- 21 hours ago
Mythical Kitchen’s Josh Scherer joins Food & Wine editor Andee Gosnell to put frozen burritos to the ultimate taste test. The two try and rank some of the most popular grocery store burritos to find out which ones are actually worth stocking in your freezer. From Trader Joe’s and Amy’s to Tina’s and El Monterey, they break down each burrito in detail—judging tortilla structure, filling quality, and overall flavor while rating every burrito out of 10.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00I don't think anyone looks cute eating a burrito, particularly.
00:02I do. This is the cutest I look. Check this out.
00:04Oh my god.
00:06Hey, I'm Andy. I'm a food writer.
00:07And I'm Josh Sher, and this is my last...
00:10Oh, wait, no. We're blind-testing burritos?
00:12This is my show, and we're blind-tasting frozen burritos.
00:18For a frozen burrito, we're looking for three things.
00:21Looking for tortilla structure, how well does it hold the fillings,
00:24is it pliable, the tortilla flavor,
00:26are there other interesting notes like sweetness or weediness,
00:29and then finally, for filling, how well-seasoned and well-balanced it is.
00:35Josh, are you ready?
00:36This is about to be a journey, my guy.
00:38I'm so excited to go on the journey with you. Let's do it.
00:40All right.
00:40This is a meatier burrito than I was expecting,
00:42because most frozen burritos that I grew up with,
00:44there was just a sort of fine paste in there.
00:46Yeah.
00:46This has some chew to it. That's interesting.
00:48So, like, when you're obviously looking at a flour tortilla,
00:50you're looking at that gluten content and that stretch,
00:52but the stretch is to hold more filling?
00:56Hmm.
00:56It's so pasty.
00:58It's pasty.
00:58The paste is very well-seasoned.
01:00It is well-seasoned.
01:01You know?
01:01It's very savory.
01:02There is umami.
01:03I get the warming spices in there.
01:05God, that texture, though, bruh.
01:06Okay, okay.
01:07No, no, no, no.
01:08No, no, no.
01:08Don't poo-poo the texture yet.
01:09Think about, like, a beautiful beef stew
01:11or, like, a braised-down lamb curry.
01:14It's kind of, like, half-braised, half-drilled,
01:16right in that sweet middle spot
01:18that no meat normally exists in,
01:19but it does here, and that's cool.
01:21There's a weird gaminess on here.
01:22Yes.
01:23That I'm a little scared, and I'm like,
01:24is this a lamb burrito?
01:25Like, are you tricking me?
01:26I think the gaminess is there is something
01:28that is just called freezer taste,
01:31and I swear to God,
01:32I was doing some research about clearance bird's eye
01:33and the history of frozen foods.
01:35Everyone hated frozen foods
01:36for the first, like, 15 years.
01:37They said it had this distinct taste of hay or grass.
01:40Yes.
01:40And so that can still kind of happen
01:42when food isn't frozen fast
01:43or when it warms up in a freezer truck
01:46and then gets delivered.
01:47Dude, that's a knowledge bomb right there.
01:49Positive remarks, though.
01:51Yes.
01:51Mm-hmm.
01:51There is savoriness.
01:53You have umami.
01:53There is a little bit of texture body.
01:54Like, I think it's a little pasty,
01:56but it's not dry.
01:57No.
01:57Because I feel like that's the worst thing
01:59you can get through and through.
02:00Crackly tortilla, dry filling.
02:02This isn't terrible.
02:03I would happily use this as a vehicle for hot sauce.
02:06I would use this to nourish my body throughout the day.
02:08This isn't my first choice
02:09when I reach for a burrito or a food in general.
02:12Not necessarily.
02:13No.
02:13Josh, one out of ten.
02:15What do you think?
02:16I give this a solid six.
02:17Yeah.
02:17I would also agree with you.
02:18I was going to give it, like, a 5.7
02:20because, you know, I'm bitchy like that.
02:24You're going to push me harder
02:24like a Heisman winning running back, you know?
02:28Looking at this one, burrito number two.
