How Can You Keep Burritos From Getting Soggy?
Burritos, a dish from Mexico, is so versatile.
Depending on what I fill the burrito with, it can be breakfast, lunch, or dinner for me and my family.
Mini burritos can even be a yummy snack when we chill out on movie Saturday and crave something savory.
Plus, I can pre-make burritos, stuff them in the freezer, and reheat them when needed.
Worries about hectic mornings and rushed breakfasts are – mostly – a thing of the past.
But one common problem is soggy burritos, and that’s one thing I know a burrito should not be. But what are the best tips to keep your burrito flour tortillas soft or crispy?
Keeping your burritos from getting soggy depends on a variety of factors that add the wetness component that turns a yummy burrito into a soggy mess.
How Can You Keep Burritos From Getting Soggy?
To keep your burritos from becoming soggy, take care with the ingredients you use: dry out the ingredients as much as you can, add the filling when it is at room temperature, and include a starch like rice or potato. You also want to freeze the burrito as soon as you can with cool ingredients, roll the burrito tightly, wrap it in waxed or parchment paper and aluminum foil before placing it in the freezer, and reheat your burrito in the oven (in foil only) or microwave (with the waxed paper).
You can also assemble your burrito just before serving by prepping, freezing, thawing, and draining excess moisture from the filling, adding the sauce or salsa before assembly or making a dip, or ensuring the salsa or sauce isn’t too watery and rather thick.
10 Tips to Keep Your Burritos From Getting Soggy
Here’s how I keep my burritos from getting soggy, and now you can too!
Tip 1: Add a Starch to Your Burrito
When I decide on the fillings for my burritos, I ensure to choose an ingredient that will help absorb moisture from the ingredients.
For example, potatoes or rice are an ideal addition to any burrito.
Rice, potatoes, and other starches are hygroscopic, meaning the vegetable’s molecules attract and absorb water molecules, thus helping to ensure the burrito doesn’t get soggy.
Tip 2: Dry out the Ingredients
Another consideration with the ingredients for the burrito filling is whether they are cooked or raw.
Some ingredients when raw are mostly made up of water.
For example, raw onion is 89% water, so where do you think all that water will go if you add raw onions to your burrito?
Now you know why your lunch burrito the other day was soggy.
Cooking my onions (for example) in a pan and drying them helps the ingredient lose a lot of the water weight, which already improves my chances of having a soggy-free burrito.
If you are an egg fan, ensure that you cook the eggs dryer than you normally do.
And you can also place mutton or minced meat on paper towels and dry out the meat before cooking it.
Tip 3: Add a Room Temperature Filling to Your Burrito
I also make sure to only assemble my burritos when the ingredients are room temperature.
Adding hot/warm ingredients to the tortilla and then freezing the burrito means any condensation from the ingredients gets trapped inside the tortilla.
So when I warm up the burritos when it’s mealtime, that water content soaks the burritos, making them soggy.
A hot or warm filling needs to cool at some stage, and when they do, they release moisture.
If the hot or warm filling is inside the burrito, then the tortilla will soak up the moisture that’s released.
And voilà, a soggy burrito – which you definitely don’t want.
Tip 4: Freeze the Burritos ASAP
I also try to place the burritos in the freezer as fast as I can once the ingredients are ready.
The cooler the ingredients, the faster the burritos will freeze, which means that smaller ice crystals will form.
So I place ingredients in the fridge if needed, then add them to my burrito, and in the freezer, my burritos go.
The longer something takes to freeze, the larger the ice crystals. They are sharp, so the crystals puncture the cell walls of the ingredients.
When the frozen ingredients thaw, the nicked cells release water, soggying my burritos.
Tip 5: Make and Freeze Burrito Fillings Separately
The option is for me to prepare my burrito fillings and then freeze these.
Once the ingredients have thawed, I drain any excess water or fluid. Then I assemble the burrito in the tortilla.
Tip 6: Roll the Burrito Tightly
Rolling the burrito tightly ensures the filling stays inside the burrito and not on me as I eat it. Plus, it helps keep out moisture.
Follow these steps to roll your burrito:
- A slightly warm burrito just works so much easier because it’s more malleable, so warm up the burrito for 5-10 seconds in the microwave.
- Don’t use too much filling and place it right in the center of the burrito tortilla.
- Fold the left side of the tortilla toward the filling, and then fold the right side. (Or the other way around.)
- Then roll the tortilla from the edge that’s closest to you away from you, forming a burrito.
Tip 7: Wrap the Burrito
To prevent moisture from seeping in, I like to wrap my burritos in waxed or parchment paper, and then also in aluminum foil. If I don’t have aluminum foil, then I also use a Ziploc bag or a resealable freezer bag.
Tip 8: Reheat the Burrito
Reheating the burritos in the microwave or oven is recommended.
For the oven, I make sure to remove the waxed or parchment paper but place the burritos back in the aluminum foil.
My burritos come out of the oven warm, crispy, and delicious.
I leave the waxed paper on when I place the burritos in the microwave.
This helps protect the edges of the burrito from dying out.
Tip 9: Assemble the Burrito Before Meal Time
Yes, I know this isn’t always practical to make your meals before you eat them.
But you can meal-prep your burrito ingredients, which is a big help, and then put everything together.
For lunch, I have a special lunch box with a compartment so I can keep the ingredients for my burrito separate.
When it’s lunchtime at the office, I simply construct my burrito on a plate or small cutting board in the kitchen.
Then I can enjoy my soggy-free burrito outside.
Tip 10: Be Careful With the Sauce
The sauce or salsa you add to your burrito can also be too wet, which makes the burrito soggy.
You can rather add less sauce or make the sauce thicker before you add it to your burrito.
I like using thick salsa for my burritos; however, I also like to omit to add sauce/salsa.
When I serve the burritos, I add sauce or salsa in little bowls for everyone.
Then as we eat, we can dip our burritos into the sauce bowls or add some sauce via a spoon.
Or, before serving, I add the guacamole or sour cream to the burrito.
Frequently Asked Questions About How to Keep Burritos From Getting Soggy
How do you keep frozen breakfast burritos from getting soggy?
To keep frozen breakfast burritos from getting soggy, don’t overcook the eggs, “sweat” all other ingredients well when cooking them, add a thicker sauce, and don’t add too much filling when it’s at room temperature. Wrap the burrito in waxed or parchment paper and aluminum foil before placing it in the freezer, and then reheat the burrito in the microwave or oven.
Why do my burritos get soggy?
Burritos get soggy because you add a lot of “wet” ingredients, you don’t store or freeze the burritos correctly, or you add hot ingredients to the tortilla before you fold and roll your burrito.
Conclusion About How to Keep Burritos From Getting Soggy
Now that you know what can cause a burrito to get soggy, you know how to avoid a soggy mess.
I make sure to always follow these 10 tips of advice too – no one likes a soggy burrito after all.