I have a confession to make – I am a longtime burrito addict. Burritos have been, and always will be, one of my all-time favorite foods. Unfortunately, they are not always the healthiest option, especially if they are fully loaded mission-style burritos like I love to eat. There is a place in my hometown that makes award-winning Oaxaca cheese, and their burritos that include their Oaxaca cheese are something that I literally daydream about, especially when I am on a calorie deficit diet like I am right now.
Thankfully, I have not had to give up burritos entirely during my calorie deficit diet because I have put in some research and punched some numbers to come up with a healthier type of burrito. I actually made them tonight, which is what inspired this article. I figured that if I was looking for ways to still eat burritos but not bust up my daily calorie limit, that others probably are too.
As with my tips for other foods, I will fully concede that healthier burritos are nowhere near as delicious as no holds barred, calorie-rich burritos. But if you are trying to stay disciplined, below are some things to consider.
Tortillas
Obviously, every burrito involves a tortilla so I will start there. Tortillas contain more calories than some people may think. For example, a Mission brand ‘super soft’ flour tortilla (71g) contains 210 calories. That is one tortilla, and it contains 4.5 grams of fat and only 1 gram of dietary fiber. The lowest-calorie tortilla that I can find in my area is a Don Pancho brand ‘carb control wraps’ tortilla (37g).
It is nearly half the size as the previously mentioned tortilla, but carb control tortillas only contain 45 calories and 1.5 grams of fat, and a whopping 12 grams of dietary fiber per tortilla. I have come across many tortillas that taste better than the ‘carb control wraps’ that are 70 calories, but I haven’t seen any that have as much dietary fiber.
Protein(s)
Burritos can contain various types of protein, with beans being a really common one, and from there people can also use beef, chicken, pork, and many other things. For beans, I stick to Rosarita brand ‘no fat traditional’ refried beans. Sure, I can use different beans that may have more protein, but the Rosarita no fat refried beans hit the right balance of great taste, low calories, no fat, and still quite a bit of protein. A half cup of those kind of beans is 80 calories, 5 grams of protein, and 5 grams of dietary fiber. Between the carb control wraps I mentioned previously and these types of refried beans, that is a lot of dietary fiber in every burrito.
If you are going to use chicken, I recommend using chopped up baked, skinless chicken breast so that the fat is minimal and the protein is huge. If you are going to use beef, I recommend using 93% lean ground beef. It wasn’t until recently that I took the time to look at the nutritional facts of ground beef, and the difference in calories and fat between less-lean ground beef and 93% lean ground beef is wild.
80% lean ground beef is 280 calories per serving with 22 grams of fat. Comparatively, 93% lean ground beef is 170 calories per serving with 8 grams of fat. I find that if I am seasoning the beef with taco seasoning, I don’t really notice the difference in taste between the two. Other proteins tend to contain a lot of calories with not as much protein content, with the exception of using eggs in breakfast burritos (which are delicious!).
Other Ingredients
What people put into their burritos beyond the proteins can vary widely. Rice is tricky for me, because the type of rice that I want to include in a burrito is not healthy, and healthy rice is not tasty in a burrito in my opinion. With that in mind, I don’t put rice in my healthier burritos and avoid the internal conflict entirely.
For vegetables, my main advice is to chop them up fresh and use them that way. I know people that like to include things like pan-fried chopped bell peppers, but the oil involved adds a lot of calories and fat. Fresh tomato and lettuce contain very few calories.
I will end this article by sharing probably the most defeating advice that I have for making healthier burritos – avoid using cheese and sour cream. I know that to some people, if not many people, not having cheese and/or sour cream in a burrito is blasphemous. However, both can be a big source of calories.
Whereas salsa has very few calories, sour cream typically has 60 calories per serving. That may not sound like much, but a serving of sour cream is only 2 tablespoons, and it is a safe bet that most people exceed that single serving amount. A one-third cup serving of shredded cheese usually contains 110 calories and 9 grams of fat, and like sour cream, I doubt people stick to only 1 serving when they put it into a burrito. If you do use sour cream and/or cheese, look for the lowest calorie options that you can find.
***
Disclaimer: The contents of this article and this website are not meant to substitute for the professional advice of a doctor, nutritionist, and/or certified personal trainer. This content is provided as an educational tool to help people on their fitness journeys. While we strive to research topics as much as possible and provide useful and accurate information to the best of our abilities, we also strongly recommend talking to your doctor, nutritionist, and/or certified personal trainer before starting any workout, therapeutic, or nutritional regimen, as each individual’s needs and situations vary depending on the person.