02:30Makes me sad inside.
02:31It does.
02:32It already looks like a little crackly.
02:34Yeah.
02:34I think the first burrito that we ate,
02:36it looks a lot more like something
02:37you could feasibly get from a restaurant than this.
02:39This has a very distinct frozen burrito look.
02:41And I grew up eating a lot of Jose Olay, El Monterrey,
02:44like, all these frozen brands.
02:45But none of those could ever be mistaken for a real burrito.
02:48I think, frankly, if there's any frozen item
02:50in the grocery store that could use an update,
02:52I think it's the burrito.
02:53So unlocked potential.
02:55There's so much in there.
02:57I'm going to go for it.
02:59I don't think anyone looks cute eating a burrito.
03:02I do.
03:02This is the cutest I love.
03:03Check this out.
03:04Oh, my God.
03:06You like that?
03:07I'm sorry.
03:08You guys just lost eight subscribers.
03:10I'm missing depth.
03:12You're like, I'm not getting anything out of them.
03:14That earthiness from the bean, and that's kind of it.
03:16There's no other supporting flavors here.
03:17I'm kind of thinking back to that first burrito.
03:19And maybe we didn't appreciate what we had
03:22because it was the first burrito.
03:23Because you're missing some sort of spice in this, right?
03:25This is kind of, to me, the standard frozen burrito.
03:28This is right in the middle of that bell curve at the five.
03:31Neither bad nor good.
03:32Which I think people appreciate.
03:35I think this is very reliable.
03:36You know what you're getting.
03:38And food, to me, at the end of the day,
03:39you have to feel something.
03:41And if you feel comfort,
03:42if you feel like you know what you're getting,
03:43that's something.
03:44So I agree with you on five.
03:45I would put this precisely at a 5.1.
03:49The 0.1 is the benefit of the doubt.
03:50I think this is right in the middle of that bell curve.
03:52Yeah.
03:52I'll go a little higher.
03:54I'll go 5.8 for my nostalgia story.
03:55You have this burrito over that.
03:57I do.
03:58I do.
03:59Wow.
03:59Because I truly think there is a group of people
04:03where functionality and utility is really important.
04:06And I'm not excluding those people.
04:08A woman of the people.
04:09True proletarian.
04:10I really am.
04:11All right.
04:12A different kind of bean has approached.
04:15Yes.
04:15All right.
04:16Let's talk bean types.
04:17Talking bean types.
04:18Do you have a preference?
04:19I love pinto beans for the same reason
04:21we talk about loving that burrito.
04:23There's a phrase that my dad used to say.
04:25It's a dance with the date that brung you.
04:26Pinto bean burritos made me the man that I am today.
04:30This upstanding member of society.
04:32To me, black beans are like the fancy bean.
04:34And I don't know why I thought that.
04:35There's like a suppleness about a pinto bean
04:37that I find so beautiful.
04:38I still love black beans.
04:39I love all beans.
04:40But I prefer a pinto bean burrito.
04:42I agree from that that everybody should be eating
04:43more pinto beans to make them better people.
04:46Agreed.
04:46Oh, okay.
04:47This feel, whoa.
04:49Does yours have a hole?
04:50What?
04:51Where's your hole?
04:51I mean, like, you know.
04:53Mine's like everything's sunk to the bottom
04:56and we have so much layer of tortilla
04:58and not a lot of filling.
04:59This is fascinating.
05:01It's like a mummy unwrapping themselves.
05:03This is crazy.
05:04This doesn't taste like a tortilla.
05:05This tastes like lavash.
05:06Which I guess the only difference
05:08between tortilla and lavash,
05:09one, I guess like more bake a lavash than griddle it,
05:12but it's the fat content
05:13that has that almost kind of like flowery,
05:16papery quality of lavash.
05:17It's red bell pepper.
05:18It's a pepper.
05:19There's something about bell pepper,
05:21like the fajitas and chilies or whatever.
05:23People assume that bell pepper
05:24is like a bigger part of a lot of Mexican food
05:26than it kind of actually is all that much.
