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Just made these – SOOO good!! Will make again! Great way to get my daughter to eat vegetables and beans!
Rachel
This is happening.
Chipotle Turkey Burritos. And that is all. No fancy sauce, no overloaded toppings.
I know I’m totally blowing your mind here, right? Or else I’m writing the most basic food blog you’ve ever read.
A big ol’ soft flour tortilla with some spiced ground turkey and a few veggies –> who knew this combo could be so humble meets revolutionary? Not me, until I started making these a few months ago. That’s right – it’s been months and I haven’t shared it here because, um, I don’t know. It just seemed too Basic Girl of me. That being said, you and I know the truth: that sometimes a grab-and-go lunch from the freezer, even if it is almost as simple as spicy ground turkey and veggies rolled up in a flour tortilla, is a Meal Prep Win. Plus, I shared them on Snapchat a few weeks ago and have gotten several emails and snaps since asking me to share the recipe on the blog. I mean, I’m blushing. Thanks for making me feel like I’m a special turkey burrito maker, guys. ♡
All of this leads me to this moment where I virtually hand-deliver you a chipotle turkey burrito. Are you ready?
Let’s get our Super Basic Delicious on.
How To Make Our Turkey Burritos:
CHIPOTLE TURKEY BURRITOS 101
Here’s what’s happening prior to you having a lifetime supply of these in your freezer.
- First: brown your turkey with a whole ton of spices, including a chipotle pepper or five. I dunno, maybe it’s overkill. OR MAYBE IT’S DELICIOUS. You decide.
- Second: take stock of your fridge. Got a few homeless veggies in there? Done and done – cut and sauté those guys right up.
- Third: mix the meat and the veggies. Throw in roughly 80 handfuls of cheese. Watch it melt and get creamy and cry tears of joy.
- Fourth: roll the mixture up in a tortilla. Wrap in foil or plastic. Freeze for easy lunches for the rest of the month and graciously accept your award for Prepared Eater of the Year.
And actually, I’m not exaggerating about the rest-of-the-month thing. This recipe makes at least 15 burritos, which, for me and Bjork, generally lasts three weeks or so for grab-and-go lunches and last minute dinner emergencies.
So maybe it scores somewhere between a D- to an F on the posh food scale, but are we really that vain? *Sometimes yes* but when lunch comes calling, no. We are 0% vain and 100% FEED ME NOW. And these chipotle turkey burritos are acing the game in the categories of flexibility, taste, convenience, and FEED ME NOW.
If you happen to have some Magic Green Sauce leftover that you then spread on your turkey burritos before demolishing them? God bless you, burrito lover. You have found the meaning of life.
Note: this recipe is very, very adaptable and it turns out a little differently every time I make it, since I usually just use whatever vegetables are left in my fridge at the end of a week. Embrace the flexibility here! Add, subtract, be your own burrito self. Also – hot sauce for serving is a very good idea for those of us whose tastebuds HAVE BIG FEELINGS. Bjork and I used Sriracha because we embrace weird food fusion combos like that.
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Spicy Chipotle Turkey Burritos (Make Ahead)
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 15 burritos 1x
Description
Spicy Chipotle Turkey Burritos for YUMMY make ahead dinners or lunches. Ground turkey, spices, veggies, and cheese in a tortilla, ready to grab and go!
Ingredients
Filing Part One (Turkey):
- 1 tablespoons oil
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 3 lbs. ground turkey
- 2 tablespoon EACH chili powder and cumin
- 3–5 individual chipotle peppers (canned in adobo sauce), minced
- 2 teaspoons salt
Filling Part Two (Vegetables):
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/2 onion, minced
- 1 tablespoon EACH chili powder and cumin
- 4–5 cups chopped veggies like carrots, zucchini, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, etc. (see notes for specifics)
- 1 cup chicken broth (more as needed)
- 1 14-ounce can pinto or black beans
- 2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
- 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
For Serving:
- 15 10-inch tortillas
- avocado, hot sauce, cilantro, etc. for serving
Instructions
- Filling Part One: Heat the tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot. Add the onion and the turkey; as the turkey cooks, add the spices, chipotle peppers, and salt. Cook until the turkey is browned and fully cooked. When the meat is saucy and delicious-looking, transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
- Filling Part Two: In the same pot, add the oil, onion, veggies, and spices. Saute for a few minutes until the vegetables are mostly soft. Add enough broth to barely cover the vegetables and simmer for 10 minutes or so, until the vegetables are soft and the mixture has thickened. Add the beans, meat, cheese, and yogurt. Stir until creamy. Also at this point it’s a good idea to taste and add salt or more seasoning to make sure you’re all good on flavor.
- Fill each tortilla with about 1/2 cup of the filling, fold up (I spread a little goat cheese or avocado on the sides to help them stick together), and wrap with plastic or foil. Store in the freezer for quick, grab-and-go lunches and dinners!
- To heat and eat, either pop in the microwave (takes about 5 minutes for a semi-thawed burrito) or in the oven (I’ve never been patient enough to do it this way so I don’t have a good time guideline here) or a combo with the microwave and then on a skillet if you’re at home so you can get that golden brown exterior. That’s the best way.
Notes
For more smoky heat, add additional chipotles. For more HOT heat, add a good shake of cayenne to the meat and vegetable mixture.
For vegetables, I always use a few different veggies based on whatever’s left in the fridge. But if you want direct amounts, I’d suggest 1 sweet potato, 5 carrots, and 3 bell peppers.
