ve seen versions of this recipe that use pinto beans and black beans. I used pinto beans because that’s the hubby’s preference. Since my pinto beans were in a seasoned tomato sauce, I strained them but didn’t rinse them to retain the sauce’s flavor. If you opt for black beans, drain and rinse them.
- Cutting the Tortillas – a pizza cutter works great for this! If it’s sharp, you can stack 2 together when you cut them.
- Make-Ahead option – This super easy meal can be whipped up in 30 minutes. But you can also make the beef/bean/Salsa mixture a day ahead. Then reheat it until hot and bubbly and add the tortilla strips and cheese.
- A Pillsbury version of this recipe called 20-Minute Smothered Beef Burrito Skillet has a few minor differences. It uses enchilada sauce instead of salsa and cilantro vs. green onions. That got my creative juices flowing, which lead to the next bullet.
- Chicken Variation – Shredded cooked chicken and green enchilada sauce would be another version of this recipe that would be fun to try.
Easy Side Dish
Grab a microwaveable steam-in-the-bag veggie like green beans, or broccoli, or a cauliflower/broccoli/carrot mix, as I did. After cooking, toss with melted butter, dried dill, kosher salt, and freshly ground pepper.
Additional Skillet Meals
Easy Beef Burrito Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 1 oz package taco seasoning
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup chunky salsa
- 1 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
- 4 6-8 inch flour tortillas, sliced into 1-inch strips, and the strips cut in half lengthwise
- 1 cup shredded cheese Mexican blend, Cheddar Jack, Cheddar, or Taco-seasoned cheese blend
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/4 cup sliced green onions
Instructions
- In a large skillet, brown beef until no longer pink, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Drain off the fat.
- Add taco seasoning, water, salsa, and beans. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes or until the sauce thickens. Reduce heat to low.
- Gently toss the tortilla strips into the beef and bean mixture (Iike tossing pasta into the sauce,) coating them well. Separate the tortilla strips if they clump together.
- Top with cheese. Remove the skillet from heat and cover the skillet, allowing the heat to melt the cheese.
- Spoon sour cream into the center of the skillet and scatter with green onions. Or you can top individual servings with sour cream and green onions. Serve immediately.
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