Smothered Chile Colorado Burritos (Crock-Pot)

School is almost back in session for those of you with school-aged kids and for some of you amazing students yourselves.  With all the busy preparation you must be facing, I can tell you that some of the EASIEST meals you find will be done in the crock pot.

These meal is SO easy and tastes exactly what you would get at a nice fancy mexican restaurant.  I found this recipe on The Food Pusher, used my own Crock-Pot refried beans recipe, and am happy to report that it is now one of our FAVORITE meals! My family was blown away by how delicious and beautiful the presentation was! My hubby went ON AND ON about how much he loved it.  We served at a dinner with my parents and my uncle and his family and all LOVED this meal!  Definitely a must try!

You can make the homemade refried beans a day or two ahead of time and use it for different meals or dips as well.  It makes a lot, but I always like to have some on hand.  They are my favorite!

Also pictured, Side Dish: Avocado Salsa


4.7 from 3 reviews
Smothered Chile Colorado Burritos
 
This amazing meal is done in the crock pot! It doesn't get much easier or delicious than this! It is fantastic!
Recipe type: Entrée
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients
  • 1½ lbs. stew meat
  • 1 (19 oz) can red enchilada sauce, I use El Paso Mild brand
  • 2 beef bullion cubes
  • refried beans, either from a can or the recipe I provided you with
  • 5-7 burrito size tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded cheese, more or less depend ending on personal preference
Instructions
  1. Put beef pieces into crock pot. Top with crushed bouillon cubes and enchilada sauce. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, or until meat is very tender.
  2. When beef is done (very tender and flakes off when stirred), taste and add more salt, if desired.
  3. Make sure beans are warmed through. You can use canned refried beans or the recipe I provided you with.
  4. Smear about 2 heaping spoons worth of beans on to the center of each tortilla. Add about ½ cup of beef, give or take, and roll into a burrito.
  5. Place burritos into a greased 9x13 baking pan until it fills the pan. Pour some of extra sauce over the tops of the burritos to smother them. Place cheese on top.
  6. Broil until cheese becomes bubbly, approx. 2-4 minutes.
  7. This recipe makes about 5-7 burritos depending on how big you make them.

Enjoy!
(recipe from: The Food Pusher)
(My mom’s homemade crock-pot refried beans)

If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #chefintraining and/or #chefintrainingblog. I would love to see how these recipes take shape in your kitchens.

Filed under: beans, beef, crock-pot, dinner

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Comments

  1. Bev {Flamingo Toes}

    These look so good Nikki! And I love that they are done in the crockpot - easy is awesome. ;)
    Thanks for the recipe!

  2. Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel

    Nikki, this plate of food is gorgeous! It looks identical to a fancy Mexican plate at a restaurant. I love big, thick burritos stuffed with yummy additions like guac and refried beans--this looks exceptional and, as a student, I can certainly appreciate an exceptional AND easy meal when school starts or finals approach!

  3. Cassey

    Wow, this looks great! I can't wait to make it! I love Mexican food and this is easy enough even for me! Thanks for the great post!

  4. Lacey

    I made this for dinner tonight and it is even better than it looks which is hard to believe! This is an instant family favorite, thanks for the great recipe!

  5. Tina

    This looks so good! Do you have a recipe for the rice and avocado salsa that is on the plate? It looks so good!

    1. Chef in Training

      Here is the recipe for the avocado salsa :)
      https://www.chef-in-training.com/2012/08/avocado-salsa/

      I am working on getting the rice recipe up soon! I will let you know when I do :)

  6. Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts

    This looks incredible! I have heard of a Colorado Burrito, but never had one before. Funny thing, I actually live in CO :)
    Definitely will be trying this very soon!

    1. Magali

      Reading your comment made me giggle....Chile Colorado is spanish for red chile. In this case colorado isn't referring to the state but the color red. Sorry had to share.

  7. Becky J.

    Loved these last night! We had black beans and made it with them instead of refried. The kids decided that they will be in our regular rotation!

