You are going to love this chicken burrito recipe because it is super easy to make. These burritos are also healthier than traditional burritos.
I originally got this recipe from the Cooking Light website a few years ago. I have since tried to find the recipe and apparently it isn’t there anymore. It is a great, low fat, healthy burrito that is sure to satisfy your craving for Mexican food.
You have the option of using a store bought rotisserie chicken, or you could make your own. I have done it both ways and it doesn’t make a difference in the taste of this dish.
I made a couple of changes to the original recipe, the main one being the tortillas. I found the most amazing tortillas. They are Ole Mexican Foods Extreme Wellness High-Fiber tortillas. They also come in Multi-grain, Fat-Free, Tomato & Basil, and Spinach & Herbs, but my favorite are the High-Fiber ones.
An ordinary 8″ flour tortilla has around 140 calories, 4% total fat, 9% total carbohydrate, and 4% dietary fiber, while these tortillas have only 60 calories, 2% total fat, 6% total carbohydrate, and a whopping 43% dietary fiber. I have been known to go to more than one grocery store if the one I regularly shop at is out of them.
These easy chicken burritos are definitely a family favorite and it is easy to double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd. They are also great to make with the kids or when you want to get your guests involved in preparing the meal.
Table of contents
Ingredients
See recipe card for exact amounts.
Ingredient Notes
cooked chicken – rotisserie chicken, store bought or homemade. I have a great recipe for slow cooker whole chicken if you want to make your own.
black beans – we use the store brand from either Walmart or Aldi.
salsa – we use our favorite brand of store bought mild salsa.
grated cheese – I usually use what I have on hand, pepper Jack cheese, cheddar cheese, colby Jack cheese, or Mexican cheese blend all work great. Low-fat cheese will work great too.
tortillas – as I said above, I use Ole Mexican Foods Extreme Wellness High-Fiber tortillas, you can use regular flour tortillas, wheat tortillas, or low-carb tortillas.
lime juice – we always use freshly squeezed lime juice, you can use the kind in the bottle or the cute little plastic lime.
green onions – I like the mild onion flavor you get from this type of onion.
seasonings – chili powder, ground cumin and black pepper give our burritos great flavor.
How to make this easy recipe
- Add water, lime juice, chili powder, and cumin to a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. When it begins to boil, add the shredded chicken and green onions. Reduce heat to medium and cook until warm, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
- Combine the black beans and salsa in a small microwave safe bowl and warm this mixture up in the microwave for about 30 seconds.
- Place about one-third cup of the chicken mixture in the center of each tortilla, top it with one-sixth of the bean salsa mixture and one-sixth of the cheese.
- Fold bottom third of tortilla over the filling, fold in in both sides of the tortilla towards the middle and continue to roll.
- Heat a large nonstick skillet or griddle pan over medium high heat, when hot spray it with cooking spray and place burritos seam side down, cook until browned on both sides, a couple of minutes per side.
Recipe Tip
I use Extreme Wellness High-Fiber tortilla because they are better for me. The other great thing about these tortillas is that they are soft and pliable so you don’t need to warm them up at all to be able to fold them into a burrito. If you use virtually any other tortilla you will probably need to warm them up so that they will fold easily. See below suggestions on how to warm tortillas.
Three ways to warm flour tortillas
- Put them into the microwave for a few seconds, either one at a time or a few at a time.
- Wrap them in aluminum foil and put them in a 300° oven for 10-15 minutes.
- Warm them up in a dry skillet on medium heat, one at a time, for about 15 seconds per side.
Serving suggestions
We usually eat these chicken burritos with our hands and dip the burritos in these accompaniments. You can serve them restaurant style by adding these on the tops of burritos and eat them with a fork.
- sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
- pico de gallo
- guacamole
- salsa
- shredded lettuce
We like to serve these with Spanish brown rice, refried beans, corn salad or jalapeno corn casserole.
Additions & Substitutions
- Use cooked shredded chicken breasts instead of rotisserie chicken.
- Add up to 1-2 garlic cloves for additional flavor
- Swap the green onion for diced jalapeño pepper, whole kernel corn, red bell pepper, or green bell pepper.
More easy and healthy recipes
Easy Chicken and Black Bean Burritos Recipe ↓
Easy Chicken and Black Bean Burritos
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp water
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups shredded chicken breast
- 1/4 cup green onions thinly sliced
- 3/4 cups black beans drained and rinsed
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 6 8" flour or wheat tortillas
- 1/2 cup cheese grated
- cooking spray
I earn a small commission from Instacart for qualifying purchases.
Instructions
- Combine water, lime juice, chili powder, ground cumin, and black pepper in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and green onions. Reduce heat to medium and cook stirring often until heated through, about 5 minutes.2 tbsp lime juice, 1 tbsp water, 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/4 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 2 cups shredded chicken breast, 1/4 cup green onions
- In a small microwave safe bowl combine beans and salsa and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds or until warm.3/4 cups black beans, 1/2 cup salsa
- Place about 1/3 cup chicken mixture and 1/6 of the bean mixture onto the tortillas and divide the grated cheese . Roll, folding both ends in.6 8" flour or wheat tortillas, 1/2 cup cheese
- Heat a large skillet or griddle to medium-high heat. Spray with cooking spray, place seam side down and cook 2-4 minutes on each side, or until golden brown.cooking spray
Notes
Nutrition Facts
Recipe updated 1/21/24, I changed the amount of water from 1/4 cup to 1 tbsp because I found myself using less water every time I made them. I discovered that 1 tbsp is the perfect amount.
More delicious dinner recipes
Easy Taco Salad Casserole with Beef & Beans is perfectly cheesy for a quick hearty and satisfying meal!
Mild chili is perfect for the whole family. It also comes together quickly making it great for any night of the week.
These are awesome. Goes great with the spanish rice.