Also – technically the cheese and Greek yogurt could be optional, but I like the mixture to be a little creamy. It also helps it stick together better.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Category: Lunch
- Cuisine: Mexican
Keywords: chipotle turkey burritos, meal prep burritos, burrito recipe
Nutrition is for 1/15th of everything as written EXCEPT the tortilla because there is so much variance with different types and sizes of tortillas.
Wow! These look phenomenal and what a great idea to make ahead! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Sarah! 🙂
I am interested in having this possibly sans tortilla just on it’s own. Could I just freeze portions of the mixture alone?
That should work just fine!
LOVE that you give nutritional counts….but I have a question. Is the Flour Tortilla included in the count? Normally a 10″ flour tortilla is anywhere from 35 to 37 carbs….and I just don’t see how that carb count could be correct with the veggies too? I love your recipes and actually use a lot of them on my low carb diet. Thank you.
Good question Pam! I wondered the same thing but didn’t have time to research that before publishing. Let me look into that and see what I can find – I’m guessing our nutrition label generator just categorized the flour tortillas incorrectly.
Yeah – I think it was registering the tortilla as 0 value, which means the label would be just for the ingredients in the filling. 🙂 Hope that helps!
These are some awesome looking burritos!! Love the added chipotle peppers!
Thanks Deborah!
I love make ahead burritos, especially when they help me to use up veggies in my fridge, I enjoy the loose recipe with the suggestions. to encourage creativity. Your pictures are beautiful, as always! 🙂
Thank you Emily!
Lindsay – these photos are my fave! There’s so much depth – they almost feel 3D. The color is also superb.
Thanks Abby! Huge props to Katy for hand-modeling and generally making the shoot process 100x times better.
Oh how do you make burritos look so beautiful?! Haha, they’re stunning! I’m thinking that maybe with the addition of chipotle peppers I could trick my husband into thinking he’s eating beef…? 😉
Yes, definitely! Or just make them with beef. 😉 Delicious either way!
Awesome clicks Lindsay! More chipotle for me please 🙂
Thanks Muna!
Yum! I’ve been searching for more delicious, single-portion, grab-and-go freezer meals lately, as our schedules have been super crazy! I’m definitely going to give these turkey burritos a try.
Awesome! Hope you like them Lindsay! 😀
Could I do these in the instant pot?
Whenever I make burritos I press them in my panini press! It’s fast and delicious!
Love your version of fillings!
Genius! Love that idea, Jill. 🙂
Ok, I’ve known that you are hilarious but now I know that you are also a genius . These look simply amazing. I make similar burritos minus the huge batch and freezing party – genius! Why didn’t I think of that? Oh yea, because I’m the one always running to the store for those last minute ingredients/ day of type of cooking. I have 2 pounds of ground turkey and some black beans, and the rest I could wing it, Yay! More inspiration. Thanks so much, Pretty sure we would be friends if it weren’t for the weird cloud stuff and cyber blogging friendship thing 😉 especially after sharing burritos. Thanks for handing one over, lolz. Adios bonita! ✨Bita
Hope you like them, Bita! 🙂
Woah…these are my lunch lyfe. But now I feel much more accepting of myself eating these for lunch now that ma’ foodie girl has approved it as well 😉 LOVE. <3 practical ftw.
Thanks for the clarification about the Tortilla and the Carb count! You rock!
I would put ALL THE SPICE in mine. I have a problem. Also, I love meals that I can just make once and have over and over again bc I am the laziest cooker ever.
Lazy meals are the best! 🙂
These look fabulous! I’ve been loving make-ahead/big-batch meals lately. Busy college student here, and I need stuff that I can grab and eat any time! Thanks for the idea 😀
Enjoy, Ellen!
How do you reheat them? Thaw then microwave?
That’s the quickest! 🙂 Of course there’s the option to pop them in the oven for a bit, which will give you a nicer texture on the outside, but microwave works in a pinch!
Hi Lindsay, please tell me a good brand for the chipotle peppers in Adobe sauce & where you purchase. I have tried to buy these here in MN. Both cans were totally disgusting.. Course I live in the burbs where this item does not exactly fly off the shelves. But, anyway have avoided unless we are visiting AZ. Where of course,, all Mexican is the best!
Hi, Gail! We have used La Costena brand, which is found at most SuperTargets. I’m sure in Arizona you can find lots of great options!
Yum yum yum! Definitely have to try this out!
I have been looking for some tasty, versatile, freezer food options. This one is perfect and, with all those veggies, is healthy too!
It doesn’t have to be an involved recipe with an ingredient list a mile long to be good! This is a great way to use up veggies and have something handy for lunch!
You had me at “roughly 80 handfuls of cheese”. These look so flippin’ tasty! Must stock up the freezer, pronto. That picture with the foil peeled back is speaking to my inner burrito monster – it’s whispering “get over here and EAT me!”.
PS – Glad to know there’s someone else out there who likes sneaking Greek yogurt into a big bad burrito. Good-for-you stuff but super covert. I like how you roll.
Thanks, Lauren! 🙂
I loveeeee the idea of make ahead burrito’s!
These look really tasty. Yum 🙂
These look delicious! Our fav burrito place closed last year and we have been floundering without it. Maybe making our own will be even better!
Kari
http://www.sweetteasweetie.com
This looks so super YUM! And I am all about those flexible make-ahead recipes. (I’ve got 2 jars of Jalapeño Salsa Verde soup in my freezer right now!)
I have found meaning to life. This looks incredibly delicious.
Easy & hopefully it will be husband and kid approved.
Love love love Pinch of yum, Lindsay!
Wow! I’ve done something similar, but your photos make it look so classy… I think I’ll make them again in the next few days!