05:27And so I don't love the flavor of bell pepper in there.
05:29It's almost dominating.
05:30It's a little bit metallic, a little bit tangy.
05:31It's like we're trying to be Tex-Mex,
05:33but I've had versions of a Tex-Mex frozen
05:37and regular that have been better than this
05:39and I feel like more well-balanced.
05:40The filling is nice.
05:41I just wanted a little bit more,
05:42again, complexity, other notes
05:44to kind of just like balance out that vegetal taste.
05:46Yeah, it tastes like Tex-Mex.
05:47It tastes like a cartoon of Tex-Mex.
05:48All right, I'm going to give this,
05:50I hate saying my number first,
05:51but I'm going to break.
05:53Four.
05:54Four.
05:55I was going to give it a 4.7.
05:58Snap.
05:59So good.
05:59We're so locked in.
06:00Okay, yeah.
06:08All right.
06:10This looks fun.
06:11The cheesiest to me.
06:12Quite cheesy.
06:13What is your thoughts on cheese
06:14and what do you like in the ratio?
06:16I feel like I'm maybe not as big of a cheese fan
06:19as many people might think that I am.
06:21I love cheese.
06:22I like some fancy cheeses.
06:23I love a little bit cotija on a taco, whatever.
06:25But like for me,
06:26I'm, especially in Mexican food,
06:27never reaching for the very kind of like yellow cheese.
06:32That is the cheesiest.
06:33Here's my newest hot take.
06:35Chicken is my least favorite protein in a burrito.
06:37Do I agree with that?
06:39Don't look...
06:39I might agree with that.
06:40Unless it's like, you know,
06:41pieces of beautiful, like succulent chicken thigh.
06:44Mm-hmm.
06:44I feel like there are other proteins
06:45with that natural fat
06:47that can help elevate things
06:49just like a little bit more.
06:50I like the tortilla to filling ratio here.
06:54There's not like pockets of air gap.
06:56I feel like maybe I'm getting a little bit of my money's worth,
06:58but I just feel like I can't rate this that great
06:59because it's chicken.
07:00But I do appreciate the cheesiness.
07:02I feel like there's something in there
07:03that gives it a little more body.
07:04This has nothing to do
07:05with any Mexican restaurant you've ever been to.
07:08You'll like it.
07:08I think this is the best bite of food I've had.
07:10I take back everything I said about cheese.
07:11That was all BS.
07:13No, this is a 7.2.
07:14I'm having an awesome time with this.
07:15Here's the thing.
07:16I'm like, I'm not talking.
07:17You were talking the whole time
07:18and I just kept eating this.
07:19So I think that says something.
07:21I'm going to give it like a 7.3.
07:22I actually think for a chicken burrito,
07:24my bar,
07:25if you can make me like something
07:26I don't normally like,
07:27that's it.
07:28It's not great,
07:29but like, you know.
07:36It's a fun smell.
07:37It's got a lot of cumin.
07:37This smells of cumin.
07:39A lot of cumin in there,
07:40which I don't love.
07:41I think cumin is the most overrepresented spice
07:43in like Mexican,
07:45like you'll see it in pre-made taco seasonings.
07:47There's a ton of cumin
07:47and cumin certainly used
07:49very well and judiciously
07:50in a lot of Mexican food,
07:51but a lot of the times
07:52that becomes like the main flavor.
07:54The dominant flavor.
07:54Yes.
07:54I feel like cumin,
07:56sometimes Chinese spice spice,
07:57all spice,
07:58you can like,
07:59you can lean very much
08:00to the overpowering.
08:01Oh, damn,
08:02you already ate yours.
08:02Hold on.
08:03Hold on.
08:04That's it though.
08:06It's a good job.
08:07I don't even care about it.
08:08This is good.
08:09This is a pretzel bean.
08:10You know what this is?
08:11This is a Taco Bell.
08:11Oh, yeah.
08:12Here's a question for you.
08:13Did you grow up eating Taco Bell?
08:14Yes.
08:14This reheated really well.
08:15Yeah.
