It is no surprise that we like our burritos around here. We have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner somedays! We have you covered for breakfast with these breakfast burritos that we have weekly. California style burritos of any kind are our go-to, but the ultimate California burrito is next level of goodness.
These California burritos with skirt steak are a whole different level of goodness. These burritos remind us of back home - San Diego! We've been living on the east coast for a few years now, and no burrito or taco shop here comes close to the real San Diego ones. Therefore, I have to bring a little bit of San Diego in my kitchen and make them myself.
What is a California Burrito
A California burrito is a delicious marinated carne asada burrito loaded with french fries, sour cream, pico de gallo, cheese and guacamole. If you visit San Diego you will see them in the menu of a lot of taco shops and Mexican restaurants. They are definitely a must try if you've never experience a California burrito.
Why we love these so much?!
- Insanely delicious
- Loaded with cheese
- French fries really takes this burrito to the next level
- They are bursting in flavor with every single bite
- Spicy Red Salsa goes perfectly with it
Ingredients you'll need
- carne asada - I use skirt steak or flank steak. Also, bavette cut is amazing for making carne asada. When ever possible I like using a bavette cut and I've found this cut at Whole Foods in the butcher section.
- french fries - frozen fries is the way to go or you can make your own here.
- pico de gallo - you can use store bought or can make your own like this recipe
- guacamole - I like using this quick guacamole or store bought works great
- sour cream - to add extra creaminess
- cheddar cheese - for some cheesy goodness
- large burrito flour tortillas - Get the largest flour tortillas to load up the burritos
Choosing your flour tortillas:
When picking your flour tortillas buy the extra large burrito tortillas (I always buy the biggest one's the store has and compare sizes with different brands) - but if you can find super extra large burrito tortillas like the one in the right picture below - get those! I have only found them in southern California. The extra large tortilla makes for a very loaded burrito and are not as thick as the one's commonly found in grocery stores. I always get my mom to bring them to us from L.A. whenever she visits us in NC or she ships them to us (that's how much we love them)
How to make California Burritos
Start by heating the frozen french fries per packaging cooking instructions. I like to heat my frozen french fries in the air fryer for 10 minutes.
Marinate your skirt steak or flank steak and let the steak sit in the carne asada seasoning for at least 30 minutes (the longer it marinades the better). Cook the steak on the bbq grill or stove top on medium high heat. Cook your steak according to preference, medium rare, medium or well done.
Heat flour tortillas on a griddle and add cheddar cheese.
After the cheese has melted assemble the burritos. Add the cooked steak, fries, guacamole, pico de gallo and sour cream. Lastly, fold over the the top in and roll the sides and serve with your favorite salsa. I love these burritos served with this red salsa, it's so good!
Recipe Variations
You can add refried beans (these are my favorite refried beans and honestly the only ones I really buy). I like adding refried beans for extra protein.
You can omit the guacamole, but the extra creaminess of the guacamole really makes this burrito extra delicious. Plus, who doesn't like guacamole?
I like to swap the sour cream with plain greek yogurt when I feel like being a little healthy.
Storage tips
Fresh and optimal taste is always best when you eat the burritos fresh. But, you can store California burritos in the refrigerator in an air-tight container or wrapped in foil for up to 3 days and re-heat in the microwave for 1-2 minutes or you can re-heat on a griddle. If doing this just keep the sour cream and guacamole out so they don't get soggy.
Can you freeze California burritos? Yes, once the burritos have cooled down you can wrap in foil and place them in a zip-top bag removing all the air from the bag and freeze up to 3 months. Once ready to eat you can thaw the night before in the refrigerator and heat in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes. You can also heat frozen for 2-3 minutes or more time if needed. If freezing I would recommend leaving out the sour cream and guacamole to prevent from getting soggy.
The Ultimate California Burrito
Ingredients
For the steak:
- ½ lb skirt steak*
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry parsley flakes
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
Toppings
- 2 large flour burrito tortillas
- 2 cups cheddar cheese (or 3-4 slices of cheese per burrito)
- ½ cup guacamole (store bought or you can make your own)
- ½ cup sour cream (you can substitute plain greek yogurt)
- pico de gallo*
- handful frozen fries
Instructions
Skirt Steak
- cut skirt steak into small thin strips
- heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat
- add fresh garlic until fragrant
- add skirt steak
- stir in cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic salt, and parsley
- cook steak until brown on all sides about 5-6 minutes and set aside
Assemble the burrito:
- bake fries per package instructions before prepping all ingredients
- heat flour tortillas in griddle
- while tortillas are heating add cheese until melted
- layer burrito with steak, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo and fries
- fold burrito and ready to serve
Notes
If you like this California burrito recipe you have to try the California Breakfast Burrito it's one of our favorite go-to recipes for breakfast!
Mary
The pictures look great and are making my mouth water to make this recipe right away!! The steps are so easy and using store bought guacamole and sliced or pre shredded cheese makes it even quicker! Thanks for including easy options!
Ana
Thank you Mary! Yes love that these are super easy to make! you need to try. The easier options makes for a quicker meal 🙂
Alex C
Looks yummy! Definitely trying this!
Ana
Thanks Alex! you need to try! they are sooo good! Let me know if you do 🙂
Mimi
Well that is one outstanding burrito, but I don’t get the fries. Great ingredients, though!
Ana
Thanks Mimi! the fries in California style burritos are very popular in San Diego and it makes the burrito taste really yummy. We used to eat them a lot when we lived in San Diego and miss them so much!