Flank Steak Burrito Recipe

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Authentic Mexican Burrito Recipe

This flank steak burrito recipe is a delicious Mexican favorite.  It is a healthy, convenient option and if you have all these components as leftovers it is easy to throw together on any night of the week.  In this recipe, I marinate the flank steak in my homemade Chimichurri sauce.  The flavors in Chimichurri are the best for an authentic steak burrito – I think its the only way to go.  But if you don’t prefer Chimichurri, I have another great marinade option – this carne asada marinade is a little sweeter and citrusy.  The burrito is stuffed with rice, pinto beans, cheese, habanero salsa, tomato and lettuce.  I use jumbo sized 10-12 inch wraps to gather all the delicious ingredients for delivery to your mouth. 

I know I am not the only one that can eat a burrito every single day and be more than happy about it.   Seriously, there is something about burritos that are incredibly addicting.  They make me feel like an addict and they’re my drug of choice.  I crave them intensely when I haven’t had one for a while.  Once I get on a burrito kick its hard to break it – I will go two weeks straight with one every night for dinner. 

So as you can tell from the above confession, I know burritos.  I also have been making them on a professional level since I was 15.  At my first job, at a hole in the wall Mexican restaurant, I mastered the flavor profiles and combinations within burritos.  The art of making burritos became a soulful passion. The first time I had a burrito while working at this restaurant, the exact moment imprinted into my brain and that moment was seminal in my ensuing culinary journey.

Now a couple more points to make before you learn how to make the best steak burrito recipe ever.  I distinctly chose habanero salsa for this burrito because there is something magical about the heat and flavor of habanero with a perfectly seasoned and marinated steak.  The two are meant to be.  I made a homemade habanero salsa – just 3 ingredients and super easy to make.  You can also find a pure habanero hot sauce from the store – that will work just fine too.  Two things you will certainly need to make my habanero salsa are, gloves and a food processor. 

My final point to make is that I use regular flour tortilla shells for burritos.  If you know my recipes well, you know that 99.9% of the time I cook gluten-free, and I find dang good alternatives that taste just as amazing.  Burritos are the one exception where I go with the old flour tortilla.  Maybe one day soon, I will do extensive research and testing and make jumbo sized gluten-free shells that are big enough and stretchy enough to pull off the job.   The problem is that the good store bought gf options aren’t large enough and they don’t have enough elasticity to be rolled tight with no ripping. 

If you’re wondering what kind of steak for burritos is the best – I chose flank steak for this recipe.  Other good options are skirt, bavette or hanger steak.

If you’re looking for easy leftover steak recipes, let this be your first stop.  I hope I’ve convinced you to add this one to the books. Read on to learn how to make the best flank steak burrito recipe.

Carne Asada Burrito Recipe

This recipe uses my pinto beans recipe and instant pot rice recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1.5lb flank steak
• Steak marinade of your choice, I recommend this chimichurri sauce or this carne asada marinade 
• 1 cup white rice
• 1/2 lb pinto beans
• Cheese (muenster or cotija )
• 1 large white onion
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 4 bay leaves
• 1/2 Tbsp Mexican oregano (can use regular oregano)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• Lettuce
• Tomato
• 10 inch flour tortilla shells
• Habanero salsa or hot sauce 
• Salt to taste
• Lime

Preparation:

-Butterfly the flank steak if it is not already cut thin. Season all sides of the steak with sea salt and pepper, then spread chimichurri marinade over all sides. Cover securely and let it marinate over night in the fridge.  Simple Mexican steak marinade: chimichurri or authentic carne asada marinade.

-Make the homemade habanero salsa if using homemade hot sauce.

Instructions:

1. Follow the instructions for perfect instant pot rice here and pinto beans instant pot recipe here. The onion, garlic, bay leaves and oregano are used here. 
2. Heat a cast iron or other heavy bottomed pan on medium heat and add a tablespoon of olive oil.  When the pan is hot, sear the flank steak on both sides until a dark brown crust forms in spots.  Approximate sear time on each side 5 minutes. Remove and allow to rest for 10 minutes.  When cooled, slice against the grain and then cut into small bite-sized cubes.
3. Wash the lettuce and tomatoes.  Prep the produce by shredding the lettuce and dicing the tomatoes.
4. Heat the tortillas one at a time in a large skillet or directly on a flat top griddle. Make sure that the tortillas don’t get crispy, we are looking to warm them so they can stretch and flex easily to mitigate ripping.
5. Assemble the burritos: Place the warm tortilla down and spread out a scoop of rice first and then pinto beans.  Spread out the steak next, then cheese, salsa or hot sauce, tomatoes and lettuce on top.  
6. How to roll a burrito: orient the shell so that the contents are in a short line horizontally.  Take both hands and grab each side (right and left side of contents) and fold sides towards the center.  Next, take the open side closest to you and fold it over the contents(away from you, towards the other side) and pull it back towards you to shape up the burrito shape, tuck it in tight and then roll the burrito up(away from you).
7. Wrap foil or parchment paper around the bottom half to help hold the burrito hold together while eating. 

Authentic Mexican Beef Burrito Recipe Notes Section:

• Butterflying the meat is a process to make the cut of meat thinner so it can cook faster and more evenly. When you cut the meat horizontally through the center, dont go all the way through on the end.  Leave a little attached so the meat stays connected and when you open it up it looks like two identical parallel butterfly wings.
• For steak burrito seasoning, use sea salt and pepper on all sides, marinate over night and sear with olive oil. 
• If you’re wondering what is the best way to cook steak for burritos, I would recommend grilling or searing on a hot cast iron skillet. 
• If you’re looking to make a homemade authentic mexican steak burrito recipe – choose the Chimichurri for marinating and use the habanero for salsa. This combination is a traditional favorite. 
• The best cut of meat for steak burritos is flank, skirt, bavette or hanger steak.  Some will say the best type of steak for burritos is any one that has a little toughness or chew to it because you want that type of texture to add contrast to the soft rice and beans. 
• If you want to make this a gluten-free recipe but cannot find good jumbo sized gf tortillas you can omit the wrap for the best steak burrito bowl recipe you will ever have.

Steak burrito marinade :

Chimichurri

Authentic Carne Asada Marinade 

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Additional steak burrito ingredients:

Guacamole, sour cream, cilantro, chopped white onion.

If you have been looking for the best steak burritos to make in your own home, you have found them here in this recipe.   This is a classic steak burrito recipe with rice and beans, featuring a flaming hot salsa.  I am always looking to make food in bulk and repurpose it into new recipes all week long.  This recipe is a great leftover steak burrito recipe. Other recipes for leftover flank steak could be steak tacos, nachos, steak burrito bowls, tortas, or quesadillas. 

Thanks for checking out one of my favorite leftover steak recipes with rice. If you liked this one, you may love some of my other favorite recipes such as carne asada dinner, barbacoa tacos or birria ramen bowl. 

Please rate or comment below and if you made any additions or alterations and want to let me in on your ideas – I would love to hear about it!  If you would like to share or pin on Pinterest, I am always thankful.  Check out my food journey on Pinterest at Molé in the Wall.

Now you know how to make the best flank steak burrito recipe that you won’t want to forget! I hope you do try this recipe and thoroughly enjoy it as much as we have.  I’m pretty sure this will become a favorite meal for the whole family and become a generational tradition!

tags: steak burrito recipe authentic