08:16I was like,
08:16it's very even.
08:18There's not like a cold spot.
08:19There's not a super hot spot.
08:20It feels like cozy.
08:21It does.
08:22It's comforting.
08:23It's warming.
08:24The problem with the old frozen burritos
08:26is you would microwave them
08:27and then the corners
08:28would get so hard.
08:30Yeah, correctly.
08:30But the inside
08:31was still so frozen.
08:33You know,
08:33I don't know how the physics work
08:34of all that,
08:35but this is really well done.
08:36This is ground beef.
08:37Yeah.
08:38At a store,
08:38obviously,
08:39you have different
08:40lean to fat ratios.
08:41Definitely.
08:41I'm going to assume
08:42for a frozen burrito,
08:43it's got to be like
08:44either an 80-20
08:45or like an 80-
08:46No?
08:4785-15?
08:48No.
08:49No, no, no.
08:49Other way.
08:50Other way.
08:5090.
08:51What is it?
08:51I'd say 73-27
08:53at the leanest.
08:54Yeah.
08:55Because I think you want
08:55a lot of that beef fat.
08:56This is a beef and bean for sure.
08:58Yeah.
08:58So they're mixing the beans
08:59in with that rendered beef fat,
09:00which is pretty good.
09:01Like,
09:02I'm getting a lot of beefy flavor.
09:03It's like a very
09:05processed beef,
09:05but I think it's really well-spiced.
09:07I think this is
09:07the most successful so far.
09:09I give it like a 7.6.
09:11Yeah.
09:11Ignore my face
09:12when I first bit this.
09:14You kind of got to
09:14take a second
09:15to like get your palate ready.
09:16So I was like,
09:17I don't like this.
09:18And then as I kept eating it,
09:19I'm like,
09:19I kind of do like this.
09:19Don't like the old
09:20burrito false start.
09:21It happens to the best of us.
09:22Yeah.
09:22Okay.
09:23I'm going to,
09:24I'm going to,
09:24eight.
09:25Eight?
09:25I'm going to go eight.
09:26We have a new top
09:27of the leaderboard.
09:28God,
09:29sorry,
09:30you're kicking me.
09:31This is a bad sign
09:32off the bat.
09:32Yes.
09:33Okay.
09:33Crackery,
09:34a little bit of a tear.
09:36There's so much
09:37excess tortilla
09:37on the frozen burritos.
09:38Yeah.
09:39What is that?
09:39I feel like they could
09:40either use more filling
09:42or simply less tortilla.
09:43Uh-huh.
09:43I'm going to show you this
09:44because I need evidence
09:45that I'm not crazy,
09:46but like that is rice.
09:47This is white rice,
09:48which is nuts
09:49to have in a burrito.
09:50In a mission style burrito.
09:52Where I'm from in the Bay.
09:53Yes.
09:54Rice is sometimes an inclusion,
09:55but it's never white rice.
09:57No,
09:57no,
09:57you need,
09:58you need that annatto,
09:59the tomato.
09:59I'm trying to figure out
10:00what's going on here
10:01because there's some sort
10:01of beanie paste.
10:03Yeah,
10:03that's definitely cheese,
10:03but I thought the threads
10:05were kind of like
10:05a very broken down
10:06braised chicken,
10:07but there's a piece
10:07of braised beef in here
10:08that's actually still
10:09kind of holding together
10:10in an interesting way.
10:12Oh my God,
10:12Josh,
10:13do you think this is steak?
10:14The hard,
10:14I believe,
10:14is steak,
10:15but it's interesting
10:16because it's actually
10:17that everything else
10:17is cooked to
10:18would indicate
10:18that the steak
10:19should be sort of
10:20like broken down.
10:21Yes.
10:21But it's not.
10:23This immediately
10:23is at the bottom
10:24of my list.
10:24Yeah.
10:25Would I take a bite
10:25and throw it away?
10:26No,
10:26I'd house this whole thing.
10:27Big whole beans in it,
10:28which in a frozen burrito,
10:29I'd rather have
10:30refried beans.
