Smash Burger Burrito – The Burgerrito

A smash burger burrito is everything I love about my two favorite foods, burgers and burritos, brought together in a tortilla full of perfection! This thing packed soo much flavor and walked the line between burger and burrito perfectly. I have done this with a more traditional burger patty, and a double smash burger, and they both were great! I slightly preferred the smash burger though. The extra melty cheese between the patties, and the lacy crispy burger edges always do it for me.

Where did I come up with this recipe?

When I came up with this idea I was working at a burrito shop so everything on my mind was burritos. Every day walking around with my thoughts just being “burrito burrito burrito burrito” was a crazy time! Every food I ate, I thought, how can I burritoize this.

So as you could imagine, I was eating a burger one day, and started thinking about how I could turn it into a burrito. Pico de gallo is already full of burger toppings, you just need to add lettuce. Caramelized onions are key on a burger for me, so I could add them to the rice. I wanted to use an actual burger instead of ground meat, so I decided to do a double smash burger for the burrito, and it all came together from there!

Plus, anytime a recipe not only combines two foods, but forms a perfect portmanteau out of their combined names, you KNOW it’s a winner.

Making the rice mixture

Rice and beans are essential in a burrito for me. Caramelized onions are not exactly an essential burger ingredient, but when I am doing burger mashups I think they are important cause they impart a lot of burger flavor and vibes to other dishes. I thought mixing them in with the rice and beans would be the best place for them.

Another reason for mixing the rice, beans, and onions together was so that I wanted this to be more vertical than a typical burrito so I thought mixing all of this together would prevent the beans from rolling all over the place.

Make the pico de gallo

This is a burger pico, not a traditional pico. The idea was to take all the usual burger toppings and toss them into a bowl. Lettuce, tomato, and onion. I also added some of the usual pico stuff like cilantro, lime, and grated garlic. You could also add pickles to this, but I like pickles so much I wanted to add them to the smashburger burrito on their own so they could shine.

If you want a more traditional pico, check out the one on my friend Yvette’s blog Muy Bueno. Alternatively, you could use store bought pico and just add some lettuce to it!

Stir it all together with the lime juice and salt and set aside until you are ready to use it.

Make the Smash Burgers for the Burrito

Smash burgers are pretty easy to make even though it might feel intimidating at first. Just form balls of meat, cook them on one side for a few minutes in a heavy cast iron pan, then flip and smash! Smash them as hard as you can so they are really flat and form the nice crispy edges.

In addition to the usual salt and pepper I used on the burgers, I also added a pinch of cumin. After you smash them, give them a few minutes before flipping and adding cheese. The crispy edges, melty cheese, and hit of cumin, will make the smash burger burritos a hit!

Building the Smash Burger Burrito

Rice mixture on the bottom, then the burgers, then the pickles, pico, guac, and sour cream. Sometimes I add some chipotle hot sauce to it too.

Just look at this stack that makes up the smash burger burrito! You know it’s gonna be good! Now is the time to really test your burrito rolling skills. You honestly might need two tortillas, but I worked at a burrito shop for almost 3 years so I have some skills.

It’s hard to explain with words, but there are two main techniques, you can either start to roll it, then bring the sides in, then finish, or you can start with the sides, and roll it that way. This video helps with the visuals of the sides first method. Either way, having some foil around to help seal it up after rolling helps a lot!

I roll this smash burger burrito into more of a round shape instead of the usual tube. I think it helps feel more like a burrito.

When I was at the burrito shop I ran this as a special a few fridays, but only told my favorite customers about it. Those days are still talked about as legend in hushed corners among certain circles.

The melty delicious cheese is the secret star of this smash burger burrito and makes all the other ingredients shine. Also the rice is an underrated champ that soaks up all the juicy burger fat and delivers it to you in every bite!

Twists on the Smash Burger Burrito

You could make this with a more traditional burger if you wanted, instead of the smash burgers. I have done it like that a bunch, and it is still great! I also see people using ground beef instead of an actual burger to make a cheeseburger burrito. This might be easier but to me it isnt really a true mashup of a burger and burrito. To save a ton of time, you could also skip the caramelized onions, but I really love them in this recipe! Also I mentioned the store bought pico which will save you quite a bit of time as well.

You all know how much I love burgers. Some other Tex Mex burgers I have made are the corn tortilla smash burgers, crunch wrap bun burgers, and the quesadilla bun burger!