El Monterey Burrito Air Fryer Recipe

This El Monterey Burrito air fryer recipe is just what you need when you want to savor comfort food without any guilt.

An El Monterey burrito is a delicious, classic Mexican meal that comes in different flavors.

El Monterey fills its freshly-grilled flour tortillas with cheese, beans, and flavourful spices. Sometimes they add beef, pork, or chicken.

The package tells you to microwave the frozen burrito or put it in the oven. But it’s a waste of energy to use the whole oven for a single burrito. On the other hand, microwaves don’t heat evenly – leaving hot and cold spots and making the tortilla soggy.

Instead, cooking El Monterey frozen burrito in air fryer is faster and gives a crisp tortilla and a warm, gooey center

Easy Tips for the Best Air Fryer Frozen Burritos

• Wrap in foil. When you cook burritos in aluminum foil, they’ll heat more evenly and the tortilla won’t burn in the air fryer basket. This is especially important if your frozen burrito weighs more than 5-5.5 ounces. If you don’t use foil, you’ll probably burn the tortilla before the inside is hot.


• Unwrap the frozen burrito for the last few minutes of cooking time. It’ll help get a crispy tortilla.


• Don’t overcrowd the air fryer tray. Make sure there’s plenty of space around each piece when you air fry frozen burritos. That way, the El Monterey frozen burritos will cook evenly.


• Preheat the air fryer. To make sure your frozen burritos are crispy, preheat your air fryer for 2-5 minutes. When you place the frozen burrito in a warmed air fryer basket, it starts cooking immediately – meaning the outside will be golden by the time the inside warms up. If you put it in a cold basket, it will warm up slowly and start steaming – making a sloppy mess. Check your air fryer to see if it has an automatic preheat setting. If not, you can just do it manually.


• Think about the ingredients. Different burritos take different amounts of time in the air fryer. So, think about the filling and tortilla of your frozen burrito. For example, a corn tortilla will take longer to soften than a flour one. And meat burritos generally take longer than vegetarian ones.


• Flip the frozen burrito. To get an evenly-cooked air fryer burrito, flip it. That way, the hot air can circulate around the whole frozen burrito. But be gentle when you flip it. Otherwise, you can puncture the burrito and the filling will spill out. To prevent burning yourself, use a pair of tongs.


• Don’t thaw. You don’t need to thaw frozen burritos before putting them in the air fryer. They’ll actually taste better if you don’t. If you put your frozen burrito in the air fryer, the tortilla will crisp up and the flavor will be delicious. But if you thaw it first, it won’t cook evenly.

How Long to Cook Frozen Burritos in an Air Fryer

El Monterey frozen burritos cook for the same amount of time as other brands in an air fryer. So, you can follow this general rule:

• Fry at 380°F for 12-15 minutes.

Also, the air fryer cook time will depend on the frozen burrito filling. For example, chicken, beef, and pork will need more time than a plain cheese and bean burrito. When you cook frozen burrito, think about the ingredients rather than the brand for air frying.

Method

1. Preheat the Air Fryer
   

   First, set your air fryer to 400 degrees F. Then let it preheat for 5 minutes.
   

2. Remove Wrapping
   

   Next, open the packaging and remove the frozen burritos from the plastic.
   

3. Wrap Burrito
   

   Take a piece of aluminum foil, and wrap one of the burritos in it. Then wrap the remaining frozen burritos separately in their own pieces of foil.
   

4. Fry Burrito
   

   Now, place frozen burritos in the air fryer basket. And make sure that the foil seam is on the top.

   Then, drop the temperature to 380 degrees F, and cook frozen burritos for 12 minutes.
   

5. Flip Burrito
   

   After 5 minutes, flip the burritos over. Then after another 5 minutes, flip them once more so the seam faces up.
   

6. Serve and Enjoy
   

   Finally, remove your burritos from the air fryer, take off the foil, and enjoy.
   

What to Serve With an El Monterey Burrito

You can serve lots of different accompaniments with air-fried burritos:

• For a classic Mexican meal, serve your burritos with rice and black beans, salsa, and guacamole. You could also make fried sweet plantains as a yummy side dish.


• Or, for a lighter option, you could make a garden salad or steamed vegetables, like broccoli and carrots.


• For a really decadent and delicious meal, place burritos on top of French fries. Drizzle on some cheese sauce and sprinkle your other favorite toppings over everything.


• Some great toppings are tomato salsa, ranch sauce, sour cream, diced jalapeños or tomatoes, sliced black olives, or chopped green onions. And hot sauce, of course!


• You can also eat these burritos for breakfast: they’re great with a side of eggs prepared your favorite way.


• Don’t forget a garnish. Sprinkling chopped cilantro on top gives you a pop of color and a bit of freshness.

Storage Instructions

• After air frying frozen burritos, keep them in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.


• Put them back in the freezer with your other frozen foods. The USDA says it’s safe to put reheated leftovers back into the freezer, but you don’t want to do this more than once.


• To refreeze the burritos, wrap them individually in aluminum foil. Then, put the wrapped burritos into a 1-gallon plastic freezer bag, and arrange them into a single layer. Next, squeeze as much air as you can out of the bag, and seal it up. Your burritos will stay fresh for a month, so make sure you write the date on the bag.