Pulled Chicken Burrito Recipe

This chicken burrito recipe is like a Mucho Burrito copy cat, with delicious pulled chicken, pinto beans, salsa & sauteed peppers!

What goes in a burrito?

Chicken burritos are such a great way to enjoy Mexican-inspired cuisine and you can make them very easily at home! Here's what you need on hand for my version, which is very similar to Canada restaurant chain Mucho Burrito. Full ingredient amounts are listed in the recipe card.

Pulled chicken

• chicken breasts
• yellow onion
• garlic minced
• chicken broth
• salsa
• taco seasoning
• lime juice

Guacamole

• avocados
• red onion finely chopped
• lime juice, garlic, salt & pepper

Sauteed veggies

• red onion
• red & green bell peppers

Other burrito ingredients

• flour tortillas
• pinto beans
• any other toppings such as pico de gallo, sour cream, cheese, cilantro, etc.

How to make a chicken burrito

There are more steps to this recipe than my usual recipes but this is the best way to make your restaurant faves healthier at home! You can always make the chicken and guacamole ahead of time to ensure quicker prep and a shorter cooking time.

Here's how to make this recipe:

1. Boil chicken in hot water for 15 minutes, then remove and shred.
2. Saute onion & garlic for a couple minutes, then add shredded chicken, broth, and all other ingredients for the pulled chicken. Simmer for 5 minutes until most of the liquid has absorbed into chicken.
3. After that, cook bell peppers and onion on high heat until vegetables are sizzling, about 2 minutes and stirring often.
4. Meanwhile, mix all ingredients for guacamole together and prepare other ingredients such as pinto beans, cheese, pico de gallo, etc.
5. Set up a station where everyone can go and get their favourite toppings. Add a small amount of chicken, veggies, beans, cheese and other desired toppings to each flour tortilla, placing all ingredients in the middle of each tortilla. Fold up each side of your tortilla and then roll to form a wrap.
6. Optional step: fry the burrito on all sides in a pan that's placed on med-high heat. This will toast the burrito a bit so that it doesn't get soggy. Cut in half with a very sharp knife and enjoy!

Making the shredded chicken in a slow cooker

Using a slow cooker to cook chicken is great for people who need to be away from the kitchen. Because the crockpot does all of the work, you’ll just put the chicken in and head out to do whatever you need to do.

You can get the full recipe instructions in my 2-ingredient salsa chicken post. You'll mainly just be cooking the chicken with the seasonings on low for 8 hours.

Making the chicken in the Instant Pot

If you own an Instant Pot, you will be able to save SO much time making this recipe! For chicken breasts that are thawed, you can cook Instant Pot shredded chicken in less than 15 minutes.

Of course, you will also need to allow for 10-15 minutes of natural pressure release but the cooking time is hands off when using your Instant Pot.

You can also freeze the chicken after cooking it, making it easy to meal prep a large batch to have on hand for creating recipes all week long.

Are burritos healthy for you?

Like nearly every other meal, burritos are only as healthy as the ingredients you use to make them.

To keep this chicken burrito recipe healthy, make it with good quality chicken and fresh produce. Also, use portion control with heavy sauces and toppings that are higher in fat and calories. To keep the calorie count lower, leave out the cheese and guacamole and focus on chicken, veggies and salsas.

How many calories are in a chicken burrito?

For this chicken burrito recipe, each burrito has 432 calories, if prepared per the recipe below.

To cut the calories a bit, you can make a few ingredient substitutions.

Ingredient substitutions

• Sour cream – Using light sour cream will cut about 25 calories per serving. For even less calories, you can use fat-free sour cream.
• Guacamole – Avocados are full of healthy fats, but calories come along with them. Watch your portion size and you’ll be able to enjoy the health benefits without the excessive calories.
• Pinto beans – On their own, pinto beans are high in fiber and protein. Be sure to read the label to ensure that you’re buying beans without any additional chemicals or hidden fats. 1/4 cup of pinto beans has about 61 calories. To cut another 10 calories or so, you can use black beans.
• Salsa – Make your salsa at home and you can save a lot of calories. This is because many brands of store-bought salsa have sugar added to them.
• Cheese – Let’s face it; everything tastes better with cheese! The problem is, the calories in cheese add up very quickly. Using low-fat cheddar cheese will reduce the overall calories in your chicken burrito. To keep the calorie count even lower, skip the cheese altogether.

More burrito filling ideas

To turn the chicken burrito recipe into a heartier meal, considering adding some of these fillings:

• Rice – White, brown, or even Spanish rice would be delicious options
• Diced tomatoes
• Diced chile peppers or jalapeno slices
• Shredded lettuce
• Refried beans

Storing and reheating

After assembling them, it can be tricky to reheat burritos, especially if you use a mixture of hot and cold ingredients. For this reason, it’s best to keep the ingredients separate. Let everyone assemble their burrito at the table.

Not only will it be easier for storage purposes, but it also allows everyone to customize the fillings in their burrito.

Store individual ingredients in covered containers in the refrigerator and use them up within 5 days.

Can you freeze burritos?

For the same reasons listed above, it’s difficult to freeze an assembled burrito. However, you can definitely freeze the shredded chicken for up to 3 months.

More Mexican-inspired recipes

If you're looking for more Mexican-inspired dinner ideas take a look at some of my favourites below!

• BBQ Chipotle Chicken Burrito Bowls
• Kalbi Beef Tacos with Citrus Slaw
• Seared Scallop Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Meal prep tools

• These are my fave flour tortillas!
• Get your square glass meal prep bowls here to store your leftovers.
• And of course I get all my free-range chicken breasts from Butcher Box!