10:31Mission burritos tend
10:35tasting is just
10:35melted cheese.
10:36There's nothing else.
10:37Not a fan.
10:38I'm going to give this
10:38a three.
10:39I don't think it's
10:39hitting any of the notes
10:40that we said
10:41that we would kind of
10:42like want
10:42in a frozen burrito.
10:43I was going to say
10:443.4.
10:44Like this is
10:45sort of right
10:46at that baseline.
10:47Here's what would
10:47happen if I ate
10:48this for lunch,
10:48I would go,
10:49I need a little bite
10:50of something else
10:51to sort of,
10:51you know,
10:52wash it down
10:53spiritually.
11:00Shuffle.
11:01God,
11:02we're so close.
11:02Okay,
11:03I see a cheddar.
11:03I see a shred.
11:04Oh,
11:05wait,
11:05you know what's
11:05important about that?
11:06Seeing the transparency?
11:07Seeing the transparency.
11:08Josh,
11:09why is it important
11:10to see the transparency?
11:11Because that means
11:12that the fat
11:13has fully coated
11:14the flour.
11:15We're going to show
11:15you guys this.
11:16This is unlike anything
11:17that we've had before.
11:19I would guess
11:19that this is vegan.
11:20This looks vegan.
11:22It even smells
11:23a little vegan.
11:23It smells so cuminy.
11:24These are all
11:25very cuminy.
11:26These are big pieces of,
11:27is this a carrot?
11:28Sweet potato?
11:28I'm going to just,
11:28I'm going to bite it.
11:31Oh,
11:31God.
11:33This
11:33is not from Mexico.
11:34I don't even think
11:35it's from America.
11:36This tastes like a dish
11:37from a country
11:37that has yet to be discovered.
11:38The spices,
11:39the textures,
11:40the ingredients
11:41are so unfamiliar to me.
11:43I've never had any question.
11:45There's a sourness
11:46and you get no reprieve
11:47from fat,
11:48but then there's just
11:49a huge blast
11:50of cumin coming in.
11:52And I think
11:52what must be
11:53either carrot
11:54or an undercooked
11:55sweet potato
11:56that's coming in there.
11:57There's rice.
11:58There's a pepperiness,
12:00which I like.
12:00Here's the thing.
12:01I'm going to go redeeming
12:01all these first.
12:02I had a very
12:03visceral reaction to this.
12:04It could also just be,
12:05it's just,
12:06I was not prepared for it.
12:07I think I found a green bean.
12:09There's an acidity to it,
12:10which I like.
12:12A big part of the,
12:14be like,
12:15frozen burrito family
12:16is vegetarian
12:17and vegan burritos,
12:18if that is this one.
12:19I like that there's
12:20a warming spice level
12:21that's coming in,
12:22like a little lingering,
12:23tingle heat,
12:23which I feel like
12:24the other ones
12:24haven't been spicy.
12:25So I'll give a point to that.
12:26The heat's nice.
12:26You're still eating it.
12:28Because I've never been
12:28more fascinated by a flavor
12:30and texture combination
12:30in my life.
12:31I like the spice level,
12:32but yeah,
12:32I just,
12:32I just can't,
12:33I just can't.
12:33I would love to know
12:34what this is.
12:34Yeah, I'm so curious.
12:35Is this sweet potato
12:35and cactus?
12:38Nopales?
12:39Nopales.
12:40The thing I thought
12:40was green bean
12:41was cactus.
12:41That's interesting.
12:42That's crazy.
12:43I feel like.
12:44That's where the sourness
12:44comes from too.
12:45Nopales are like quite acidic.
12:46Yes.
12:47Nopales is the,
12:48for those of you
12:49that don't know,
12:49is the paddle of the cactus.
12:51It is edible
12:51and then the fruit
12:52of the cactus
12:53is called tuna,
12:54not the fish.
12:54It's like a little
12:55purple pink.
12:56It's mildly sweet.
12:57Do they also call it
12:58choconosle?
12:59The tuna?
12:59I think it's a cactus pear.
