Beef and Cheese Burritos: An easy recipe using ground beef, canned cheddar cheese, and salsa to make the best burritos at home! Ready in minutes!
This is by far one of the easiest main course on the blog, and is even perfect if the craving for Mexican hits, and you don’t have the items on hand to make these chicken street tacos!
Let me fill you in on a little “weeknight meal,” secret that I have.
Jump to:
- Beef and Cheese Burritos
- How to Make This Easy Burrito Recipe:
- What do you put in a burrito?
- Ingredients:
- What kind of cheese goes on a burrito?
- What kind of salsa to use for burritos?
- Step by Step Instructions
- Burrito Topping Ideas
- What to Serve with Burritos
- How Store Leftover Burritos
- Related Recipes
- Recipe
- Comments
Beef and Cheese Burritos
I’ll never forget the day my mom made these for the first time, when I was a kid. I ran to the stove, (super hungry, dying to know what we were having for dinner) I looked in the pan, looked up at her, and kinda “snarled” my nose and asked what it was. She said,
Oh Jess, this is a new recipe I’m trying. I think it will taste better than it looks.
My mom never lied to me, so I knew I should give it a try.
I’m SOOOO glad I did. I make this quite often, now that I have a family of my own.
How to Make This Easy Burrito Recipe:
This is a great recipe for a quick, weeknight meal when you don’t have anything planned on the menu and you probably already have the ingredients on hand! It’s a 30-minutes or less dinner recipe that you’ll want to add to your meal plan for sure. Or see these easy ground beef dinner recipes so you can meal plan!
What do you put in a burrito?
For a classic burrito, you’ll want ground beef and cheese and seasonings like a taco seasoning packet. However, some burritos also include beans, and of course any preferred toppings.
But for this recipe, you only need 4 ingredients to create the BEST burrito that’s great for lunch or even a busy weeknight.
Ingredients:
It only takes 4 ingredients (plus any additional toppings you want) to make these cheesy burritos!
- 1 pound ground beef
- 10-ounce can cheddar cheese soup undiluted (see notes)
- ½ cup salsa
- flour tortillas
- taco seasoning, optional
What kind of cheese goes on a burrito?
First, the kind of cheese that makes this burrito recipe really good, is the cheddar cheese soup that you can find in a can. It’s already a creamy texture that heats right up and gives the burrito the classic flavor that you’re looking for. DO NOT add water to the soup!
Can you add additional cheese as toppings? Absolutely… but the canned cheddar cheese is definitely enough “cheese” flavor so additional is not necessary.
What kind of salsa to use for burritos?
You can use your favorite kind of salsa for this recipe but I’d recommend a red salsa like we used here, instead of a green, Verde type of salsa.
But it can be “chunky”, “restaurant-style” or any type/brand that you prefer! I’d just make sure it’s a flavorful salsa, instead of a bland type… because using salsa in this recipe replaces the “seasoning” that you may need for other burrito recipes!
Step by Step Instructions
- First, brown 1 lb. of ground beef and cook until done.
- When beef is fully cooked, drain the grease if needed.
- Return the beef to the pan, and add your cheddar cheese soup and stir until well blended. (Image below.)
- Next, add in your ½ cup of salsa (and taco seasoning if desired) and stir until blended.
- Let the burrito mixture simmer for a couple of minutes to let the cheese and salsa cook into the beef and heat through.
- Spoon meat and cheese filling down the center of a warmed tortilla, and load that baby up with your desired toppings, and you’re golden.
Our boys prefer the burritos without toppings and just this cheesy beef mixture and I’m not going to lie… sometimes for a quick snack or lunch, I’ll just do this too and it’s perfect!
Burrito Topping Ideas
If you need topping ideas for your burritos, these are our favorites! They’re very similar to the taco toppings I recommend too!
- Cheese, shredded
- Lettuce, shredded
- Tomatoes or this easy Pico de Gallo
- Black Olives
- White, Red or Green Onions
- Jalapenos
- Refried Beans
- Mexican Rice
- Extra Salsa
- Jalapeno Ranch Dressing
- Taco Sauce
- Authentic Guacamole
- Avocados
- Sour cream
- Limes, sliced
- Cilantro
- Tortilla Chips
- Fritos
This literally takes only about 10 minutes to make and our kids LOVE them!
What to Serve with Burritos
If you’re looking for side dishes for burritos, this taco layer dip, side salad, and this authentic Mexican rice are all delicious with it!
How Store Leftover Burritos
If you have leftover burritos, you can store the burrito meat in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Store the tortillas separately and build burritos only before serving/eating.
Related Recipes
If you love quick and easy dinner recipes like this one, then you’re also going to love this Frito Chili Pie, Dorito Chicken Casserole, and Mozzarella Wraps.
