This make-ahead layered burrito casserole is another one of those great dishes that can SAVE you on crazy days when you need a fast-food dinner. It's easy to whip up an extra pan for later, because it comes out of the freezer so well. For some reason these seem to come together faster than spooning the filling into each burrito and rolling them up, as in this creamy baked mexican wet burrito recipe.
And in case you haven't noticed from my recipes lately, I loooooove sour cream and cream cheese together, it gives any dish an extra shot of dreaminess. I always use full fat versions of course because only people in the dark ages are still using low-fat “foods”. You can't even call them food, they're just fake versions of the real thing, and most everyone knows by now that they cause weight gain and chronic disease. There I go again, ranting about my favorite topic, FAT. 🙂 Read more about healthy fats here.
Make-Ahead Layered Burrito Casserole with Garlic Red Sauce
Servings: 8 people
Ingredients
- 1 pound grass-fed ground beef, or pastured shredded chicken, or pastured pork -- here's where to find a safe source for healthy pastured meats if you don't have a local source OR you could skip the meat for a meatless meal. (Consider making extra meat to use later for quick taco salads!)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 15 ounce can of your favorite refried beans, I love these because they're organic and pre-soaked!
- 8 ounces organic pastured cream cheese, optional
- 1-2 each jalepenos, colorful bell peppers, chopped. OR to make prep faster, just add about 1 cup some of your favorite organic salsa. (Ever tried this homemade fresh salsa recipe?)
Burrito sauce ingredients:
- 8 Tablespoons butter, pastured butter is best
- 8 Tablespoons thickener of choice – I like einkorn flour or you could use arrowroot flour for a grain-free option
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped, or 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 cup whole milk or cream, raw cream from the farm is best, or “whipping cream” if you're buying it at the store--be sure you don't get ultra-pasteurized--read more about healthy dairy options here. You could also use sour cream.
- 2 cups or so of liquid: chicken or beef broth – homemade broth if you have it AND/OR more milk -- I keep this broth on hand for when I run out of my own broth in the freezer.
- 6 ounces organic tomato paste
- 15 ounces organic tomato sauce
- 1 Tablespoon cumin
- 1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder and/or onion powder, OR just use some of this yummy homemade taco seasoning mix
- Sea salt (about 1 teaspoon) and pepper to your taste
- 1 scoop of this collagen for a nutrient boost! (optional)
- Your favorite tortillas — you could make homemade tortillas or get some like these spelt tortillas with a not too bad ingredient label. Update: I can now find organic tortillas right at my grocery store! The number of tortillas will depend on how big your tortillas are and how big your pan is. Plan on about 3-4 layers of tortillas, depending on how much of the other ingredients you're using. I just keep layering until I run out of sauce, or out of room!
- 12 ounces shredded cheese for the top
- Sour cream for the serving, optional
- chopped lettuce and/or cilantro is great to serve with it too!
Instructions
- Cook your meat with the chopped onion, I use my favorite pan or my pressure cooker -- see this post for how.
- Chop any extras that you're using, see the options above.
- Make the sauce: melt butter in a saucepan and add chopped garlic. Sauté until the garlic starts to get lightly golden. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes, keep whisking and be careful to watch closely and keep it on low-medium so it doesn’t burn. Slowly add the cream or milk and the broth, and keep whisking. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, and seasonings (or the salsa), and keep whisking it in as the flavors all come together and it thickens. Taste-test to see if it needs more salt or more spices. If this is done before you’re ready to assemble, just turn your heat off and let set.
- Start assembling in a buttered 9x13 baking pan. You can layer any way you'd like, just make sure there's always sauce touching the tortillas so they don't get dry, and tear the tortillas so they completely cover each layer. (See the pictures below.) Here's how I did the layers: Tortillas, sauce, meat, cream cheese, tortillas, sauce, beans, peppers, tortillas, sauce, rest of the meat, tortillas, sauce, cheese. Basically keep layering everything in whatever order, and as you get to the top, just use up whatever you have left. Remember to make two pans at once if you have enough, because it really is a great time-saver later or a great meal to take to a friend in need.
- Cover well if you're freezing it, or put into the oven on 350* for about 30 minutes, just to get hot through and melt the cheese on top.
- Serve with sour cream and lettuce and/or cilantro on the side for extra dreaminess. Our family LOVES this meal! Don't forget to see the pictures below.
- Note that this may look like a lot of sauce, but it soaks up when baking!
More you might like:
- Lots more ideas are here for fast-food dinners
- HELP for Arthritis Pain
- Money-Saving Health-Building DIY Recipe Round-Up!
- Our New Kitchen — Remodel Video from Start-to-Finish
Picture tutorial:
This is cream cheese, in case you can't tell. 🙂
Beth says
Soaked commercial beans? Yeah! I wonder if the refried ones are also soaked (I’m assuming so)? Do you know if they soak with an acidic medium like lemon juice/ACV or something to neutralize the aflatoxin? I’ll try one can and see if I react. It sure beats waiting 2 days until I get my beans soaked/cooked to make recipes when I’ve used up all the pre-cooked ones I have in the freezer! [Cooking beans right now!]
Kelly the Kitchen Kop says
I’m not sure Beth but you may be able to find it on their site (I can’t look right now), let us know how you do if you try them!
Kelly
Leah says
How much meat are you using with this recipe?
KitchenKop says
Wow I forgot that, I’ll go fix it now! About 3/4 # or so, a little more or less is fine, too.
Kelly