13:00Yes.
13:01I think it has like
13:02a really nice brininess to it.
13:03This feels,
13:04yeah,
13:04you know why it's so crazy?
13:05I was like,
13:06it tastes like wet okra to me.
13:08And I don't know what this is.
13:09Cactus has a little bit
13:09of that sliminess,
13:10but not in a bad way.
13:11I love a fresh,
13:12boiled and grilled
13:13nopales
13:14on a simple taco
13:15with some asada
13:16on a flour tortilla.
13:17It's like a big Sonoran thing.
13:18So when you put cactus
13:19inside something else
13:20that's frozen,
13:21all of that acidity
13:22and the brininess
13:23and even that kind
13:24of slightly slimy texture
13:25that's wonderful
13:25on a fresh,
13:26grilled cactus,
13:27that then just goes
13:28throughout the entire burrito
13:30in kind of a,
13:31what I'd call
13:32an almost unsettling way.
13:33Yes,
13:33and you're just leaching
13:35moisture, right?
13:36Exactly.
13:36So it's not doing anything
13:38other than just slightly
13:38diluting the flavor.
13:40Oh God,
13:40I don't want to say one
13:41because it's so different
13:42from everything else
13:43and that's like not fair.
13:45Yeah.
13:454.8.
13:46I was going to get them
13:47a 4.6
13:47because I think
13:48they took a really big swing
13:49and like we need people
13:50to take really big swings
13:51like that.
13:52You know what I mean?
13:53In the frozen burrito market,
13:54the fact that they're
13:54using cactus
13:55is actually so admirable
13:56and like really,
13:57really cool.
13:57Keep shooting your shot
13:58frozen burrito market.
13:59We're here
13:59and we'll eat them.
14:02Got our top three here.
14:04Number one,
14:05what an OG classic,
14:07El Monterey.
14:08The bean,
14:08this is our Taco Bell one,
14:10right?
14:10Yes.
14:10Yeah, yeah.
14:11This is healing
14:11my inner child in a way.
14:13This is like,
14:13I swear to God,
14:14this is when we graduated
14:15from like poor
14:16to middle class.
14:17I was like,
14:17we're buying name brand
14:19El Monterey.
14:20This is the new standard
14:21and it still hits.
14:22I love it.
14:23Yeah, it's great.
14:24We love the bean flavor.
14:25The texture was there.
14:26There was something
14:26nostalgic about it.
14:27I think it's a great buy.
14:29We've got chicken,
14:30which I might have
14:32to take back.
14:32I said,
14:33I didn't like chicken
14:33and burrito.
14:34I was like,
14:35but I thought this one
14:36had that really nice
14:36spice level.
14:37We like the texture
14:38of the tortilla.
14:39This is a dark horse one.
14:40This is just like
14:41super creamy
14:42and comforting
14:42and it reminded me
14:43a lot of 7-Eleven's
14:45frozen rolling taquitos.
14:46If you drop this
14:47in a deep fryer,
14:48that's party time.
14:49This felt like
14:50a Super Bowl appetizer snack.
14:52It was pretty damn good.
14:54Loved it.
14:54I feel like you need
14:55to hold this
14:56as the person
14:56who said a carne asada burrito
14:57is a part of your last meal.
14:59Trader Joe's grilled Angus beef
15:01with onions,
15:01roasted poblano,
15:02chilis,
15:03and cilantro.
15:03This is the first burrito
15:04that we tried.
15:05I think that was
15:05a very special moment
15:06for both of us.
15:07And you know what?
15:08I'm glad this finished
15:09in third.
15:10You know,
15:10it still found its place
15:11on the leaderboard.
15:12And hey,
15:13maybe next year
15:13it's coming for gold.
15:15Josh,
15:15thank you so much.
15:16No,
15:17thank you, dude.
15:17What a time.
15:18What a time to be alive.
15:19God, that's smooth.
15:19That's smooth as a bean burrito, man.
15:24Did we talk about
15:25your favorite frozen burrito?
15:26Let us know in the comments.
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