Then, if you happen to have leftover burrito meat, you can see our favorite ways to use leftover taco meat, because they’re VERY similar!
Serve this Mexican flan as dessert, to keep the theme going!
If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube! Share a photo of your recipe and use the hashtag #Fantabulosity so I can find it and follow along!
Recipe
Beef and Cheese Burritos
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 10 ounce can cheddar cheese soup undiluted (see notes)
- ½ cup salsa
- flour tortillas
- package of taco seasoning if desired, optional for more flavor
Instructions
- In a medium skillet, brown ground beef over medium heat and then drain.
- Add in the can of cheddar cheese soup, and salsa (and taco seasoning if desired).
- Stir and let cook 1-2 minutes
- Serve on tortilla and top with additional desired toppings
Notes
- Cheese, shredded
- Lettuce, shredded
- Tomatoes or easy Pico de Gallo
- Black Olives
- White, Red or Green Onions
- Jalapenos
- Refried Beans
- Mexican Rice
- Extra Salsa
- Jalapeno Ranch Dressing
- Taco Sauce
- homemade Guacamole recipe
- Avocados
- Sour cream
- Limes, sliced
- Cilantro
- Tortilla Chips
- Fritos
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
Bill says
Not very tasteful. Will not make again.
Jessica says
Sorry you didn’t like it Bill. I think this recipe is a great base to add your favorite toppings to, to give it more flavor (i.e. taco sauce, sour cream, cheese, etc.) in case you find that helpful. Or, you can also add taco seasoning to the mix, for more flavor!
Ana says
The can of cheddar cheese soup was awful. It added a weird texture and taste to the mixture. I would never make this recipe ever again.
Jessica says
I’m sorry you didn’t like this, Ana! Do you happen to know what brand of cheddar cheese soup you used? I’m wondering if that made a difference?
Ana* says
I used campbells cheddar cheese condensed soup. It’s so gummy and has an artificial cheese flavor. But this isn’t the only problem with the recipe. This recipe has no salt, no pepper, and no other flavorings for the meat. Extremely bland and flavorless. Next time I would brown the beef with a chopped onion, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and other spices. I would add a can of beans. I would use warmed queso or nacho cheese sauce to mix into the beef when serving. This solves the problem of this recipe being flavorless while adding a lot of flavor from seasoning, doesn’t taste artificial, and much better cheese flavor.
Jessica says
Thanks for sharing Ana!
Megan says
This looks so good! Do you know if they freeze well? I’m thinking make a double batch and pop some in the freezer.
Jessica says
Hi Megan! That’s a great question. I haven’t tried freezing them yet but I don’t see why they wouldn’t be great, frozen. (Either the filling alone, or pre-made burritos.)
jessica says
Everyone loved this one! Such an easy lunch to throw together for teenagers. Thank you so much!
Jessica says
Oh yes! What a great idea to serve these burritos to teens! So easy, just a few ingredients and I don’t know a kid who wouldn’t love them. 🙂 Thank you for sharing and for leaving a review!
Pat Nugent says
I just added an 1/8 th tea of cumin into the soup. Nice little flavor added.
Jessica says
Adding cumin to the soup sounds amazing! I love that idea, thank you for sharing!
Jesus says
how to make
Marcy says
You mention taco seasoning but not in the actual written recipe ??
Jessica says
Hi Marcy. I believe what you’re seeing is when I mentioned what’s in a classic burrito. But all that’s in this recipe are just a few ingredients! Salsa, canned cheese soup, ground beef, and tortillas. (And your favorite toppings of course!)
Tera says
I really want to try this tonight but I don’t have any cheese soup. Do you have any recommendations on what I could substitute? I have plenty of shredded cheese and block cheese. I just don’t have any of the soup on hand. Thanks
Jessica says
Hi Tera! You know, you could try this recipe for cheddar cheese soup!
MsGwen says
I made these last night for my little family! They were so delicious and everyone loved them. Simple and didn’t take long to make. Oh, and by the way, I’ve never heard of cheddar cheese soup! LOL!!! Thanks for a great recipe…
Jessica says
Haha, I know it, right? So easy and so quick… perfect for those quick weeknight dinners!
Maggie says
My son loved every bite. Thank you for sharing this yummy recipe!
Jessica says
Awww, I know what that’s like when we make something that our kiddos like! That’s a WIN! 🙂 So glad he liked it. Thank you for sharing!
Kelly O'Bryan says
Just made it tonight for dinner and it was a hit! We love spicy food so I topped it with extra salsa:) thanks Jess!
Jessica says
You did!!?? Fantastic Kelly! I’m so glad you liked it. We love it. So stinkin’ easy and pretty good too! 🙂 Extra salsa sounds delish… I for one, don’t ever think there can be too much salsa, so I’ll try that next time! XO!