  8. natalie

    so simple, i love it! so happy i discovered your blog!

  9. Ami Allison

    Oh mama!!! These sound AMAZING and look even better! YOU are amazing!

  10. Susan

    Boy these sure do sound very good ! My husband and I love burrito's. I know I will be trying them very soon .I will most definetly let you know how these are. Have a wonderful day !

  11. Kimberly P.

    We just moved from CA to WA and have been craving good Mexican food...seems hard to find up here. THANK YOU for sharing this recipe. It became an instant family favorite!

  12. Brenda West

    I made this yesterday for dinner. It was delicious and so stinkin' easy! It is definitely going into the rotation! Thank you!

  13. Ali

    Oooof these look delicious Nikki! I don't use my crockpot hardly ever but I would make an exception for these :)

    I wanted to take a moment to invite you to submit this and any other yummy recipes to my link party, Recipe Sharing Monday. Hope to see you there!

  14. Carole

    Hi there. How about linking this in to Food on Friday: Slow Cooker? Cheers

  15. Carol F.

    My mouth is watering. Can you please tell me what is the "extra sauce"? Is it reserved enchilada sauce in the can? Another can of sauce? or the droppings from the crockpot? Can't wait!

    1. Chef in Training

      Just the sauce that is in the crock pot with it! Let me know how it turns out for you! :)

  16. Jen Nikolaus

    I made this for dinner last night and it was A HUGE HIT!! The family loved it!! I had one lonely burrito left over so I ate that for lunch today, yummm!!!! Thank you so much Nikki for the recipe! I will definitely make these again! Have a great weekend!

    ~Jen @ YummyHealthyEasy.blogspot.com

  17. danielle

    I wanted to let you know that I featured this in my "What I Bookmarked This Week" post - stop by and see!

  18. Cat

    What do I buy for "stew meat"? I am not a very confident beef buyer, but this recipe sounds simple and yummy and I'd like to try it! Is it a roast or ground or what?

    1. Natalie

      The meat is actually labeled "stew meat". Look for the packaged meat that is cut up in chunks already.

    2. Heather

      I use round steak cut into chunks

  19. Natalie

    Just wanted to let you know that I made these for my family last night and they went nuts over them! I also made the avocado salsa on the side and that, too, was a hit! My mom lives a few houses down and so I took her and her husband the leftovers and they want the recipe. Love your blog! Thanks!

  20. tara

    My new favorite recipe!! I did these w/ your slow cooker refried beans & avocado salsa, & served it with spanish rice (do you have a recipe for that? everything else of yours is so good, I know that would be, too!) My husband raved, my 5 year old actually ATE, and my 2 year old asked for more. Definitely a keeper!! Thanks!!

  21. Carol Woolen

    Made these for dinner and they were a big hit! Everyone loved them.

  22. Laura

    Sounds delish! My husband can't eat beef so I'm going to try with chicken. Would you do everything else the same or change the beef bullion cubes to something else?

  23. Claudia

    We love this!!! It is so easy and delicious. I doubled the recipe and we ate it for several days in burritos and over cheese enchiladas. I'm going to make it again this week LOL, thanks for a great recipe. :)

  24. Amy

    These were phynominal!!

  25. Kelly

    These were excellent! Exactly like the dish we get at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Who knew it was so easy to make ourselves! Thanks for the recipe!

  26. teresa

    i found this recipe on pinterest and we had it for dinner tonight, it was DELICIOUS! i'll be making these again and again, thanks for the great recipe!

  27. Emily

    I made these for dinner tonight and they were super easy. They were so good!

  28. Sherry

    Can these be frozen before baking?

  29. Khrysten

    These were Fabulous! Everyone loved them, definitely keeping this recipe! Thank you, thank you!

    1. kelly

      YUMMY we made this tonight its now on our rotation of meals!! So yummy and easy to make. Thank you

  30. Rebekah

    Finally got around to making this yesterday, and just wanted to say YUM!!! Soooo good and so easy - definitely going into the family dinner rotation. Thank you!

