This isn’t a California burrito, the one that has French fries in it. This was inspired by a local Mexican restaurant called El Primo. Their Burrito California has steak, chicken, shrimp, vegetables, beans, rice and an amazing white cheese sauce. The restaurant uses really fresh ingredients. It’s just a little strip mall Mexican restaurant but they do such a great job. We used to go about once a week and we got to know the owners and all the employees. Since COVID-19 sent us to work from home I haven’t been back. That burrito haunts me. So I decided to make one at home.

You can see from the picture below (from the menu) El Primo doesn’t completely roll the burrito. They kind of fold the tortilla over the ingredients. I kind of like this, when you have the folds on the end of a normal burrito it kind of gets dried out and there’s no ingredients in it which renders it useless. This way you can enjoy the tortilla and all the ingredients.

This recipe came together because A) I had a lot of leftovers and B) I was craving not only the Burrito California but that crazy delicious white cheese sauce. To make this faster for a weeknight I used the 90 second microwavable rice and black beans out of the can.

Ingredients

Ingredients for White Cheese Sauce

• 1/4 cup white American cheese, sliced or shredded
• 1/3 cup lactose-free half and half (add more for a looser sauce
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 4 oz canned chopped pickled jalapenos
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• Cayenne powder to taste

Ingredients for Burrito California

• 12 inch flour tortillas
• Leftover pork chop, chopped
• Leftover flank steak, chopped
• Leftover grilled chicken, chopped
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 poblano pepper, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 red onion, chopped
• Olive oil
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 1 packet cilantro lime instant rice

Directions

How to make White Cheese Sauce

1. Add butter to a medium saucepan and over low heat. Add a little of the milk and begin slowly whisking in the cheese until melted and combined. Add more or less milk depending on the consistency you want.
2. Add the chopped jalapeno, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin and cayenne pepper to taste. Cover and keep warm.

How to make a Burrito California

1. heat a large skillet or non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Add the onion, poblano, and red bell pepper. Toss to combine and seasoning with salt, cumin and chili powder. Cook the vegetables until slightly softened.
2. Add the leftover proteins. The chicken, the pork chop, and the flank steak. Toss to combine and reduce heat to medium. Once the protein is warmed through add some of the black beans and again toss to combine. Turn the heat off.
3. Meanwhile, prepare that 90 second rice in the microwave per instruction. Also, in the oven, on a large skillet, or in the microwave warm the tortillas until pliable.
4. To serve, lay the tortilla down on a large plate. Had some rice and the vegetable, protein, and bean mixture. Roll the tortilla and fold under so that the seams are on the bottom. Top the burrito with the warm white cheese sauce. Enjoy!