Frozen burrito in air fryer is a great way to cook these for lunch! Just a few minutes goes from rock hard to soft on the inside but crispy outsides. Like how to cook Frozen Pot Pie in Air Fryer, it is so much crispier and better this way.
Wondered how to cook an air fryer frozen burrito? We tested it out and came up with the perfect timing! Now you get get the middle tender but the outside tortilla to be crispy just as you wanted it to be. Here’s how to make this and tons of other easy air fryer recipes too. (affiliate linking to amazon.com present)
Table of Contents
- Air Fryer Frozen Burrito
- Frozen Burrito in Ninja Foodi Air Fryer
- Air Fryer Frozen Burritos
- What are the best frozen burritos?
- Air Fryer Frozen Burrito Time
- Ninja Foodi Frozen Burritos
- Air Fryer Frozen Burritos El Monterey
- How does one air fry burritos so the tortilla doesn’t dry out?
- Frozen Burritos in Air Fryer Recipe
Air Fryer Frozen Burrito
We made homemade air fryer flautas the other night and those were incredibly good. With either chicken, beef or bean and cheese they are inexpensive dinner ideas that everyone loves. Goodness wrapped in a tortilla, it is so much better with a crispy outside and an easy way to do this is in an air fryer basket.
They do take some time to prep though and sometimes you need a quick dinner so I thought we’d follow that one up with a frozen burrito in air fryer post too. There are so many types to choose from but we went with the most common which we feel is beef and bean.
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Frozen Burrito in Ninja Foodi Air Fryer
It doesn’t matter what brand you might have at home. We have 3 different ones and they all work about the same, the biggest difference is the size of the basket itself. If you have a lot of hungry boys or many in your family you might want a larger model so your foods don’t overlap.
I know you either have a few of these in your freezer now, or have in the past. They’re cheap dinners that my kids love too. When I was young we had these for dinner like a lot. Without a lot of money, and me being a picky eater, it meant that this was just a win.
Nowadays there are tons of different brands and fillings available. Before you really only had bean and cheese and that was about it. Nowadays we have bought beef, chicken, mild and spicy varieties. The timing below is for the “regular” type, not the jumbo varieties.
Air Fryer Frozen Burritos
Whether you cook one or a few at a time you would use the same times. Biggest tip is to make sure there is a little bit of room in between them. The hot air needs to circulate around each one to get just the right texture you will want.
Typically people use a microwave and that’s that, maybe a convection oven. We personally like these in the air fryer so there’s a nice crunch on the outside of the tortilla.
The dips after they’re cooked of course!! You’ve gotta’ have salsa for sure, and guacamole + sour cream are winners in our book.
We will explain that in detail below in our recipe card! Just takes 15 minutes and is so much better than nuked in the microwave.
What are the best frozen burritos?
We chose Reser’s as you can see here, their bean and cheese is pretty good. Las Campanas and Red’s are pretty popular, followed by Don Miguel and Jose Ole burritos.
You can choose which type you like. There are spicy and mild varieties typically. Some have just beans and cheese where others include ground beef and chiles.
Air Fryer Frozen Burrito Time
You can see how the outside gets lightly browned but the insides are still soft and gooey flowing out when cut. If you wanted them done faster you could microwave for 2-3 minutes (or what is listed to cook on the back of the bag) first. This will defrost the middle and then you just work on the tortilla crisping.
- Preheat machine for 5 minutes at 400 degrees F.
- Put the # of frozen burritos you want to cook inside the air fryer basket with the sealed side facing up.
- Cook for 15 minutes total, flipping every 5 minutes.
- Serve with different dips on the side if you want.
Ninja Foodi Frozen Burritos
Want to make things fun? Make an air fryer burrito bar with lots of options like we share here below. If you haven’t done this yet with your family it’s kinda’ like taco Tuesday but with the other favorite Mexican food item. 😉
- Avocado salsa is killer
- Sour cream
- Guacamole
- Chunky pico de gallo salsa
- Diced chives
If you have heat lovers like I do at my house you could drizzle some Sriracha sauce over the top. Another one is warm up some enchilada sauce and use that for wet burritos.
Air Fryer Frozen Burritos El Monterey
Cooking instructions are below for air fried burritos. Way faster than using a conventional oven and crispier than just using a microwave for sure. Of course air fryers cook at slightly different temps but they’re pretty close. Cooking times will not vary too much if you use a Ninja Foodi for this.
What will make a difference is if you left them out to reach room temperature beforehand. Then it would only take maybe 7 minutes or so to warm up I’d imagine.
How does one air fry burritos so the tortilla doesn’t dry out?
I recommend always preheat your air fryer so everything cooks at the same temp. throughout the time. Flip often and check often too. If you’re only cooking one I might check after 12 minutes or so and see if it’s browned enough for you.
Another option to cook less is the microwave for half the time listed on the bag, then air fry just to crisp, that won’t dry it out at all. Frozen foods are great to make in this hot air machine! A few of our other favorites are: making air fryer frozen egg rolls are probably our girls favorite snacks during the day.
Air fryer corn dogs are so easy and so much better than in the microwave followed by how to cook frozen potstickers in air fryer I love for lunch.
Nutritional information is not entirely accurate as it is calculated by the recipe card. You should definitely refer to the bag of the types you chose for that information.
Since ingredients inside are precooked before freezing them there really isn’t much need for checking the internal temperature when done. Instead just cut in half right in the middle and it should be soft and oozing out.
Frozen Burritos in Air Fryer
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
Ingredients
- 2-4 frozen burritos, 5 oz each
- olive oil , spray for crispier
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 400 for 5 minutes.
- Put frozen burritos into basket with bottom (sealed side) facing up.
- Set to 350 degrees for 15 minutes total. Flip burritos every 5 minutes so they end up with sealed side facing up again. (this way if there's a bit of leakage it won't stick to the basket, or leak out as much)
- Enjoy
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Now that I think about it, 15 minutes in an air fryer may take twice as long as microwaving then pan searing, but there will be days when I am too busy to stand over that fry pan, so I’ll keep this in mind. Thanks 😘
15 minutes ended up being inconvenient. It was faster to microwave them for 2 minutes to heat up the interior, then fry them in a pan on high until the tortillas brown.
OMG this is a game changer technique! Thank you!
Thanks for this! Such a handy way to heat up burritos. I’m going to forward this to my two college boys, who consume copious amounts of burritos. 🙂
Lol good idea
This is the perfect, quick and easy meal that my son can make all on his own! Yum!
Yep my girls do it too
This cooked up perfectly in the air fryer! It was quick and easy and just the perfect quick lunch I needed on this busy day. Thanks for the tips!
Yay!
Glad I could help
Such a great idea to make frozen burritos in the air fryer! Definitely takes them to a whole new level.
This turned out superb! I didnt have to thaw my frozen burritos. I just popped them in the air fryer and came out just right!