  31. cassie

    the stew beef is my crock pot now - it's been going 7.5 hours on low and it's not in the least bit tender. any ideas why? should i keep going for a couple more hours?

    1. cassie

      turned out great! ended up keeping the meat in for an extra3 hours, though.

  32. Amy

    Let me start off by saying that I am not very good in the kitchen. This was super easy & fast (thank goodness bc I have 3 kiddos under 4 years old). BUT I made a huge MISTAKE so I wanted others to learn from my error. I mistakenly bought EXTRA LARGE bouillon cubes :-(. It was so salty! So, next time I will be sure to by the correct size of cubes.

  33. Kerry

    Used leftover brisket with a little gravy and some chipotle sauce, stuffed with beef, beans, rice, cheese, topped with chipotle sauce and cheddar. Husband stuffed himself!

  34. Michael

    I like this recipe. In the past I usually bought the frozen bean and cheese burritos and used those. This doesn't seem too hard, so I will give it a shot.

  35. Esther

    I love enchiladas & these sound so good & easy. Definitley trying this recipe!!
    Thanks for a great recipe!

  36. Danielle

    This was yummy! We had this tonight, the kids, my husband and I all enjoyed it. The only changes I made was to add cheese inside the burritos, added a few shakes of garlic powder, chili powder and cumin to the crockpot mix of sauce and meat. We like things with a lot of seasoning, but it definitely was a keeper as a base recipe. The avocado salsa recipe was perfect as you wrote it!

  37. Christine

    Has anyone tried this with ground beef or chicken breast?

  38. Heather

    How long do you cook these in the crock pot on high? Really wanting to make tonight but don't have enough time for the low setting.

  39. Emma

    I made these twice already and LOVE them! By far one of the easiest recipes. I cooked on high for 6 hrs and the meat came out so tender and perfect. The second time I made them I decided to use the same concept but with stew pork meat and green enchilada sauce OMG Yummers! I have the meat & sauce in both beef & pork stew cuts, with red & green enchilada sauce in individual freezer bags ready for the next time we are ready to have the delish meal again. Thanks for this recipe!!

    1. KerryS

      Did you put the meats and sauces in freezer bags before cooking (raw) so then you just take out of freezer and into crock pot? Or did you mean after you had slow cooked it hen put in freezer and just reheat?

  40. Kristina

    I made these the other night and they were wonderful. Next time I'm going to try your refried bean recipe too. Thanks for sharing.

  41. Shell

    My s-i-l made these for my son's birthday today....they were FANTASTIC! Thanks for helping her make his party extra special and SO DELICIOUS!

  42. Tara

    I cannot thank you enough for your blog. I just finished making and eating these today. Amazing! Although, I had to improvise as we don't have enchilada sauce in Canada. I had some Epicure spices; fajita, taco and salsa seasonings along with some sweet basil marinara sauce. And 1 tsp of cocoa. Unbelievable! Also I wanted to try the corn tortillas, but they only come in small; but the recipe went further with those! Leftovers! :) My boyfriend and I both thrilled with the results. Actually, his exact words were "Better than a restaurant! Can't wait for lunch at work tomorrow to show the guys!" Thank you so much, Nikki!

  43. Stephanie

    Making these for a 2nd time because they were such a big hit last weekend! Thank you for the recipe!

  44. Laura

    Hi,
    when it says pour extra sauce, do you mean enchilada sauce from the can or the mixture in the crockpot? Sorry' probably a silly question!

    1. Chef in Training

      Sorry about the confusion. I probably need to clarify that in the recipe. The extra sauce is referring to what's in the crock pot.

  45. Charlotte D

    This was sooooo good! I can't believe how much flavor it had! my husband is an incredibly picky eater and he LOVED this! Thank you! I am def saving this one!

  46. Susan

    I didn't have the large can of red enchilada sauce so I used some salsa instead. Also, at the end I poured one can of green enchilada sauce over it. Baked it instead of broiling and my family loved it!!!!

  47. Lisa

    Flour or corn tortillas?

