These little bite-size burritos are a brilliant finger food to put on the party table. You can make them a day or two ahead and reheat them in the oven before serving.
They always spark a bit of interest, being a bit different from the usually buffet table items.
Look how cute they are!!
Move over vol au vents and devilled eggs, everyone will be making a grab for these little burritos first. PLUS they come wrapped in foil, so you don’t get greasy finger marks all over your wine glass.
They take a little bit of upfront effort to cut out the tortillas and wrap them up (a family assembly line is useful), but then you can put them in fridge, ready to easily reheat a day or two later. I love a make-ahead party food!
📋 Ingredients
Spicy Beef Filling
Everything else
How to make them
***Full recipe with detailed steps in the recipe card at the end of this post***
- Make the mini tortillas using a 9cm (3.5″) cookie cutter. You should get 5 mini tortilla from each large tortilla.
- Fry the minced beef with seasonings, garlic and tomato puree (paste in USA)
- Add kidney beans in chilli sauce heat through, then turn off the heat.
- Get your assembly station ready and start by placing a mini tortilla on a square of foil and add a rounded teaspoon of the filling to the centre.
- Add rice, tomato, sour cream, spring onion and cheese
- Fold the sides of the burrito up
- Roll tightly in foil
- Secure the ends with a twist. Repeat 29 times.
Pro Tip
Fold your foil before tearing into shape. This should give you a neater line when making the squares. I like to cut all 30 squares of foil before starting.
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Yes I did have 5 of these for my lunch whilst testing.
🍲 More fantastic finger foods
? Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, make the minced beef mixture and leave to cool. Also, don’t heat up the rice. This is so you’re preparing everything with cold fillings. This prevents the cheese melting and hardening and prevents the tomatoes going soggy.
Make sure all of the burritos are wrapped in foil.
Place on a tray in the refrigerator for up to two days.
To heat up, place on a warm tray in the oven in a single layer (try to leave a little space around them, so you might need to use two trays) at 200C/400F (fan) for 8-10 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
Yes, make as per the ‘make ahead’ instructions above, then freeze the wrapped burritos. Defrost overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as per the instructions above.
Double or halve the recipe, sticking to the same ingredient ratios.
If you are looking to make less, I would still make the same amount of minced beef filling, then freeze any leftover minced beef filling to make a couple of rice bowl lunches with another day.
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Use a 9cm diameter cookie cutter to cut 30 mini tortillas from the 6 large tortillas (you should get 5 from each tortilla). Put to one side while you make the beef.
Heat a large frying pan over a high heat and add the minced beef, salt and pepper.
Fry for 5-6 minutes, stirring and breaking up any large chunks of beef as you go, until the beef is browned.
Add the garlic, fajita seasoning, smoked paprika, tomato puree and crumbled stock cube and stir together. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
Move the minced beef to one side of the pan and add the tinned kidney beans to the space.
Give them a bit of a squish with the back of a wooden spoon to break them up. Some lumps are fine, but we don’t want whole kidney beans.
Stir everything together and cook for a further 3-4 minutes, until everything is hot and you have a thick mixture, then turn off the heat.
Now it’s time to fill the mini burritos.
Take one of the mini tortillas and place on a small square of foil.
In the centre of the tortilla, add a rounded teaspoon of the minced beef mixture, a teaspoon of the Mexican rice, two pieces of the chopped cherry tomato, ½ tsp of sour cream and a pinch each of spring onions (scallions) and cheese.
Roll up the tortilla, then wrap in the foil tightly and twist the ends. Its a little messy but the foil holds everything together. Place on a tray and repeat with the remaining burritos.
Serve immediately or see the notes for the make ahead instructions.
Make ahead
You can make these burritos up ahead of time. Make the minced beef mixture and leave to cool. Also, don’t heat up the rice. This is so you’re preparing everything with cold fillings. This prevents the cheese melting and hardening and prevents the tomatoes going soggy.
Make sure all of the burritos are wrapped in foil.
Place on a tray in the refrigerator.
To heat up, place on a warm tray in the oven in a single layer (try to leave a little space around them, so you might need to use two trays) at 200C/400F (fan) for 8-10 minutes, until piping hot throughout.
This recipe was first posted December 2014. Updated December 2020, then again in October 2024 with updates to the recipe, new photos and general housekeeping.
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