Giant Burrito Recipe

The burrito is one of those perfect foods that's filling, delicious, and easy to cook. Even better, all of that comes in a self-contained package. How do you improve on it? Easy — make it massive.

A burrito rolled in a large tortilla is large enough for most people. But what if you have some friends coming over and want to change the burrito into a communal thing? Or what if you're just really, really, hungry — like just-ran-a-marathon hungry?

Recipe creator Jason Goldstein, who also shares his recipes on his website ChopHappy, has done the legwork to help you make a burrito the size of your forearm. His recipe calls for eight large tortillas and enough ingredients to fill this mammoth creation. "I actually made this my meal as lunch for the week, but it is great any meal," says Goldstein. 

As it is a fact that burritos are perfect for breakfast, lunch and dinner, this burrito could be made in the morning and eaten for every meal in a day, plus a few the next.

This giant burrito is all about the stuffing. For the rice, you need three cups of long grain rice, so a larger bag should work. Then you'll also need a large jar of salsa, enough for two cups worth. Then it's time for the fruits, vegetables, and herbs: scallions, a lime, an avocado, and a handful of cilantro. Then you need to pick up two cans of black beans and a container of sour cream, enough for a half cup. Finally, pick up a large bag of Mexican blend cheese and a bag of soft tortillas — containing at least eight tortillas — to round out and seal this giant burrito.

Now you're ready to live large, burrito style.

To start, you have to cook the rice. Follow the directions on the bag for white rice to put it in this massive torpedo. As it finishes, start preheating the oven to 400 F. Now place the cooked rice, a cup of your salsa of choice, the scallions, and the lime juice in a medium to large bowl. Mix these ingredients thoroughly to create a rice mixture that will be the basis for the delicious taste inside the burrito. Salsa, scallions, and lime really drive home the Mexican flavor of this mammoth. 

Once you have a thorough mixture, set it aside to assemble the burrito later.

Get another bowl to flavor up the black beans. Strain the excess juice from your cans of black beans, then pour the drained beans into the bowl. Add your second cup of salsa to the beans and mix well, again making a flavorful base with the other main ingredient, the beans. Set this bowl aside as well to assemble the burrito later. 

You will want to add the ingredients in layers, one at a time. So you'll need to keep the rice mixture and the bean mixture separate from each other. Trust us, there is a method to the madness necessary for making a massive burrito.

Place the eight tortillas on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Spread out the tortillas so they overlap in places to make one big super tortilla. Now place two cups of cheese under the flaps of the tortillas to connect them. Then sprinkle more cheese over the top of the tortillas. 

By now the oven should be preheated. Place your tray with the super tortilla in the oven for five minutes for the cheese to melt. It's especially important that the cheese under the overlapping flaps hold the tortillas tight, but all the cheese will act as glue to hold them all together. 

Now that your tortillas are connected, let them cool to be able to roll them up into your giant burrito. Leave the oven on, though.

Now it's time to fill the burrito. You'll want to add the ingredients one at a time to make sure they layer perfectly. The best way to do this is to add each layer along the middle of the mega tortilla in a horizontal line. Start with the rice mixture. Next add the bean mixture. Finally line up the avocado and the sour cream.

Of course, you can add other protein ingredients to make it into an even heartier meal. According to Goldstein, "You can make this into a steak and potato burrito, eggs and hash brown, or shred up leftover chicken for a big chicken burrito." 

Fold one side of the massive super tortilla over the layers of filling. Once rolled up, fold in the ends too so it's a giant, self-contained torpedo. Continue to roll the tortilla to close everything up. If you added extra optional ingredients, you might have to pack down the ingredients to properly close it. Your burrito should be sitting on the flap to keep it from opening up. 

Now it's time to top the burrito for your big cook. Sprinkle the giant burrito with cheese in a line down the middle. Put the burrito tray into the oven, still at 400 F, and bake it for 10 minutes.

Once the burrito is done, pull it out and to let it cool and add the final toppings. One of those ingredients is the cilantro, a staple of Mexican cuisine. "You chop the leaves and save and freeze the stems to use for soups and stocks. You can use the stems in this recipe, but it might add a woodsy texture," he says.  

Add the cilantro and scallions on top of the cheese. Finally spoon some sour cream in little clumps and dig in. You can slice this into sections for serving to multiple people. Or you can let people cut off portions themselves. 

Or, if you're feeling ambitious, put it down in front of you on a massive plate and go to town.