    1. Chef in Training

      I use flour

  48. Krista @ joyfulhealthyeats

    YUM! I have been on a Mexican food kick lately and these look delicious! :) {and by lately, I mean that last 6 years. hehe} Crazy that it is done with a crockpot. I need to start doing more of that! Great recipe!

  49. Stacy Grensberg

    I'm so excited to make these tonight! They look amazing! I am making them with chicken, though, only because its what I already have on hand, and seems like it would be okay to improvise with. I would imagine I should use chicken bouillon cubes instead of beef in that case too??? Also making the avacado salsa to go with it!! Yummy!! Thanks for the recipe! =)

  50. Stephanie @ The Good Stuff

    Just got finished eating these burritos for dinner. This is the second time I've made them and they're really yummy! I like that even though there is a little hands on time with assembling the burritos it still only takes minutes to get dinner on the table since the Crock Pot does most of the work. These really do taste like something you would get at a Mexican restaurant. SO good! I like to top mine with some shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, and a dollop of sour cream alongside some Mexican rice. Such a yummy meal! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

  51. Joyce

    Absolutely fantastic! Only change is I used chicken and chicken bullion and my family loved it. I have some very picky eaters and it was devoured! A true winter rotation meal for us...it's been bitterly cold and snowy this winter and this was a wonderful warm meal that left everyone craving for more. Thank you!!!

  52. Natasha

    I just made these and wow I was in love!! My family loved them too, it was perfect and easy after a long day of work, school and gymnastics!! Thank you for sharing!

  53. Gayle

    I made this a while back and my kids LOVED IT! Not often I find a recipe that makes all of them, plus my husband happy. My daughter asked me to make this again 3x before she even finished her meal. Have it on my menu to fix this week.

  54. Temesia

    Do you only broil them for a few minuted? You don't have to bake them at all?

  55. Debbie

    I made this for dinner last night and they were beyond delicious!!! Definitely a keeper! Thanks for posting it.

  56. Chris - Stayin' Afloat

    I have made this recipe so many times. I have passed it to friends and they all enjoy it! Thank you for sharing! I created a page on my blog for it : http://stayinafloat.blogspot.com/p/smothered-chile-colorado-burritos.html

    Thanks again - I love your blog!

  57. Bonnie

    Needs to be smothered with green chili.

    1. Anna

      Them it wouldn't be chilli Colorado if you used a green sauce! ;)

  58. moonlake

    5

    These look so good. I love using the crock pot for recipes. Thanks for sharing.

  59. Lynn Moreno

    Try cooking stew meat till tender drain liquid and save ,add 2 packs of shillings chili bean dry powder packets , 1 can tomato sauce , had liquid little at a time till it makes a sauce not to thin , make burritos with meat, beans, rice pour sauce on top add cheese sheared lettuce and Pico de Gallo .
    2) brown 2 lbs. of ground beef drain ,in 4qt. stock pot add 8 peeled and cubed potatoes ,add water an inch or 2 from top add 2 packs shillings bean packets 2 cans of tomato sauce salt to taste add potatoes cook till potatoes are tender serve with mexican rice ,corn can or frozen and salad . ( Note you can always add more potatoes for next day drain juice and have a good taco filling )

  60. Sandie

    Where's the chili's?

  61. Martha

    Just added to the menu for the week...wow, this looks fantastic!

  62. Rosie Castro

    I made this recipe chili Colorado burrito and was very good thank you for recipe.

  63. heidi

    Is there anything I could use instead of enchilada sauce? Would l9ve to make these but don't care for that kind of sauce

  64. Dami

    4

    While I can't roll a burrito to save my life, the flavor of this is awesome!

  65. Melissa

    5

    Big hit with my family, this is definitely a keeper. Will try using half the amount of beef bullion next time or omitting it altogether since it tasted a little too salty to me. Other than that, it's a great recipe! Thank you for sharing this!

  66. Jess Jimenez

    It takes longer yes. But rather like slow cooked pinto beans.I mash as when I'm going to serve,sometimes I don't bother, they still taste good.