The Biggest Burrito In The World Weighed More Than Most Cars

Burritos are hefty meals wrapped in flour tortillas and typically loaded down with a protein, rice, beans, veggies, salsas, and other sauces and condiments such as sour cream and guacamole. They're the kind of heavy food that generally requires a nice, long siesta afterward. But if you thought that the one-pound carnitas burrito you took down at lunch was impressive, the biggest burrito in the world would drop your jaw.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the biggest burrito ever made on planet Earth weighed 12,785 pounds and was constructed in La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, on Nov. 3, 2010. By comparison, the average weight of a car is 4,094 pounds, meaning the beastly burrito weighed slightly more than three typical automobiles. Just to provide some further perspective, the African elephant, the world's largest land mammal, weighs, on average, over 12,000 pounds. This was truly an elephantine burrito.

Astoundingly, the burrito behemoth was rolled using only one flour tortilla, tipping the scales at 2 tons and measuring 2.4 kilometers (1.49 miles). What ingredients were used to stuff this baddest of all burritos? Since it was crafted in the Baja California region of Mexico, renowned as the birthplace of the fish taco, the filling consisted of fish with onion, chile, and refried beans.

As one might imagine, preparing this record-shattering burrito involved a collaborative effort. Overall, 54 restaurants teamed up for the endeavor, and a grand total of 3,000 people, including chefs, culinary students, and volunteers, contributed their collective labor. A specially designed machine was used to roll out the nearly mile-and-a-half tortilla, which took 9.5 hours. The entire burrito-building project lasted 12 hours.

It seems like you would need to recruit the help of an entire town to take down such a massive burrito. Not even competitive eater Matt Stonie, who once devoured an 18-inch burrito in under two minutes, could handle a monster like this on his own. The finished product was served to thousands of people who came to indulge in La Paz's burrito-making history.